Travelog for: Red Navel

Hi Mum,

I am in Canada! Today I felt some excitement around my parcel after smaug brought me home from the post office.



It turned out that they were the TVs staying here: Dean, Etwas and Spooky are guests like me, while sammino is a stay at home TV. It seems that they all very much appreciated the goodies I brought with me .

Hi Mum,

I am not the only new guest here in Calgary as 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 Landroval one of smaug’s TVs who is spending some time on the Rockies. sammino told him that there is a nice host  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 straw to play with...



Then we played cowtoyvoyagers with  this saddle.



We also found a chuckwagon...



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 .

Hi Mum,

Today the weather was gorgeous, so we went for another walk in downtown Calgary . On the way we took a picture of some of the skyscrapers.



Later we grabbed another free pancake breakfast...why isn’t  it always stampede time ?



Once we had a full belly , we went visiting the Calgary Tower. It might not be so obvious in the photos , but the view was great !

Hi Mum!

Today we went visiting Banff . Here we were comfortably settled in the car.



The drive was a bit long, but eventually we arrived close to our destination...



...and entered town.



We spent most of the day dodging showers , but we managed to walk a bit along the River Bow without getting too drenched.




Here you can see the Bow falls .



Later we got a glimpse of the Banff Springs Hotel, one of the most luxurious resorts of the Rockies .



Eventually it was time to go back home. On the road we got a bit scared when we saw a truck driving the wrong way on the highway towards us ...



...but it was just being towed .

Hi Mum!

Today we went visiting the Dinosaur Provincial Park: we were very excited at the idea of meeting a T-Rex strolling on the road . The drive was long and a bit boring, so we spent most of the time chatting.



We also stopped to take a couple of pictures at the prairies.




Eventually we reached dour destination . Here the prairies are carved deeply by the Red Deer River and its tributaries, so there are plenty of these deep gorges with luscious vegetation at the bottom.




At some points the landscape turns quite “lunar” .




Disappointingly, we didn’t meet any dinosaur walking around , just a lot of information panels describing all the different skeletons (an awful lot apparently) that were dug out in this area.

Hi Mum,

Today we all gathered together to say goodbye to Krystal and Sigfrido who are on their way back to France.

Hi Mum,

This week end we are in Jasper and today we immediately explored a bit around the town . First we jumped on the Jasper Tramway that took us up a mountain with a lovely view of the valley.



With a short walk we reached the top of a nearby mountain called The Whistlers, and the view was even better .




This peak is called The Whistlers because of the sheer number of Whistling Marmots living here. They didn’t seem to inclined to take a photo a with us , but we managed to at least take a decent shot of one of them.



Later we moved a bit on the side of the peak to enjoy more views.



Here you can see Jasper again with the Upper Station of the Jasper Tramway...



...and here is the ridge that we walked on to get o the top .



From the opposite side of the mountain we could see in the haze the Athabasca Valley, with the Athabasca River being that silver ribbon on the valley floor.



What a great day !

Hi Mum,

Today we were supposed to visit a glacier, but the weather had other plans so after trying to reach it and getting drenched in the process we had to change destination. So we checked out a little lake near Jasper town called Lake Annette. Nice place, and it wasn’t raining .




In the background you can see a green space. There was actually a beach there with someone swimming in the lake, crazy people !



Back to our hotel we gathered some wood...



...and decided to use the fireplace .



Unfortunately smaug said that the room was already warm enough and we just have to chat imagining to sit in front of a fire .