Corn fields, wheat fields and cattle ranches

Medicine Hat to Calgary

Whew! We have traveled days and many hundreds of miles across prairie lands featuring cornfields, wheat fields and cattle ranches. The scenery changed on Saturday as we neared Calgary, AB. The fields became green and the terrain changed to rolling hills. Calgary is a large city , pop. 1.2 mil and has very high density housing. While on the plains we would see a farm every three to four miles. We are now seeing houses built right next to each other and filling the hill sides.

On Saturday after getting set up in the campground we visited the Olympic Village. Calgary was the site for the 1988 Winter Olympics. There is still some snow on the ski slopes although not enough for skiing. The venue is 26 years old but they are still using it  for winter and summer activities. During the summer they have mountain biking where they haul mountain biles up the ski tows and bikers ride the trails down. They also have a form of luge where again the luge carts are hauled up the ski tows and ridden down a path.

Olympic Park, Calgary, May 24
Note the snow banks on the mogul hills and downhill slopes!

Olympic Park, Calgary, May 24
The tower is the giant ski jump--still some snow piles on the other ski venues

On Sunday we visited the downtown area of Calgary. The city is very modern with high rise apartments and office buildings. The architecture is very modernistic with different colored and surface treatments.

Downtown Calgary, Alberta, CA

Calgary Skyline from Olympic Park

Calgary's "Space Needle"

There is a promenade in the center of town with restaurants and shops.

Stephen Street in downtown Calgary

The guys find some "friends" on Stephen Street, Calgary

The ladies get their chance to pose!

This city is know for the Calgary Stampede that happens every July. We visited the venue for the stampede but were not able to get into any of the buildings.

Mural on one of the Stampede buildings.

Today we are headed North into our first Canadian National Park and continued journey to Alaska.