District 42 to host International Convention in Calgary

Toastmasters International Convention

August 13-16, 2008
The TELUS Convention Centre
Calgary, Alberta (Canada)

The Top Five Things To Do
To Prepare For The International Convention in Calgary

• Get your passport
• Book your holiday time
• Consider mode of travel whether car, train, or plane
• Start exploring Calgary and area on the travel Alberta website at http://www1.travelalberta.com
• See what Calgary looks like at google earth

Vacation Planning Ideas for the International Convention in Calgary

If you have an extra hour while in Calgary, plan to ride up the Calgary Tower for a unique view of the city.

If you have an extra four hours during your stay in Calgary, visit the Glenbow Museum for a look at our Western Heritage. Put some adventure in those hours by visiting the Canada Olympic Park where you can luge, bobsleigh, or ride the zip line off the ski tower.

If you can stay an extra day, travel to the Town of Banff, located in Canada's oldest national park.

If you can stay two extra days or can come two days in advance visit the Town of Banff and Lake Louise.  Lake Louise is a crown jewel of lakes in the mountain parks.  One of the grand Railway hotels is on the lake.  Rent a canoe or go for a hike.

There are several drives worth taking if you can spare two to three days.  The Columbia Icefields Parkway takes you through the mountain pass from the Trans Canada highway to the Town of Jasper.  Take a ride on a Snocoach. Spend the night and the next day exploring the Town of Jasper and Jasper National Park.

From Jasper you can drive to Edmonton, the capital of the province of Alberta.  In the summer Edmonton is known as Festival city in honor of the non-stop festivals. No visit to Edmonton is complete without a visit to the World’s Largest Mall, the West Edmonton Mall. Reserve early to spend the night in one of the mall’s theme rooms

Another drive worth talking is the Golden Triangle.  Take the TransCanada out to Banff for the first day.  Continue onto Golden the second day.  If you have some extra time there are several sites worth stopping at in Yoho National Park.  If you can time it right you can see a train go through the circular tunnels.  Takakkaw falls is a short hike in, but well worth the view of the falls.  If you feel up to the challenge hike into a World Unesco site the Burgess Shale.  This site requires a guide and is limited to groups of 15 at a time.  It features fossils that tell the story of early earth years.  Spend your second night in Golden, B.C.  The next day take highway 95 south to Radium Hot Springs. Relax in the natural mineral springs. If the day is really warm spend the day at the beach at Lake Windermere at the town of Invermere. The next day drive back through Kootenay National Park where it is worth stopping at the Paint Pots and Marble Canyon.

If your family loves Dinosaurs go east of Calgary to Drumheller.  You can spend the whole day in the Tyrrell Museum.   If you want, you can participate in a dig with the museum.

If you want another day in the mountains take a journey to Waterton National Park.  Together with Glacier National Park in Montana it forms part of the first International Peace Park and is an Unesco world heritage site.  If you have a couple of days to do this journey then spend a night at Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump.  You can even sleep in a teepee.

For more information about any of these places visit www.travelalberta.com.