The City of Calgary

We always enjoy seeing a city from a high vantage point and the "Calgary Tower" fit the bill on this trip. We viewed this city from the observation deck. Designers always delight in presenting something "special" on this type of structure. The Calgary Tower was no exception.

Psychologically, one part of my brain says this  "glass" floor is strong enough to withstand the weight of a large elephant, the other part of my brain says "don't stand here very long". Marilyn seems so cool and collected but I can assure you "I did not". Standing here takes all the courage I can muster.

I quickly moved off this "floor".

Calgary is a city of just over a million people. They've diversified now and the city is a large oil and gas center; but in the beginning, it was a "cattle town" and even today, that life is celebrated with an annual event known as " The Calgary Stampede ".

This year (just a few months before we arrived ) the town received 14 inches or rain in a very short period of time. True to Canadian spirit, a reclamation of gigantic proportions restored the area where the stampede is held each year.

It required work seven days a week and 24 hours a day. I'm amazed they were able to keep "the show on the road". It's difficult to imagine the area looked like this just two months earlier.....

▶ Stampede Grounds Calgary Flood June 21, 2013 

It required the evacuation of 70,000 people.

Glaciers in the Canadian Rockies

Marilyn and I had a wonderful trip to view the Canadian Rockies which started in Calgary Alberta Canada. Calgary is a city with just over a million people and originally began as a cattle town. That culture still abounds every year with the advent of the annual "Stampede" celebration. The skills and life style of the early cowboys in this part of Canada are celebrated in this event. The "Stampede" draws thousands here and is an important social time for everyone in the city. The city of Calgary now has diversified into a major producer of oil and gas.

The picture above is of our tour guide, Rob White who works for "Tauck" and which both Marilyn and I agree, is the best director we've ever had the pleasure to travel with, on any trip. We've traveled with this company previously in the United Kingdom and also California. They've all been excellent trips, with excellent tour directors; but Rob is the most sociable and knowledgeable director imaginable; he's a walking encyclopedia of history, geology, and traveling experience.

On this trip we were fortunate to experience the city of Calgary, the Many Glacier Park in Montana, Lake McDonald Park in Montana, Lake Louise in Canada, Jasper National Park in Canada, and Banff National Park in Canada.

Thank you Rob, for a wonderful trip!

Big Rocks

It takes a lot of guts to climb these big rocks. Yosemite is one of the top three "world class" climbing challenges in the world. It's not unusual to see climbers on the face of these monoliths or spending several days on some of them. They "hang" on the face and sleep overnight in primitive hammocks or tents.

The very best of the climbers "free climb". John Muir was know to do this. The modern day equipment makes this much easier now.

Our Hotel had some of the most beautiful views anywhere to be found. 

Yosemite Park

After wandering around the big city and the redwood trees a few days, we were ready for the "high country". I now realize why John Muir thought this was one of the most beautiful places on earth. This is the view first a person sees after driving through a highway tunnel into the valley.

This summer has been extraordinarily hot and it's taken a toll here this year. The entire state of California is under drought conditions. The last time I was here, water cascaded over the main ridges much like an entire swimming pool. It crashed and rumbled like a rocket taking off into space.

If not for a short shower upstream last night, there would be nothing cascading along this path today. Fortunately, we saw a small "trickle". It was to disappear this next day. I was shocked at this! We decided to do some hiking a few days later to a waterfall we knew would have a strong current. Little did we realize the tragedy that would await us.

Big Big Trees

The Sequoia tree grows differently, from other trees. They reach a certain height, and then begin to widen as they grow older. Sort of like getting fat and bunchy, like a rabbit. Some of them are centuries old. It's a humbling experience to walk among them. John Muir was known to climb some of them during a strong storm just to feel their strength as they swayed in the wind.

The biggest of all the Sequoia's is called the General Sherman Tree. It's VERY large and VERY wide. We walked down to this giant from a trail above it through the woods. Although this is a populated place, it's possible to see just about anything around here.

As we walked through the woods to the tree, we came upon a female black bear with two cubs. This is potentially a dangerous situation and concern for everyone. She avoided us and the cubs followed behind her down the hill through the woods. When we arrived at the big tree, she once more appeared with the two cub trailing behind. There are mountain lions is these woods also. Best to always keep an eye open...

The mother is difficult to see, but the two cubs are quite obvious. 

Cool Foggy Weather

Marilyn and I have always enjoyed walking, as a slow mode of travel. It forces a person to see the real things in a town. We had originally planned to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge but every evening, the fog just rolled across the city around 5pm and often was still around as late as 1pm.

We decided to cancel this attempt in order to see more in the immediate city. Here's what the Golden Gate Bridge always looked like in the early morning traffic.

Our trip was divided into different segments and we were soon headed to a different place where John Muir found true wilderness. I was looking forward to seeing nature up close and personal.

