Sunday, June 12
Day 5
What a terrific birthday I had today!! We loaded the bus for our tour by drawing cards, one per couple. Spades and Clubs sit on the driver side of the bus, and hearts and diamonds sit on the passenger side of the bus. The number of your card is you row. Jenna drew a black Ace so we got to sit on the first row. Another couple, Dick and Diane Hall, no relation, drew a red Ace and sat on the first row on the other side. As it turned out, today was my birthday and Dick & Diane's 52nd anniversary. The drawing was fixed so that we would draw those cards. Then the trailboss announced our birthday/anniversary and gave us a personalized card from Adventure Caravans.
Our first stop on the tour was at the Calgary Olympic VIllage, site of the 1988 Winter Olympics. We had a lunch in the dining room of the OLympic Village. Before lunch, Mel and Dot, two friends we have made announced that since it was my birthday, they had a couple of gifts for me. The first was a "Do-rag" with an 18" gray poneytail on the back. I also received a toy from a Jack in the Box happy meal and a muffin with a pink candle. The entire group then sang me Happy Birthday. What a treat!!
Following lunch, we rode the chairlift to the top of the mountain and saw the bobsleigh starting gate. We were able to walk about 200 yds. down the track. This was also the track used for the luge and skeleton competitions. The hill where the slolum (sp?) was run is now used as a mountain-bike track for kids in the area. There were hundreds of kids, all ages and sizes, riding up the chair-lift and down the mountain on their bikes. They had special contraptions on the chairlift that would take bikes up 3-4 at a time. The kids were very polite and didn't seem to mind that we were allowed to cut in front of them to go up on the chairlift. They can buy a day pass or a season pass. You can also ride a zip-line down the mountain, ride the bobsleigh down the run (winter only), and go off the 90meter ski-jump (winter or summer). Actually you can go on all the ski-jumps. The 90 meter was closed for construction or we would have gone up on it. They are actually raising the mountain by 20 meters so that it will qualify for competition. It's too short now! While we on the bob-sleigh, lightning was spotted within 30km and the chairlift was shut down. COnsequently, we had to walk back down the hill on a winding and steep pathway. One benefit was that we worked off lunch!
After leaving the Olympic Park, we rode downtown to the Calgary Tower, a 525' spire with an observation deck on the top. Kind of like Reunion Tower in Dallas. Anyway, on the observation deck, there was a glass floor where you could walk out a look down at the street below. After much coaxing I was able to walk out, look down, and walk the length of the glass walkway. I was dizzy by the end, but I did it. Many in our group didn't even try.
We also toured the Calgary Stampede grounds and a lot of downtown Calgary. It is a very clean, beautiful city.
While our tour has been exciting, sceneic and lots of fun, our Trailboss tells us it only gets better from here. Tormorrow we go to Lake Louise and Banff National Park. We only have one day in an area that would take a week to see. The next day we go to the Columbian Ice Fields for a ride in a snow-coach up onto the glacier. Sounts too wonderful!!
In case your wondering, deisel in Canada is a little higher that in the U.S> The highest we have paid is $1.19 per liter - that figures out to $4.47 per gallon. After tomorrow, we go into British Columbia and they say it is even higher there. YIKES!!
I may not be able to post for the next two days as there is limited to no wi-fi. At Columbia Ice Fields we will be camping on a parking lot next to the glacier with no hook-ups at all. Don't you feel sorry for us? Til next time -Happy Trails!!
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