Special edition! Hold the presses!

"But I'm not really used to dogs, just cats."

© Photo by Kay Davies

We interrupt the ongoing coverage of the World Famous Dick and Kay Holiday in Russia to bring you the following late-breaking news.
On Monday at midnight, after almost 24 hours of travel from her home in the Netherlands, Mara, of the blog Weighty Matters, landed in Edmonton, Alberta.
Fortunately, she found a very comfortable bed awaiting her at the Best Western at the Edmonton Airport, and had a refreshing if all too brief sleep.
By noon she had organized rental of a nice silver Chevy Impala and was headed for Airdrie, Alberta, where I had arranged a large room at a Best Western with pet-friendly policies.
My dog Lindy loved traveling and staying in a hotel with her new friend. She wasn't too sure about the elevator, but soon realized I was saying "Lindy, sit" for a reason. From then on, she sat immediately after entering, then led the way out, as if showing us to our room.

Weather-watching bureaucrats probably love working here.

© Photo by Kay Davies

We packed some interesting things into our two-day sightseeing spree. Taking Hwy. 1A instead of Hwy. 1 (the busy Trans-Canada) as far as Canmore, we hoped to see some wildlife, but were destined to disappointment. We saw three dogs run across the road some distance ahead of us, but they weren't wild dogs. Mara saw a man balanced on a cement barrier, and looked in the direction his camera was pointing. She saw antlers, and by a rather sketchy process of elimination, I decided she might have seen the antlers and the top of the head of an elk. Or not.

Beautiful sky over the Bow River below Bow Falls.

© Photo by Kay Davies

Banff is Banff and looks like all ski towns in the modern world, but, as a National Park, it enjoys a rather substantial and somewhat posh Administration Building with beautifully landscaped grounds.
Lake Louise is like nothing else on earth. It is absolutely beautiful. The glaciers above it are no longer as grand as they were, but the lake is obviously glacier-fed, with its lovely turquoise waters.
Although Mara's wildlife count was limited to a distant pair of antlers and the top of an unrecognizable animal head, one chipmunk, many ravens, and some hawks, she believed me when I said she might see some wildlife the next day, when we headed east instead of west.
Fortunately, she did spot a small herd of deer and I was able to turn the car around and find the animals hadn't run away. My reputation as a big-game tour director was safe.
So...Banff and Lake Louise yesterday, the Alberta Badlands today. Keeping you (I hope) in suspense, I will continue tomorrow.

© Photo by Kay Davies

Posted for  Sky Watch Friday
To see other skies as other photo-bloggers saw them, please click HERE!