| My husband and I try to go skiing for a week | | | | skiing.....Two outstanding attractions are |
| at least once a year and so far we've been to | | | | the historic Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and |
| about 15 different ski resorts on the east | | | | the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and I had an |
| coast, anywhere from Ontario to Quebec, New | | | | opportunity to explore both these magnificent |
| Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. But we had | | | | structures in detail. Canada's history is |
| never been out west in the Rockies. Well, it | | | | inextricably intertwined with the history of |
| was time to change that..... | | | | the railroads. The Canadian Pacific Railroad |
| | | | played a key role in opening up the west and |
| So we planned a trip to the Canadian | | | | these castle-like railway hotels figured |
| Rockies, and for both of us it was the first | | | | prominently in Canada's development of the |
| time for us to see this majestic mountain | | | | West Coast. |
| range. Just after we landed on March 4, 2006 | | | | |
| we started off with a whirlwind four-hour | | | | Last Friday a wonderful adventure provided |
| tour of Calgary to get a sneak peak at | | | | the highlight of my trip: I went dogsledding |
| Canada's Heart of the New West. Our extremely | | | | with Snowy Owl Adventures on a crisp |
| knowledgeable tour guide took us to the | | | | crystal-blue winter day, high in the |
| Calgary Tower, Fort Calgary and past the | | | | mountains above the town of Canmore.Our |
| Stampede Grounds and Calgary's Saddledome. Of | | | | adventure was almost over, but I had one more |
| course Canada Olympic Park was one of the | | | | chance for exploration: on Saturday I took |
| main attractions on this tour. | | | | the gondola up to Sulphur Mountain from where |
| | | | I got a perfect 360 degree panoramic view of |
| The same evening we enjoyed a wonderful | | | | Banff and the surrounding mountain ranges. I |
| Italian feast at Il Giardino on 4th Street | | | | checked out the Cosmic Ray Station and after |
| and we had a chance to get to know one of | | | | a brief forest hike past the Banff Springs |
| Calgary's most successful entrepreneurs. We | | | | Hotel, I visited the Banff Park Museum, one |
| enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of Deirdre | | | | of Canada's oldest natural history museums. |
| and Henry Brost at the historic Twin Gables | | | | |
| Bed & Breakfast and got a huge surprise at | | | | Our Alberta explorations were rapidly coming |
| breakfast when we realized we were enjoying | | | | to an end, and just before we headed to the |
| our morning meal with two big celebrities | | | | airport we went on one final walk through |
| (you'll have to read the article to find out | | | | Calgary and explored the famous +15 walkway |
| which famous people shared the B&B with | | | | system that keeps Calgary visitors sheltered |
| us....).After breakfast we walked all the way | | | | from the harsh winter air. We also explored a |
| from the Twin Gables to downtown from where I | | | | beautiful tropical hideaway called Devonian |
| took the C-Train to get to the Kensington | | | | Gardens....Along the way we got to explore |
| area, one of Calgary's main restaurant and | | | | some great skiing, magnificent mountain |
| shopping areas. I had a brief lunch at a | | | | scenery and historic buildings, the |
| Vietnamese restaurant called Indochine Bistro | | | | exuberance of a dog-sledding team raring to |
| where I found out that the young owner had | | | | go and the outstanding hospitality of the |
| originally come to Canada as a refugee from | | | | people of Alberta. We'll be back.....Susanne |
| Vietnam. What an amazing success story: from | | | | Pacher is the publisher of a website called |
| Vietnamese boat person to successful Calgary | | | | Travel and Transitions ( Travel and |
| restauranteur.... | | | | Transitions deals with unconventional travel |
| | | | and is chock full of advice, tips, real life |
| Then it was time to head west on the | | | | travel experiences, interviews with |
| Transcanada Highway to our destination for | | | | travellers and travel experts, insights and |
| the next week: Banff, a picturesque town | | | | reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests |
| nestled inside the famous Banff National | | | | and many other features. You will also find |
| Park, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Of | | | | stories about life and the transitions that |
| course we went skiing and we had a chance to | | | | we face as we go through our own personal |
| check out 3 major ski resorts: perfectly | | | | life-long journeys.Submit your own travel |
| groomed Norquay, high altitude Sunshine | | | | stories in our first travel story contest ( |
| Village - located on the Continental Divide, | | | | and have a chance to win an amazing adventure |
| and the unbelievably huge and scenic ski area | | | | cruise on the Amazon River."Life is a Journey |
| of Lake Louise. Well, there is definitely | | | | Explore New Horizons". |
| something to be said for West Coast | | | | |