Blogs from Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, North America - page 11

Well the road trip was a great success. We started off on Sunday with a leisurely drive to Whistler (pausing briefly at Shannon Falls) and after a quick wander round Whistler Village (really not my favourite place in the world) we carried on up the Sea-to-Sky highway and had a picnic lunch by the side of a frozen lake. We carried on driving until we reached Revelstoke and found a hotel for the night. Monday we travelled through the Glacier National Park (beautiful clear weather showed the mountains off to their best - 2 metres of snow on the ground also helped), and then into the Yoho National Park. The "season" here doesn't really start until May, so lots of the "sites" were still closed. We had a brief detour to Emerald Lake (which is normally ... read more

When all I cared about was to snowboard and conquer one of the best mountains in Canada, I wasn't prepared for the natural beauty and splendor of the Canadian rockies. To be quite honest I'm not one to be amazed of mountains covered by snow, not that I'm not a nature or outdoor person I am but since living in Toronto for over 10 years, a mountain covered in snow is just as ordinary as any mall- they're the same as every other mountain you see. But the moment we approached the 'canadian rockies' (as we call them, btw we were on the way to Banff) I was awed and shocked with what I see. From a distance you already see these amazing big mountains covered with patches of snow, of course they looked small, but ... read more

Hi All, We have now arrived safe and happy in Canada! having spent a few days wandering around vancouver which is gearing up for the olympics in a massive way. Having ticked off Granville Island and Stanley Park we jumped on a greyhound to kelowna and more specifically Big White. A big thanks to Mic V and the crew who took such good care of us and managed to produce a beautiful blue bird day along with some of the best snow I have ever ridden. Having spent a couple of nights there we pushed on again to Banff our knew home. I am pleased to report that we are now a lot more settled in Banff than we were a week ago. Since arriving last Thursday, and 9 sleepless nights on Azz Dawg's lounge room ... read more

Johnston Canyon and Moraine Lake Twinning The National Parks people and the government of Canada know that one of the major draws to the Canadian Rockies and the national parklands is the chance for people to see wildlife. So it's a worry that the reproduction rate of some of the big animals has been dropping. In response, there are efforts to buttress up the wildlife habitats and educate people on staying away from critical areas during spring calving and the autumn rutting season. On the highway between the townships of Banff and Lake Louise, the policy of “twinning” is being put into effect. This means high and secure fencing all along both sides of the road, to keep the animals and cars from colliding, which is usually to the detriment of all concerned. This restriction is ... read more

October 1, 2009 A quiet day that began with a ride to the town of Banff; another beautiful trip with mountain views that left us breathless. The town reminded us of Europe…quaint shops lining streets that sit at the base of mountains that stand like giant sentries…but my goodness how expensive things were. Donna and I had an interesting experience in the grocery store. We were trying to buy a pound of ham to make sandwiches for our lunch on the road tomorrow… (Being frugal) but everything here is in metric and being the ugly Americans that we are…we don’t know what any signs related to size or weight mean. With our first try, we received enough ham to make a sandwich for a mouse… (Could the meat lady not see my size!!)? With the second ... read more