I'm in Okotoks at the moment, staying with a friend from my youth, Amber, and her husband, Peter. Their house is enormous, visually arresting, and full of some pretty amazing decor as well. I will take some shots tomorrow for everyone's visual edification, and also because it deserves to be documented for the trip.

The day started out in Airdrie, fairly early, as the family needed to be out the door by 8 AM, so I woke up early again, got my morning coffee, and proceeded into Calgary proper. I didn't necessarily have a plan, per se, as the only real attractions anyone told me I needed to see in Calgary were the stampede grounds, and the Saddledome, both of which are in the same complex, so I had a fun time just driving around after acquiring the necessary shots in the downtown core. The Bow building, which was apparently completed in the last two years, is an extremely impressive structure, both inside and out, and had a wire-mesh sculpture of a head sitting in front which was very nearly more distinctive than the building itself, despite the building's pedigree.

The rest of the downtown core reminded me fairly strongly of Ottawa, with the added complication that there appear to be zero parking structures which accept bills, because most of them are automated. I attempted to park in several areas, and was frustrated by the amazing amount of parking available, combined with the my amazing inability to PAY for any of it since one of my two credit cards is lost, and the other one wasn't prepared to accept any charges from Calgary, or grant me any kind of lenience with respect to monthly payments despite the fact that I have under $300 worth of charges on the card, and specifically informed the bank that I was going on vacation. Apparently, I was supposed to call Visa as well, and that the automation necessary to process my vacation doesn't exist within the TD system. I had to spend an hour detangling the whole thing at a TD bank in the afternoon, but at least it's all worked out now.

The afternoon was spent fruitlessly searching for a couple of small things I've lost or misplaced over the trip, and then fruitlessly searching for a store that would sell me the replacements for a reasonable price. None of them were essentials, though, and I'm fully comfortable replacing them later on.

Calgary is another city which reminds me very much of Ottawa in the general size of the downtown, both in sprawl and in elevation. Ottawa's a bit of an older city, but not by much, and the people very much remind me of home as well.

Tomorrow I begin the long drive homeward through the four cities and my cottage. First stop is Regina, and Winnipeg comes after. Hopefully the driving won't be too arduous.

Cheers!