And so to Whistler

Whistler is an elite ski resort village about 1.5hours drive north of Vancouver. Its an alpine village focused round two mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb - our visit up to the two mountains consisted of 4 different chairlifts and a gondola. Travelling from one mountain to the other, the lift has a total length of 4.4 km and the longest unsupported span for a lift of its kind in the world at 3.02 km while also having the highest ground clearance for a lift of its kind, 436m (1,427 ft) above the valley floor.

In addition Whistler Blackcomb will host the alpine skiing events for the 2010 Winter Olympics, including the men's and women's Olympic and Paralympic alpine skiing, this is happening round February at the moment the snow is only on the highest peaks.

Something native indian which you see alot of in Canada is the Inuksuk. It is basically a formation of stones which may have been used for navigation, as a point of reference, a marker for hunting grounds, or as a food cache. You can buy this formation as a carving, jewellery all sorts of touristy things. You can place your orders now :)

http://picasaweb.google.com/sbramhall/Whistler#

Jasper and onwards

This morning Mom and I managed a little shopping and girly time, unfortunately Jasper only takes about an hour to walk round, so it was to the coffee shop we went, cinnamon buns and coffee, yum!

Hooked up with Dad abit later and off we went to Maligne Lake and Maligne Canyon - pretty spectacular. We were also lucky enough to spot some wild Elk which were not being harassed by tourists which was rather special.

We have been really lucky and seen a fair bit of wildlife!

See more pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/sbramhall/RockiesDay9#

And so from Jasper to Cache Creek....

So early start and we are leaving Jasper heading for Cache Creek, but not before stopping at Mt Robson which is in Mt Robson national park and pure bliss to look at!

Another of the lakes we passed on our way, just spectacular! You can see we are back in BC!

See more pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/sbramhall/RockiesDay10#

Jasper

Today we are taking things a little slower, we have been really pushing in the sites and there is less to see here in Jasper. We are really hoping to see some wild life here. After a lye in this morning and spotting a white tailed deer in the field behind our cabin which was delightful our first stop is Anthabasca Falls which is about 30km from Jasper. We fortunately took a wrong turn and were fortunate enough to see a black bear our first and i think our last. We watched him for ages as he was eating berries right by the road and seemed totally oblivious to the cars of people watching him or her for that matter. The falls were really pretty when we eventually got there and we spent some taking in the sites. Next stop Mt Edith Cavell - what an exceptionally beautiful mountain, one of the highest in Canada apparently, although this statement popped up a lot where ever we went. We walked up quite a steep path to get a bit closer to the glacier and round the corner was the most beautiful glacier lake and glacier cave - ooh how exciting.

We did the complete walk of course stopping at the glacier cave, i was brave enough to go inside, it was freezing and i got shouted out by other people saying it wasn't safe, this cave was right below the Angel glacier, if i was going anywhere then everybody standing round was going to.

Well the final highlight of the day was coming across two Elks on our way back to our cabin along the road. Unfortunately they had been spotted by millions of other tourists as well, which was ok, but then these eejets got out of their cars and went right up to the Elks and started trying to feed them carrots, i was horrified, this wasn't the first time i had seen people abusing the wildlife. i was hooting and shouting out the window that what they were doing was illegal, of course to no avail, on the positive side the Elks didn't appear at all bothered by all these people, thankfully.
On the wildlife side of things, people touring here seem to have no idea how to treat wild animals and i often came across people feeding them and being far closer than they should be, it seems there is no respect for the wildlife but more about the people themselves and getting that holiday snap. In addition dogs are allowed everywhere in all national parks which again as much as i love dogs and all animals i totally disagree with and quite frankly this could be having a massive impact on the minimal site-ing experience.

More pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/sbramhall/RockiesDay8#

Banff to Jasper
After having our hot rolls, our daily ritual, we hit the road. After taking the scenic Bow River parkway up to Lake Louise we then got onto the Ice fields Parkway which is one of the most spectacular drives in the Rockies. The concentration of high, dramatic mountains with snowy peaks it just breathtaking. Our first stop was the Crows Foot Glacier, which is like a crows foot except it lost a toe.

Then onto the Weeping Wall, where little steams of water run all down the front of the mountain and next stop was definitely the highlight of the trip so far, the Columbia Icefields. We arrived at the Ice Fields centre which is situated in front of the Anthabasca glacier and surrounded by snowy mountains, you just cant stop taking snaps.

We are doing a trip onto the glacier in a snowmobile, so exciting!!! From the Ice Fields centre we caught a bus up to where the snow mobiles leave from from there we transfered to a snow mobile of which there are only 23 in the world and the tyres alone cost $5000 each, they were huge!

The tour guide supplies all the information about the glacier, the terrain is really interesting as from a distance it looks smooth and flat but its actually really uneven and bumpy. There are lots of crevasses and fissures, some guys were actually going down into them. Also you could do a glacier walk which is about 4hours with a guide, but i took the ice mobile!
Once at the foot of the glacier you get out and walk around on the ice and you can even drink the glacier water. Then back down to the Ice Fields centre - i have never done anything like this before and it was really great fun and highly recommended.

Next stop Jasper, we are now slowly descending and the air is getting slightly warmer and the mountains have less snow. Jasper town is a lot smaller than Banff and less commercial and apparently there is more wildlife, so here's hoping. So far we have seen lots of squirrels, crows, various other birds, a deer, some mountain goats.

