Calgary
Tuesday the 21st of August, day 2
We have slept reasonably well last night. I woke up a few times, but that won’t spoil the fun 
Today we are going to explore Calgary, but first we have to eat breakfast. Judy did a great job! It is very good, but is also heavy on the stomach. I can hardly manage to eat it all, but Wendy seems to be very hungry and is finished before I know it. It takes getting used to this type of breakfast again, but it has the advantage that you don’t need lunch anymore.
When we ask Judy where we can buy a ticket to enter the National Parks, she has a surprise for us. She can lend us one. That’s an offer we can’t refuse.
After breakfast, we head out to the Calgary Tower to get a birdseye view 
of Calgary. The skyscrapers are located in a relatively small area. The rest of the city is mostly low buildings, spread out over a vast area. The region is almost flat with some scattered hills. When we look to the west we see the Rocky Mountains, looming in the distance.
Just a few minutes walking distance from the Calgary Tower is the Olympic Plaza. This is where the medalwinners of the Olympic Wintergames in 1988 were honoured. Nowadays it is used for concerts and festivals. A lot of people use this spot to relax during their lunchbreak. We join in and drink a nice and cool iced tea.
Close by, we discover the Devonian Gardens. It is a ‘glass garden’ covering three floors, on top of a building. It is a special garden, and this is also a spot for people to relax.
In a travel guide book, we read about the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. We have to drive to 
the east of Calgary to get there. We find it quickly, but what we see disappoints us to say the least. It is a grassland with some trees and a vantage point. There are no real footpaths, yet we read in the guide that is is wheelchair accessible!?
We decide to drive along and after just 50 meters we find the real Bird Sanctuary. Our previous stop was at the Inglewood Wildlands
This looks better. There are a few short trails going through the forest and along the Bow River. This is were we see our first wildlife, two Mule Deer (it is no surprising that they deserve that name because of their big ears) hiding in the forest. They have spotted us and don’t lose sight. 
There are a lot of animals here. On a small island in the Bow River are hundreds of seagulls gathering for the night. High in the air fly a couple of eagles. The forest is home to all kinds of small birds. When we arrive back at our car we see our first Gopher!
It is already getting late, so we decide to head back to town. We make a detour for a stop at Salisbury Street SE. Here is a viewpoint overlooking Stampede Park, the Saddledome and downtown Calgary. We enjoy the view and then drive to Crescent Road NW. This road is on a clif north of the Bow River. There is a long stairway that takes us down. It is also used by people for endurance training. After we have crossed the Bow River and walked through Prince’s Island Park we are back in downtown Calgary. We enoy our dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory.
After a good meal we walk back to the car. In the Prince’s Island Park is an outdoor theatre. The spectators are sitting on a hillside in front of the stage. It is a nice view, so we decide to watch a little bit. Despite our full stomach we manage to climb the stairs.
It is getting dark, so we watch the sunset before we go home.
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