Before we left Vancouver, we went to the Aquarium. It was nice, but they had not taken into consideration , the number of people attracted by an animal performance. People were just crammed in and most missed out. The only display we saw was the Beluga Whale so we were lucky.
On our way to the Aquarium, we came across this great garden display. Had to photograph it for Kath. A raccoon ran across our path just after we took this picture.
The bus also went past the largest display of totum poles in Canada.
We also saw a cheeky dolphin which kept playing hide and seek around a pole and some southern ocean penguins
We stayed our last night at the Empire Landmark in Vancouver and then transferred a few blocks away to a more upmarket hotel, the Vancouver 4 Seasons, where we met our tour guide. We then met the other 35 people at a meet and greet with wine and nibbles at 6, and next day we boarded the bus for the first leg of our trip across Canada. We didn't go far just the bay and then by ferry to the state's (British Columbia) capital Victoria. After a bit of a drive round the area we arrived at our accommodation for the next 2 nights, The Hotel Grand Pacific. Wow! We enjoyed a sumptuous 3 course meal and got a reasonably early night as we had to board the bus for a trip to a garden. Ho hum-yes that's what I thought, till I saw it.
This horse escaped the merry go round but I practiced for the Calgary stampede and caught him. I bet they'll be pleased.....
It is called Butchart Gardens after the lady who built it from her husbands disused quarry. It included a sunken garden and a big deep lake (well it was a quarry) and acres and acres of landscaped land that would have cost a fortune in the first decade of the 20th century when it was designed and built. It is still run today by the founders great granddaughter.
As it was Canada day on Monday and a holiday, there were celebrations in the park area between our hotel and the bay where by lunchtime there were thousands of people celebrating their national day - but not us. We had our dinner, a few glasses of wine and then in to bed to see what awaits us in Whistler next day.
We learnt the next day that where we were walking along the esplinade watching the celebrations for Canada Day on Monday apparently there was a bomb threat diffused in the parliamentary building just behind the square where we had been. I don't think there was any risk as the authorities were keeping a watch on the group and stopped anything before it began.
Whistler was the venue for all the major events of the Winter Olympics in 2010
so there is a lot of hotels and other businesses that were erected to accommodate that and have stayed thriving because of the high tourist levels in the small town.
A paralympian Brad Lennea is held in very high esteem here as he comes from Whistler.
One of the many ski slopes, currently covered with grass till the first fall of snow.
Scenes like these have been every day occurrences all along the road
The hotel we stayed in a Whistler was a magnificent place with old world charm.
We left whistler for a big days drive to the community of Hope, where we stayed for lunch. The town has utilised the ski runs into mountain bike runs and that is big business for the 3 months of the year that the runs and sky lifts aren't used for skiing. One of our group spotted and photographed a bear only a few hundred feet from our resort. Of course we weren't with them.
We left the west coast and travelled east over the mountains where we spent the next night in the city of Kelowna We saw the countryside change from the lush rainforest of the west coast to the dessert like area of the other side of the mountain. On our journey across we came to the most fantastic falls. The Shannon Falls. They were the highest I have seen in years and with the snow melt there was so much water.
Then right in the middle of the dessert we came across fields of grape vines and stopped at a little boutique winery, just out of Kelowna where we tried a few wines and the speciality of the area "ice wine" which is strictly monitored and must be picked while frozen on the vine and crushed immediately to get the flavour. Kelowna is a city of 106,000 and sits on the banks of the Okenagan Lake, where we went for dinner with 2 other couples from Melbourne. Lovely people who we may catch up with on our way back from Tasmania. We left Kolowna for Banff where we had 2 nights and so that made it washing day. So far we have been managing with washing, taking advantage of every moment.
As we came through the valley we passed lots of produce farms with fruit and Vegies as well as canola fields.
Each morning when we board the bus we get a different smell, depending on what type or brand of shampoo and body lotion is in the hotel the night before. The other day we got wafts of lemon verbena as the hotel had a range of it in the room. Every lady takes the body lotion to put on hands and arms for moisturisor during the day.
We have seen lots and lots of large caravans (or trailers as they are known here) going past so Canada must have their own version of "grey nomads" only in this case they are going from east to west instead of south to north.
