Flight to Calgary & Road Trip to The Rocky Mountains
Greetings,
I’m writing this in high spirits from the Delta Lodge at Kananaskis in Alberta, Canada. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, I decided to take a flight to Calgary and after a short road trip am near the Rocky Mountain Ski Resort named Nakiska in Kananaskis Village. The Rocky Mountains are just that, mainly made of shale and limestone and basically look like these massive rock formations stretching to the sky next to even larger rock formations doing the same. It’s absolutely beautiful out here right now and even had to pull the truck over a few times to take some shots of the scenery. It’s also pretty warm which is surprising me almost as much as how close this mountain range is to Calgary.
It was an early morning for yours truly, at 4:25am the alarm clock went and by 4:50am I was in the car to the airport in Ottawa. I arrived in Calgary at 9am local time and the trip to Nakiska Ski Resort aka Calgary’s closest mountain began. It’s really close and my GPS told me all sorts of rubbish. If you find yourself in the city center, just get yourself on 16th Avenue going west and you’re golden, seriously. I think the trip took about an hour and a half or so and it would have been nice to be a passenger to enjoy the views. On a clear day like today you can see the mountain range getting closer and clearer as you leave the city limits.
Immediately after arriving at the hotel I went on the viewpoint walk. It’s not long and offers some stellar views of the surrounding mountains. Kananaskis Village is a pretty interesting little place with an ice skating rink in the middle. It really is a small village of sorts with several different restaurants such as the Fireweed Grill, a lounge called Bighorn and a bar called Woody’s. It also has a cool coffee shop / deli called Obsessions which has good looking sandwiches and salads. Apart from that it also has several stores offering the types of things guests may need and a good looking spa with an indoor / outdoor hot tub as well as steam room that I’ll have to visit.
I’m here for two nights and look forward to indulging in some of the cuisine in the evening but more importantly discovering the mountains during the day. On the way up here I could see some ski runs and it’s unlike anything in recent memory or ever for that matter. In parts of Canada the mountains / hills look small to the eye and when you get on them, feel huge. Here the mountains looked gargantuan so can only imagine the feeling when you’re on them with some skis or a snowboard strapped to your feet. The snow looks incredible and I’m more than curious what the conditions will be like as I’ve never skied mountains like this before.
I really like my room here as it’s more of a loft apartment than a bedroom. It’s got a living area on the first floor for hanging out and working aka where I am now and upstairs it has two queen beds. This is one of those times you wish someone smarter than you had invented teleportation so a few choice friends could come enjoy the scene in its entire splendor.
Tomorrow I’ll finally get to ski in the Rocky Mountains, something I’ve dreamed of since childhood. I’d like to thank Travel Alberta, Tourism British Columbia, Tourism Canmore, Tourism Fernie and Resorts of the Canadian Rockies for making this trip happen.
Tips hat,
