I visited Alberta last week. It has been almost a dozen years since I last visited. The last time was during the Calgary Stampede. I thought all Calgarians wore cowboy boots and cowboy hats. Not this time. The old stereotypes die hard.There is no doubt Calgary is booming. Construction cranes dot the skyline. Jobs are going begging. Yet the people remain down to earth. Even though the city is growing rapidly, Calgarians seem to eschew the hectic lifestyles typical of other big cities.
The city is also becoming more cosmopolitan. One of the biggest surprises of my visit was hearing French on several occasions while out for a jog along the Bow River. I asked one young mother out pushing a stroller with her friend about it and she assured me, "il y a beaucoup de francophones à Calgary."Here are some other pics from my trip:
The infamous Red Square in Calgary
Acting the part at a natural gas collector site
Compressing the natural gas for shipment
A typical Albertan oil rig
Cows on the prairies
The Starship Enterprise in Vulcan, Alberta
