Candy and Jim's Great Canadian Adventure: February 2014

Our skiing adventures for this week included downhill skiing at Sunshine and cross country skiing at Confederation Golf Course. Our winter temperatures have hit a low point and it was around 10 F when we got to Sunshine ski hill. The day was beautiful, but it didn't warm up much. With the wind chill, it stayed in the low teens all day. It was my first time to ski at Sunshine. The boys (Jim, Ryan and Anthony) skied there at Thanksgiving while the girls and I enjoyed a spa day. Thank goodness there are plenty of "user friendly" runs at my skill level. I'm becoming more and more careful in my old age. Don't get me wrong, I still love a challenge, but I have to be careful Jim does not get us on a run that is beyond our expertise. He still thinks he is going for the men's downhill record. On our way back, we stopped at the Grizzly Paw Brewery in Canmore and sampled a couple of their craft brews. The bison burger was not bad either.

Today we rented cross country skis from the Calgary Outdoor Center (part of University of Calgary), a great place to rent all kinds of equipment and also take lessons. After we picked up the skis, we headed up to a golf course called Confederation Park. In the winter, the golf courses are used for cross country skiing here. It's great to be able to ski right in town, but unfortunately, our snow has been turning to ice and the whole course was a giant ice rink. There was a thin layer of snow on top. Just enough to give you a false sense of security. I'm proud to tell you that Jim didn't fall one time and probably liked the experience more than he let on. Don't tell Jim, but I think I actually like cross country skiing better than downhill. You can stay much warmer, it's cheaper, and you get tons of exercise!