Here are some of the highlights we enjoyed along Trans-Canadian Highway 1, including the western provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. We were blown away by nearly everything we experienced, including this scene of Lake Moraine, Alberta. The bluish/green water comes from the glacial waters that still flow throughout the Canadian Rockies. This particular lake is surrounded by the Valley of the Ten Peaks. SPECTACULAR!! Keep us informed by clicking on the email link Larry and Glorine. | ||
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| We left Denise's place on July 1 and crossed the border by Portal ND. Oil wells dotted the landscape of the flat prairies that make up the great interiors of the USA and Canada. | Regina is the capitol of Saskatchewan and home of our friends Brian and Marilyn Mitchell (the two on the left). We are joined by Chuck and Jean Busch, who flew in from Oakland California. We met both couples in Ajijic, Mexico. | |
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| The Royal Saskatchewan Museum had dozens of unique exhibits called "dioramas." One was of a "First Nations" (a term used in Canada) village near Mandan, North Dakota. The people and trees in the foreground are full-sized replicas, while the rest of the exhibit is a painting. | Regina is the home of the Depot, the training grounds of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). This heritage center provided an overview of its early beginning through modern day policing, including centralized intelligence. | |
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| Like many parties they hosted in Ajijic, Brian and Marilyn hosted a party for us on July 4th. We are joined by a dozen of their friends, along with their daughter Jenifer (right) and her husband Claude (seated next to her). | Moose Jaw is another Canadian city enriched with dozens of large murals on the sides of building that would otherwise be bland. This one depicts the lifestyle of Moose Jaw back in the 1930s along with a statue of the artist. | |
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| Al Capone fled Chicago and used Moose Jaw as his hide away and new base to smuggle alcohol into the USA. Hmmm! Moose Jaw has two tours of tunnels beneath the streets--one depicts the harsh treatment of early Chinese immigrants. The other of Al Capone. | When we first saw this sign along the 470 mile drive from Regina to Calgary, we had no idea of what lied ahead. What we found was nothing but exhilarating and breathtaking. | |
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| After a great night at the home we stayed at, we got an early start to stay ahead of the hundreds of thousands of people converging on the Calgary Stampede over the next ten days. We were glad we did, because the city became packed. | This year the Calgary Stampede celebrated its 100th anniversary, and what a show they put on. The parade included 140 units including horses, RCMP, old cars with politicians, bands from all over the world, and many floats like this one. | |
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| Following the parade, we took a bus to the rodeo grounds, where without a hint, the Canadian's Snow Birds thundered in unison in the skies overhead. They are the Canada's version of the American Navy's Blue Angels. | The rodeo featured cowboys from Canada, America and Australia and included steer roping and wrestling, bucking bulls and horses. We were surprised to see Britney Fleck from Mandan, North Dakota take first place in the Barrel Racing. | |
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| This was the first time we attended a Chuck Wagon Race. This race, called the GMC Rangeland Derby, features four teams per heat, each with four horses and two riders--one standing. After seven heats, the best time won the day's race. | The evening's entertainment was "the best" stage production we had ever seen. It included fifteen acts, including this one with five motor bikes jumping over center stage. The grandstand was packed with standing room only crowds. | |
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| The stage included cables suspending overhead. Here Paul Brandt, a country western singer from Alberta is suspended in a pickup truck. The entire performance was unbelievable, including a never ending fireworks display. | After a long but spectacular day at the Stampede, we slept in and were treated to a wonderful breakfast provided by our hosts. | |
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| Calgary's Heritage Park is Canada's largest living-history village and includes exhibits and artifacts that re-created western Canadian life prior to 1932s. We also rode a steam locomotive that ran along the perimeter of the park. | The Buzzard's Cowboy Cuisine is an authentic cowboy restaurant that serves great steaks. This waitress talked Chuck and I into ordering some "prairie oysters." While our friends seemed disgusted, they all joined in on the testicle festival! | |
