Hello!
When we last left you off, we were in Canmore, Alberta. After driving through Banff going east, we went back through toward BC. Our first stop was the Cascades of Time gardens in the city. Despite the fact they weren't fully realized as a result of the Depression, they were beautiful. We then took the scenic route from Banff to Lake Louise. On the way we stopped for a few hikes and scenic views. One of which was Johnston Canyon, a waterfall in the park. You could practically walk right up to it.
Then we went to see Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, two gorgeous glacier-fed lakes in the park. Despite the mass of fourth of July tourists, we managed to find a secluded place to eat our picnic lunch and take in the view.
We then headed back into BC through Yoho National Park. There we saw an even more impressive waterfall, Takakaw Falls, one of the biggest in Canada. We also saw a natural bridge made out of rock that was formed by the current running through. Waterways in these parks are constantly changing due to running water eroding the limestone. Eventually, this bridge will disappear.
In Field, the town in the park, we discovered that Yoho was home to the Burgess Shale, something Valerie had been searching for since the beginning of the trip. This prehistoric stream was crushed by mudslide millions of years ago, which fossilized thousands of extinct marine creatures.
We camped for the night in Martha Creek provincial park right outside Revelstoke. Wildlife count for the day was one caribou near the gas station in Banff.
The next day we visited Revelstoke, Glacier, and Kootenay National Parks. In Revelstoke, we drove the meadows in the sky parkway. We were only able to drive the first half due to snow, but we still saw some amazing views of the rocky mountains. We then took a walk in an old growth cedar forest. This forest is the most inland temperate rainforest in the world. Usually, they are closer to oceans, but because of BC's unique climate, this forest was able to prosper. The trees were really really tall.
In Glacier, we took a hike along an old train track used in the early days of the Canadian Pacific Railway. On the trail, we learned how this portion was abandoned due to the extreme mortality rate of railroad employees due to avalanches. The trail ended at Roger's Pass Summit where there is a memorial to the over 200 people who perished.
We dipped into Kootenay to see the spectacular entry way into the park. The road passes directly through a red canyon with cliffs towering over us on either side. We ended our day by visiting the wolrd's biggest truck in Saprwood, BC. It was huuuuuge!
We camped for the night in Pincher Creek, AB. Wildlife count was 3 ground squirrels, 4 antelope, 1 coyote, and 1 deer. It really is amazing how the animals come out right after all the tourists go back home.
On July 6th, we headed out to Waterton Lakes National Park. This park is special because it lies on an ecotone, a transition area between two different ecosystems. in this case, the prairies and the Rockies. This park also has the deepest lake in the Rockies. Overlooking that lake was the stunning Prince of Whales hotel which provided some great views. Since Waterton Lakes borders another park in the US, they cooperate together. They are the only park of this type and have been declared the world heritage sight. We also saw the first oil well in Western Canada. Although it wasn't that successful, it paved the way for further oil explorations in the area. We also took a walk along Cameron lake and the Red Rock canyon. They were both beautiful.
From Waterton, we drove to Writing on Stone provincial park. This area contains many Aboriginal petroglyphs. We took a walk to one that described a battle scene. Since we were in southern Alberta, we got our first glimpse of the Canadian Badlands.
We stopped for the night at a municipal campsite in Coalhurst right outside the city of Lethbridge. We saw one deer that day in the city of Waterton.
The next day we set out for Calgary! On our way, we stopped in Head-Smashed-In to see a Buffalo Jump. This was an old Aboriginal practice of hunting buffalo. They would run herds off a steep cliff so the animals would plummet to their deaths. This was a very complicated method. We learned about it as well as other aspects of Blackfoot culture in the museum there.
Upon arriving in Calgary, we went to the Chinese Cultural Centre and Museum. There, we saw life-size replicas of terra-cotta warriors and art from the many Chinese dynasties, including a magnificent image of a pair of tigers made entirely out of feathers.
After dinner, we enjoyed Petr's Drive-In's famous milkshakes. De-licious.
The next day was the Stampede! we headed downtown early in the morning to watch the parade (and get a glimpse of the duke and duchess, of course). We, along with over 100,000 other people, enjoyed several hours of floats, bands, and dancers. After exploring downtown a bit, and doing some cowgirl shopping, we headed over to the stampede grounds. There, we enjoyed a figure skating performance including Vaughn Chippeur, Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. We also saw an incredible high diving performance (one of the boards was 80 feet in the air!). Before going to see the chuck wagon race, we spent some time touring the rest of the grounds and soaking in the festive atmosphere. After the race, we watched a spectacular Grand Stand Show involving acrobatics, fireworks, singing, dancing, comedy, and an amazing trampoline act. The Stampede motto "the greatest outdoors show on earth" was no exaggeration.
Thank you to Duncan for hosting us, and to Melissa for the great suggestions.
