Prince George

Playlist
Haydn – String Quartet Opus 64 No 6
Mozart – String Quartet in C K465 “Dissonance”
Roedelius – Lustwandel
Michael Rother – Radio
Various – Holiday Hits Vol 6
City and Colour – Sometimes

Firstly a very big Happy Birthday to my old mum back in Scotchland...

Day 9 of our trip, the last of the first half and I was up at 6:45 listening to string quartets and writing up my notes, then out into the expansive garden for some early morning photos...

Anne was up at 7:30 and, around an hour later, a lovely breakfast was delivered to our house - poached eggs with cheese along with toast, coffee, juice and mighty array of fruit...

We spent some time down at the lake before driving into town where we found the Mall – the BIG mall - and Anne availed herself of a new pair of trendy trainers while I bought two discs by City and Colour after being so impressed by their concert performance on TV yesterday...

We had lunch at the Taco Bell/KFC in a bout of flagrant North Americanism, followed by a Mars Caramel, which they don’t seem to do in the UK – it’s the best bit of a Mars Bar, the caramel, in a coat of thick chocolate – like a Mars Bar without the nougat...

Then, back to the Coliseum for the two o’clock kick off of today’s hockey game...

This time the Spruce Kings were untroubled by the Quesnel Millionaires, running out easy 8-0 winners...

There were six players sent off for fighting although each of the three fights did seem a little bit staged and the refs just let them get on with it till one of the combatants fell over...

Back to the house and out on the lake in the blazing sun in one of the pedalos...

Then to the same place as yesterday for tea, with your correspondent almost finishing off the biggest pizza in the world and the Executive Producer polishing off a huge chicken salad...

Tasty...

Home to the TV and the very strange “Gene Simmons Family Jewels”...



Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Boating on the lake

Jasper - Prince George

Playlist
Yes – Fragile
Various – Holiday Hits Vols 7, 6, 5 & 4
Chad Wackerman – Scream
Chad Wackerman – 40 Reasons

Up around 8 or so, packed and drove along to a place called Smithy’s for breakfast – sausages, egg (over-easy), two pancakes and lashings of coffee...

We popped into the station to ask at the Hertz desk about handing back the car on Monday but no-one was there so, after purchasing enough petrol for today’s trip, we started the long drive to Prince George, 370 km away through the Rockies...

Initially we followed the route our upcoming journey on Tuesday on the Rocky Mountaineer Train will take...

The weather was fairly cloudy, obscuring much of the view – we split off at Yellowhead Pass and headed North West, stopping off at the little town of McBride, where we enjoyed some refreshments at the station...

Then back on to the seemingly relentless road, before we stopped again at Lake Purden for a coffee in a little café whose highlight was its seven foot tall stuffed bear...

Not long to go now and we soon found our house on the shores of Tabor Lake – but there was no-one home...

So we drove on and into Prince George, stopping at the Tourist Office to ask what was what – we discovered there was to be an Ice Hockey game tonight and another tomorrow afternoon...

We asked what we ought to do now – Saturday, mid afternoon – and were told the best shops were on 4th and 5th Avenues – so we parked the car and took a look...

There were drunks and down and outs on the street and most of the shops were closed – to make matters worse it started to pour with rain – we’d driven all day to get here and it seemed to be a God-forsaken dump...

I did find a Chad Wackerman CD for $5 in a pawn shop though – so it wasn’t all bad!!

We drove back out of town towards our house and stopped off at the only restaurant in the area, where, sheltering from the now torrential rain, we enjoyed cold drinks and chicken quesadillas...

The rain receded and we drove back to the house to meet the lovely couple who would be our hosts for the next two days...

We were shown to a self contained and luxurious chalet in the wood next to their home, settled in quickly and relaxed with a little TV – during which I discovered a new Canadian band, City and Colour, apparently an offshoot of a famous (here) punk band, Alexis on Fire...

In the evening we drove back to Prince George for the hockey game and went to the stadium to which the Tourist Office had directed us, only to find it deserted...

