OH, CANADA . . . OH, MY!

For starters, I have to say that I really didn't feel at all inclined to leave Canada. In fact, for innumerable reasons, I think that I may have enjoyed it far too much for my own good!

Also, Southern Alberta is, well . . . it's absolutely breathtaking!

During my trip I stayed in Lethbridge, Alberta, which is home to the University of Lethbridge, as well as to my friend B. -- an old friend of mine from grad school. It had been ten years since I'd seen B. Ten whole years!!

Lethbridge is surrounded by beautiful river valleys and dramatic coulees carved out by the glaciers. There is a famous bridge, and everything is set against the beautiful backdrop of the Canadian Rockies.

Driving into the Rockies through the Crow's Nest Pass, there are a series of former coal-mining towns set through the mountain corridor leading into British Columbia. One of the towns, Frank Slide, was decimated in a matter of 90 seconds when the side of Turtle Mountain collapsed -- leaving the majority of the town covered in rock and boulders. It was a terrible and beautiful place. There were also the remains of old colleries in the Crow's Nest Pass, -- brick and stone structures that are no longer exemplars of cutting-edge industry, but are now mysterious ruins open to the elements. There were also waterfalls, incredible mountain lakes, as well as the lovely and sacred Seven Sisters.

And while I'm in the process of extolling the virtues of Southern Alberta, I feel that I would be remiss if I were not to at least touch upon the phenomenon of the Canadian Dyke. Articulate, well-mannered, er . . . quite strapping, and with that whole Fresh-Faced-Dyke-Next-Door thing going on . . . well, what's not to like?

Loathe as I am to admit it, I would be lying if I didn't say that I were at least a teeny-tiny bit smitten.