For those who have wanted to know more about Canada here is a page chuck full of information and has links to pages galore. I found it quite fascinating full of knowledge and understanding. A must read for those who play Jeopardy and want to score high in the category about Canada.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CanadaHugh,
I just returned home from visiting the part of northern Texas that your link discusses. I can testify that the counties of British Columbia and Alberta are fabulously beautiful. The Texans in those parts are very nice folks too.
I drove my little RV to Seattle, Washington. Then Caryl met me by air, and we took the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria. Real nice place. I took Caryl to the Butchart Gardens. It was very beautiful, and she enjoyed it. (IMHO, when youv'e seen one flower.....)
Then we drove over to Calgary, Alberta to take in the Stampede. I had obtained tickets several months in advance. It was an excellent rodeo in the best Texas tradition. In fact, many of the participants were Texans, Okies, folks from Wyoming and Montana...wherever they have beef cattle. Beef production is REALLY big in Alberta. It is a plains area just like ND, SD, WY, MA, TX, OK, KS and MO.
In fact it is so plains that we were greeted by a genuine Texas thunderstorm about 50 miles out of Calgary. It was the real thing, complete with heavy rain, lightning and thunder, hail a foot deep on the road, winds gusting at 80 mph and a tornado warning! Them folks from Alberta county really know how to make a Texan feel at home. I'll tell you this...one doesn't fall asleep at the wheel driving through one of those! Helps the prayer life too.
From Calgary we drove north through Edmonton. Saw a real Texas sized mall there. (This provides scientific proof that Canada is part of Texas). I mean BIG...it had a water park complete with a swimming lagoon that had a wave machine, an ice hockey rink, an amusement park...it even had submarines! No kidding...they were very much like the ones they used to have at Disneyland. It had some panels broken out of the skylights. Seems that thunderstorm had paid them a visit too. That hail is hail on window glass.
We went west out of Edmonton. Up to Jasper national park in the Rockies. Trailed south down the Glacier Parkway through Lake Louise, Banff, Field, Waterton/Glacier park. Rode out on the glacier in the glaciermobile. These are Texas sized buses with 8 or 10 huge wheels and folding stairs that allow you to climb down to the glacier surface. (note, if you ever do this, dress warmly. Ice is cold! Southrn Calif. folks take notice.)
Our Glacier National Park is just about as beautiful, but on the Glacier Parkway you can cruise along on the highway taking in hundreds of miles of natural magnificence...neither words nor snapshots can describe the experience.
We ran into exactly one and one only Jerk in Canada. The kid who drove the glacier bus. He went way beyond the usual environmental lecture about global warming. Made a bunch of insulting comments about the USA and SUV's and the evil people who are killing the world. Blasted anyone who dared to disagree with him. All this while he is driving a huge diesel truck!
But, what the heck...even Texas has a few jackasses of its own.
Well anyway we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to those northern counties of Texas. But if you go there watch out for their predatory gas stations. 93.9 per liter in Victoria, BC. That works out to about $2.70 per gallon in American dollars.
Gotta support those socialist programs y'know.
God bless,
Thomas Maddux
