We’ve arrived in Calgary

 Saturday, August 23, 2025

Arrived at the hotel last night by 10pm (midnight east coast time). All the flights were good. On the first leg, our seat-mate, who we gave the aisle seat to, asked us about our layover in MSP. When he heard it was a long one he said we could follow him to the Delta Lounge and he got us in as his guests. What a nice gesture. So we were able to spend our 5 hours of layover with free food and drink and a nice place to hang out. 

We are staying at the Fairmont Palliser in Calgary. Beautiful old hotel. Right next to the Calgary Tower (more on that later). Room is lovely and we were quite tired, so after a quick shower to wash off that airplane grunge, it was off to bed.

A great hotel breakfast this morning (included in our tour). We met two sisters traveling together for their first Tauck tour. One from Long Island and the other from Maryland - near Chestertown. So not far from us. Very nice people - we will have fun with them and I’m sure there are more friends to meet.

We then spent most of the day wandering around Calgary on our own. Beautiful sunshine and blue sky. A little cool in the morning but it warmed up nicely. and, of course, no humidity. We walked some 11,000 steps as we found the Elbow and Bow rivers - the area where they meet is referred to as the Confluence. 

This was where the North-West Mounted Police first arrived to set up Fort Calgary. Of course the ‘first nation” people were already here - the Blackfoot Tribe. It seems Canada was no better at treating these indigineous people than we were in the United States. This area is now an historic site and parkland and we enjoyed the museum exhibit mainly focusing on experiencing the Blackfoot traditions.

From there we walked along the river and enjoyed a cappuccino and chai latte before heading to the Calgary library - a large, very modern building, with wooden staircases that traverse the inside of the building in a somewhat circular pattern. Then off to the Calgary Tower - a 71 second ride to the top. This iconic structure is the pride and joy of Calgary and we enjoyed a 360 degree panoramic view of the city and the mountains beyond.

Finally we headed to a popular shopping area - Stephen Avenue Walk - pedestrian friendly with lots of cafes and shops, only a block away from our hotel.

Then back to the hotel to rest up before the actual tour begins tonight at 5:30pm.

There are 26 of us on the trip - all Americans from around the country including Florida, Georgia, California, Minnesota, New York, Maryland, and Wyoming. Seems like a great bunch of people whom we will enjoy getting to know.  Many of them are first timers with Tauck, but have traveled extensively with other providers.  

We enjoyed a Wild West Welcome Reception at Heritage Park in Calgary. A large group of young people (boys and girls) dressed appropriately and playing the fiddle with many familiar songs. They were fantastic - a couple of them danced as well.

But then the outlaws showed up - they had just robbed a bank only to find that their getaway horses had been stolen, which they tried to pin it on one of us. In the nick of time the sheriff showed up and a fist fight, followed by a “shoot em up” showdown ensued. Lots of fun!

In the end they were nice enough to pose with us for a picture - the guy on the right was the undertaker and kept trying measure you for the coffin!

Dinner was served buffet style - great food and conversation as we get to know one another. Then back to the hotel with our instructions for tomorrow. We leave at 8am, heading to Waterton National Park before crossing the border into Montana and arriving at Glacier National Park in the late afternooon. Our tour guide keeps warning us that we will be ‘roughing’ it a bit compared to our current Fairmont hotel.

NOTE: there will be no cell service in Glacier, so it might be a couple of days before I can put out another blog.

Weather is fantastic! Sorry the font keeps changing size :(

Stay tuned…

Betsy