Nearly Home

Today we woke to a dull, gloomy sky which soon gave way to steady rain.  All the mountains were hidden as we left Banff and it was a little cooler. But what a great bus tour it was. Over 2000k of driving and more than 20k walked over the main 2 days. It was a small group of 23 - from Malta, India, Ghana, and Australia. We found everyone pleasant and courteous although some large groups were quite excitable and a bit uninhibited. 

Last night we had a heavy rain and thunder storm and for a half hour or so a power outage. This didn't affect us but we heard this morning that the gondola taking people up Sulphur Mountain had a major breakdown. 500 people were trapped up there.

Fortunately staff were able to winch the gondola cars up and release the occupants. 

200 people elected to walk down the 5.5k trail to the village led by staff. 300 remained at the top sleeping on the floor. All were fed and cared for and this morning were helicoptered out. Apparently there will be compensation but just imagine how difficult it must have been. First emergency in 20 years!

We passed the Banff sign - popular photo op - where a group of elk and babies were feeding. Cars started stopping and within a minute a ranger arrived to fire blanks and scare them back into the bush to stop the sight seeing cars.

The National Parks have a number of wildlife corridors to enable animals to move freely without crossing the highways which are fenced. Some are bridges and some underpasses: monitoring has been going on for some twenty years to establish changes in migration habits.

The NP are closely monitored: on Sunday  Lake Louise was closed to all cars due to excess visitors. Imagine!

The NPs are a huge draw card and have been utilised in some forms or other since the 1880s. According to our Tour leader until the 1950s ranger philosophy was to succour "good animals" like elk, deer and shoot "bad animals" like bears and cougars. Animals like beavers were hunted almost to extinction: hunting and trapping were the first occupations for many exploring the wilderness and created wealth and interest.

Now of course, conservation and preservation of these wonderful wild creatures and mountain assets is paramount. 

The road today was one which has had a difficult and dangerous history.  It winds a lot and moves through valleys which are very avalanche prone. Avalanche shelters (long sturdy tunnels) allow the avalanche to cross the road and deposit on the other side thus limiting damage.

The railroad also goes through these valleys. We passed a memorial to 63 people from a train who died. Apparently an avalanche stopped the train,  people got out to shovel the snow off the tracks and a second avalanche swept down and killed the 63.

Cannon are periodically fired by the army to trigger them in a  safe manner. The soldiers love doing this!

We passed trains continuously- the number of carriages beyond counting. 

Trains are safest travelling at no more than a gradient of 2%! One area known as Long Hill with a gradient of 4% (trying to save time and money) was the cause of  derailments and deaths. So Switzerland was again visited and a new spiral tunnel system was copied reducing the gradient back to 2%.

Railways, lumber and farming remain the main employers and occupations of the area. And, of course, tourism. RVs and camping spots everywhere. 

Our last stop and the last mountain pass.

Today we crossed five mountain ranges falling to sea level over 800k. We passed dozens of lakes ( Canada has more lakes than any other country in the world, crossed the Continental Divide and increasingly bigger rivers. There are more machines and workers keeping roads and country moving than I could ever have dreamed.

Our bus driver Chester was first class and we always felt safe and Jeff our Tour Director was a fount of knowledge. Despite the huge mileage we think it was worth it. We met many interesting and enthusiastic people: Canadians are friendly and welcoming.

Thank you for reading my blog - Marg says I write too much but it helps me remember things that interest and appeal to me. I will leave one last picture of a beautiful country and a super holiday.

Sulphur Springs and Lake Louise

Sulphur Mountain looms high over the sprawling town of Banff and we were whisked up to its lofty heights by 4 person gondola. 

Once at the top we took the boardwalk to the very top where once a cosmic ray monitoring station from the 1950s existed. The walk is 1k each way and involves hundreds of steps.

From the top you are as higher than the surrounding mountains. Banff and the Bow River is spread out below. Hot Springs attracted early attentions from government who quickly established a protectionist reserve here. Soon a cadre of "health" practitioners, some of dubious origins, encouraged people to visit for the health enhancing properties of the hot springs.

