Visitors Impressions of Alberta

Sender: lbruce@micron.net

I visited Banff for the first time January 13th 1990 and stayed at the Banff Springs Hotel which was spectacular. I met by "future" husband at the Works Nightclub in the hotel. I was visiting from Calif. and he was a local Calgarian. We were married 11 months later and will always be greatful for the beauty and romance we experienced in Banff. Although we now live in Idaho, we try to visit Calgary every year during the greatest outdoor show, The Calgary Stampede!

Sender: "CHRIS. LEONG"

I was in Alberta for about a week in early Jan '93. My memories of the places visited (Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise, Edmonton) and people met have left me wanting to return for a longer stay!

It was my first experience of a REALLY cold Canadian winter (it was -35 C in Banff). I was travelling with my brother and 2 Canadian friends who met us in Calgary (1 night) and took us to Banff (2 nights), Lake Louise (1 night) and Edmonton (3 nights).

Being off-peak season, we were lucky to obtain excellent room rates (~$100/room) at CP hotels. The Banff Springs Hotel is full of grandeur, and looked rather mystical nestled in the snowy Canadian Rockies, especially at dusk. We did a little pub crawl at the hotel, did some shopping in town, drove around to find that "postcard spot" of Banff Springs Hotel (which we did find eventually), sampled some local cuisine in town, and checked out the 42 shops/boutiques in the basement of the hotel. We did do some sightseeing around the area, and had the weather permitted, we would have taken the cable-car ride up to the mountains. Sulphur Springs was closed the day we went, (but at least "we've been there" ):)

Chateau Lake Louise and Lake Louise were both unforgettable, even if the lake was covered in ice. The room at the Chateau was smaller, but even so, the lakeviews from the room made it all worthwhile. We had morning and afternoon tea at the Chateau, and sampled some wonderful desserts and fondue also.

Edmonton was fun. We did some shopping at the West Edmonton Mall, was taken for a city tour at night, and enjoyed the warm Canadian hospitality, before heading for Vancouver on an overnight VIA Rail trip (which I'd recommend anyone to try, as the sights thru the Rockies are absolutely unforgettable).

I would love to return to the Banff and Lake Louise. Due to time constraints, we didn't venture as far as Jasper. I do have plans to return to Canada, to definitely see more of your beautiful country.

[For those considering going to Alberta, I've only 2 words for you: DO IT!]

From: "James J. Murawski"

First of all, I'm from Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh area). I have been to Alberta twice, in 1987, and 1993. I'm one of those easterners who likes living in the east, but loves visiting and vacationing in the mountains in the west. My parents got me hooked on vacationing in the mountains when I was growing up. We hit all the major central U.S. National Parks on that first trip. Since then, I've been in the U.S. Rockies, California Sierras, Canadian Rockies, and Alaska/Yukon. Anyway, back in the mid-80s, I had wanted to go to the Canadian Rockies. In October, 1986, I was flying to a seminar in San Francisco on United Air Lines via Chicago. The Chicago- San Francisco flight was overbooked, and volunteers who would take the next flight in a couple of hours would get a free United round trip ticket good in the U.S. & Canada. I used it the next summer to fly to Calgary.

My first trip to the area was for 9 days in August, 1987, with beginning and ending points in Calgary. I was alone on that trip, and used it as a feeler trip for a future longer trip. In those 9 days, I visited all the National Parks in the wider area, including Waterton Lakes, Glacier (MT), Kootenay, Yoho, Banff, Jasper, Glacier (BC), and Mt. Revelstoke! I truly enjoyed that trip, even though it was fast-paced. I found Western Canadians to be extremely friendly folks, and, of course, the scenery was breathtaking. Your city, Calgary, is beautiful.

In 1988, I got married, and told my wife that we'd have to vacation in the Canadian Rockies in the next few years. Well, in 1989, we spent three weeks in Alaska & the Yukon, but last August, we spent 16 days in the Canadian Rockies. We visited the exact same National Parks that I did in 1987, but at a much more leisure pace, and in a rented RV. Again, I really enjoyed that trip, and my wife really enjoyed it, also. We had the RV for 14 days, and we spent the extra two days in Edmonton (just had to see the monster of a mall) and Calgary with a rental car.