Go Car Tours

These might look like toys, but they're not. I first thought they might be fancy golf carts, or maybe bumper cars, but they are much more. These "Go Cars" are a three wheeled, two person carrier. They're an amusing GPS, self guided driving  machine. Rented by the hour, it's a unique experience.  

Here's what they look like in action. 

If you listen closely, you can hear the "pre programmed narrative"  of the stopping point in the background. Needless to say, they're illegal on bridges and freeways, but in town, they're quite functional.

Getting Around as a Tourist

The price of these machines keep dropping as economics kick in. I've never ridden one but they sure look like fun. I never saw anyone take a fall the entire time we were in San Francisco. I'm assuming all these folks were "first time riders". After a few hours on these machines, they were masters.

More Transportation

Moving along on the transportation theme, I've always thought it a little "nuts" to drive a car in a big city. These are "street cars" powered by overhead electrical cables. The really neat thing about these were the "variety". I saw gasoline at $4.30 a gallon and the parking fee at the hotel was $53 a night.

San Francisco has a variety of different modes for the savvy traveler. I saw hundreds of "Prius" taxi-cabs. I saw Segways, and some really neat motorcycles with GPS features that were VERY interesting to ride.

I saw so many Prius hybrids that I was beginning to think they were the "state car" of California. I'll post more information and pictures about these on the next entry.

Oh yes.....and bicycles were VERY big here too. I saw thousands of them. It was refreshing to see so many on the flat areas near the coast. All the streets had special "bike lanes" specifically for the riders.

Cable Cars in San Francisco

I've been to many places in the world and they all have their own "unique" characteristics. In San Francisco it's the transportation system that caught my eye. This city has the most "fun" mass transit of any I've ever visited in the world.

Marilyn and I soon figured out how to travel from one place to another very easily in this town. The "hills" demand it, and this is the perfect solution for those not used to them. The "incline" is amazing in this town. Although boarding one of these cable cars may take a few minutes, they're well worth the wait for a nice ride. It's especially fun to hang onto the "outside of the car" when moving up or down these steep hills.

We just couldn't get enough of them and rode them as often as possible. Here's another quick video of the fun.

Have you ever wondered what they do at the end of the line?  This is what happens when you get there and need to turn around and head back the other way.

San Francisco

My last trip to California was less than 10 years ago. At that time, the Midwest was lush with tall vast acres of green corn. Today I noticed big changes in those fields.. A record heat wave has scorched the land and created desolate brown splotches below us as I fly across the United States towards San Francisco. Below me, I see vast fields of natural gas wells as I fly above Colorado. A new technology called "fracking" has enabled mega corporations to profitably harvest this resource but it also emits a deadly methane gas which harms the environment. Before our trip is over, we will experience 109 degree heat on the train in Fresno. I wonder if this foretells the inevitable in my home state of West Virginia.

Our tour group consists of around 40 travelers this year. Most of them are retired professional people. One is a doctor, another is a practicing lawyer, and another is a school teacher. The rest appear to be former businessmen and women. There are also several former Foreign Service people on this trip.

Our tour revolves around the naturalist icon of John Muir and the giant redwood trees. John Muir was born in Scotland and raised under the Calvinist theology of his father. Upon entering the United States, he soon found himself in the midst of a horrible civil war and the possibility of forced enlistment in the armed forces. He quickly fled to Canada and lived there until the end of war.

Although self taught, he was an expert in Botany and Geology. He heard tales of giant redwood trees in the wild places near San Francisco and wanted to see them.  Our first sighting of these trees would be just outside the San Francisco city limits in a grove of coastal redwoods appropriately named John Muir woods. These trees are not the largest of the giant redwoods but are the tallest of the species. We got our first glimpse of them in the higher elevations above the town of Sausalito.

This is the second trip Marilyn and I have taken with the Tauck Company. Our first was to Scotland, Whales, and England. Their guides are the best in the business, their lodging is superb in both quality and location, and the coach service is outstanding. As an example, we are staying at the Weston hotel in Union Square; it's the shopping hub of this section of the city and Macy's is just across the street.

A Special Kind of Boat

I've posted earlier about the uniqueness of our boat but a picture (or video) is worth a thousand words. This trip would have not been possible with a "normal" boat because there were many bridges and locks which had very close tolerances. Several times we passed through places with only a foot or two clearance above the pilot house.

The answer to this problem is here:  

Even with these extreme measures, sometimes there's not a lot of room to spare. Standing up (or not stooping down) could be a real headache.

Exiting a set of locks can be challenging.

As much as I enjoyed the cities along the rivers, being ON the river was just as much fun. As they say, getting there can be half the fun. 

