Easter Weekend

Jan is currently completing a five week 737 course in Calgary so Jersey and I flew out to visit for Easter. Normally Jan would have loved to escape the urban sprawled, dirt encrusted, culture lacking city but my mom and dad were in Red Deer so we decided to stick around for a visit.

Let's begin with my first impression of Calgary. Coming from Vancouver where it is green, lush, scenic (oh and the forecast called for twenty-two degrees for Easter weekend) .... I walked outside to blowing snow and -5. Needless to say, my first impression involved a few expletives. I noticed a few different things about Calgary:
* People go out for dinner at five
* There are seriously no trees or plants. (I am not making this up....I know that it's the prairies but has anyone heard of planting??
* They have giant signs on every building and the buildings lack any sort of interest architectually.

I know that Jan has not been enjoying his time in Calgary because a) he has no car to get anywhere and you need a car in Calgary b) the weather sucks and c) his hotel room leaves much to be desired d) he has been eating out for three weeks straight! (No kitchenette!) To make matters worse there are only chain restaurants located around where he is staying.

Despite this we had fun visiting with my mom and dad as well as my sister and her three children. Unfortunately the weather prevented us from going to the zoo, walking around the downtown core etc. etc. We spent some time shopping, eating and playing around in the hotel pool. Teresa, Daryl and I enjoyed battling it out on Guitar Hero. (PS2 game) Unfortunately I didn't have my camera to capture any of these moments.

Okay, okay I didn't actually go downtown so I'm in no position to comment accurately on Calgary. However, I had seen enough to know that I wasn't too interested in learning more about it. Instead Jan and I decided to rent a car and drive to Banff. Those of you who know me well know that I am obsessed with trees and mountains so you can appreciate my decision.

As a kid, our family drove to Alberta at least once a year to visit family and my dad's farm so I have spent a lot of time driving through the rockies, but still their grandiosity and splendour always make me feel terribly lucky. Yes, I live around the Coastal Mountains but the Rockies are different. They are rugged, rocky and seem more magical. I could sit quietly for days and soak in their beauty.



The peak from the Banff Townsite.













Beautiful ice crystals forming near the river during the spring thaw.















A close up of the ice crystals. I had never seen ice formed like this before and was quite excited about my new find!









The Banff Falls.












The Hoodoos. Nature still manages to shock me with its intricacies!