Despite the beautiful house by the lake, we were a bit down re Prince George and proceeded to drive around aimlessly, looking for something, anything to do...

As luck would have it, at one point I wasn’t allowed to make a left turn and so went right and ended up in amongst a crowd of people coming from a car park – we rolled down the window and asked what was happening – we’d found the hockey game...

We’d not been to a game since trying to see Sparta Prague’s football team a few years back and, on finding the game had taken place the day before, ended up going to watch Sparta Prague’s Ice Hockey team instead...

The Prince George Spruce Kings were being beaten by the Quesnel Millionaires 2-1 with a minute to go – the Kings scored with 38 seconds on the clock, forced overtime and then scored the winner (they use “golden” goals in hockey) just 20 seconds or so into the extra period...

Over two hours of fun and we drove home in the darkness feeling not so bad about Prince George after all...

We were now committed Spruce Kings fans and intended to return for tomorrow afternoon’s re-match...

Filled up the tank again on the way home, ready for the journey back on Monday...

Finished off the day with an episode of “Seinfeld”, before retiring around midnight, now eight hours behind Edinburgh...



Highlight of the Day : Ice hockey and the lake at our door...

Jasper (2)

Playlist
Uriah Heep – Sweet Freedom
Yes – The Yes Album
Various – Holiday Hits Vols 9 & 8
David Reilly – Anthology Vols 6 & 7
Allan Holdsworth – Secrets

Our second and final full day in Jasper and we experienced sun, clouds, heat, wind and heavy rain...

Up at 6:30 and out again for breakfast and lunch provisions...

We left the house at 9 and headed South, this time to Marmot Basin, driving up the steep winding hill to the ski-resort – only to find the road closed around halfway up due to it not being the ski-ing season...

So back down we drove and further on found the turning for Edith Cavell Mountain and took this road which was even steeper and more winding...

A good drive with some wonderful scenery – we stopped at one point to see a rainbow over the valley...

At the top, we encountered a cheeky Nutcracker bird which was trying to get food by luring people away from their sandwiches by looking cute then flying past them to grab the food – ingenious...

Ground squirrels were also in attendance...

At the top of the mountain we walked to Angel Glacier and the Cavell Glacier – and, like the glacier encountered on the way up from Banff, some of the sights suggested to me what tourism on a faraway planet might look like...

We drove back down the mountain and continued in a southerly direction to the Athabasca Falls, a popular area for white water rafting – we didn’t partake though being too cowardly...

Back home for some coffee, then out to see more nearby lakes, Edith and Annette – many places in the area seem to be named after Queen Victoria’s family members...

We returned to the town and took a look around the (predominantly souvenir) shops before heading into the Downstream Bar...

Here, we enjoyed a couple of excellent burgers and beers before a power cut signalled the onset of a rainstorm – apparently such situations are quite common – the darkness lasted around 45 minutes or so but candles were on hand...



We made our way home through the rain and watched some baseball – Blue Jays Vs Yankees – trying to work out just how it was different to rounders...

To bed and slept till 6:15 without interruption...

Highlight of the Day : Mountains. Lakes and glaciers...

Jasper

Playlist
Roy Harper – Bullinamingvase
Brian Eno – Here Come the Warm Jets
Brian Eno – Taking Tiger Mountain
Brian Eno – Another Green World
Various – Holiday Hits Vols 12, 11 & 10

Another collage today – sitting around for Blogger to deign to upload the pics is a real pain...

Click to see more detail...



Up at 6:01 dressed and out, leaving Anne sleeping...

As I walked along the street, two elk strolled along towards me – I sidestepped onto the road allowing them to pass on the pavement and, just as last night, they hopped into the municipal flowerbeds for a feed...

Quite normal for Jasper apparently but a strange yet enjoyable experience for me...

To the internet café and caught up with my e-mails before going round the corner to the delightful Bear’s Paw Bakery for breakfast and lunch provisions...

Wrote up the diary whilst enjoying some excellent coffee...

