Oh Canada!

I hung out with the Canucks up in Calgary over the past few days. A couple of things I learned about Canada while I was there:

1) A one dollar coin is called a "loonie" and a two dollar coin is called a "toonie." It's a little tough to take their money seriously, to be perfectly honest.

2) Not every radio station plays Rush non-stop. This was a bit of a disappointment for me.

3) The TV stations do play hockey non-stop though.

4) Everyone really does say "abowt" rather than "about" (this isn't just limited to movie parodies and hockey announcers).

5) Calgary is a nice city. Reminds me a lot of SLC, in terms of climate, nice people, cleanliness, and urban sprawl. Their downtown area is bigger and seems better planned though, and it has a river running through it, which I think is a pre-req for qualifying as a really cool city. Our mountains make up for our lack of river though. Here's part of the city:

6) Calgarians don't seem very concerned about keeping roads and sidewalks clear of snow. They seem to accept it as a part of life. It snowed on Sunday and the most roads still had snow on them when I left on Tuesday. Makes sense to me though. After all, I wouldn't try and towel off in the middle of a rain storm, so why clear the roads in the middle of a Canadian winter?

7) The Canadian Rockies are pretty spectacular, and the town of Banff is like Park City, only in a location that is about 100 times prettier. The visibility in this pic of the Rockies is poor due to the snow, but it's better than nothing:

I almost forgot how much fun snowboarding is. Boarding in Sunshine Village (just outside of Banff) was one of my best boarding days ever. You know how some of your best riding days ever have been while riding alone, where everything seems a little surreal? Kind of like that. The snow was good, even though the base was lacking a little. Thank goodness for rental boards. It really has me looking forward to the day when we actually get some snow, assuming that day ever comes.

Here are a few more pictures from my "work" trip.

The powder didn't suck:

The wildlife didn't seem to mind my intrusion:

If anyone is looking for a nice anniversary spot, check this place in Banff out:


Think about it. You are now the best husband ever for choosing such a romantic getaway, and you get some of the best mountain biking, skiing, and/or boarding on earth. Not a bad setup.