Autumnal Calgary

Dates: October 1, 2004 - October 3, 2004

This is my second visit to Calgary. The last time was three years ago and because I got there by car, I hardly spent any time walking in downtown. This time, however, I had the entire Friday afternoon to play tourist on a nice sunny day.
Anglican Cathedral Church of the Redeemer Church entrance not facing the main street ... I practically walked around the block to figure out how to get in.	Just a few blocks from my hotel, the first Anglican church of the Diocese of Calgary is located. The current structure will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year. This Cathedral holds more meanings than a religious symbol. The Rood Screen (a carved archway between the Nave and the Chancel near the back of the church) is a memorial to the men of the Calgary area who died in WWI, dedicated by the Prince of Wales in 1919. In the Sanctuary, to the 2 ends of the altar are the Canterbury Cross and the Coventry Cross. The Coventry Cross in particular shows a strong tie of this church with Anglicans in England. The Coventry Cathedral in England was destroyed by bombs in WWII. Parishioners of this Cathedral provided financial aid to rebuild a new Cathedral in Coventry. The cross, made from nails from the original Cathedral, is a token of thanks.		As a Provincial Heritage Site, this cathedral has one of the oldest tin roofs in Calgary and was built with local, rough cut Paskapoo sandstone. Beautiful stained glass (behind me are the Sanctuary, Chancel)
Knox United Church - with its square towers is once the tallest building in Calgary.	As I was about to leave the Anglican Cathedral Church of Redeemer, a few friendly Anglicans invited me to attend their service on Saturday. I must decline as my meeting would run from Saturday through Sunday. One of them joked that I came from Vancouver to Calgary to dry up a little bit. No kidding, humidity in Calgary is my friend and my enemy. With low humidity, it doesn't feel too cold in Calgary. In fact, the temperature was lower than in Vancouver but it felt much warmer. The dryness makes my hair more controllable as my natural wave gets bouncy as humidity rises. However, the drying up was harsh on my dry skin. By Friday evening, I was chatting with people and started scratching my arms. My reaction was, "Oh, I'm shedding, I better put on some lotion tonight or else tomorrow I'll look like a snake!" The lady I was talking too replied, "Yeah, there's always the hotel lotion." I anticipated this so I had my own supply. But even if not, I would soak up that hotel lotion, so as to avoid a dermatologist visit and potentially buying those expensive steroid creams like when I was in Ottawa. Yup, Alberta is much drier than Ontario so I knew my skin would get flaky!

Yup, it was the steelman that caught my attention rather than the wine cellar	National Historic District: I did think twice when picking between Fort Calgary and the Stephen Avenue. I ended up going to the historic Stephen Avenue and shopped. Sure, call me a shopper-holic if you would like. Somehow I just don't prefer to visit places like castles and forts alone.		Stephen Avenue, a daytime pedestrian zone
	Afterall, Stephen Avenue doesn't just have late 19th century buildings, it has some modern architecture and artwork too.
Vancouver has skytrain, Toronto has subway, Calgary has ground train. What is even better? Train is free in the downtown zone!	Sculptures are abundant in the streets of downtown Calgary. This one is called the "Brothers" by Galts-Goldsmith.	Calgary Tower - certainly much shorter than CN Tower, but with its red top, it does stand out in the skyline.	Downtown buildings in Montreal and Toronto are linked by underground tunnels. In Calgary, street-walkers go above ground in the winter time. The blue "+15 walkway" sign indicates a building being part of the bridged network.
ChevronTexaco Learning Pathway - This natural-looking area is a working wetland, busily cleaning up some of the stormwater from downtown Calgary before it enters the Bow River. Amazingly, it is right by the riverfront in downtown.
I enjoyed a walk in this park before dusk to avoid seeing mosquitoes. Soon after I sat down on a bench, these ducks all came out from the pond and approached me. See them all standing in the grass rather than swimming?! Not far from me, a couple was throwing food pieces at the ducks. I think the ducks thought I would feed them. No, I am strictly against feeding wild animals!
What got me worried this time? The news about Mt. St. Helens' activities came when I was in Calgary. Watching steam pumping out from the crater on TV and hearing scientists saying the volcano may erupt anytime made me nervous about my returning flight. Fortunately, the volcano has not erupted yet. I was sitting on the window seat on the left in the aircraft. The only reason I could tell that glacier top in the picture here is not Mt. St. Helens is there's no steam!			View of Mt. Rainier over the Cascade Mountains