Then walked back home for breakfast around 8...

Out at 9 and off to nearby Maligne Canyon which we walked around in about 30 minutes...

As we left the car park we were flagged down by a Hispanic couple from Los Angeles who advised their tour bus had left without them and could we take them back to Jasper – we took pity and agreed, putting ourselves a good 45 minutes behind schedule...

They gave us five American Dollars for our trouble – pretty useless in Canada but appreciated nonetheless...

So we retraced our route to the canyon and headed on to Medicine Lake, so called because the Indians (or rather, First Nations, as the Canadians like to refer to them) couldn’t understand why the water level all but disappeared in winter...

The lake has underground drainage which more than compensates for input from the surrounding glaciers in winter but which can’t cope as well with the overflow in summer as the glaciers melt...

On to Maligne Lake where we forewent the offer of a boat trip for $47 each and, instead, walked around the lake and found a seat on a jetty – where a squirrel gave me a bit of shock by jumping onto my thigh without warning, as I sat enjoying the view...

We lunched in the car on the tasty sandwiches from the Bear’s Paw Bakery, before heading back to Jasper where we rested before driving to yet another Lake, Beauvert, which we walked round in its entirety, past the lush golf course and holiday resort on its shores...

An early dinner of fish’n’chips was enjoyed at the Whistler Inn before driving up to Pyramid Lake in the mountains above the town...

We saw more elk here and visited the island in the middle of the lake before heading back to town again, where we saw the two elk from last night again – feeding on Jasper’s Community Flower Displays...

Our wildlife spotting was completed by the sight of two large deer grazing in a front garden in the centre of town while the owner looked on nonchalantly, sipping from a mug of tea...

Home and watched Larry King on TV re Obama’s acceptance speech...

To bed around 11 and slept till an unprecedented 6:10 am – jet lag wearing off at last?

Highlight of the Day : Lakes and wildlife...

Banff - Jasper

Playlist
Various – Holiday Hits Vols 15, 14 & 13
Roy Harper – HQ

Day five and another day on the road – but what a road...

Known as the Icefields Parkway, it was to take us today from Banff up to Jasper, our base for the next couple of days...

Up at 7 and breakfast just after 8 then packed, paid, to Safeway again for sandwiches, the Gas Station for petrol – then out onto the long road up to Jasper...

We drove beyond yesterday’s farthest point at Lake Louise and headed on up into the Rockies, north through the snow-capped mountains into Jasper National Park...

Countless lakes and, apparently, over 100 glaciers lined the route....

We stopped at Hector Lake, from which we ought to have been able to see Mt. Balfour and the Waputik Range to the southwest, but the weather was less than clear unfortunately...

We did however see the Crowfoot Glacier, which once resembled a crow’s foot, with three large toe-like extensions....

One of them's now disappeared but it's still mighty impressive...

Then, on to the highest point of the Parkway, Bow Summit, which offered up a superb panorama down onto Peyto Lake below....

Then, to the Mistaya Canyon, where we walked down a steep hill to see the river run through some tight rocky formations....

We stopped for lunch at the Saskatchewan River Crossing, from where we continued northwest to the Columbia Icefield and the Athabasca Glacier...

We decided not to take the bus onto the glacier but to walk to it on foot instead where, despite all the warnings of impending death by freezing after falling into a crevasse, everyone seemed to be walking around on the glacier...

So, of course, your correspondent had to follow suit – I was promptly up to my ankles in glacial mud but did make it onto the glacier, if only briefly...

I then had to sit by the freezing stream alongside it to try and clean my boots – I was convinced I had frostbite in the fingers of my right hand as we walked back to the information centre a half a mile or so away for a warming hot chocolate...

I soldiered on gallantly (after being an idiot of course) for the last 60 miles to Jasper...

What a great little town, much more “natural” than the tourist trap of Banff...

We had our own basement flat here, but without breakfast – and, after dumping the bags, we took a walk around the town, stopping in at the Whistler Inn for a couple of drinks...

