This trip was part two of a three part series of Fall photography excursions. Logistically, this trip was a pain to plan and stick with because certain changing variables such as the weather forced me to cut certain parts of the trip and extend others. I have ultimately learned that Mother Nature sucks and it sucks that I have to be dependent on good weather to ensure a successful photography trip.
I started this trip in Calgary. Truthfully, if I could go back in time and replan this trip, I would have started in Alaska first and did Calgary second. After two flights, I got into Calgary in the afternoon. The Resident Inn Marriott was one of the better hotels I have stayed at in Canada. It was almost too nice to be a hotel room. Once settled, I walked over to Scotiabank Saddledome to see a Calgary Flames hockey game. That had to be one of the most passionate sports games I have ever attended. Calgary fans love their hockey. Once the game was done, I went right into photography mode and went after the skyline.
I took a tour to Banff on my last day in Calgary. If I ever make a trip back, I plan to spend more time in Banff. That little town was amazing! I got my first taste of winter in Canada and I was reminded of why Slip and Slides were my least favorite activities as a kid. The winter scenes were beautiful, but I definitely want to come back the next May I have available.
Banff was definitely the highlight of the trip. I summarize Calgary was Canada’s version of Dallas if that is a fair comparison from a geographic standpoint. It is a major metropolitan area surrounded by a rural environment. I will say this about Calgary. It is definitely one of the quieter cities that I have seen and they are well organized over there. Haven’t been able to say that about a lot of metropolitan areas that I have been to.
My trip to Calgary was brief and I ended up spending the second half of my trip heading to Alaska. My main objective with Alaska was to finally capture the aurora borealis. Needless to say, the excursion was a catastrophic failure due to mother nature giving me overcast weather and cloud cover the entire time I was there. However, the trip wasn’t a complete failure. I did have the opportunity to visit Mount Denali (I am not calling it McKinley) National Park. Flew around the national park in a plane for about 90 minutes. It was truly incredible to witness the highest mountain in North America.
Taking that road trip to and from Talkeetna was definitely an experience and a reminder of why insurance matters when it comes to car rentals. I have never seen such poorly constructed roads where gravel and rocks can come at you at any time.
While I was in Anchorage, I had a chance to catch up with an old high school friend of mine. I did promise him that if I ever made it out to Alaska that we would catch up. It’s nice to have friends all over the place. Overall, I am glad I was able to get Alaska crossed off my list. The winter scenery there is beautiful and lives up to the hype.