The Danube Waterway and Bicycles

Being a "biker" myself, the long paths, along the entire length of the Danube River made me long for a ride here myself. I was VERY impressed with their commitment to "basic transportation"; I think the bicycle is one of the worlds greatest inventions. Here's just one view of the "bike path" running along the river near a small town.

On this trip, I saw (literally) thousands of bikes, and hundreds of "families" riding together on the weekends along this long path. It was not unusual to see small kids, and even the family pet, being towed behind the bike on a little trailer, as they moved along the Danube River.

These "ramps" (just for bikes) were common along all the towns on the river. Although I saw a few families with the traditional bike panniers carrying a tent, stove, air mattress etc, most of them stayed at convenient "bed and breakfast" homes along the river.

The more I watched them, the more I envied them. In my mind, this would be the "ultimate" bike trip. I could envision riding a thousand miles along this river.

Moving on Down the River

There are some great towns along this waterway and the history of many of them span centuries. As most of Europe, boundaries have changed many times due to wars. In the early days, many rulers built elaborate castles to protect themselves from their enemies. An entire book could be written about each of them, if one choose to do so.  

Many of the towns in Germany were bombed into shambles during the second world war. Although not a large nation, Adolph Hitler came very close to ruling the world. He killed millions of innocent people in his own country. Fortunately, those days are in our past. I choose not to dwell on them and move forward.

Modern Germany has many good qualities. One of the best is their “mass transportation system”. I found most Germans to be well educated, very environmentally conscious, and very resourceful. Germans think in very “social” terms. They like music and cultural activities.

I think many of their lives can be both complex, or very simple. Myself, I like the simpler things in life. Although I saw several industrial sites along the river, I never noticed pollution spewing from them like here in America. Despite using electric to power their “mass transit” systems. I never once saw a coal powered power plant! (I’m sure they existed somewhere).

I did however, see many windmills and many solar powered homes.  Germany uses nuclear power, but with the recent accident in Japan, most of these have been shut down.

Melk

Leaving West Virginia, we were in the midst of a hot spell with temperatures in the mid nineties. As we prepared to navigate the Danube, the weather began to turn much cooler. So much so, we needed to bundle up for warmth. I was amused at the selection of fleece jackets available in the ships store the next morning. It was a welcome change. 

The highlight of the city of Melk is the enormous Abbey overlooking the river. (not the above picture) Although very few monks live here now, it’s an active school for about 900 students. It’s also the depository for thousands of very old books. Some of them are hand written and priceless. 

Last Days in Austria

Looking back on the trip now, I think Vienna was one of the best cities we visited. The general population speaks several languages, of which English is one of the majors, so it’s easy to communicate with the local people.

On one of our excursions through the busy city, we found ourselves in an “authentic” Austrian café. I love the wood in these places and the craftsmanship of their work. Some of these establishments haven’t changed the décor in decades, and it‘s like walking backward into time. They’re unique….

People in this part of Austria love their animals. Especially their dogs, and it’s quite common for the bar keeper to keep a small clean bowl for drinking water, just for the dogs in the café. The dogs are a true members of the family, and are served just like their owners.

When we asked for a menu, the waiter gave us a puzzled look….”just sausages, pastries, and beer”…no menu. They’re good….

Bring us two with dark wheat beer please…Danke.

A few moments later they arrived in a porcelain dish along with some sweet mustard and some bread, and with some beer. All of it was delicious, the beer was fantastic. Beer over here is totally different from the states. The dark wheat beer is especially good. It comes with a head that is tall and strong enough to float a quarter on. (maybe I’m exaggerating a bit)

The next morning we checked out of the Motel and took a cab to the dock where we boarded our ship, the “River Melody".

We had most of the afternoon to explore the walking and biking paths beside the Danube River. We walked several miles along the river just taking in the sights and enjoying the exercise while watching the activity on the river.

A Different Life

Austria, like most of Europe has a long history. While some churches in America may be quite large, but it’s rare to see one like this church, which was just outside our Hotel room.

Life is also very different here because of the price of gasoline. Most of Europe is paying $7 to $9 dollars per gallon. This discourages traffic and encourages everyone to use public transportation. Public transportation here is VERY good! There’s no need to spend all your money on automobiles.

It didn't take us long to figure out this very common transportation mode. Although many bikes in this part of Europe are the standard bikes we know in America, we saw hundreds of these new "electric" bikes. I've ridden one of these recently, and they're a pleasure to move around a town. Peddling is almost effortless and they will move along at about 20 MPH for about 40 miles before needing a re-charge.

I truly hope to see more of this in America. It's a very good idea.

These sold for about 2000 Euro's....not cheap, but very functional and flexible. It's the perfect commuter bike. I'd like to have one someday.

The Rivers of Germany

Our river trip from Vienna to Amsterdam has covered nearly a thousand nautical miles on the Danube and Rhine Rivers, which are connected by a man made canal. Some parts of it are very narrow. So narrow, that passing another boat can be a real challenge.