We met some retired ladies from Scotland who advised they’d seen deer down at the railroad tracks last night – so, off out we went and, sure enough, there they were, two Elk ambling along the line before heading into town to chomp at the municipal flowerbeds...

To celebrate, we went by the Jasper Pizza Place for tea - a very fiery Mexican Pizza was your correspondent's possibly unwise choice - though it could not be faulted tast and texture-wise...

We headed home to bed around 10pm...

I managed a record sleep to 4:38 am...

We saw some absolutely wonderful scenery today along with some reasonably sized wildlife at last – but Blogger.com is playing silly buggers with the picture posting so here’s a wee collage...

I’ve been trying to post this for three days now but the server won’t seem to allow my individual pics to go up and I can’t be bothered waiting any longer...



The pizza was better than it looks!

Highlight of the day : Everything except the glacial mud...

Banff

Playlist
Gentle Giant – The Power and the Glory
Uriah Heep – Demons and Wizards
Uriah Heep – The Magician’s birthday
Various – Holiday Hits Vols 17 & 16
Grand Funk – E Pluribus Funk
Grand Funk – Phoenix
Grand Funk – We’re An American Band
Sarah Harmer – We Were Here
Roy Harper – Valentine

Up at 7 after listening to the jukebox for around four hours....

Breakfast at 8 – another monster meal with home baking, today in the company of a German couple along with our Italian hosts...

The Germans had yesterday made the trip we planned today and were carrying out today the trip we were to undertake tomorrow – it seems everyone in the national parks follow the same routes – not surprising as there’s really only one road...

We picked up some sandwiches from Safeway...



...and drove through the rain to Lake Louise...



...where the weather brightened up considerably but was still crisp and Alpine...

We walked round this beautiful lake, with me snapping pics all along the way to the flats the far end...















Then we walked all the way back again...



We drove back towards Banff and stopped off at nearby Moraine Lake, said by many to be even more picturesque than Lake Louise – and I think they are probably correct...











The sky became more and more blue as the day progressed but we still experienced light flurries of snow as we bade farewell to the second lake of the day and headed back towards Banff...

We stopped on the way at Johnston Canyon and walked the mile and a half or so up to the waterfalls...







Prior to re-entering Banff, we took a turn away from the town and drove the steep road up Norquay Mountain from where we enjoyed our fourth set of spectacular scenery of the day...



In the evening we visited Wild Bill’s for a “peyto” mushroom burger for me and chicken wrap for Anne before taking a constitutional round the town for the last time, stopping in at a wee bar off main street where a large crowd of Japanese kids were busy getting very drunk and filming each other doing so - I think I make a cameo appearance in one of the videos but don't suppose I'll ever know for sure...

Back home I was soon asleep again but woke at 1 a.m. and, once again, snoozed for the remainder of the night whilst listening to the trusty Jukeboxes, accompanied by occasional train whistles and horns through the night...



Highlight of the Day : The scenery...

Calgary - Banff

Playlist
The Bad Plus – Prog
Happy Apple – Happy Apple Back on Top
Various – Holiday Hits Vols 19 & 18
Sarah Harmer - A Collection of Songs
David Reilly – Anthology Vols 5 & 6

Up at 7 am and out and down to the river and wrote up my diary notes...

Back for breakfast at 8:30 and the man from the B&B took our photo and gave it to us a few moments later...



Obviously, this has been doctored to protect the not so innocent..

Another big breakfast and then we were off, having paid slightly less than we’d expected...

We took the scenic route towards the Rockies but there’s only one road into the Banff National Park and it cost us $100 for our entry Pass for the next five days...



We arrived in Banff around 11:15 and our Italian hosts at CasaBanff (on the corner of Moose St and Squirrel St!!) showed us to an excellent suite where we unloaded the bags before heading out to the Bow Falls on the edge of town...



This was the self same river which flowed past the garden of our house in Calgary...

We took some pictures and saw our first wildlife of the trip, a red squirrel...



...and a Mountie...



