Lake Louise

Banff Spring Hotel

City of Calgary

The Chinook Cloud Formation

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Ken and I met 31 years ago here in Calgary. It is where we call home even though Ken was born in Kelowna, BC and I was born in Kingston, Ontario.

Calgary has been a great place to raise our children.

Ken himself has lived in Calgary since 1977.

Calgary is the largest City in the Province of Alberta situated in the south in the Foothills of the Canadian Rockies and the prairies.

When we first moved here the population was a mere 450,000 now it is approximately 1,500,000. Needless to say we have seen many changes.

Calgary's primary industry is the petroleum industry. Many national oil companies have their head offices here and there are many secondary oil related companies as well. Oil was first discovered in the area in 1902 creating the first boom. The 1970's created the second boom with the Arab Embargo. In fact Calgary is so tied to the oil industry that it booms when the oil prices rise. The economy slows down when the oil takes a down turn.

We have a saying in Calgary about the weather "If you don't like it wait 5 minutes". Due to the close vicinity to the mountains we have our own weather patterns that make any weather forecaster cringe. Summers average around 20-22C and cool at night,making airconditioners not necessary. Our winters can be mild OR a major endurance test. One day may find temperatures in the morning of -40C (NOT A TYPO,minus) only to have the temperature rise later in the day to +10C. Its called a Chinook and all Calgarians welcome the sight of Chinook clouds. Unfortunately we can also have the minus temps for weeks at a time without a Chinook. These cold spells could be the reason we are enjoying our trip! Calgary is one of the most sunniest cities with 2400 hrs of sunshine a year. Its hard sometimes to except that its really cold out when the sun is shining so brightly.

1988 was a year to remember in Calgary. The Calgary Winter Olympics. We were the first Canadian City to host the games. We were also the first Olympics to post a profit on the games with the expertise of Frank King. This particular winter was a mild winter and snow had to be trucked into many of the venues.

Calgary is a destination for its world class ski hills. A visit to Banff and Lake Louise leaves an impression with all that see them.

Calgary is known for its "Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth" The Calgary Stampede. The Stampede traces it roots to 1886. It sees over a million people a year pass through its gates to observe the rodeo, chuckwagons and exhibition. Many of us Calgarians leave town when the show comes to town, but for the kids, tourists and habitual stampede goers it is a 10 day party.

Calgary is a great place to live and visit and I would highly recommend a visit. As we tour our own city this summer I will publish more pictures of many attractions.

Sorry this is a week late getting posted as we went out of town with no internet.