It's an effort to climb to the very top but we did it and descended in good time! Definitely another highlight! Riding down in the gondola we were excited to see a Big Horned Sheep- it was huge!

From here we took a viewing drive past the Fairmont Banff - this prestious hotel was built through the vision of the President of the Canadian Pacific railway , William Corneliius Van Horn. It is impossible to underestimate the importance of the rivers here which made possible  the early exploration of this vast wilderness. The rail roads followed and then the roads. The CP president was determined to bring people to enjoy its delights and he conceived the chain of castle hotels which were truly elegant, luxurious and central to gracious society. They are now part of the Fairmont chain.

Bow Falls and the Bow River below the hotel is a popular rafting and canoeing jumping point and many walking trails are on offer.

Today we enjoyed more walking and less bus travel.

Johnson Canyon is very different because the water hurtling down is crystal clear. It is not glacial run off but results from rainfall and melting snow. 

Lake Louise and another Fairmont hotel - possibly the most famous and photographed lake. It is a beautiful turquoise.

 

The great outdoors were vastly appealing: mountaining, hiking, skiing - but there were no guides or instructors. William Cornelius, keen to enhance visitor experiences went to Switzerland and recruited guides and for the next 50 years they instructed and guided visitors. The little hut where they lived is still here.

Our last stop for day - Moraine Lake formed when the glacier carrying huge boulders melted and deposited them thus forming a dam wall which created the lake.

By this time we were feeling a little "laked out" so happily sat for coffee (8.67 Canadian dollars including 15%tip) and people watched. And  bird watched!

Our Rocky Mountain trip coincided with the mid  summer long weekend. Canadians embrace travel and flick to the mountains and this combined with the tourist season has meant enormous crowds. Every nationality seems to have converged here and the air is filled with the eager chatter of many languages. It's been great fun.

Tomorrow another 800k back to Vancouver but a different way back.

Home soon!

Another bear!

Within 5 minutes of leaving our hotel we spotted a young black bear outside a garden fence. He turned and galloped across the road and up the slope beside the bus! Magic!

Around the next corner a male elk with a very impressive set of antlers.  Shortly after two female deer and three fawns.

This is Pyramid Lake reflecting the mountains behind. No motor traffic allowed on lakes - only canoes and kayaks. Not a ripple until a Loon arrived. This large handsome duck is common

Our first stop - Maligne Gorge. Maligne means "evil" so named by the Jesuits as they pushed north. A huge impediment to crossing the Athebasca river which has calved a deep, deep gorge over thousands of years. 

o

Lovely walking tracks follow the Gorge for miles but smaller loops over a series of bridges make it accessible to everyone. 

On to Athebasca Falls which again calves a deep gorge falling away so deeply you can hardly see the river below. And the colour! Silt washing down from the glaciers called Silt flour turns the water all shades of blue, turquoise and milky white. Potholes caused by whirlpools high up on the canyon walls are quite something.

.

Colombia Ice Fields and our first glimpse of the glaciers. The glaciers we can see are outlet glaciers which mean they have fallen off the ice field which is only visible from above.  These outlet glaciers move slowly downhill. Tours take you up onto the glaciers.

These huge six wheel drive vehicles cost 1.3 million dollars each and drive the challenging road at 3 miles an hour to reach the glacier.

This is the Athebasca glaciers and the source of the river. There are two others moving down also.

High on the top of mountains you can see the edge of the ice field -it looks like thick icing on a cake!

Our day was sunny so it made for a pleasant half hour walking on the ice which is 200 metres thick where we were. It is relatively clean but not all white. Ash from the fires which burn frequently colour it a streaky grey and pockets of oxygen make parts a brilliant blue. It is slushy in parts but traction is quite good - I kept my feet easily.

Over the years the glaciers has retreated speeding up in recent years. At present winter snow is not sufficient to compensate for summer melt

It was a fantastic experience!

We joined many others happy to fly the Canadian flag. This area for the public is regularly surveyed to ensure it is safe. Licensed guides will also take you onto the glaciers but only these special vehicles take you this high.

