On a crisp winter day, our coldest day so far, with a brilliant blue sky, I got going early at about 7:15 am and drove about 20 minutes from Banff to the tourist town of Canmore. This mountain town is located about an hour from Calgary,

1. Calgary Driving instructors
On a crisp winter day, our coldest day so far, with a brilliant blue sky, I got going early at about 7:15 am
and drove about 20 minutes from Banff to the tourist town of Canmore. This mountain town is located
about an hour from Calgary, just 5 minutes outside the gates to the Banff National Park and is part of
Kananaskis County , one of the main recreational areas just outside of Calgary. The Nakiska Ski area is
not far from Canmore and it played host to the alpine events during the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.
Canmore is nestled deep inside the Bow Valley beneath the Front Ranges of the Canadian Rockies. Due
to the beauty of the surrounding wilderness areas, several Hollywood movies have been filmed here,
including movies such as Legends of the Fall and Dances with Wolves. The development of this area
really took off when the Canadian Pacific Railway constructed its railway line through the mountains in
1888, providing convenient access to mining companies looking to tap into the area's rich coal deposits.
Canmore was founded shortly after and attracted prospectors which were soon followed by hotels,
restaurants and shops. The North West Mounted Police had an outpost here with a "two man and two
horse barrack" and at some point Canmore even had an opera house.
Mining came to an end in 1979, but today Canmore has developed into a major recreational centre that
attracts athletes, artists, nature lovers and adventure seekers. That was the category that I fell into
today, as I was seeking out a truly unusual adventure: Dog sledding!Punctually at 8:15 am I arrived at
the retail outlet of Snowy Owl Adventures to be included in their 2-hour "Power Hound Express" tour
that was to start at 9 am. The retail outlet itself features a variety of clothing, souvenirs, pictures and
books with a dog sledding theme. I also rented big insulated boots to make sure my feet wouldn't get
cold on this very brisk winter day.
A group of about 9 or 10 people were ready to get out on the trails, to be pulled by a group of
enthusiastic canine athletes. Our group had travelers from various parts of Canada, Texas, England and
Holland and everybody was excited to get out there. Chris, our driver, packed us into a van and up we
went into the mountains. We drove by several extremely scenic drinking water reservoirs and about 20
minutes later we arrived in the Spray Lakes area of Kananaskis County, very close to the Three Sisters
Hydroelectric Generating Station. The first thing we saw was the trailer with the transport kennels for
the sled dogs and five teams of enthusiastic canines were already waiting for us. Jereme, one of our dog
sledding guides, gave us a half hour safety presentation and instructions on how to ride the sled. That's
where my first big surprise came in: I didn't realize that we ourselves would get a chance to drive the
sled, I had assumed that we'd simply be packed into the sled and the guides would be driving us.