It was a beautiful day in Calgary -for once! - so my hosts took me out for more exploration. Look at how blue the sky is!
First, we went back to the Zoo to check out some of the animals we missed seeing the other day. I found these great rocks to climb on while we followed the trail.
A big fluffy grizzly bear was rolling around in the snow. Maybe he was taking a bath?
This is the grizzly bear's biography. He was born in the 1990's, got a little too close to civilization, and ended up in the Zoo before he hurt someone or himself.
Look how close we were able to get! Good thing for safety glass!
The prairie dogs have started to come out of their burrows at last.
Some of them look very eager to get their breakfast!
On the other hand, the snow leopard probably thinks they *are* breakfast.
Golden eagles! See that one up there?
This is such a beautiful photo, don't you think?
And what would be a visit to Canada without MOOSE?
Here, two tortoises share a gourmet salad.
The baby giraffe only looks partially impressed by her fresh tree branch.
All the city sewer and manhole covers have this design. It sort of looks like a cherub, but it also looks like the Old Man of the North or South Wind, too!
Then we went to Fort Calgary, where the city's origins are founded at the meeting of the Elbow and the Bow Rivers. Here is a miniature model of what it looked like in 1875.
The fort's canteen. It had very strict rules about how things could be distributed to the soldiers because it was such remote territory at the time.
Here I try my hand at the telegraph in the restored office of Colonol Macleod.
See the spittoon? My hosts laughed about how that was seen as a sign of class and respectibility in those days.
Okay, this shot happened totally by accident, but can you see me in the mirror? This scene shows how the soldiers lacked for space and how many small items they had to store.
AUGH! The train is coming to Calgary! Whoooooooooo!
Early animation = the magic lantern
See the magic lantern cards on that shelf? Right below it is something that people might recognize from Samantha's 1904 collection!
Another train, though this one is easier to stop!
We could build our own little Fort Calgary with the Lincoln Logs here!
There were so many things to see from early Calgary history, like many of the tools made in furniture-making.
Wow, what a fancy cash register!
The printer's shop
The printing press
The equipment from Calgary's first radio station
The other side of the recording studio
The hospital ward looks rather primitive. Calgary didn't begin to start using sterilization techniques until after 1900!
Vintage toys!
Lots of teddy bears, bicycles, and tea sets.
Hey, it's Kit's scooter! It was very wiggly so my hosts had to help me stand.
Well, this is NOT an mp3 player for sure!
Even the shop windows have been re-created! Here is a shop where you could buy Japanese textiles, ceramics, lace, and more.
And of course, the oil and gas companies always wanted people to buy stocks in their company so that they could keep expanding.
Taking a "ride" in a streetcar!
It's an old Ford! I bet driving one of these was a lot more difficult than cars now!
Then we went to the gift shop, where my hosts were hoping to find me a Mountie uniform or even a hat. No luck though, as all the bears were smaller than I was!
Bison models... isn't the calf adorable?
"Signed, Traveling Sadie, an American Girl Doll!"
What remains of the fort today, as viewed looking north.
You can see how close the downtown buildings are from here. I doubt any of the men stationed at Fort Calgary in the 1880's could imagine what the view from the fort would be like in 2009.
