Here I am just a week after getting back from my 3 week cruise, heading off to Kananaskis Country in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. I was in Calgary for my friend Gail’s son’s wedding. It was a wonderful day – the sun was shining, the bride was radiant and the groom was handsome as always.
Gail created an amazing weekend itinerary for her friends and relatives that was delivered to my hotel room. It was actually printed on hand-made paper like an invitation. She had our whole weekend planned out from morning ‘til night.
Saturday, of course, was filled with wedding events, but Sunday was just as great. We had brunch at the hotel and then packed ourselves into as few vehicles as we could to head out to Kananaskis Country. Kananaskis Country was pretty much unknown to most people until the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. In preparation for those Olympics, Mount Allen was developed to become Nakiska, the Alpine Ski venue. Another friend and I managed to hitch a ride up the quad-chair with none other than Prince Albert of Monaco who was also there to watch the Giant Slalom. He was much younger and still had hair.
Also for the Olympics the Kananaskis Village was born. The village is comprised of several low-rise hotels with shopping, hot tubs, pubs and other amenities available to guests and casual visitors alike. There are hiking paths, picnic areas, fish ponds, you name it. The village is designed to fit into the surrounding panoramic landscape and it is this landscape that is the big draw.
This IS one of the most beautiful places on earth. The majestic mountains, the green valleys, the bears, the wolves, the mountain sheep and goats, the deer……you get my drift. There were some wildlife conservation officers on hand with demonstrations and information on the different wildlife in the area. They try really hard to educate people while they are in the park in order to avoid any confrontations. The land does belong to the wildlife – not us – and they need to be left to live their lives as nature intended. Very little upsets me more than hearing that a bear or other wildlife had to be destroyed because of some human’s stupidity. They may be cute but they are still wild.
Anyway, I have a couple of videos and photos of our day at the park that I hope you will enjoy.
Tags: Alberta, Kananaskis, Nakiska, Travel
