THE WILD KINGDOM

Any baby boomer, who can still remember the 70's, has fond memories of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom with Marlin Perkins and his faithful sidekick Jim Fowler. It was always funny to see and hear Marlin from a safe vantage point, describe in detail how Jim was capturing a poisonous snake or sneaking up on a vicious wild animal. These were the thoughts going through my head as we were driving out of Canada through the Banff and Kootenya National Parks.




When we sent in the empty call, after our deliveries to Calgary and Edmonton, we were told to head towards Spokane. This could mean only one thing.........pick up a Genie. We decided to spend the night in Edmonton and start out early Thursday to head back to the States. The routing we were given would send us through areas we have not gone before.



When we arrived back in Calgary, and headed west, one of the first things that caught my eye, on the outskirts of Calgary, were the ski jumps. These particular ski jumps, erected for the 1988 Winter Games, were made famous by Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, who was the first to represent Great Britain in ski jumping. That, and the fact he was so farsighted, he had to wear his glasses while jumping, which fogged up so bad, he couldn't even see.

Upon entering Banff National Park, it was like seeing untouched wilderness. Really,too beautiful to even try to describe. There were an abundant number of deer grazing on the grass near the roadway. They didn't even seem phased by the traffic going by as you can tell from the look on the deer's face in the photo.

Leaving Alberta and entering British Columbia we drove through the Kootenay National Park. The landscape was just as beautiful here. Near Radium Hot Springs, we came up to a four way stop. I happened to look to my right and thought I was looking at a statue of a big horn sheep. Much to my surprise, it moved, and then I noticed the rest of the herd grazing on the grass nearby. Just like Marlin Perkins,from my safe vantage point in the truck, and with my faithful sidekick Craig by my side, I took my photo, and for a short period of time, I explored my own Wild Kingdom.