There are more than 80 glaciers -, many " hanging " glaciers as the bus continues to Banff on the Ice Field parkway.

There are really not enough superlatives to describe the Rocky Mountains and the glaciers - we have never seen anything like them. 

The area only operates during summer - weather is far too extreme to make it viable in winter but is it busy now! The Colombia Icefields are on all tour companies "bucket list".

Dinner in Banff - bustling, expensive, tourist mecca - at a Gin distillery restaurant.  Marg had a bison burger! They are farmed!

Another great day!

Journey to Jasper

Leaving the city we passed  the docks and the older port town of Gastown before travelling through East Vancouver: decidedly less affluent and desirable . Many homeless people were camped on the street and in small parks: the difficulties associated with living clearly displayed.

Our journey today will take us 800k following the Highway from Hell, as it sometimes called to "Hope" for our first stop.

It has been a fascinating day: the landscape changing constantly as we negotiated 5 different mountain passes.

The initial drive was through satellite cities and developing towns as the quest for housing escalates and Vancouver is very expensive.  Known as a food bowl,  housing gave way to farms and fields of raspberries   blueberries and corn. We can attest to their goodness because we have two bowls of fruit on board to snack on.

The forest is mainly Lodgepole pine valued for lumber and the temperate rainforest ensures very thick growth.

"Hope" is an interesting little town where we met three delightful "greeters". They gifted us with local information and a Canada pin.

The town is known for the Rambo movie and chainsaw carving. It is overlooked by mountains.

The landscape changed considerable after this - evidence of heavy snow which in winter forms avalanche alley. The road is often closed so avalanches can be triggered by cannon, snow is cleaned up and the road reopens.

Kamloops next for lunch. Here the sparsely treed landscape is not cleared: it is simply too dry for much tree growth because of rain shadows which halves rainfall from the Vancouver side. Pines here are Ponderosa - not highly sort after.

Forest fire has decimated some forest and in 2003 a huge fire destroyed a whole town, sterilised the soil and recovery is hardly noticeable. Much like our 2003 fires.

Mining, lumber mills and ranching predominate - 1 ranch is 1 million acres! Kamloops is home to the longest trains in the world - 4k long, requiring 3 engines to pull the loads of coal, potash and other goods. Back in heavy coniferous forest.

WE SAW A BEAR! He was sitting on the road but quickly scrambled back into the trees as we approached.  Still - a bear is a bear  is a bear.......

We moved quickly and reached our last stop for the day at Mt Robson Provincial Park. Wow! Tallest mountain in Rocky Mountains. 

This photo doesn't do it any justice.

It is climbable during July/August but only 20% of climbers are successful.  First climbed in 1914 in very primitive conditions.  Many challenging hikes and activities in area.

It has been a fabulous drive with variety but we were glad to finally stop at our hotel in Jasper. We have never seen so many buses, trains, cyclists, hikers and pedestrians. It is crazy busy! Today is more leisurely- ice fields, walk and more stopping to explore.

Rest day!

After the two long and hectic days we've decided a rest day is in order before our big trip begins.

We took a taxi to Granville Island a place in the shadow of the bridge spanning the Fraser River.  Here markets, restaurants, galleries and shops are to be found. Highly recommended by locals and tourists it is bustling and crowded.  

The food market highlights the best of produce but it is the presentation which takes the eye. There is almost no plastic wrapping: delicate fruit such as raspberries or cherries are piled artistically in cardboard punnet whilst large fruit is loose for buyer choice.

Meat, chicken, fish are artistically displayed.

Every conceivable food is available. Stalls devoted to donuts, French pastries, fudge, chocolate - you name it! 

Lunch choices abound. I had salmon chowder served with crusty bread and Marg a  croisant filled with ham and cheese.

We both had a French cake shaped like a tiny fluted volcano - yum - and not too rich.

Seating is everywhere and people chat as they share a table. There are signs warning about seagulls. One man was carefully carrying his lunch when he was dive bombed by a huge seagull causing him to spill the lot! Certainly bigger seagull than your average Aussie gulls. Heaps of very well behaved dogs!

This busker had a wonderful voice and a very easy style entertaining us with old favourites such as "It's a wonderful world" and "Falling in love again".