As we travelled across the mountains, we went through small tunnels which were called "snow tunnels " over the road to pass through when there were snow avalanches as they would close the road, these occurred in small ravines. We also went under lots of tunnels with grass growing over the top of them which we were informed were to allow the fauna to cross the road on their way to better pastures and to follow their usual route to feeding grounds. This one I took straight through the front of the bus.
Along the drive we either followed or crossed rivers where we could see beaver lodges built into the rivers. Unfortunately, we also came to large tracts of Forrest that were dead from the infestation of the Pine Beetle. The forestry have done controlled burns to try to try to stop the spread. The mountains colours just out of Banff were in a range of colours I have never seen in mountains before.
They were grey!! So many shades of grey couldn't be believed. What a wonderful sight. We then arrived at our accommodation the Banff Springs Resort, but it could be best described as a castle. On the inside it looked the same with stone walls, but of course interspersed with gift shops and lifts to the upper floors. The paintings on the walls dated back many century's and the scene from the windows was picture perfect (except ours which looked out onto the roof level below but still, the mountains in the background.
Soaking up the ambience
Our only full day in Banff was spent on a gondola ride up the side of the mountain. It was a 10 min ride up and back where we saw small deer and little squirrels.
Following photos out of focus a bit as they moved too fast..
After we got back it was a quick trip to get washing done and then a turn round town. That night we went to a theatre restaurant which gave a small history of Canada and played a lot of music by Canadians. We enjoyed it very much.
Next morning we headed for Calgary and the stampede - Yee Haaa!!!!!
We bused it to the Stampede along with about 7 other tourist buses and 10,000 people. It was an absolute nightmare getting in and once there it appeared to be just like any other royal show with an area for rides, an area for food, an agricultural area and the ring events. Only on a much bigger scale. At intermission of the rodeo events on Saturday, I went to the toilet to join a line up about 8 times the length of our van. I had my legs crossed and my toes curled up by the time I got in there. We saw miniature donkeys which was a novelty and an Australian, Jake Marshall scored high in the event in which he competed, the bare back ride. At 86 points, he didn't score enough to beat the 89 for the local winner Caleb Bennett.
It started with an 11 year old girl singing the Canadian National Anthem which sent shivers down our spines as the flag went by.
Who would have thought that there was 2 feet of water through here 2 weeks ago.
Thank goodness the British didnt have to rely on me to fight their war in 1812, their uniform didn't fit me!!
There were about 4 big brass bands playing all round the grounds every day
Yep! The Mounties always get their man - but they hadn't counted on me coming along!!
Then again, these 2 Calgary Cowgirls, certainly got my man!
Following a treaty with the First Nation People they were invited to participate in the Stampede since the early 1900's and so the tribes set up their tipi's each year for display.
The crowds were incredible up every alley way
The most interesting stuff was sold at the food stands, like deep fried everything.
Toffee apples just aren't toffee apples over here...
A interesting observation was what was sold in the food area. Like our local shows, there were the food areas, sideshow ally. Which was more a block that just an alley. The exhibits, and the ring events, which in this case was the rodeo. The food stands were very similar to ours except for some of the food - like deep fried cheesecake, deep fried pickles etc. I tried to get some photos but. We were running late for the bus.
Sunday we returned around lunch time to have a better look at the exhibits, before the chuck wagon event in the afternoon. As the ground is still fairly wet from the major flooding that Calgary got less than a month ago, the chuck wagon drivers were covered in mud.
The real thing doing a lap.
The chuck wagons
I don't think the kids event took home much prize money but I did see a bottle of drink change hands.
Watching the news here was like watching the south east Queensland floods all over again. Streets of houses flooded and wrecked throughout the city, fortunately, no lives were lost here.
WOW WOW WOW is about all I can say about the big show on the huge stage following the Chuck Wagon events. They in them selves were great. They were run in heats of 4 with each wagon having 4 horses and 2 on the wagon (I guess one driver and one riding shotgun) then there were 2 out riders in saddles who had to stay within 150 mtrs of their wagon and they had. To do a turn round the barrel and then round the track for 1/2 km. we only saw the heats but there was big money in the heats with something like 1/2 mil for the winner. It's a wonder there are any teams competing as the winner for our night's heat was a man with the last name of Glass. He has won overall for the last 4 years and his father, grandfather and great grandfather have also won four years running in their time. His father in law won 2 times as well.
