experiencing the canadian rockies...

Spending a long-weekend holiday in the Canadian Rockies was a good choice!

We just returned home last night...

and I am unpacking pictures.

So I will share a few.

 There was a cousin reunion planned in the foothills of the Rockies...

on the Alberta side.

It's a long drive for a weekend...

but after some debate...

we decided a trek through the national parks along highway 93 would be a good thing.

And it was!

From big-horned sheep...

...to glacial lakes

 ...mountain birds

 ...wildflowers

...and massive glaciers

...it all made for a most pleasurable drive.

We followed the North Saskatchewan River down the mountain...

...and into the foothills of Alberta.

And that is where we spent the weekend...

camping with cousins we don't see too often.

We brought our bikes...

and did a little exploring.

We hit dead-ends on most trails though.

Dead-ends in the form of water. 

(Did you know Alberta has had more water than they can handle in the recent past?)

It seems most campers brought quads along.

No dead-ends for them!

I prefer the quietness of the bicycle.

We had a fine time in the foothills...

 

...and then bade farewell to Alberta... 

and  made our way back across the Rockies.

This time we passed through Canmore and Banff...

and saw some of the devastation caused by the recent floods.

We had lunch in Banff...

where it was sizzling hot. 

Who knew it could be over 30°C in Banff?

It was a good trip!

We even managed to take in some Canada Day fireworks while in Alberta.

I'll share a red-white-and-blue one with you...

for all of you who are celebrating tomorrow!

Happy July 4th!

happy canada day!

 

O Canada!

This land of wealth and peace

With rolling hills, and plains, and vales and seas;

We'll always stay in this domain

To help our nation grow,

And love thee, thou great Canada

Till rivers cease to flow.

O Canada

We're proud of thy great name

Thou land of freedom, liberty and fame.

God bless this nation evermore

And help that it may stay

A land of right for all mankind...

This may we ever pray!

Those are the first and last verses of a poem written in 1967 for Canada's Centennial.

I found the poem recently....

printed in an old high school year book...

with my name beneath it.

I had all but forgotten about it...

an English assignment back in the day.

It seemed fitting to post it on my blog today.

I can still say 'amen' to the prayer at the end.

Happy Canada Day!

Rocky Mountaineer ~ the sea to sky climb...

Train travel is rather a rare thing in Canada these days.

But western Canada is home to the busiest privately owned passenger rail service in North America.

 We checked it out last week...

...compliments of our family.

For Christmas they gave us a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer...

the 'sea to sky climb'.

The train operates between Vancouver and Whistler...

a day trip.

We spent the previous night in the city...

and were picked up at our hotel shortly after 7 am.

In North Vancouver...

we boarded the train for our first class ride in the dome car.

Can you tell we had rain?

Living on the west coast...

we know there is always that possibility!

The date was chosen last December...

with sunshine in mind!

However...

inside the dome car...

it was all sunshine and smiles!

Rocky Mountaineer has won many awards...

including that of  'World's Leading Travel Experience by Train'.

It has also been recognized by National Geographic Magazine as one of the 'World’s Best Journeys'.

The service was first class all the way...

reminiscent of a by-gone era!

Our knowledgeable host pointed out  places of interest along the route.

'Joy is like the rain'...

if one is snug and warm inside a train.

Jutting out into Howe Sound is the 9th hole of the scenic Furry Creek golf course....

 the backdrop for the famous fight scene between Adam Sandler and Bob Barker...

 in Happy Gilmore  (circa 1996).

We also had in-house entertainment in the dome car...

a drummer from the The Lil’wat Nation.

 It was short and sweet.

Three hours after our departure...

we arrived in Whistler.

We decided to forgo the chair lifts...

and spend our time in the village instead.

Yes...

we had an umbrella just like the rest of the tourists!

Rain...snow...or sunshine...

Whistler is always a fun place to be.

It brings back  memories and moments from the 2010 Olympics that we will always treasure.

And here was an entirely new-to-us Whistler experience.

We had an apple cinnamon 'beaver tail'...

and shared it in the rain.

It was good!

By the time we boarded the train for the homeward bound trip...

the rain had let up.

Not far down the rails we passed by the top of Brandywine Falls.

This was a whole new perspective...

...as we have previously only seen the falls from the viewing platform at the bottom.

Did you know that Brandywine Falls has a 70 meter drop...

higher than that of Niagara Falls?

The scenery along the 'sea to sky route' is most amazing.

There is an abundance of water in this part of the country!

In Squamish...we passed by the famous Stawamus Chief.

It is the second largest granite monolith in the world. 

This gigantic rock is a favorite among rock climbers and hikers.

Soaring mountains and dramatic waterfalls...

there is no shortage along the route.

As we neared Vancouver...

we passed through Horseshoe Bay. 

How fun to be tourists at home...

and ride the rails with folks from Florida, Mississippi and Saskatchewan.

It was a good time.

Thanks, kids for the fine Christmas gift!

I'll leave you with one last Whistler photo on this Canada Day weekend...

...one we took on a previous visit when the sun was shining and the flags were flying.

Have a wonderful weekend!