Calgary | Fiesta on Wheels

It is wonderful to visit Alberta for the first time!!

I have always enjoyed my previous visits to Canada, but visiting Calgary has been extra special. This is my first time here and I enjoyed seeing the rolling green hills as I crossed the border and drove north to Calgary. It is a very clean city and the foliage is quite green. I could enjoy living here in the summer, but the winter seems like it would be too intense for me.

I remember watching the ski jumping competition and this tower. Note the Olympic rings on the top of the tower!

Although the sides are a bit broken down, I remember the pipe competition at this location.

I enjoyed seeing the bobsleigh and luge track!

This is the bobsleigh and luge track from the outside. It is sort of difficult to see from the outside, but this is curve 13 going into curve 14.

I liked this stature honoring the athletes and Olympic competition!

The Winter Sport Institute was an interesting place to visit.

They converted one of the ski slopes where people can “race” down the slope in a sort go-cart contraption. They had a great time!

After finding an ATM to withdraw some Canadian cash, I headed to one of the locations where the Olympics were held in Calgary in 1988. I enjoy watching the Olympics and it was interesting to see locations I recognized from TV in person. I met a couple from Arkansas that were here as part of a RV tour trip. They told me where they were staying and laughed when I told them I just arrived and had no idea where I was going to spend the night. Stay flexible and enjoy everything around you!

It is interesting to drive and try and figure out directions and get diesel in the metric system. I converted the motorhome speedometer to km/hour because I want to be extra careful not to speed. However, I am lost when a road sign says 85 km to a city, or the GPS tells me to turn right in 300 meters. After a few days I will get used to the distances, but it was a unique experience locating an ATM in a new city with street names that are new too. Another unique experience is buying fuel. It is priced as Canadian dollars per liter, so quite different from US dollars per gallon. When I used my credit card to buy fuel, I had to approve a possible $250 Canadian dollar transaction. It worked fine, but that large dollar amount was a bit unsettling.

I found a casino that allows RVs to park for free. It was super nice because they had a flat grassy area designated for us to park. I went into the casino to buy a couple drinks with different types of Canadian whiskey and watch the NBA finals game.

The weather here is quite different. A cold front moved in, and it has been raining off and on all day. It was 54 degrees in the motorhome when I woke up. Goodbye short and hello long pants and sweatshirts. I guess that beats 110 degrees any day.

I do not want to drive today. I have had several long driving days getting here. Today I want to rest and relax and plan my next adventure. Tomorrow, I have a reservation for a campsite in Banff National Park. I am very excited to see the Canadian Rockies in person!