Business trip to Nth America via HKG; QF, CX and AC J

[TomVexille]

Hockey. What a great sport.

 

[RooFlyer]

Hockey. What a great sport.

Yup. And as I tell my Canadian colleagues - Australia won the Olympic Gold medal for hockey.

Drives 'em nuts.

 

[TomVexille]

Yup. And as I tell my Canadian colleagues - Australia won the Olympic Gold medal for hockey.

Drives 'em nuts.

Haha, do they tell you that you're talking about "field" hockey?

 

[RooFlyer]

Haha, do they tell you that you're talking about "field" hockey?

We got past that debate a few years ago. They win 'hockey'; we win 'hockey'. Everyone's a (gold medal) winner.

Speaking of the Olympics, when Calgary held the Winter version in 1988 they rigged up the Calgary Tower to be a giant torch. They still light it up from time to time.



Otherwise the tower is broadcasting elevator music over the city (OK, its usually recorded bells, but I still think its an odd thing to do).

 

[smit0847]

Great TR!

What sort of work do you do?

 

[RooFlyer]

Mining. So in Calgary I'm an odd fish in this oil & gas town.

 

[kevrosmith]

Enjoying the trip report so far... now subscribed to keep up-to-date.

 

[Welsh-Kiwi]

Looking forward to reading about the return trip....

 

[RooFlyer]

Thanks to all, but there's still a bit of Calgary to do.

Lets call this post "A few odd things".

First, the famous 'Calgary Stampede' Its sort of a western Royal Easter Show, but with the addition of the Chuck Wagon Races. Yee-ha! A chuck (small covered) wagon, with 4 in hand, plus 4 outriders take off from a central point, go round the circuit, then finish in a sprint. The year I went, there was a thunder storm just prior, so things got a bit muddy ... The RH pic is actually the start and the LH pic the gallop to the finish.



Then, at the end of the day, they tow the stage in front of the grand stand and we all have a good 'ol western show




Now Canadians are great on the great outdoors. They have a lot of it. And they have a lot of wildlife. And they like to hunt it & fish it.

Bass Pro I think is a US chain of very large stores dedicated to killing animals, by any means possible :shock:. Now I don't mind people hunting and I enjoy a fish myself, but I must say this store, on the outskirts of Calgary must be one of the most bizarre shops I have ever entered. The store itself is huge and you enter under an arch of 'racks' (genuine, I think) and throughout the store are any number of stuffed bears, elk, caribou, deer, you name it!




Truly a temple of hunt'n, fish'n and shoot'n in general. Theres an archery range, about 50m of gun racks, a 'cutlery' area (its not for setting the table ... more your Crocodile Dundee : "Now THAT's a knife" type of thing). More fishing gear than you could ever need and of course camo everything ... Boats, ATVs, canoes, all under one roof.




And of course its just the place to pick up a bottle of coon urine or packet of doe droppings. Can't get those down at Wal-Mart




Now ... just a couple of cases of beer, and we're set!

 

[TomVexille]

I kinda miss Bass Pro Shops...

 

[amaroo]

15 years ago I spent time with some local Quebecers around Gasp Bay - wild boys!

They were into hunting in a BIG way and like their Salt Licks...

 

[defurax]

15 years ago I spent time with some local Quebecers around Gasp Bay - wild boys!

They were into hunting in a BIG way and like their Salt Licks...

Pretty sure it's Gaspé...but Gasp bay sounds cool

 

[amaroo]

Pretty sure it's Gaspé...but Gasp bay sounds cool

hahaha all I did there was Gasp.....those people are crazy!

 

[trentusjuventus]

Great report so far, I've not visited Calgary for quite a while so really nice to have an update on what it's like. Keep the TR coming!

 

[Jim Walsh]

Indeed, Spruce, however ....

View attachment 25964

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Just don't get this J wine list, none of those wines are over $20 in the shops - do a search. Surely the standard should be a bit higher

 

[defurax]

Just don't get this J wine list, none of those wines are over $20 in the shops - do a search. Surely the standard should be a bit higher

Last time I flew CX in J they had an insert in the menu showcasing some Spanish red wines they had on board in addition to the "less than spectacular" wine selection. A quick glance around the cabin revealed I was most likely the only J pax drinking wine...so maybe it's not a CX strength. A bit OT, but at The Haven in the Wing lounge in HKG the wine selection is also quite unremarkable.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Last time I flew CX in J they had an insert in the menu showcasing some Spanish red wines they had on board in addition to the "less than spectacular" wine selection. A quick glance around the cabin revealed I was most likely the only J pax drinking wine...so maybe it's not a CX strength. A bit OT, but at The Haven in the Wing lounge in HKG the wine selection is also quite unremarkable.

Flew CX J MEL-HKG today - they were showcasing Italian wines. In flt I am Champagne drinker and had to work hard to stomach the Deutz today - just was not cold enough was biggest prob - never tried it before - won't be breaking my neck to get a second crack either. Currently in Wing and the Moet going down a treat.

 

[RooFlyer]

hahaha all I did there was Gasp.....those people are crazy!

Taber-nac ! A year in Northern Quebec did nothing for me to dispute that.

They said to wear an orange vest in the forest when we were doing our exploration thing. But that only made you a target!

 

[RooFlyer]

Seasonal Calgary.

Winter isn't bad. if you are a skier, then there is skiing within the city limits, and 45 minutes along the freeway you are in Canmore, than about an hour to Banff. Then a bit more you are in Lake Louise and a bit more still to Kicking Horse, near Golden. Skiers tell me its "all Black" which I gather is good. Plus fantastic sight seeing. Won't do that now ... maybe another time.

in Calgary you can get bursts of minus 30 to 40, then less for wind chill, but you rug up. This is a typical sight walking to work (householders and businesses are obliged to clear the footpath after snow, but obviously a bit early in this pic ... ) Mostly its between minus 10 and minus 20, but with periods of 'plus' temperatures.




The parks are still open, but the wildlife get 'cold feet':




I found out what a hoarfrost was. You take a plum tree, which is just skeletal after losing it's leaves. You then get a 'freezing fog' and the freezing mist freezes onto the tree twigs, then grows and grows, So you get the tree in the LH pic. Its just a bare tree with hoarfrost. Very pretty. The river freezes over (the RH pic isn't the main channel, just a side one) and 'pond hockey' is the go - or just family skating on shallow side channels.



Check out the RH pic below - same scene as the hoarfrost pic above, but before the frost on the tree. Other pic is just a winter morning. Deal with it.

 

[RooFlyer]

Seasonal Calgary 2

After winter comes the spring. If you visit Calgary in the early spring you will hate it. The snow and ice turns to slush, ready for cars to splash you with. The road gritting stuff turns to mud. Piles of snow and ice cleared from car parks etc sit rotting in the corners, keeping everything around it wet and muddy.

Later in spring the mud turns to dirt and then dust, which coats everything around it in a grey powder, and the whole town just looks dirty. This lasts until the rains come and washes everything down.


But then you get the green coming back and everything's peachy again.

Calgary in the summer is great. There are dozens and dozens of km of riverside and other bike and pedestrian trails, huge grassy parks, and shady BBQ areas in the parks. And a couple of lakes to paddle in.

Rubber rafting down the Elbow river is a summer favourite!



One of my favourite things to do is just to walk around the 'better suburbs' and perv on the houses. There is a LOT of money in Calgary. The best places are, as usually private and well hidden, but the 'regular' houses in 'ordinary' streets in the better suburbs are just nice to walk by and admire. (And don't forget all of these places will have a full size basement - so they are all effectively 3 story.)