Sorry for the delay! A week out of the office has left tons of work to do – but without further ado I note that I received my offer of full-time employment today, a little over a month ahead of schedule. Good stuff!
For those interested in the Calgary/Banff/Lake Louise trip head on over to Facebook, I’ve got a directory up there. At some point this weekend I should get a Jalbum up on this site but there are pics over there now. For those who haven’t heard/seen/read the story the coolest part for me was the trek up Sulphur Mountain, a 2200 foot, 5.6km hike to one of the highest summits in Banff; a 90-minute walk that is advertised as a 2-5 hour journey. Story after the jump for those who care…

Arrived in Calgary on the 13th to run into my event planner at the baggage claim (she flew in from Edmonton so it was a nice piece of coincidence), so we hitched a ride on the free shuttle to the Coast Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre. I must quickly note to those holding events in Calgary that the northeast is somewhere to stay away from, it’s basically Calgary’s Harlem. Calgary has a significant poverty and homeless problem they appear to be ignoring, and a large portion of this problem is in the NE. It gave me concern for my event straight away as I can’t imagine a Calgarian looking forward to a drive into the NE for a tech show. The event planner, myself, and our internal reps for CA and IBM headed out for a Red Lobster dinner and then back for a rest for the big day.
Thursday’s show was well done and well run with the exception that only 29 of the registered 49 bothered to attend. It’s an uphill battle to keep the peace and please the vendors when attendance falls that low but I did what I could, and it seems the quality of who I brought was there. A good and tiring day culminating in a trip to the Saltlik steakhouse on Stephen Street, a terrific restaurant with the greatest French Onion Soup I’ve ever poured down my gullet. I followed it up with the smaller sized Angus Sirloin paired with a Big Rock Black Amber Ale and all was top-notch. Good place. Back to the hotel for a quick meeting with another old friend alongside Big Rock Traditional Ale and Big Rock Grasshopper Wheat Ale.
Friday I woke, packed, and caught the C-Train to the Marriott I’d won for a couple nights at $50USD per night. They were extra kind and checked me in at 10:20AM so I could drop my bags and gear off, got dressed into the hiking clothes, fired up the GPS and quickly darted out the door. Met up with an old CryptoLogic colleague for lunch, strolled downtown while we caught up, and then head out Geocaching. My first cache took me into the Erlton/Roxboro Natural Area and was found without my delay, only my second Geocache in my early career, and a valuable “foreign” find. I found it interesting that these nearby residential areas were so varied as to have older, century-style homes beside ultra-modern boxy houses. I was informed that house values ranged from $1.5 million to $4 million, and thus people were selling their land and the rich newcomers were building their dream homes. I kept walking, found another cache, and noticed it offered a great view of the Calgary skyline. Also noticed I’d walked almost four kilometres so I began the waterside walk back. A quick bite at the famous Earls chain for the Soup, Salad, and Pan Bread combo along with an Albino Rhino Winter Pudding porter; both good. From there it was a meeting at Bot the Fish Tavern with an ECHL friend and GM of our Calgary Flames and a great few hours of chatter alongside a tasty Big Rock McNallys Extra, a pitiful Molson Old Style Pilsner (now re-branded Pilsner in a cunning attempt to trick me), and a third one that escapes me. Clearly by now I’ve drank a lot, lay off.
Saturday I woke to a horrific rain storm that promised no view during my planned trip to the Rockies. But I’d secured a car rental for $19.97 on the internet and had no intention of not driving there, so off I went at 8:30AM anyways. Got to Banff about 9:45AM and began walking throughout. It’s a great town, highly recommended, and so much more to offer than boring old Calgary. I Geocached again, along the Bow River Trail, and coming up directly opposite the hotel from The Shining – the Banff Springs Hotel. What an awe-inspiring site to see this crazy hotel rising out of the trees as these storm clouds hung ominously overhead. Wild stuff. Headed back for a bit at Magpie & Stump for some Chicken and Almond Enchiladas and a Grizzly Paw Grumpy Bear Honey Wheat. From there, it was off to Sulphur Mountain.
Great trail but a long and arduous hike for a rookie like me, and with no signs warning of how far you’ve come or gone it’s hard to find the strength to keep going at times. I hit that point part way up and ran into an amazing doctor from Kitchener in amazing shape who told me she’d done this four times and invited me to walk along with her. I did, and we talked and introduced ourselves as we went. It wasn’t long before we hit the top and continued on another kilometre to the Cosmic Ray Station and the pinnacle of the climb. We took each other’s pictures before heading back down on the Gondola. This kind lady took me on a brief driving tour of Banff to show me the sights, took me back to town, and bought me a coffee before shaking my hand, wishing me well, and heading back to her hotel. The highlight of my trip and a time I won’t soon forget. Sadly, I’d barely noticed that I appeared to be suffering from heat stroke and dehydration, and was unable to continue drinking as every sip of water made me want to vomit. Coupled with a migraine it was providing difficult to keep going.
I was off to Lake Louise at the urging of my parents, and because it would be silly not to drive the extra 30 minutes to do so. Sadly, my rapidly failing condition wasn’t allowing me to make the most of it, and while I roamed and snapped some pictures, my mind was on getting some food and getting back to the hotel. I grabbed dinner at Coyote in Banff, then quickly peeled out to try and beat the darkness back. What I didn’t beat back was one of the worst storms I’ve seen in a while, so bad the news reported houses losing roofs and such. It was that bad with pure blackness, torrential downpour, and plenty of other things to scare a guy who declined collision on his rental. I did make it back safe, however, cleaned off the day’s worth of hiking filth, drank a little water and fell asleep.
Sunday was to be my last day and I woke up tired, weary, and barely able to walk from the day before. Still, I hadn’t seen the Saddledome or Stampede Grounds, and I wasn’t about to let a tired body and another hefty helping of rain stop me. I managed to take in those sights but gave up on my hopes of another Geocache due to the non-stop rain and fact I was mere hours from flying home.
That’s my story – I think I managed to pack a lot of living into a few post-work days, and can report the vendors were happy with the show I put off now that the feedback has come in. All told a successful trip! Next up – three days in Boston with Brent for a Red Sox game, hopefully with my new car. I’ll keep y’all posted..