ludicrousity

Alright, besides all the needle disposal units, different colour licence plates, and strange street naming conventions, I was surprised that Calgary really isn't as foreign a place as I expected it to be. I mean, it's really far away. Further away than Detroit. Heck, I think it might be just as far as Florida. I mean, if you were to go to either of those cities, you'd be amazed just how different they seem from home, and even how different they seem from each other.
But Calgary... they have the same currency, the same accent, the same wildlife! They had a waterfront and a tower with a glass floor, and lots of shopping... The cowboy theme was a little strange (oh, yeah, we didn't get to go visit the Calgary Stampede, but we did pass the Saddle Stadium where they do it).
After a while I started looking harder for differences. One thing was posters with references to the Rockies and the fact that they're only an hour drive away. Also, there were these crazy footprints on the grates in the sidewalk. Crazy. It was like you had to step on them everytime you passed them. They just call for you. Very crazy.