Tourism is a major industry in this section of Europe. River cruising here demands a special type of boat; the most important feature being a collapsible “pilot house” and “viewing deck“. Some of the bridges in the Danube River are so low that a normal ship could never pass underneath without this “special” feature.

We traversed over a hundred locks. Some of the locks and bridges only had (literally) inches to spare. One amusing passage (at least for the passengers) required the Captain to peek up from a “trap door” in the roof of the collapsed bridge. Only his eyes were visible as we “squeaked” underneath a very low bridge.

We arrived in Vienna a few days before the rest of our group. Mostly to hear some of the Classical masterpieces. Many were created here by some of the worlds greatest composers.

Although we only spent a few days in Austria, I found Vienna to be an especially pleasant place because of the music. We attended a concert with an exceptional orchestra and a small string quartet and we were fortunate to stay at a hotel right in the midst of town.

The interesting thing (and a wonderful addition to the orchestra) was an extra drum player. He interacted with the maestro in a humorous way that was very amusing.

We were introduced to “real” coffee and pastries while here. Good coffee is served with a glass of water. A sip of coffee; a sip of water…that’s how it’s done here. Another Viennese specialty is  “Apple strudel”.  HHHmmmmm

Stones and Buildings

I was impressed with Scotland and it’s towns. It’s wonderful to be led around and informed with a good guide, but it’s even better to discover places on your own. I was glad we were given this special time.

One of the first things I noticed about this country was the building construction. In America, most residences are made from wood. Some are covered with aluminum siding, or may be covered with a brick façade, but they’re (for the most part) cheap and “box like”. In Scotland, (and most other parts of the United Kingdom we visited), everything seemed to be made of stone.

They build their structures to last a LONG time.

As a matter of fact, the are castles and stone walls all over the UK. Some are several centuries old. They’re impressive to view. But after visiting several of them, I began to view them as only fortresses with the goal of making sure those with wealth kept it, and making sure those without it, were kept from stealing it. That’s not a harsh criticism. You got’ a protect yourself from your enemies or you’ll find yourself serving them and being on the outside looking in. It’s a wise choice to do much most of your construction with stone, and it’s abundant here.

On the whole, I found the entire country to be more ecologically and environmentally conscious than the United States. I was impressed with their transportation, their 220 volt electrical system, their sanitation methods, and the general mindset of the common Englishman.

For instance, the streets were clean, despite a high population density. Transportation was well managed. We found it easy to get around in the big cities by cab, bus, or subways (the tubes). Bicycling was common and all the automobiles were compact and fuel efficient. (gasoline cost between $7.50 and $8.00 a gallon) Scooters were common, although the climate is wetter. The general population was very adaptable and the people were a pleasure to be around. I admire those qualities in a society.

I’m sure my American readers will not like this comment, but I think we’re the most wasteful people on the face of the earth. America is such a young country. We haven’t been forced to make difficult decisions concerning limited resources and over population.

The United Kingdom

Traveling in the United Kingdom has been a real joy for me. I had a small glimpse of it, from my radio friends, but there’s nothing like experiencing it in real life. I have two good friends in England. One in the North and another in the South whom we’ve exchanged thoughts and viewed pictures on our web blogs about ham radio.

I’d always viewed America as the melting pot of the world but we’re a very young country. The English empire has existed for many centuries and their society has changed rulers many times. Walking around the bigger cities, on this trip, allowed us to hear many languages. I’ve found their entire country it to be a medley of diverse cultures.

We left West Virginia amidst nearly 100 (f) degree temperatures. My first impressions of Scotland was nearing the green fielding coast as we approached the airport. The first thing I noticed was a series of windmills and the sheep in the many walled fields below us.

It’s difficult to choose a favorite between Scotland, Whales, and England but I’ll try to highlight some of the area’s we visited, in this short couple of weeks we've been here. I’ve enjoyed all of them immeasurably.

Edinburg Scotland was the first city we visited and our hotel was ideally located near Edinburg Castle. We attended the “military tattoo” so were amidst the sound of bagpipes and drums of military bands from many parts of the world. There were also exhibits from motorcycles and acrobatic groups. The young motorcycle performers were my favorites. Some of the younger riders were not yet teenagers but as skilled as the best of the elder veterans.

A particularly interesting part of the city was the “royal mile” where we spent the vast majority of our leisure time. I was completely overwhelmed with the music and theatrical performances in the streets. I found it heartwarming to see energy channeled into the arts, especially from the younger generation.

There were thousands of people in the streets. The people in the picture above were moving in "extreme slow motion". I found it a profound statement contrasting the hustle and bustle of life in these busy times. They were trying to tell us something....

They were very talented.