Then we drove to the other end of town and on out to Minnewanka Lake where we spotted more wildlife in the form of a ground squirrel and a four horned sheep stranded out on a road at the end of the lake, where it was later joined by more of its herd...



After a refreshing ice cream we walked on and down to the shore of the lake and some breath-taking views...



Then back to town and a stroll along Main Street which comprises almost entirely souvenir shops...



We found ourselves in an Irish Pub, something we’d never dream of frequenting at home, but there were Canadian beers to be tried of which Anne had two and I had three...



I was tempted to buy a watch from the $15 Boutique but what chance would there be of it working for long if it only cost £7.50?

So, instead, I bought a CD by Canadian songstress Sarah Harmer for $10 – an infinitely better souvenir of Canada!



Back home and changed (and listened to the Harmer compilation I already have on the jukebox) before heading out for our evening meal (again, no lunch had been required due to the size of the breakfast)...

But we were foiled by the queue at The Old Spaghetti Factory and so we returned to the Irish Pub for more beer try-outs and some excellent fayre with a previously untried dish of liver and onions for me and a spicy chicken and mango salad for Anne...

When we emerged it was pouring with rain...



We made it home fairly quickly and I was asleep by 8pm while Anne perused the Weather Channel re the days ahead...

I awoke at 3am (it seems I’m sleeping an hour longer each night) and snoozed with music till the morning, hearing the sound of train horns through the night as they passed through the town...



Highlight of the Day : Sitting by the lake...

Calgary

Playlist
The Bad Plus – Give
The Bad Plus – Suspicious Activity
Various – Holiday Hits Vol 20

Up around 7 and wrote up my notes and read about Calgary before breakfast at 8:30, which comprised cereal, coffee and fruit juice plus French toast with bacon, banana and blueberries along with a bagel and home made jam!!

Yummy...

Drove into town as there was ample parking on a Sunday...

We parked at Chinatown and walked back over the bridge which had taken us over the river (the same river which flowed by the back garden of “our” house) into Downtown, to get a good picture of the city centre...



Then we walked down to the Calgary Tower and took the elevator to the top from where we were rewarded with spectacular views of the sprawling city and the Rocky Mountains in the distance...



There is a glass floored section but I must admit it took me rather a long time to get around to standing on it...

Of course, small children were dancing around on it while I looked on, quaking and building up my courage...

Eventually, after firstly placing a rather tentative left foot on it, I took the plunge, so to speak, and I convinced Anne to do the same...



After leaving the tower, we walked to the market at the river bank where I purchased new sunglasses, having just broken those brought with me, during my exuberant photo taking at the top of the tower...

We walked on over a bridge to the small island in the middle of the river with its lush park and enjoyed a seat just taking in the views...



No need for lunch after the huge breakfast...

We then walked along the river bank back past Chinatown and on out to the Calgary Fort on the outskirts of the city centre – this tells the story of the founders of the city just a hundred and twenty or so years ago...



We walked back to town and through a mall which features a full botanical garden on its fourth floor – the Devonian Gardens...



From there, we returned to the car and drove to what was billed in the guidebook as the bohemian area of the city, Inglewood...

It was a bit rundown but did have some interesting boutiques...

You may find it difficult to believe, but I do not know what the inside of this building looks like...

We found ourselves in the Swan bar where I enjoyed a root beer while Anne was able to partake of some alcohol to cool down in the heat of the day...



Music played during our visit included classics from the early 70’s by the likes of Yes, Bad Company, Golden Earring and Neil Young...

Nice...

We drove home for a sleep, still suffering from jet-lag – before heading out to what has apparently been a staple of the neighbourhood since the early 1970s, "Nick’s Steak House & Pizza" (opposite the Calgary Football Stadium) and enjoyed a tasty meal (Philly Steak Sandwich/Lasagne) with more Root Beer for me...



We were served by “Eric” and a more sincere waiter you could not wish to find - a very strange phenomenon for cynical Brits like us...

Home to bed by nine (4am Crispycat Time) absolutely whacked...

