Alberta, Alberta, where you been so long? | Mark Blevis

2011.09.04

It?s time to remove the summer dust from my blog and exercise those writing muscles, again. There?s lots to blog about this fall, and I?ll get to that this week.

We just returned from our longest family vacation ? a 17-day western Canada immersion. We took Via?s fabled ?The Canadian?, a 67 year-old train that runs between Toronto and Vancouver as far as Edmonton (a three day excursion across most of our beautiful country) and then shoe-horned as much of southern Alberta as you can in 10 days with Janice (an incredibly generous and fun longtime friend of Andrea?s) before making the return trip. It was incredible (see photos).

Our summer vacation was all about discovery. I thought I?d share some of?what?I learned.

TRAVEL

• Enjoy the journey. I?ve flown a lot, both for pleasure and business travel. Air travel has become increasingly about stress, rush, security, lines, waiting, personal space, delays and inconvenience. For some it?s about ?block and tackle? to survive or, to borrow an Arrested Development quote, ?keep your head down and power through.? The train is about the journey. It?s about meeting and chatting with amazing people, seeing incredible scenery, playing a card game with family, and relaxing with a book or a glass of wine. It?s about eating great food and exchanging interesting life stories. It?s about being lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking motion. It?s about getting there when you get there and knowing a 2 hour delay on a 53 hour train trip is completely acceptable, and on a 4 hour flight it?s a profound failure of service that can mess up your entire travel schedule.
• The economics of travel are broken. We lucked out and managed a 50% off deal for the train. Despite those savings, travel by train is incredibly expensive. Our family could have done two, possibly three return trips to Alberta for the price of our train tickets. True we had adjoining sleeper cabins which included meals and entertainment (the talented Chris Kirby performed on the westbound trip and Via?s activities coordinators hosted wine, beer and tea tastings, bingo, Canadian trivia, name that tune, information sessions and movie nights). Still, most travelers aren?t going to give up ?air speed? for rail experience at that cost. You?d think rail travel would be more affordable and offer an attractive alternative to both drivers and air enthusiasts. Even though it?s bloody expensive, I recommend you try a long-distance train trip at least once.

PEOPLE

• We?re here for a good time? This is a two-tier learning ? more of a reinforcement than something new. Part one: Our vacation included some harrowing experiences tubing down the Pembina River. We left with injuries including a broken toe, cuts, scrapes and some serious friction burns (and down one iPhone). Our?injuries?are all healing. We?re all around to talk about how we got them. Part two: Jack Layton?s passing stunned Canadians of all political and geographic stripes. He epitomized passion and commitment, hope and enthusiasm. He has left us with the gift of reflection and realizing our potential as individuals and as a country. We were able to honour Jack during our trip and enjoyed many discussions with Canadians and foreign tourists about the man he was. We will miss him. By the way, if you find a black 16Gb iPhone 4 at the bottom of the river, I?d love to get the photos off of it.
• Chance can favour the unprepared. We were invited to spend a night at a farm belonging to friends of Janice. We were concerned about being guests where we didn?t know anyone and had no place to go if we weren?t enjoying ourselves ? and questioned our courage to bolt (and the social statement being made) if we felt we had to. Being in the final days of our vacation and wanted them to count, we seemingly had every reason to say no. We reluctantly said yes. Thankfully so! Doug (from the band?Rule of Nines), Cheryl, Olivia, Caleb, Myrna, Bob and everyone else at the farm made us feel like the kind of family everyone wants to have ? so much so that last night we lamented missing the big Labour Day weekend party they?re having.
• Customer service is critical. We encountered people who are committed to making others feel welcome and people who do the bare minimum that?s required of them. The entire crew on the Toronto to Winnipeg leg of our Via trip were phenomenal. Some of the Via crew for the remainder of our travels were also outstanding. In many respects, those people made our train travels even more memorable. Our guides at the Columbia Ice Fields, on Lake Minnewanka and one of the interpreters at Fort Edmonton?informed and entertained us in a way that showed how important it is for them that we appreciate the beauty of their province. The staff at the Hotel Selkirk are an?embarrassment?to the hospitality industry. DON?T STAY AT THE HOTEL SELKIRK.

CANADA

• The Canadian landscape is unmatched. I recognize this might be contentious for some people who haven?t seen Canada, yet. You don?t know what you?re missing. It?s much more than the rocks and trees and water The Arrogant Worms sing about. It?s life seemingly growing out of the rock of the Canadian Shield. It?s forests that hug rivers and lakes which the train snakes through on perfect tracks. It?s fields of golden canola, armies of sunflowers, rolling fields of wheat and massive skies which host unbelievable sunrises and sunsets. And, it?s the majesty of the Rocky mountains which my grade school teachers always told me were in BC. They?re in Alberta where they collaborate with glaciers, fast running rivers filled with rock-flour, forests and fields to create what many people call ?God?s Country.? By the way, the prairies aren?t nearly as dull as many people suggest they are.
• I could live in Alberta. I often ask myself if the place I?m visiting is the kind of place where I could live. I?ve had twinges of that feeling in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Tucson also has some appeal. Kingston is too much of a getaway place for me to imagine trading that for permanent resident. Alberta is the first place I?ve been where I really felt I could make a home.

I plan to start editing and publishing video from our trip over the next few weeks. There?s lots to share. I?ll let you know when the videos are available.

Andrea has a great post about our trip as well.

Source: http://www.markblevis.com/alberta-alberta-where-you-been-so-long/

milwaukee brewers florists parks capybara dentists dry cleaning celiac disease symptoms