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| Glorine is standing on top of many high rises in the Calgary Tower. With Alberta's oil boom of the 60s and 70s, Calgary has become the second largest corporate headquarters in Canada. | From Calgary we drove to Woodland, Washington, picked up the RV and continued our summer tour of western Canada. Claudia, Lou and Brian joined us for a driving tour from Blaine, through Vancouver to Whistler. | |
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| Trans-Canada 1 turns into Highway 99, north of Vancouver, which was completely reconstructed for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The drive was quite spectacular with islands and mountains spouting out along the way. | Whistler is a ski resort that reminded us a lot of Sun Valley, Idaho. It summer attraction includes lots of ski lodges, hiking, mountain biking and great pubs and restaurants. | |
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| From Blaine, we headed into Canada and spent a week in the Okanagan Valley. Kelowna is the largest city in the valley and sits along the crystal-clear Okanagan Lake, that stretched 85 miles long, a couple of miles wide, with depths of 400 feet. | The Okanagan Valley has hot summers and warm winters, much like Boise, Idaho. This beach lies on the west end of downtown Kelowna. It was a warm day which attracted lots of sun worshipers. | |
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| The Okanagan Valley is known for its rich orchards and vineyards. Larry is up on a ladder, picking Bing Cherries. At $1.00 per pound, we went picking a couple of times and got a total of 16 pounds. The last picking lasted a week. | We met Valerie Stowell in Ajijic where she bought a villa across the street from us. She lives in a community on the south end of the Okanagan Lake. It was great for us to learn more about her life in Canada. | |
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| On the outskirts of Kelowna is the Kettle Valley Rail Road line, which was abandoned and turned into a biking and hiking trail. It was initially built in the early 1900s and boosts 18 trestles and 2 tunnels. | This steel trestle was one of two that withstood the 2003 wildfire that destroyed thousands of acres of forests and all of the wood trestles. Thanks to some local leaders, the trail was reopened to hikers and bikers. | |
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| Now that we are South Dakota residents, we could not resist partaking in the Sturgis North Motorcycle Rally. Unlike the real Sturgis that attacks a half a million people, this one had a couple thousand people. But this is only their second year. | We only stayed a couple of hours and only walked through the vendors that were selling assorted motorcycle related stuff. Various chapters of the Hells Angels were well represented. | |
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| As we were leaving the Okanagan Valley we were drawn in by this roadside attraction. It included a nice market that sold fruits, cheeses, and meats, which provided a great breakfast as we headed into the Rocky Mountains. | The roads into and through the Rockies lie mostly along valleys, rivers and streams. This picture captures the beauty of one last farm filled valleys as we started into the foothills. | |
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| Our first glimpse of the Rockies was on our drive to Banff on a rainy and cloudy day. The clouds separated just enough to give us this wonderful view of what lied ahead. | The Banff National Park would become our home for the next 12 days. This is one of several mountain peaks that surrounded the campground and the city of Banff. | |
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| Dennis and Betty Steele, friends from Bismarck, North Dakota were our first guests to join us along the Canadian Rocky Mountain adventure. This would be first for all four of us and what an adventure it would be. | Banff National Park lies in the Bow River Valley and as we were touring the Bow River Falls, Betty took this picture of a young elk. It would be one of many different wildlife we would experience. | |
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| These rugged formations, called Hoodoos, lie along a canyon overlooking the Bow River. Each peak consists of a solid rock on the top, which protected the earth below as rain, wind and snow eroded away the dirt around them. | The Banff Spring Golf Course winds along the Bow River Valley. Here are a number of sand traps that one most maneuver around to make it to the greens The view of the stunning mountain could easily distract first time golfers. | |
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| The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel was built in the 1880s in a "castle-like style" to attract rich Europeans. Now it attracts people from around the world. A small room starts at about $350, and suites go for up to $4000 during the peak season. | We took this picture of the sprawling hotel complex as we rode the Banff Gondola up to the top the 7500-foot summit of Sanson Peak. Note the Bow River falls just behind the hotel. | |
