Travel is Terrific: Calgary and the B.C. Fires

The Calgary Summer

This summer, Calgary has been a lot warmer than I had expected with weekly highs up into the 30's on a regular basis. Hot.

In the tropics, 32 degrees was the norm BUT it was constant. It was a consistent heat. You would wake up in the morning knowing that it was going to be 32 or so all day long. And the next day, pretty much the same. The temperature might dip slightly by nightfall. But, the temperature every day was pretty consistent, even during thunder storms. You'd never feel "cold".

So, the high temperatures in Calgary (or anywhere in Canada) seem rather extreme when you compare them to the winter weather. From plus 36 degrees to minus 45 degrees means there is an 80 degree difference in the temperature. That covers a lot of ground and it's a huge differentiation. Isn't it?

But Calgarians love the heat! They flock to the Bow River, stripped down to as little clothing as possible, wearing flip-flops and sunglasses. Just thriving on the sun. Soaking it up while they can.

Bow River Rafting

We (my son, his wife and 2 kids and I) went rafting on the Bow River last week-end. WHAT A BLAST. Who knew a piece of latex filled with air could be so much fun? And the river was rapid. There were Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 rapids. We put the raft in north of the city and let the river take us. Of course, our steering man sat at the front to guide us.

Those of us in the back yelled at him from time to time,

"Rapids! Rapids! Shoals! Shoals! Rapids and shoals!"

Of course, he was already well aware of what was up ahead but sometimes he needed another rower or two to speed us off the track of the danger. Twice we were hit with big waves that soaked us through and filled the bottom of the raft with water. Then there was the river security in their motorboats flying past, whipping the waves into rock 'n roll action. That's when we women screamed. Fun!

B.C. Fires

Along with the intense heat, Calgary has been under a cloud of B.C. smoke quite often these days. It has usually been a haze that blankets in the weather on us. But, lately, fire burning in nearby Banff has sent bigger clouds to us.

Animals Escaping to Water

Fires Raging in British Columbia

Where there's Smoke there Must be Fire


Homes were Lost and People were Forced to Leave Them

These fires are out of control and have cost many people their homes. Hundreds are living in tents while the burning rages throughout the northern part of the province.

Whenever there's cloud coverage, a stench of rotten eggs accompanies it. At least, that's the way it is where I live in Elgin. Who knows where the stench comes from? It might be from an old dump nearby.

Mahogany Lake

These housing developments were built on swamp land and former dumps. Clever contractors had the swamps dug deep to bring up the water level and create a lake. Then they moved the excess dirt away and added chemicals to the lake to clean it up.

Abracadabra, please and thank-you and you have lakeside property ready for brand new lake homes. How clever is that? Brilliant. Property prices have now jumped! Useless stinky swamp land is now highly sought-after lake front property with a view. They even have a sandy beach. Well, a dirt beach anyway.

And fishing is great! One of my grandsons caught a 7 lb trout in Mahogany Lake. That's a big meal. Of course, he uses corn for bate. That's another story.