Travelog for: Dean

Hi Mum,

Today it was very warm...for Canadian standards, of course ...so we went for a nice walk to a place called Prairie Mountain. Soon after leaving the car park we could see the Elbow River meandering in the valley below .



Once we reached the top it wasn’t that warm anymore, the wind was bone chilling , but the view was great . We had lots of mountains in the West and South...




...and Moose Mountain in the North. smaug said that we might go there in a few weeks when the snow melts.



In the East we could see the prairies...and with a very good zoom you could even see Calgary in the distance...but not in this photo .

Hi Mum!

Today the weather wasn’t too bad, a bit windy actually , so we went visiting a new place between the mountains. We left the car at Barrier Lake and after a bit of walking we had a wonderful view over the lake...



...and of Kananaskis Valley .



Moving up towards the lookout the view opened on the foothills rolling down into the prairies in the East.



From the lookout we could see the Bow Valley carving its way into the Rockies.



On the way back we followed a trail that was always in a very thick forest, so I just spent the time chatting with the other TVs .

Hi Mum,

Today we all gathered together to say goodbye and wish a safe trip to Nijntje who tomorrow is going back home .

Hi Mum,

Today we were again up on the mountains . smaug said that we were going to a trail that hopefully should have been fairly clear of snow....in his dreams . On the road we found this sign and suggested that maybe it was a good idea to take the heed and turn back, but smaug said that we had nothing to worry about and went on .



Actually smaug was right, the first part of the trail was clear from snow, it was a mucky watercourse instead . But after wading through that for a good hour we reached a nice view point .




Later the landscape went back to usual, no shortage of fresh snow at all.



But it was worth the effort as we reached a place with an even nicer view .




The way back was, of course, very muddy, so I’ll spare you the details of that .

Hi Mum,

Today it was (eventually ) a very nice ad warm day, so we went for a long hike . We spent the first part of the day walking among the trees, but once we reached our destination the view was beautiful . Here you can see Lake Minnewanka...




...and some of the surrounding mountains.




On the way down we had a few more nice views.



As the day was lovely we stopped on the lake shore, where an eagle come down greeting us . It was Landroval, one of smaug’s TVs who just flew back from Japan. While smaug was resting in the sun we had plenty of time to chat .

Hi Mum,

Today we said goodbye to Mortimer_ who is going to spend some time at home in Greece for the summer....lucky him !

Hi Mum,

Today we welcomed a new guest who arrived in a very big parcel .



He’s name’s Red Navel and he comes from Russia....and he brought some lovely chocolate with him .

Hi Mum,

It’s just lke being at the train station here in Calgary this week, TVs going, TVs coming . Today there was another arrival:



Roderich , who comes from Germany. He brough over some lovely cereal bars and a flower chain in the German colours to cheer on Germany at the football world cup.....I wonder what smaug will have to say about that .

Hi Mum,

Today seemed to be a nice day so we went for a walk on the mountains. On the way to the trailhead we got pelted with rain and hail , but once we parked the car it was nice and sunny and the view was wonderful .



As we went up the weather started turning ugly.




Here we got a view of our destination for the day.



Unfortunately we couldn’t take any photo from the top as it started raining heavily, or was it snow ? On the way down we met again Landroval. sammino told him that you are waiting for him in the States, so he said goodbye to us, grabbed our lunch and just flew away.

Hi Mum!

Today we said goodbye and wished a safe trip to Etwas, who is travelling to Hong Kong, wow !

Hi Mum,

Today we were going for a trip on the mountains but, on the way, smaug noticed that there was something wrong with the car: we got a punctured tyre ! Of course we decided to change it with the spare tyre all by ourselves . Smaug said that we need to get a bit faster if we want to join a F1 pit crew , but I think we were great .



Too bad we had to come back to Calgary and get the tyre fixed, so the trip to the mountains was very short .

Hi Mum,

Today we went for a hike near Lake Louise to a mountain called Fairview Mt., so we hoped to find a nice view . And actually it was nice indeed .  Here we were resting after reaching the top.



Then I took a look around. That is Mount Victoria...



...here is the Bow Valley Looking north...



...Mt. Temple just in front of us...



...and that down there is Lake Louise.



Leaning out from a ledge we could see the Saddleback from where we passed on our way up .



On the way down we asked smaug to let us play a bit in the snow. How often can you play in the snow in July ?!

Hi Mum,

Today sammino disappeared for a few hours and when he got home he brought two new guests with him : HolgiHH, a nice donkey from Germany and Krystal, one of smaug’s TVs who will stay here a few days on Holiday. Of course we all gave them a warm welcome .

Hi Mum!

Today the weather was horrible so we just went for a short walk in downtown Calgary. Luckily it’s Stampede time, so there are plenty of places where you can snatch a free pancake breakfast around town . We found one where we could even stop eating indoor



Calgary has the world most extensive pedestrian skywalk system, so you can explore several kilometres of downtown without ever going outdoor. Here I was on a bridge with the Calgary Tower in the background.



Eventually we tried to go outside, but not for long .



We found some shelter in this big shopping center until it was time to go home.



The great thing of being a Toyvoyager is that, even when the sky started dropping golf-ball size hailstones on the head of our host, we were safely hidden in a rucksack .

Hi Mum!

Today we went visiting the Stampede Park ! First we got ready for the day with a filling breakfast. Krystal, HolgiHH and Sigfrido brought some delicious chocolate Madeleines from France that we quickly ate .



Just to be sure not to run short of energy we got also some bread and nutella .



On the way to the stampede park we passed through this nice park.



Eventually we arrived at our destination. First we checked out the Stampede Market where we found some nice “western” corners.



There was even plenty of food for me for a second breakfast .



Then we found this saddle. It was a bit too big for me, so I jumped on with the others.



Then we played with this chuck wagon...where I decided to be the passenger rather than the horse.



Later we explored a bit the park.




On the way home we decided to get some typical food found in every cattle ranch: cowboy popcorns !



Delicious .