Sue and Martin in Mallorca 2019

Sue and Martin in Mallorca 2019
On the Archduke's Path in Mallorca

Thursday 21 September 2017

A Canadian Adventure - Day 49

Wednesday 20 September 2017

Canmore and Calgary

Sadly our stay at Bow Valley Motel is at an end. We left it until the 11 o'clock deadline to leave, which gave us plenty of time to pack up, visit the laundry, and in my case enrol with a dentist and acquire some penicillin to hopefully contain my dental problem, confirmed by x-ray as an abscess, until we get home.

We learnt that the motel has been sold and the new owners will shortly be gutting and refurbishing it, thus denying tourists the current affordable, if not cheap, cost of staying in Canmore. A shame, especially as the plans include closure of the attached laundry.

It was an overcast day, with precipitation on the nearby hills, if not in Canmore itself. So after our farewells to the helpful receptionists and housekeeping staff (apparently they are sorry to see us go as we have provided good entertainment for them), we topped up Charlie and took him to an Enterprise (car hire) office for a health check. He passed with flying colours. 

Lunch provisions were acquired and we set off to explore some trails around Canmore that we'd been saving for the rainy day that never arrived. There's a lovely trail beside the Bow River, and lots of good paths around the town to enjoy. The Engine Bridge Loop revealed a good number of Common Mergansers on this stretch of the river. To our surprise, toadflax was coming into flower on the banks.

Lunch was pretty luxurious today as we had a jar of mayo and some potato salad to supplement the usual goat's cheese buns, crisps and boiled eggs.

We passed Canmore's iconic sculpture 'Big Head' on our way to the high street, where Jason Leo Bantle's photograph gallery had some very tempting works of art. It was a struggle to exit without buying anything, apart from liquid refreshments next door at the Good Earth café.

Before we knew it, the time had come to drive to Peter and Cassie's house in Calgary, with the Rocky Mountains slowly disappearing in the rear view mirror. It was good to see Cassie again and we are happily ensconced in their spacious house.

Pictures:

• Yesterday outside the motel
• The Engine Bridge, from coal mining times that ended in 1979. Now part of the Town Trail
• View from Engine Bridge
• Engine Bridge
• Larches by the Bow River at Canmore
• Lunchtime
• Bow Valley Motel
• The Big Head

8 km around Canmore 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm continuing to be enthralled by your fabulous photos! Totally jealous.
Martin you have my sympathies re your toothache. I was plagued by eye watering pain from a broken filling when we were in France this summer. Thankfully 25Euros paid to a lovely French GP got me some super strong painkillers. The tramadol(!) got me through the remaining 10 days of our holiday and all is fixed. Hope you've been able to get some relief from yours.
Hazel

Phreerunner said...

You have my sympathy Hazel. I remember having to take bucket loads of tramadol to relieve back pain. No need for it here as the paracetamol and codeine mixture worked OK, and hopefully the antibiotic will kick in until we get home. My problem is an infection rather than a broken tooth problem like yours, but I fear more root canal treatment. ..