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<\/a>JJ, Linda, Judy and Louise<\/p><\/div>\n
The two-and-and-a-half hour flight from LAX<\/strong> to Calgary, Alberta<\/strong> was uneventful, no crashes, no hijackings, but there was a bit of disappointment once we landed; the usually beautiful Canadian Rockies<\/strong> were covered in smoke from fires west of us in British Columbia<\/strong>. So it seemed that the Great Smokey Mountains<\/strong> had moved from North Carolin<\/strong>a\/Tennessee to Alberta\/British Columbia<\/strong>. The typically picturesque drive from Calgary to Canmore<\/strong>, our home for the next week, was filled with Linda and me saying things like, \u201cSee that hazy outline of a mountain over there, usually that\u2019s spectacularly beautiful\u201d while the rest of the party squinted and smiled in faux amusement.<\/p>\n The next morning we leave our comfortable accommodations at Blackstone Mountain Lodge<\/strong> and travel less than a mile to our first golf destination, Silvertip Golf Course<\/strong>. It is a course carved out of the forest and mountains with lots of elevation and incredible views on every picturesque hole . . . usually. You would have thought that the smoke, dark clouds and rain would not only dampen the course, but also our spirits \u2013 not so much.\u00a0 \u00a0The light rain had stopped and had cleared some of the smoke away.\u00a0 We enjoyed the course so much that we decided to play another round there on what was going to be a golf-free day later in the week. I have included a photo of the famous triple mountain peak formation, The Three Sisters<\/strong>, I took during the round and juxtaposed it to a photo probably taken by the Canmore Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n Chamber of Commerce photo<\/p><\/div>\n My photo of The Three Sisters<\/p><\/div>\n Golf the next day was at Kananaskis<\/strong>, a 36-hole layout that was completely washed out in a flood in 2013 and only fully restored and reopened at the beginning of this month<\/strong>. Kananaskis is in a valley with great edifices of granite peaks surrounding it \u2013 it\u2019s like playing golf in the middle of Yosemite Valley<\/strong>, without the waterfalls – although I managed to find some water.<\/p>\n Chateau Lake Louise<\/p><\/div>\n Tourist day today, with breakfast in quaint downtown Banff,<\/strong> then on the see\u00a0Lake Louise<\/strong>. We were fortunate that we arrived at the lake when we did as we took some pictures, went in to have a drink and by the time we came back out you couldn\u2019t see to the other end of the lake due to clouds and smoke.<\/p>\n The next day\u2019s golf was at Stuart\u2019s Creek<\/strong>, the course was in great shape, but the normally beautiful vistas from each hole were non-existent due to a layer of heavy smoke. There are currently about 15 forest fires blazing in Alberta, but next door in British Columbia where the winds are coming from there are a total of 559 on-going fires<\/strong> \u2013 most caused by lightning. The golf was a little hazy too.<\/p>\n What our view was suppose to look like<\/p><\/div>\n What our view actually looked like<\/p><\/div>\n Our penultimate day in the usually picturesque Rockies was the worst in terms of air quality. You know those outlines of mountains we could see on the way in? They\u2019re gone, nothing but smoke-filled skies. We\u2019re told we shouldn\u2019t even be outside, but we\u2019ve committed to play Silvertip again and since we all live in Southern California, our lungs are used to bad air quality.<\/p>\n Final day of golf at Banff Springs Golf Course<\/strong> and a walk through the hotel – nice, but without the views of the mountains and the Bow River<\/strong> due to the smoke, it’s not quite the same.<\/p>\n The companionship was superb as usual and\u00a0 the courses were in great shape, but it was a shame that we could not fully enjoy the views of one of the most beautiful places on the planet.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Not smoke, dark clouds, rain or bad golf could keep me from making a fool of myself.\u00a0 Here I am following the sacred tradition of playing with my pants down having not reached the lady’s tee with my drive.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bob Sparrow The two-and-and-a-half hour flight from LAX to Calgary, Alberta was uneventful, no crashes, no hijackings, but there was a bit of disappointment once we landed; the usually beautiful Canadian Rockies were covered in smoke from fires west … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/3-sisters-300x168.jpeg\")
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