Next stop Calgary. After Edmonton, Calgary was positively balmy at about minus five. Nowhere near as much snow but our flight was really late, so it was a rush to our lunchtime meetings. We checked in at Hotel Alma in the grounds of University of Calgary and the lovely Tina took us for dinner at Café Una. I haven’t managed a day off since I left, so we hired a car and headed to the stunning Rockies. A tiny bit apprehensive driving in the snow but woke to a spectacularly beautiful sunny day. Got the safest car possible: SUV, snow tires and great brakes. The drive from Calgary to Banff is quite short and morning tea was a coffee in Banff. We had planned lunch at the Chateau Lake Louise and the drive down was gorgeous. There wasn’t as much snow as when I was here in May, so the drive was not hard at all. Lake Louise was only partially frozen, and the sunshine was gorgeous. We lunched with one of the most stunning views in the world and then headed toward Jasper along the stunning Icefields Parkway. We all commented that after the glaciers, emerald lakes, thick pine trees and dramatic mountains we will never look at a Christmas card as a cliché again. The drive was Christmas card after Christmas card with the pine and larch all dusted with twinkling snow.
Sleeping under the stars 