Tuesday, February 11, 2014

C-Level Cirque, Lake Moraine, Calgary Stampede, landing next to Asiana flight 214 - July 6-7, 2013


Trip Index

***

Kaleb and I got up Saturday morning and had breakfast in the Gold lounge.  It was really busy today; people were sitting on benches across from the concierge desk, holding their plates in their laps.  Coming in 30 minutes before the end of breakfast hours, a table for two next to the windows fortunately opened up, though that didn't translate into a lake view.  The lounge was probably built on the other side of the hotel in order to increase the number of rooms that face the lake.

the cold spread
baked goods
breads...and Vegemite (did not try it)
green smoothies! (I took the last danish)

We checked out and bid farewell to the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.  I loved this hotel.  It was convenient to hiking trails, perfectly situated on the lake, and had a resident yellow Labrador. ;)  An extra night at the Fairmont would have been nice, but I didn't want to be rushed getting back to Calgary for our Sunday morning return flight.  Besides, it was opening weekend of the Calgary Stampede, a popular event in the region, and we could spend some time there.

On the way back to Calgary, we stopped by Moraine Lake.  Unfortunately, it started to rain, so we didn't do any hiking and the color of the lake was dulled from having no sun.  The area where the lake drained into the river was clogged with logs.

Moraine Lake in the rain
so many logs

We drove on to hike "C-Level Cirque" which offered a panoramic view of Lake Minnewanka.  The weather was better in this region.  Along the trail, there were lots of fenced-off areas keeping visitors from falling into air shafts for old underground coal mines.  There were also a few dilapidated structures used by coal miners in days past.  Mosquitoes flew in the area; I didn't have any bug spray so I kept my sleeves down.  The lake lookout was located past the trees, behind one of the fenced-off air vents.  The ground at the viewpoint glittered like graphite due to the coal dust (hard to capture on camera).  We hiked all the way to the "cirque".

trail started flat but eventually got steeper
pretty meadow
peering down an air vent
Lake Minnewanka viewpoint
view in a different direction
reaching the cirque
end of the trail

We got back on the road and headed to the Sheraton Calgary Eau Claire.  I booked this hotel using the "Cash and Points" option, where you can redeem a small number of Starwood points to pay a reduced room rate.  I had gotten the Starwood points for free by signing up for the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) American Express card which had offered 35,000 points as a bonus for spend as well as no annual fee for the first year.  These points have been very useful for Cash and Points redemption as well as topping off miles for award tickets on Delta and Singapore Airlines.  I usually cancel the card after the free year is up.

After dropping off the car at valet parking, we checked into the hotel with no issues.  The suite had a kitchenette and separate living room, but not much of a view. 

the hotel was decorated for the Stampede
even the front windows were painted
living room
king bed
separate sink area
toilet and tub/shower combo
complimentary water
the first time I've seen this kind of welcome from housekeeping
snacks for sale
the hotel was decorated for the Stampede
kitchenette

After settling into our room, we headed off to the Calgary Stampede.  The Calgary Light Rail was five blocks south of the hotel, with Stampede Park just a few stops away.  We purchased light rail tickets from automated machines at the station.

riding the light rail
one of the entrances

Arriving at the Stampede entrance, we purchased tickets from the booth (no lines in the late afternoon).  The Calgary Stampede reminded me of a state fair on a grand scale - amusement rides, carnival games, fair food, large buildings showcasing first, second and third place-awarded exhibits, other buildings selling interesting items, plus farm animals.

Looking at all these pictures, it's hard to believe that just two weeks ago, much of the area was damaged due to the floods.  The Calgary Stampede opened as scheduled, with the exception of events in the Saddledome arena, as the floods damaged the building.  Bravo to everyone who worked day and night to prepare the Stampede grounds for opening weekend!

Native American tepees
Stampede Midway
not made of pork!  tasted pretty close
beef bacon with special sauce
fresh cinnamon mini-donuts

bratwurst, fresh squeezed lemonade, and fried green beans

We watched a little bit of a concert on the lawn, as well as a marching band performance.  A 42-second clip of the band playing "Gangnam Style" below: (click here if you cannot see it)


3-second Zoe clip of the Serena Ryder concert: (click here if you cannot see it)


We walked through the exhibit halls and there was a "cake decorating" exhibit.  Some of the designs were incredible.

awesome cake decoration!  everything is edible, but only got 2nd place

The only thing I bought from the shopping halls was a cowboy hat.

this horse *really* liked me...so much that I cannot post his full body pic if you know what I mean...

It was getting cold in the evening and we had a morning flight to catch, so Kaleb and I took the light rail home, grabbed a Guinness at Fionn MacCool's Irish Pub inside the hotel, and got some sleep.


Sunday morning, I checked email using the complimentary wi-fi at the hotel and read a message from my mom about Asiana flight 214 that crashed during landing in San Francisco the day before, which caused delays and some flights to be diverted to other airports.  What?!?  Obviously we hadn't been watching television or read any news yesterday, and the Canadians weren't abuzz about it so we had no idea.  Our flight was still scheduled to arrive in San Francisco on time.

Returning the car and checking in at the airport was uneventful.  U.S. customs and immigration (pre-clearance) was handled here, so we wouldn't have to go through it when we arrived in San Francisco.  Our two hour flight was also uneventful, until we approached for landing.  During the crash investigation and clean-up, both runway 28L (where the crash occurred at 11:26am on Saturday) and 28R were closed, causing the delays and diversions.  Runway 28R reopened at 1:35pm on Sunday, and our plane landed on it thirty minutes later.  Kaleb and I were sitting on the right side of the aircraft, so we did not get to see first-hand the wreckage of Asiana flight 214 but we could tell from the gasps and comments from the passengers on the other side of the aisle that it was a shocking sight.  (Three days later, I ended up booking an award ticket for a future trip, with Asiana flight 214 as the last segment.  The airline changed the flight number to 212, retiring the number 214 as of August 12, 2013.)   Much condolences to the families who lost loved ones.

In summary, the Canadian Rockies is a must-see destination on everyone's bucket list.  Beautiful mountains and lakes, flora and fauna await you.  You can be as active or relaxed as you want.  I want to return soon, even though I still have a lot to see!

Next trip...can you guess?  No, not on Asiana flight 212...yet.  I'm headed to Las Vegas with the girlfriends!  Same destination again, you ask?  I can't help having different circles of friends all wanting to go to Sin City, though I strive to try something different each time so that I have new stories to tell...stay tuned!

***

If you are interested in traveling the Canadian Rockies and have questions or want help booking your travel, feel free to contact me at yellowdogtravel at gmail dot com.

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Previous update:  Gold lounge breakfast, Lake Louise canoeing, Marcus the Dog, Tea House hike



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