I think it’s been eight years since we were last in Calgary which happened to be a weekend visit which combined a 50th Wedding Anniversary for a Calgary-based aunt and uncle and a 50th birthday party (featuring an appearance by The King!) for a Calgary cousin.
Here’s a picture of my dad with eight of his nine siblings who made it to the parties
One of the reasons you travel with children is the opportunity to learn about and experience the world in the way they can’t from a classroom or even books.
Here’s a few examples:
5. On the way into Calgary, her brother is “helpfully” giving her a history lesson. “A long time ago, there was a farmer who had a cow named Gary. And when they were trying to think of a name for the city, they decided naming it after a cow was as good as anything so they called the city Cow Gary.”
4. Once we corrected this interesting interpretation of Calgary’s name, Sasha ended up mispronouncing it most of the week anyhow – calling it “Cal-a-gary” – which we didn’t bother to correct because frankly, it was pretty cute.
3. This is technically something she first said in Regina but she said it in Calgary too so I’m counting it – when she saw all the skyscrapers, Sasha said “Look at all the sky highers!”
2. On the drive out, we noticed a lot of campers on the highway. So Sasha and I ended up having a game where we’d get a point for every camper we spotted coming towards us on the other side of the highway. She was winning 8-5 as I kept telling her to look out the window when I’d see an interesting “cow” or “lake” which just happened to be visible at the same time as an RV was passing. But then I couldn’t let the opportunity pass when I saw an RV lot outside Medicine Hat. “One hundred points!” I blurted excitedly. When Sasha saw what I was looking at, she said “Dad! I forgot to tell you – the game was over a few minutes ago.” 🙂
1. At the zoo, we come around a corner and see a couple zebras in front of us. “Zebras are real?!?” Sasha asks with a mix of wonder and excitement. Turns out that even though she’d seen photos and videos featuring zebras (live ones, not just cartoons), she somehow put “Zebras” in the same category as “Unicorns” in her brain! 🙂
It’s hard to pick a favourite part of our quick trip to Calgary – seeing the pandas at the Calgary Zoo (though gorillas and hippos will always be my favourites), driving past so many of our old haunts (even tried to buzz a neighbour whose name is still on the board at our former condo twenty years later but no one home!), an amazing Korean fusion meal at Anju on 17th Ave, surprising the kids with a visit to Calaway Park amusement park.
But our day in Banff was unreal – managing to arrive just in time to qualify for the “Family Before 10am Discount” which got both kids free rides up the gondola, exploring the four storey building on top of a mountain plus the long walkway that takes you to the highest point of the mountain. Just contemplating what must’ve gone into erecting a four storey building on *top* of a mountain plus that walkway then keeping all of that stocked, supplied and in a good state of repair.
Absolutely fascinating.
Then, back into town for a rooftop patio lunch and wandering through the tourist-filled streets (yes, that’s us too) buying a couple souvenirs including the requisite fudge. Then, back up the mountain again but not all the way to the top, only part way for a mid-afternoon dip in the Banff Hot Springs which were perfect – great weather, managing to snag some deck side Adirondack chairs, interesting conversations with other tourists from around the world.
Anyhow, here’s a short video I found that captures some of what we saw on the gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain:
One of the best things about traveling is the people you meet.
I met a young guy from Scotland at the Banff Hot Spring and during our conversation, mentioned my grandmother was born in Campbeltown, Scotland.
He asked if I knew this old folk song and I admitted that I didn’t (though I quickly filed it away as an idea for my next Music Monday selection!)
We talked about how surprised he was to see the amount of people/activities celebrating Scottish heritage in Canada and how that doesn’t even happen in his home country. I tried to provide my own song recommendation – “The Old Sod” by Spirit of the West – but he happened to know this song/band due to the influence of a cousin Vancouver!
Shea and I lived in Calgary for about three and a half years right after she graduated from nursing school.
It was an amazing city to be young in with tons to do – restaurants, bar, attractions.
As we prepare for another return visit (the first time back since Sasha was born), here are my Top 5 Highlights of our time in Calgary:
Bow River Float
A couple we knew organized about a dozen people to rent a huge raft then we spent the afternoon leisurely floating down the Bow River. It was a perfect day – beautiful weather, swimming in cool rushing water, drinking filter water via one survivalist’s purifier, going past the Folk Fest which was on that day (but unable to stop due to security patrolling the river) and, best of all, river patrol didn’t stop check us until *after* our cooler was empty! I think part of the reason we only did it once is because it felt like it would never be that good again.
Calgary Flames 2004 Stanley Cup Final Run
A team with one superstar player (Iginla), one superstar goalie (Kiprusoff) and a bunch of scrubs went on a Cinderella-run, knocking off every single Division champion on their way to a narrow loss in the Stanley Cup Final to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Just amazing to be part of the growing energy with each game and series won. And living only a few blocks from “The Red Mile” (a strip of bars and restaurants), joining hundreds (and eventually thousands) streaming out of our buildings onto the Red Mile after every game.
The Bronto
Soon after we arrived, when my parents came to visit, my cousin who is a Calgary Firefighter, arranged to take Shea and myself, my parents and his dad up in “The Bronto”, a bucket truck that (I think) was new to the Fire Department at the time and lifted occupants 50 meters into the sky! (It was a different time – we were safely harnessed in but I wonder if any firefighter could get permission to take civilians up like this today?)
Will Ferguson
I got to meet a lot of famous writers during my ten years in the Canadian book industry (and even managed to use my connections to get Margaret Atwood to put a special inscription in a book I gave to my brother-in-law at an evening when she was only signing her name.) But one of the best known writers I met was also one of the nicest – Will Ferguson is the kind of guy who would make sure to personally drop off an Australian edition of one of his books so you’d have a unique door prize at an event, get on stage on short notice at a “Freedom to Read” Event when a scheduled writer couldn’t make it and blast “Paperback Writer” by The Beatles before an appearance at WordFest!
Hop In Brew
We had lots of favourite places in Calgary but our ultimate favourite was an amazing little hole-in-the-wall pub that was basically next door to where my office was. It had craft beer (when that was still fairly rare), a curmudgeonly owner, amazing pizza, not a single TV in the building (even during the Flames’ playoff run mentioned above which I thought was pretty commendable when we even ended up watching a Flames’ playoff game at The Palliser, Calgary’s ritziest hotel, one evening after the Alberta Book Awards ended!