The next day was DINOSAURS!! We started off at the Royal Tyrrell Museum where we took in the amazing displays of dinosaur bones, replicas and footprints, and other fossils. We also learned about the challenge of finding and extracting fossils. From there, we went to Dinosaur Provincial Park, where many of the fossils on display at the Royal Tyrrell had been found. Over 35 different species of dinisaur fossils have been found there, the most of anywhere in the world. We went on a hike and saw a fossil bed (ie a mass death site containing hundreds of bones per square meter) and a half-excavated dinosaur.
We then set out for Medicine Hat, our final destination for the day, and the site of the world's largest tipi (over 20 stories high).
See you next time,
Tal and Val
Monday, 11 July 2011
Monday, 4 July 2011
Wild Rose Country
Greetings from Alberta!
We have finally entered the third province/territory of our journey. But before we tell you about that, here's how we got here.
We left off in Teslin, YT, our last full day in the Yukon. The next day, before heading out to BC, we visited the George Johnston museum where we learned about the first car in Teslin and the photographer who owned it. George was a member of the Tlingit tribe, and captured much of their lifestyle with his camera. Since there were no roads yet in Teslin, George and some friends built one. In order to earn money to hire workers to maintain the road, he gave taxi rides to his tribe members. This road actually became part of the Alaska highway built during WWII. In the winter time, he drove along the ice and used his car to hunt. He painted it white in order to camouflage it.
Next we visited the Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre where we got to look at some beautiful Tlingit artwork including masks, moccasins, and purses. We also got to try Bannok--a traditional bread-like treat.
Our last stop in the Yukon was Watson Lake. There, we visited the signpost forest. It began because a soldier building the Alaska highway was homesick, so he decided to put up a sign with the mileage to his home town. Other soldiers began copying him and the forest grew to what it is over 70,000 signs.
Our first stop back in BC was the Liard hotsprings, which are pretty self-explanatory. They were very beautiful and relaxing. We camped for the night in Toad River. Wildlife count: unknown. We saw 4 black bears, and a whole bunch of bison including 3 herds (and their babies!!!).
The next day we mostly just drove all the way to Valleyview, AB. On the way we passed through Beaverlodge and saw the world's largest beaver (don't get too excited, it was a statue...). Wildlife sightings included waking up to a moose in the lake at Toad River. On the drive we saw 4 bighorn sheep, 1 black bear, and 1 baby moose. That night we also saw a doe near our campsite.
The day we finally arrived in Edmonton. First stop was the Royal Alberta Museum where we saw lots if cool displays of animals extant and extinct (including dinosaurs!!!). We also saw tons of geodes and other precious stones (bling bling in layman's terms). Our next stop of course was the West Edmonton Mall. It was a really really big mall. And no. We didn't get you anything.
The next day was Canada Day! (or Dominion Day as we spent it). We spent the day traveling back through time and visiting 4 different eras of Edmonton's past. We went to the 1920s, 1905, 1880, and the 19th century when the city was used as a fort for the fur trade. An interesting fact about the 1905 era was that the town grew so quickly, a tent city was developed. New residents could live in a tent for up to two years while they waited for their house to be built. Before you feel too bad for them, they weren't living in a tent like ours. Some had oil paintings and grand pianos.
We spent the evening with a quiet, delicious dinner. And what better end to a perfect Canada day than fireworks!!!
Thanks to Brett for being such a great Edmonton host!
On our way out of Edmonton on Saturday morning, we stopped by the farmers' market in an effort to stock up on some fruit. Despite being unsuccessful (apparently they don't grow fruit in Edmonton), we did have some delicious free samples.
From there we headed off to Jasper National Park. We took a scenic drive to Maligne lake where we had a picnic lunch. We also went on a walk to Moose lake in hopes of finally seeing a moose with antlers (so far all the ones we've seen have either been calves or females). But alas, no such luck.
From there, we ventured back into BC in order to see the highest peak in the Rockies in Robson Provincial Park. We then set up camp for the night in Valleyview, BC.
Wildlife count that day: two herds of bighorn sheep and a ptarmigan.
Sunday, we returned to Jasper. Despite waking up to find it pouring on us (hey, what can you do? It is BC after all...), we decided to start our day with a ride up to the peak of the Whistlers mountain--not to be confused with actual Whistler. Despite it still be cloudy when we got to the top, we hiked to the summit and had a nearly 360 degree view of the Rockies and the town of Jasper in the valley below.
We then drove down the Icefields Parkway towards Banff. The drive provided gorgeous views along its entirety, but the highlights were Athabasca falls and Athabasca glacier. The glacier was very cool (haha get it??!). It has been receding for the past 150 years, and its waters feed into the many glacial lakes of Banff and Jasper. Which means that mere hours before we gaze upon the water in these lakes and rivers, it had been ice since the most recent Ice Age (over 10,000 years ago... Imagine the freezer burn...).
