Not a birthday trip part six: Hoodoos and Mormons

I am not at all keen on boats. Call it a lesson learned. Mom went on a Float the Bow trip earlier this year, where you get in a pontoon, with someone else rowing and talking about the Bow River. It's pretty neat and Mom was excited to go. So we went.

Bow Falls is always spectacular, more so since the floods of 2013. The flow rate hasn't decreased and the water level hasn't dropped to as low as it used to me. There are boulders under those falls and I've walked across the Bow River just out of the frame. That's not possible now.

you can see the high water mark here: it was at the top of the grey-ish portion of the sandstone.

There are hoodoos! Hoodoos are mostly found in the Drumheller/Badlands area. There are a couple of sets in Banff - one you can see from the highway and this one. There are a couple of other areas too but we didn't get to them.

I got out of the boat and was really impressed with myself that I didn't puke. Our guide was fantastic; he was young but very knowledgeable about the area. Not only in the tourist stuff but in a lot of the indigenous history too. If you like boats, I would highly recommend Rocky Mountain Raft Tours.

We spent a couple of days around Calgary following our Rocky Mountain adventures. I missed my Rockies. A lot.

I've always been fascinated with religion and religious buildings. Wherever I go, there is usually some kind of church or temple I can tour. I've found I can learn a lot about a culture by how they use religion to express themselves. I've been inside some of the grandest churches in the world. I've been kicked out of a Jamatkhana, I've seen black Jesus. I've seen Giant Jesus.
I've never seen the inside of a Mormon temple.

I did not get to see inside this one either. Mom has! I have not.
The building itself is a lot greyer than most Mormon temples I've seen pictures of, which are so white they will blind you in the sun (much like the congregation). The grounds are spectuacular, however, and very well maintained. This one is done in a very modern, art deco style.

The general motif is wheat for Alberta because I guess oil derricks were too gauche.

It was a really great trip overall and I'm glad I went. The reason sucked beyond meaning but it was necessary and important.

Next: birthday trip!