Seems each year I go on an adventure somewhere in the world. This Summer, that adventure was in Canada. My mother, daughter, and I went straight North to the Banff area in Alberta. From there we went West to Whistler, then on to Vancouver Island in British Columbia, then dropped into Washington and shot straight home.
The mountains and glaciers around Banff are impressive. We stopped off at Lake Louise twice. the first time was only intended to be a quick visit at the end of a long drive. The weather was lovely and the lake gorgeous. We went back the next morning but a storm had moved in and the rain was relentless.
Rather than moping about having lost our chance to go canoeing on that lovely lake, we went a bit further North and took a tour of a really handy glacier. You didn’t have to hike at all to get to it, though some people did. We simply took the bus.
The next day we were on the road again, this time on our way to Whistler. During the Vancouver Olympics, Whistler was the site of many of the events. It’s only a bit over a hundred miles between the two, and has some excellent facilities. Ski lifts, for instance.
Talk about convenient! No half hour ride home in cold and wet clothing after having exhausted yourself on the slopes for the people of Whistler. The lifts pick you up on the edge of town. Now If I could just figure out where people actually live.
We spent a week wandering around in Whistler. Then it was off to Vancouver Island by way of the ferry out of Vancouver city. It had been a few years since I’d been on a ferry, and The Girl had never been on one – not counting the log raft in Belize. Seriously, that really shouldn’t count.
Vancouver Island turned out to have some great attractions. In one day we managed to visit a parrot sanctuary, a butterfly garden, and some impressive old-growth trees. Oh, and Goats on the Roof, which turned out to be a really wonderful tourist trap that really does have goats on the roof at least part of the time.
After that it was back to the USA on another ferry, a night with some good friends, then hurrying home in time for school registration. It was a fun trip full of chances for great photos and exercise.
Directory of posts about the trip:
13 More Pictures from Mountain Tops
Parking and Lots
13 Pictures From a Mountain
T13: Whistler
13 Roadside Signs
Lake Louse, Again
T13: Walking on a Glacier
Canada
13 Things Said in a Moving Car
Lake Louise
from Whistler to Nanaimo
Laundry
Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island
13 Pictures From the Butterfly Gardens
The Tale of Francis Mawson Rattenbury
13 More Pictures from Mountain Tops
13 From Peak to Peak and Down
T13 Victoria by Land and Sea
Parrot Sanctuary
Chained Mountains
13 Screensavers?
Goats on the Roof
Golf in Canada
15 Responses to Canada – Alberta, British Columbia, and Vancouver Island