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| Ah! Majestic! Those were a few of the adjectives that described this view at the top. The city of Banff, which is one of a few cities in a national park, lies below with some of the most beautiful mountain ranges on Earth. | While it was hard to stop gazing at the view, we did stop long enough to have this picture taken. And this was only the beginning. | |
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| As we drove north to the Icefields, we stopped several time to soak up the view. While Glorine was taking in a close up view of the glacier, this picture caught a perfect reflection of the view. | This mountain goat posed for this picture while his buddy kept licking the salt and other minerals from these rocks along the highway. Other predators don't come down this far from the mountains, which keep them safe from being eaten. | |
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| We are on the Icefieds Parkway, which runs between Banff and Jasper National Parks and is one of the most scenic drives in the continent. Bridal Viel Fall is just one of many water falls that lined the highway. | We arrived at noon, just in time for a lunch. Glorine has a picnic basket with plates, silverware, table cloth and wine glasses. Great friends enjoying time together, with the Columbia Icefields in the background. | |
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| Our destination for the day was Athabasca Glacier, one of the most accessible ones in the park. As we were approaching the glacier, we took this picture of two of the 23 Ice Explorer Vehicles that takes visitors onto the glacier. | As we rode up to the top of this glacier we found several streams of runoff that were strikingly blue. We were told that the water has little oxygen, which produces the color. | |
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| Ones we got to the top, Glorine fill a bottle of this ice cold pristine water. The tour guide told us it was the fountain of youth. It was very cold, and tasted a lot like water. | This is one of the massive busses we took to the top. It holds 50 passengers, but only has a 200 horse power CAT diesel. We were told that it tops out at 15 miles an hour, but has the torque to go up and down hills at a 45 degree angle. | |
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| Before our 20 minutes tour at the top of this 1,000 foot deep glacier ended, we took another picture with the Canadian flag and yet another glacier in the background. The glaciers in Banff and Jasper National Parks have the largest icefields south of Alaska. | Another day of stunning views. On the way to Lake Louis, we took a picture of one of the many animal crossing along the Trans-Canada Highway. We were told these crossing protect an estimated 20,000 animals each year. | |
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| Our first stop was Lake Moraine, a few mile south of Lake Louise. We knew these lakes were going to be beautiful, but never expected them to be this stunning. As we reviewed the pictures it looked like we were standing in front of a painted canvas. | As we approached Lake Louise, we walked past another stunning hotel run by the Fairmont. What makes this one more impressive is its view of the Lake. | |
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| With the mountains protecting Lake Louise from the winds and only canoes and kayaks are allowed on these lakes, the waters are like a mirror. This reflection is of the Chateau, mountains, and clouds. | As we continued our walk near the end of the lake we saw this rock climber scale the face of the cliff. We estimated the mountain to be as tall as a 30 story building. | |
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| As we were walking back to the car, we stopped and had one more picture taken of Lake Louise with snow-clad mountaintops and Victoria Glacier in the background. | As a youngster, Larry grew up in a home that displayed this painting in the living room. He didn't know until later on in his life that it was a painting of Lake Louise drawn in 1943. | |
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| Here is one of the thousands of pictures Larry took trying to capture the artist's rendition of Lake Louise. The trees in the foreground were the only thing he could not replicate. | Our last day together we drove along the Bow Valley Parkway to Johnston Canyon where we hiked along a narrow canyon with a specular walkway that took us along this torrent stream of extremely cold snow runoff. | |
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| When we got to the end of the walkway, we reached the largest of the waterfalls that lined our walk. It was a three mile round trip. Here Glorine is taking in the view. | The evening before Dennis and Betty returned home, we went to a Greek restaurant that served up a great meal and some great entertainment. Glorine joined in on some Belly Dancing. | |
July's web page includes July 1 through July 31.