During a short intermission, a John Deere 4 wheel drive tractor towed in an enormous stage which rolled out wings and other stage equipment to put on the most amazing show of lights, high wire performances, music, and entertainment I have ever had the fortune to witness.
This singer is apparently a hit here in Canada and arrived hundreds of feet above the crowds playing his piano.
Just after a Chinese high wire act, while down on the ground enormous stage equipment was set up, a group of people took to the stage and as the lights came on them there appeared a group if the 80's with painted faced - yes there on stage for just one song was KISS!!
Apparently they had been booked for an entire concert but the venue had been so badly damaged by floods it was cancelled.
Unfortunately, it was over all too soon and we had to make our way out of the Stampede park to catch our tour bus back to the hotel.
Next morning, we left on our way to Lake Louise where we stopped for lunch and for the first time since we left home, Mother Nature was a little unkind.
We woke to rain and it rained all day. It wasn't good for photos but didn't interfere with our trip.
Our night stop at Emerald Lake Lodge (at Emerald Lake) was at a remote chalet on the bank of the most unique colour of lake I have ever seen.
Same lake in the mist of the early dawn
The colour of the water is, of course similar to the rivers that have the runoff from the glaciers and are full of the ground down rock from the last million years that has been ground down by the weight of the ice from the glacier and has become what is called "glacial flour". It is as fine as talcum powder and is suspended in the water giving it the emerald colour. The unique thing about this lake is just that - it is a lake not a river and so the glacial flour was more dense.
The chalet was nothing spectacular, but the scenery made up for it.
Only about a hundred kilometres down the road we got to Athabasca Glacier, where we got off the bus and got on a glacier rider over onto the base of the glacier where we spent 15 mins freezing. Yes freezing but we thoroughly enjoyed it.
On our way to the the Athabasca Glacier, we were shown a fossil of a leaf (orthocaedis) which was discovered recently and is dated at 390 million years old.
We rejoined our tour and headed into Jasper, where we stayed our last night with our group which we became very friendly with and actually intend catching up with a few on our way back from Tasmania in March as they live in Melbourne.
On our journey through to the glacier just out of Emerald Lake in Yo Ho National Park, we came across an area where the force of the glacial runoff has caused an erosion in the rock which is part of the tectonic plate movement over thousands of years, where it eventually forced a hole in the rock forming a natural bridge.
Then we saw our first although he wasn't very cooperative but we got to see him.
On Wednesday we arrived InJasper where we had a boat trip on Maleigne Lake.
There I got what I consider to be one of the best photos of the trip. What a spectacular place - I seem to use that adjective a lot but that is what it is....
We had packed our cases early that morning, and as we got off the bus for the last time, most of the people said goodby as they left the bus before us. Then when we got off the bus we had a guard of honour almost with a lot of people in line to say goodby - how wonderful. Then after a wander round town and we met our tour guide at the train station, there were another 10 or so waiting to wish us well. ( we were the only ones in our group leaving and catching the train. The other 33 went back to Vancouver and did the cruise we had already done.) After Karen (our tour guide) finished sorting our tickets etc, and we went to get on the train, there were another 6 or 8 people, waiting to wave us off. What a great group of Aussies (with a few Kiwi's and Poms thrown in...)
It was really sad to say goodby and again I am sure so we will remain good friends with a lot of them.
The train was an experience.... Our little cabin was just that - little with 2 arm chairs that folded flat when the two bunks came out, however the beds were comfortable. But we became very intimate trying to pass each other in our cabin after the beds were in place. You can guess who scored the bottom bunk.
Dinner in the dining room was great, so we expected the standard of meals to be high all the way over - and we weren't disappointed. The train had domed carriages all along it for great viewing and we were welcomed on board with champagne and canapés and the trip was good but most of the last 24 hours was spent along a track with shrubbery and trees right up to the line and so no scenery at all. We had 2 nights at the hotel before we transferred to another to continue on the other leg of our trip. Niagara Falls here we come!!!
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