Putting the ‘Gary’ back into Calgary

I’m in Canada now. I crossed the border next to Glacier National Park yesterday and stayed the night in the burgeoning metropolis of Fort MacLeod. Today I’ll hit up two World Heritage Sites nearby: Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump and Dinosaur Provincial Park. I should arrive in Calgary sometime on Saturday. I’ll be leaving Calgary and visiting Banff on Monday and should arrive in Vancouver on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Glacier was absolutely beautiful. It is probably my favorite national park in the US so far. The only thing that could have made it better was timing the time of day I was in certain parts of the park to improve the lighting.

The border crossing was a bit more involved than past crossings I’ve had into Canada. They made me get out of the car and asked me a bunch of questions, whereas in the past they would just wave me through. I haven’t been paying attention to the Canadian exchange rate, but it is up compared to what it was a few months ago. It is around US$0.93 to the Canadian Dollar.

My photos are starting to back up so I’ll need to take a break at some point to catch up. I hit a point in Glacier where I ran out of space on my memory cards so I had to pull out my laptop along the side of a mountain road just to get the photos off the camera and free up some space.

If you are in Calgary or Vancouver or any points in between and would like to meet up this week, please contact me. Email or a message on Facebook is probably the best way to get a hold of me.

8 thoughts on “Putting the ‘Gary’ back into Calgary”

  1. Sorry to disappoint Gary, there is not Gary in Calgary. You do not pronounce Calgary as you would Gary. Cal-gary is wrong, it is more like Cal-gree. You can tell the tourists from the locals by listening to how it is pronounced!

    Also, you will see plenty of great scenery as you drive from Banff to Vancouver, do don’t be too worried about missing the drive up to Jasper (although you will miss out on the opportunity to walk on a glacier). Just watch out for the sections of trees that have been killed by the mountain pine beetle. The trees have all gone a reddish colour. You might not be able to spot them as we are full on fall here, but just in case you were wondering about that.

    Oh and I like Miette better than Banff or Radium, but each has its own personality. Radium is always way less packed than Banff. Sorry I missed taking you out for a Beer while you were here. Did you like all the construction cranes? How does it compare to Dubai?

  2. Welcome to Canada! Sorry about our border agents but since the US has tightened up so have ours :-)
    Enjoy your time out west! It is beautiful!

  3. I’m grateful for the information. This could be of good use for my destination plan for our next video shoot. Thanks!

  4. I second danielle’s recommendation of Jasper.

    Be sure to check out the Banff Hot Springs and then the Miette Hot Springs just east of Jasper. The drive between Banff and Jasper is so beautiful as it’s been called one of the best drives in the world!

  5. I found Jasper (a bit North of Banff) to be beeaauuuutiful. I recommend taking that extra bit of driving to go there. Click my “website” for pictures. I liked it much much much more than Banff. Except you have to stop in the middle and see Lake Louise (which is closer to Banff).

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