Day 13 - July 27th - Lake Louise - Calgary

Rockies Trip - Day 13 - July 27th

Lake Louise - Calgary..... and Farewell to Friends!

Inevitably, the time we spent with our friends from the U.K. was coming to an end. Saddened to leave the mountains which brought me to Canada in the first place, we packed the car and left Lake Louise, cheered by the warmth of the sun and the bright, clear blue sky that lie ahead of us.

Not long out of town, on the Bow Valley Parkway, we crossed the river over a bridge upon which was built an eagle's eyrie. There were at least 3 adult birds in the nest and I just missed filming one of the rarest spectacles in nature. I had just been recording their movement in the nest, trying to catch the sound of their calls. A few seconds after I stopped recording, a fourth eagle - with wings at full span - descended upon the nest and dropped a live fish it had just caught into the nest before continuing its flight. I watched as it then chased off a blue heron in a battle in the sky, which it won with ease. I was in awe of these birds of prey and felt so fortunate to have witnessed something which I have only seen in documentaries. Here's a link to a short movie I was able to take. Eagle chasing Blue Heron.

On our way out to Banff, a week before, we had stopped in to Canmore and decided that we'd like to show Alan and Elaine this quaint town, with its own charm. A busy town, with a mining history, it shows itself off proudly - both architecturally and culturally.

Of particular interest to me was the old barracks of the North West Mounted Police. The NWMP provided support for the successful construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the subsequent settlemens ot Western Canada. It would eventually merge with the Dominion Police in the East to form the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1920.

Upon leaving Canmore, we passed a few more mountains before entering the foothills and the rolling hills of the farmland.

The mountains speak to something deep within me and, as I mentioned earlier, they played a huge part in my decision to immigrate to this wonderful country, back in 1989, after I had taken the (then VIA) train from Calgary to Vancouver. It was a journey I will never forget and I am drawn to return here whenever we can. Luckily for me, Mark also loves the scenery and wildlife and so, I have a feeling that not too much time will pass before we find ourselves here again.



Speaking of Mark - he was delighted to see a deer on the side of the road. It's almost as if he was receiving a little message saying, 'Please some back soon!'






We took a detour through Cochrane and the northern ridge which overlooks the valley and gives a nice glimpse of Calgary on its approach to the city. This picture was actually taken from the south ridge, along which we traveled later on in the day.




Happily checked in to their hotel room Downtown, Alan and Elaine rejoined us and, as we had time to spare before meeting up with Sylvia, we decided we would go to visit one of the attractions just outside the city which they probably would not have had the time to do over the next few days before they fly back to the U.K. We gave them a choice of the Calgary Zoo or Heritage Park - and they chose the latter.

We enthusiastically set up the GPS to take us there, but forgot to check the hours of operation! Hence, once we arrived at the admissions booth, we found out that the park would be closing in just over an hour. So, we decided to take in a movie instead. We got to the theatre just in time for the next showing of 'Begin Again', a cute little movie with a musical theme - not, itself, a 'musical'. It was enjoyable with good performances from Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley.

We arrived at Sylvia's just after 7 p.m. and had a lovely BBQ along with her friend Pat. Great meal, and enlivened conversation, recalling the previous week and sharing memories of events on both sides of the Pond. We took our British visitors back to their hotel and bade them a fond farewell, with promises to 'not leave it so long' before we met again.

Tomorrow, we drop of the rental car, then head to the airport to head homeward bound, via Winnipeg.