Today it was a long lie in
being Sunday and a good breakfast to start off the day and then it was of
to Cranbrook for Sunday shopping...
It's actually very flat at Cranbrook but you
are surrounded by the Rockies in every direction
This was taken inside the "Real Canadian
Superstore" showing fresh crabs, lobsters and other shell fish. They also
had a huge section for Fruit and Veg. Very impressive store.
Just put the Wal-Mart picture up for Laura
down in Kentucky as she works in their store down there
We were now on our way back to Kimberley by
the back road
This is a big complex on Indian Reservation
land with hotel, golf course and casino
and back home in Kimberley
You are certainly struck by
the Rockies surrounding you on all sides as you travel around. As
we've been mostly going around in the afternoon some shots are impossible
with the sun coming straight out at you but will be trying for a morning
session to show you some of the other impressive scenery of the area.
While shopping I was struck
by the differences between foods stocked in the USA and here in Canada. In
some respects they are more towards the foods in Scotland but certainly
have a strong American influence as well but even more of an International
feel. I guess you might say they have a mix of all that is best across the
world. I mentioned it above but I was also very impressed with the
range of fruit and vegetables that were available.
In some respects it's been
quite hard for me to get around the fact that I'm actually living in a ski
resort. Just a mile up the road from the town is everything you need for a
skiing holiday with hotels, restaurants, chalets and the like. It's
certainly a major tourist attraction for the area with a great range of
ski runs. I'm told the season officially ends on April 9th and then there
are around 6 weeks of quiet time before everyone turns up for fishing,
golf, mountaineering, treks and the like. A whole new season is about to
start. As it's within easy reach of the USA a lot of Americans take their
holidays up here but there are also folk from all over the world that have
obviously found this area to their liking.
I will say that Billy,
Debbie and their son Donald have all been looking after me extremely well.
Donald has been teaching me how to edit video clips and he really does
know computers. He's already been accepted for a special CISCO
course at college where there are only 20 places available and he was
number 2 to be selected. He clearly has a big future in the computer and
communications business. Mind you I suspect his mum and dad will miss him
more than normal when he goes as he's a big help with the business and
around the home.
You get a real sense of
space around here with large miles of lands with no habitation at all and
even when you get to settlements there are plently of open land
surrounding them. Already getting an idea that the local tourism and
commercial organisations are not seeing opportunities to market the area
properly which does seem to be a recurring theme through my wanderings
around the various areas of the world. I will be visiting the local
library next week to see what I can find out about the area. |