The marina is full of water craft so closely packed you wonder how the boats could leave the berths. A lot of dollars floating here!

On the other side of the market waterbuses ply along the harbour.

Such a short visit and a narrow snapshot cannot really allow you to formulate a considered opinion of Vancouver but we got an impression of a vibrant and exciting city. The streetscapes are full of beautiful mature trees and colourful hanging baskets and flower displays. The skyline is full of high rises but contrasting and thrilling in their architecture.

There's obviously wealth here , evident in the stylish and elegant homes which inhabit the suburb and the stylish high-rise condominiums not to mention the very expensive restaurants and shopping.But there's poverty too - many streets around the expensive downtown hotels and shops have homeless people sleeping out, going through bins and holding out cups hoping for a coin  or two. Some seem to appear around 4.30, set up shop in a business like way with a sign and a cup, others just put down a piece of cardboard and curl up. In the morning they gather their belongings and disappear. Where do they go? Apparently there is a designated camping area which provides help but perhaps not enough to go around.

Sirens are sounding during much of the night. People are rushing everywhere and the day starts early and finishes late for many. The traffic seems organised chaos! Much tooting of horns but generally gets sorted out quickly.

Across from our hotel is the Fairmont Vancouver with its elegant facade - hundreds of rooms and very expensive but guests don't get the view we do!

Tomorrow we are off to Jasper - a journey of around 800k - by bus! I may be guilty of not quite enough googling!

Salmon, Suspension bridged and grizzlies!

Another fabulous day but a later start at 11.00. We walked a total of 9.6k today!

Our first stop was the Capilano Salmon hatchery,  a government facility aimed at facilitating the spawning of salmon. Salmon are enormously important here to humans and animals alike. However as human requirements for water increased the building of dams has substantially interrupted the natural spawning of salmon. The hatchery aims to address some of this damage.

Salmon spend years as sea before the imperative urge to spawn draws them back up rivers to the places they hatched. After spawning they die! Bears and other wildlife benefit from this salmon migration.

The hatchery collects eggs and sperm and the hatchings are eventually released back into rivers.

The simulated and extraordinary journey up river, often leaping up waterfalls can be observed through glass windows. 

Finally,  they stay still,  exhausted after their frantic leaps ever upwards.

Interestingly the dead fish are released back into the river to satisfy the needs of bears and other wildlife which rely on also capturing salmon. The whole natural process is extraordinary. 

From here we moved on to the Capilano Suspension bridge. A suspension bridge was built here in the late 19th century by a hunter and explorer with the Cooperation of the local First Nation people whose anglicised name is Capilano - the name given to the region today.

Entrepreneurial spirit soon led to a charge of 10 cents to use the bridge over this deep gorge and today many thousands of visitors come here to walk the latest iteration of the bridge.

Marg and I crossed, quite gingerly! It sways quite a bit and is very high above the river. On the other side are walking tracks, board walks and rangers talking about wildlife found here and how to interact respectfully and safely.

Returning over the bridge, more confidently, we joined the cliff side walk.

This narrow walkway hugs the cliff side and again takes you high above the river but it doesn't move (much). 

Nevertheless it is quite challenging because of the many steps down and up and the narrowness of the one way path - hard on knees.

The whole park, privately owned,  is dedicated to the outdoors, informative in a fun way above wildlife and conservation, providing adventure and highlighting the history of the First Nation's people.

Of course shopping, ice cream and food are pretty important also - we recommend the wildberry -again!

On to Grouse Mountain! A gondola which can hold 50 people takes 6 minutes to whisk you up the mountain.

The views are staggering all the way back to Vancouver. Grouse Mountain is a popular ski resort  in winter and a playground in summer for zip liners, hikers, paragliders and tourists. 

We listened to a ranger talk about Grinder and Koto the two rescue grizzlies bears  (sadly asleep when we were there) and watched a display of raptors -including a stunning Bald eagle.

An amusing and skilful demonstration of lumberjack skills finished our day. Back down the mountain drinking in those phenomenal views!

Isn't she sweet!