Of course I awoke at 2am and, once again unable to get back to sleep, I snoozed for the rest of the night whilst listening to the jukebox...

Highlight of the Day : Standing on air...

Edinburgh-Glasgow-Calgary

Playlist
King Crimson – The Law of Maximum Distress (2-CD-R)
King Crimson – Heavy ConstruKction
David Reilly – Anthology Vols 1-4
Rheostatics – Melville
Rheostatics – Whale Music
Rheostatics – Introducing Happiness
Gentle Giant – Octopus
Gentle Giant – In a Glass House

Today, Anne and I were off to Canada for a trip to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary, which doesn’t actually occur until October – but it’d be too cold by then of course...

Up at 5:30 and left Crispycat Towers at 6:30 driving over to Glasgow and on to my adopted hometown of Paisley, for Airport Parking...

A short minibus drive took us to the Airport where we had the quickest check-in I can remember...

Breakfast of coffee and croissants was unrushed due to the long check-in-to-take-off period and by the fact that the flight was delayed by, a very bearable, 45 minutes...

Having played the same six numbers in the National Lottery since its inception, we cannot now of course stop, otherwise, to find that our numbers had come up would be rather bad news – so, having discovered the only machine at the airport was out of order, a text to sister-in-law Jane secured our entries over the next three weeks...

(The fact that I’m still writing this should be taken as a clue as to our success or otherwise...)

Kylie Minogue was the first recipient of our holiday spending money, as the executive producer partook of one of the diminutive songstress’s perfumes in Duty Free...

After what seemed a long wait, during which I was mainly accompanied by the improvising of the 1973/4 line up of King Crimson, we were called to the gate and the plane took off around an hour behind schedule – no complaints from us though – we were underway...

A very comfortable flight, which lasted around eight hours, followed, as we flew to the Western regions of Canada, our first stop being Calgary, Alberta...

We were entertained for 90 minutes by the recent animated film “Kung Fu Panda”, which wasn’t that great, but passed the time – as did the various meals, unlimited soft drinks and coffees...

I also watched “Million Dollar Baby” without sound, understanding reasonably well, the rather clichéd story (apologies if it’s actually a true story)...

Rather too early than we ought to have been, I thought we were crossing the shore of Canada – of course I realised later it was Greenland - we were taking an Arctic route...

The vista from the window changed as we moved West until we finally touched down at Calgary and passed through the minimal customs...



We were out from baggage collection in record time, only to face a 40 minute queue at the Hertz desk...

Once at the front of the queue, we were told it’d be a further 25 minutes if we wanted the small car we’d ordered – instead they offered what was described as “a truck” (with a free tank of petrol to compensate for the worse fuel economy)...

However, the huge car we accepted wasn’t in the garage downstairs and we were quickly directed to a Ford Edge, a large SUV which was extremely comfortable and very easy to drive – even with my hand injury still smarting from over a week ago at the fives...

Our first lodgings were over on the other side of the city and we took the Trans Canadian Highway for a 40 minute drive and found the house no problem...

As soon as our bags were in our room, we were offered home-made lemonade and directed to the Bow River down at the end of the garden, where we sat and relaxed in the sun, watching people out for a fun afternoon, floating down the water on boats and rafts...



A great start...

We drove to the nearby Park and Ride (where we saw the strange sight of a fully grown hare bounding through the car park) and caught a train downtown...

It was 5 in the afternoon – midnight back home and we were a little tired to say the least...

But we took a walk through the centre of town, viewing the Calgary Tower...



...and the shining buildings which have sprung up due to the local Oil Industry...



...before sitting outside The Unicorn Pub to enjoy a burger each, lamb for Anne, and a Buffalo Burger for me...

Tasty...

By the time we got back home, it was almost three in the morning our time and we retired for the day at around 8pm with the sun still shining outside...

Of course I awoke at 1am and couldn’t get back to sleep, spending the rest of the night dozing whilst listening to the trusty Jukebox...

So far, so good...

Highlight of the Day : Arriving in Canada...