As we entered Banff National Park, the weather began to clear. Our first stop was Mistaya Canyon, where we saw giant potholes that had been carved in the limestone by the water's current. We continued our drive south and camped for the night in Canmore, AB.
The wildlife count for Sunday was: two caribou, one black bear, and a weasel.
We have finally entered the third province/territory of our journey. But before we tell you about that, here's how we got here.
We left off in Teslin, YT, our last full day in the Yukon. The next day, before heading out to BC, we visited the George Johnston museum where we learned about the first car in Teslin and the photographer who owned it. George was a member of the Tlingit tribe, and captured much of their lifestyle with his camera. Since there were no roads yet in Teslin, George and some friends built one. In order to earn money to hire workers to maintain the road, he gave taxi rides to his tribe members. This road actually became part of the Alaska highway built during WWII. In the winter time, he drove along the ice and used his car to hunt. He painted it white in order to camouflage it.
Next we visited the Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre where we got to look at some beautiful Tlingit artwork including masks, moccasins, and purses. We also got to try Bannok--a traditional bread-like treat.
Our last stop in the Yukon was Watson Lake. There, we visited the signpost forest. It began because a soldier building the Alaska highway was homesick, so he decided to put up a sign with the mileage to his home town. Other soldiers began copying him and the forest grew to what it is over 70,000 signs.
Our first stop back in BC was the Liard hotsprings, which are pretty self-explanatory. They were very beautiful and relaxing. We camped for the night in Toad River. Wildlife count: unknown. We saw 4 black bears, and a whole bunch of bison including 3 herds (and their babies!!!).
The next day we mostly just drove all the way to Valleyview, AB. On the way we passed through Beaverlodge and saw the world's largest beaver (don't get too excited, it was a statue...). Wildlife sightings included waking up to a moose in the lake at Toad River. On the drive we saw 4 bighorn sheep, 1 black bear, and 1 baby moose. That night we also saw a doe near our campsite.
The day we finally arrived in Edmonton. First stop was the Royal Alberta Museum where we saw lots if cool displays of animals extant and extinct (including dinosaurs!!!). We also saw tons of geodes and other precious stones (bling bling in layman's terms). Our next stop of course was the West Edmonton Mall. It was a really really big mall. And no. We didn't get you anything.
The next day was Canada Day! (or Dominion Day as we spent it). We spent the day traveling back through time and visiting 4 different eras of Edmonton's past. We went to the 1920s, 1905, 1880, and the 19th century when the city was used as a fort for the fur trade. An interesting fact about the 1905 era was that the town grew so quickly, a tent city was developed. New residents could live in a tent for up to two years while they waited for their house to be built. Before you feel too bad for them, they weren't living in a tent like ours. Some had oil paintings and grand pianos.
We spent the evening with a quiet, delicious dinner. And what better end to a perfect Canada day than fireworks!!!
Thanks to Brett for being such a great Edmonton host!
On our way out of Edmonton on Saturday morning, we stopped by the farmers' market in an effort to stock up on some fruit. Despite being unsuccessful (apparently they don't grow fruit in Edmonton), we did have some delicious free samples.
From there we headed off to Jasper National Park. We took a scenic drive to Maligne lake where we had a picnic lunch. We also went on a walk to Moose lake in hopes of finally seeing a moose with antlers (so far all the ones we've seen have either been calves or females). But alas, no such luck.
From there, we ventured back into BC in order to see the highest peak in the Rockies in Robson Provincial Park. We then set up camp for the night in Valleyview, BC.
Wildlife count that day: two herds of bighorn sheep and a ptarmigan.
Sunday, we returned to Jasper. Despite waking up to find it pouring on us (hey, what can you do? It is BC after all...), we decided to start our day with a ride up to the peak of the Whistlers mountain--not to be confused with actual Whistler. Despite it still be cloudy when we got to the top, we hiked to the summit and had a nearly 360 degree view of the Rockies and the town of Jasper in the valley below.
We then drove down the Icefields Parkway towards Banff. The drive provided gorgeous views along its entirety, but the highlights were Athabasca falls and Athabasca glacier. The glacier was very cool (haha get it??!). It has been receding for the past 150 years, and its waters feed into the many glacial lakes of Banff and Jasper. Which means that mere hours before we gaze upon the water in these lakes and rivers, it had been ice since the most recent Ice Age (over 10,000 years ago... Imagine the freezer burn...).
As we entered Banff National Park, the weather began to clear. Our first stop was Mistaya Canyon, where we saw giant potholes that had been carved in the limestone by the water's current. We continued our drive south and camped for the night in Canmore, AB.
The wildlife count for Sunday was: two caribou, one black bear, and a weasel.
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