Journée en Famille

Al, Laurel, Steve, Bob at the Ryans in Calgary

We left the Ramada at about ten and took a detour to a "wildlife sanctuary" 8 km east of town. A long detour since we drove beyond it and had to turn back, and would have missed it if Bob hadn't seen a small sign inviting us to view wildlife. A dirt road beckoned all the way to wetlands on either side of the dusty path. No wildlife, just a man in a truck and his dog, and a birder couple who left as soon as we arrived.

On to Calgary on Hwy 2. My brother Al had given us directions that were different from the Google map I had consulted, and everything went pretty well until the last mile or so when we found ourselves lost, without a working GPS (no Canadian map loaded, I guess). Our nephew Steve guided us tantalizingly close. We stopped for directions and met a delightful couple with Minnesota connections, who would have led us directly to the Ryan door.

No need. Allan and Steve jumped in the van and came to picked us up, piloting us into port. Turns out every neighborhood in Calgary must have streetnames that begin with the same syllable. In their neighborhood, that first syllable is "Strath" -- Strathmore, Strathcona, Strathcairn, Strathclair ...". Better not to get drunk and lose your bearings in that town.

We visited for a couple of hours, reminiscing and laughing. Steve suggested that we go out to eat in Canmore, giving us the opportunity to push a little farther west before stopping for the night. We had a delicious meal (fish & chips for Bob and me, burgers for all the Ryans, microbeer for most) at the Grizzly Paw. It was a thrill for us to reconnect with Al, Laurel and Steve. We missed Chrissie, though! Our adventure loving niece is in Melbourne, Australia.

Spending the night at the Radisson (Minnesota Carlson Companies hotel) in Canmore, a town that looks much like an Alpine village. We're surrounded by mountains; I fully expect to run into Christopher Plummer in liederhosen.

Good Morning, Alberta!

High River at Sunrise

I always feel proud when I see the Canadian flag, wherever I am. I feel compelled to tell the people around me, "That's my flag. I'm a Canadian". Yesterday I was a little teary as we crossed the border at Carway and were welcomed by bilingual notices and a large "Welcome to Alberta" sign.

Although I've lived in the US for nearly thirty years, I still follow Canadian news and, especially, politics. Last night I watched the CBC report on tomorrow's Québec election. Looking watching Canadian election returns Tuesday evening. Happy to be in Canada, though I kind of wish I were in  in Montréal on election night.

Today we woke to a another sparkling day, wondering about the thousands of birds we saw in the sky at dawn. I hope I can twist Bob's arm to visit the bird sanctuary in High River.