Our daughter will be four in a few months, and when she's older, we'd like to take her "out west", to both the U.S. Rockies and Canadian Rockies.

I, along with some buddies, are Penguins season-ticket holders. Occasionally, we go on "road trips" to see the Pens on the road. A goal of mine is to go on a "road trip" one of these years when the Pens make their annual trip to western Canada, Calgary/Edmonton/Vancouver.

In closing, I do want to say that your "corner of the world" is a place that I'll always enjoy visiting, because the folks are so friendly, and the geography is breathtaking.

Jim Murawski

From: Icono.Clast@f219.n914.z8.rbbs-net.ORG

Hit Calgary during the Stampede. A guy in a bar explained the Chuck Wagon races to me so I knew how to look at them when I saw them. A guy serving me pancakes in the street told me his vehicle was a chuck wagon. I danced in the street, too.

Lake Louise is nice and so is the hotel there.

The Columbia Ice Fields ought be missed by no-one! The hotel there lied to us saying there was no vacancy. Then the snow started falling. Got a nice room at a www.nt price.

Jasper National Park, for me, has the finest mountain scenery in North America.

From: Mr Richard Lawrence Green

Vancouverites, though many might not admit it, find Jasper and Banff stunning enough to venture over the border. Just keep your coolers secured from the bears!!

Hi .. Wanted to mention that my wife and I visited calgary, banff, and lake louise for our Honeymoon in May of '94..via our web page here at TExas A&M University in Texas I have ALL of our honeymoon pictures (well maybe not all!) online... the url is:

http://entcweb.tamu.edu/alanweb/trip/trip.htm

I am placing a link on that page also back to the alberta home page...we loved it so much we just wanted to tell all of Internet.

Thanks...Alan Kurk

   ========================================================
   James Alan Kurk                    PHONE: 409.845.6775
   Systems Network Manager            EMAIL: AKURK@TAMU.EDU
   Engineering Technology Department    FAX: 409.847.9396
   Texas A&M University
   WWW URL: HTTP://ENTCWEB.TAMU.EDU/ALANWEB/ALANHOME.HTM
   ========================================================

From: Mary Beth de Ribeaux My husband brought me along on his business trip to Calgary and Banff last October (1994). We had a wonderful time -- except our stay was far too short (only 5 days)! We especially liked Banff with its spectacular scenery, but Calgary was nice and friendly. Some of the memories we'll treasure always include:

• The elk. On our first day in Banff, we were driving near Lake Minnewanka and saw a herd of elk along the roadside. We were amazed! We felt so lucky to see wildlife up close! Little did we know, these were only the first of MANY elk we'd see, since they meander freely in and around the town of Banff!
• The snow. On our first evening in Banff, we strolled along the streets of the town while big, wet snowflakes came down. Something about the stores, the dusky light, and the wet snow added up to Christmas in my mind, and it put me in a Christmas mood that lasted until January. Every day in Banff was a day in a winter wonderland to me.
• Banff Springs Hotel. Since we checked in after sundown, we had no idea what the view was like outside our window. When the sunrise unveiled the mountains for us the next morning, we were in awe. The hotel is like a castle, and I felt like a queen.
• An avalanche near Lake Louise. After hiking along a snowy trail through tall, silent firs to catch a magnificent view overlooking the teal-colored waters of Lake Louise, we heard a sound like thunder and saw an avalanche at the far end of the lake, near the Victoria Glacier.
• The Icefields Parkway. They don't call it the Icefields Parkway for nothing! As we drove along this snow-strewn road, the mountains seemed to loom over us, and periodically seeing signs that read "Avalanche Area - No Stopping" was a little discomfiting after what we'd just witnessed at Lake Louise. Near sunset, we turned a bend and saw a vista of pink-tinged mountaintops stretching into the distance. The beauty of this scene was beyond words.
• The gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain. More breathtaking views of the mountains, but let me just say we were glad we were wearing our thermal underwear.
• The hot springs. While the air temperature was about freezing, we soaked in the 104-degree F water under the stars one night. The steam swirling around us occasionally revealed the dark outlines of the mountains nearby.

Mary Beth de Ribeaux / Gaithersburg, MD, USA

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