Canadian kaleidoscope
Different views after every turn
Traveling, and experiencing different parts of the world, is very valuable to me, more so than a beautiful house or a flashy car. There’s nothing like the excitement of being on the open road, or on a hike somewhere, not knowing what is around the next turn…
Here’s a taste of our experiences while traveling through parts of Canada, back in 2017. This particular story is only an appetizer. Other courses of this meal, or other views after shaking the kaleidoscope tube, will follow in due course.
We had decided to start our trip in Calgary, Alberta, and spent the first day or so there, in the company of friends from the days when we all lived in South Africa. Good to catch up on news, and very nice of them to accommodate us and show us to all the nearby interesting places!
Driving out of Calgary itself, through the open prairie towards Okotoks, we visited Big Rock, more formally named the Okotoks Erratic. I‘ve already written about this rock, its history, and our visit, in an earlier story, which I’ll link below this one.
Our time with friends in Calgary was too short, but we were on a schedule to continue our journey northwards and westwards. Having collected our rental car, we said our goodbyes and departed towards the Rocky Mountains. After an easy afternoon drive on the Trans-Canada Highway, we left the prairie and were into the valley of the Bow River, reaching Canmore during the late afternoon. As Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages would agree, it’s a pretty town, straddling the highway and the river. Our room, in the rather grandly-named Windtower Lodge and Suites, a somewhat alpine-themed establishment, was quite small, certainly much less luxurious than the accommodation we’d enjoyed in Calgary! We, therefore, spent the late afternoon walking through the town and admiring the views from the banks of the Bow River.
The next day saw us driving into Bow Valley Provincial Park, and hiking into the Grotto Canyon. Marina is at her happiest when she can clamber over rocks, so we did a lot of that, admiring waterfalls, some geology, and even some rock art. Whenever I’m in a canyon such as that, mostly dry but filled with boulders, I wonder what it must sound like in springtime, when there may be a large volume of water roaring through the narrows, bouncing and dragging boulders along the bottom. Must be quite a racket!
Some views from within the canyon:
After the day’s exertions, we retreated into Canmore, for a drink, a meal, and our first night “on the road”.
Stay tuned for more twists of the kaleidoscope in upcoming stories, with grand Rocky Mountain vistas, wildlife, unexpected events, and much more!