More pics here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/sbramhall/RockiesDay7#

Banff and surrounds...

The weather is really great today very clear. Off to Johnston Canyon and the minute we left our cabin the scenery was spectacular, we are surrounded by snowy mountain peaks, just gorgeous! Johnston Canyon has two waterfalls, Upper and Lower, in total about 5 or 6km's walking. The first part of the walk was like being in a shopping mall there were so many people and Mom did this part with us, we then went on to the higher walk to the Upper Falls and there were alot less people and it was really nice!

Very pretty walkways all along the river and up the canyon.

Moving on we are doing the Bow river parkway drive up to Lake Louise, which is just spectacular scenery all the way through, mountains, mountains and more mountains with snow and glaciers, so very pretty.

As the weather was so clear we went back to have another look at Lake Moraine and it was really good that we did, see the pictures on a clear day and understand why the weather is so important. Lake Moraine's views are more dramatic than Lake Louise and the lake is smaller and the mountains closer so definitely more appealing as you can see from the millions of pics that i took.
Again i had to speak to somebody about feeding the wildlife, well the squirrels, it really winds me up especially as there are signs everywhere not to feed wild animals!

Last stop Marble Canyon, this was slightly different in that there were bridges zig zagging across the very deep canyon. Surrounding us are forests which have sadly burnt down, a fire started by lightening lasted for 40 days in 2003 and you can see from the pics that it takes ages to recover.

Back in Banff walked round the town and back at Beaver Cabin we had a lovely gravy dinner, i do miss moms cooking that's for sure, it was bloody brilliant!

More pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/sbramhall/RockiesDay6#

Canadian Rockies - Banff National Park

Banff is the highest town in Canada at an elevation of 1384m above sea level which means its a lot cooler here. That and the fact that is raining cats and dogs is not helping the sightseeing!!! So today we may have to do shops and museums and hold thumbs the rainy weather dissipates! Actually the weather didn't turn out too badly. We started off at the Cave and Basin which is where the park actually started and then onto Vermillion lakes which are 3 adjoining lakes just outside Banff. Then up to Mt Norquay which gave us a spectacular view of Banff town and the surrounding mountains and we saw mountain sheep with curly horns which was nice (did i mention this is not Africa!) We then went to Bow Falls where we pounced on a poor mounty for a picture and saw the gorgeous Fairmont Hotel which looks like something out of a fairy tale. In the afternoon we did Lake Minnewanka (strange name) and watched abit of dragon boat racing preparation. A long day and luckily for us the weather did hold.

See more pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/sbramhall/RockiesDay5#

Canadian Rockies - Revelstoke to Banff

Revelstoke - Banff

Lovely clear day and we are off to Banff, first stop Yoho national park. We are now in the Rockies and the mountains get higher and more dramatic as you drive. Our first stop is the Natural bridge formed from rock by the water rushing constantly through it and then the Emerald Lake which true to its name is a gorgeous colour. Moving closer to Banff there are more and more tourists, but it is the middle of summer and to be expected.

Next stop in Yoho national park is the Takakkaw Falls, really spectacular probably the largest i have ever seen and are fed by a glacier as most of the waterfalls round here are. For those of you that have seen the movie "Up" it did remind me of that mountain. We also saw some wild life here, the Columbia Ground Squirrel which is rather tame i guess because people feed them and a Clark's Nutcracker which is a bird of which there were many. Look its not Africa and sadly at this point i still havn't seen Bears, Elk or Moose but i am hopeful.

Into Alberta....the next province
Moving out of British Columbia and into Alberta via Kicking Horse pass we are now in Banff National Park. Banff National Park was established in 1885 and is rather large at 6641km2.

Our first stop is Lake Louise which is a very famous lake and really when you see it, its exactly how you imagine Canada - good thing that. However its very touristy with 10000 visitors a day and there are people everywhere, but it is just gorgeous with the glaciers in the background and the lovely sheer mountains.

Next stop was Lake Moraine which was slightly less touristy but actually more dramatic with its lovely emerald colour and sheer mountains, smaller but less tourists and more spectacular.

An so to Banff which is about the size of Knysna, very touristy but really nice and we are staying at Banff Beaver cabins which are on the world heritage list dating back to 1914. We were really spoilt here with hot rolls for breakfast every morning and afternoon biscuits for tea, it was really good and in a brilliant location right in the town in a quiet street and surrounded by great scenery.

Check out more pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/sbramhall/RockiesDay4#

Canada - Kamloops to Revelstoke

On the road to Revelstoke we stopped about midway at a Railway museum for coffee and then on to Revelstoke. Revelstoke is a sweet little village and our accommodation here is really nice, we are staying for two nights.

In the afternoon we went to the Revelstoke dam and then onto Mount Revelstoke National park where we did some short walks in the park. We also caught a shuttle the last km to the top where there were wild flowers and spectacular scenery although it did rain on and off.

See more images here: http://picasaweb.google.com/sbramhall/RockiesDay2#

Revelstoke
Today the weather is much better and we have mostly sunny skies which is excellent - we are in the Glacier National Park today which has 422 glaciers, alot of them are really small but we did see a fair amount even though alot of the ice has melted. We did a few short hikes, the Giant Cedars trail and the Skunk cabbage trail and had lunch alongside a nice creek after visiting the Rogers Pass discovery centre. We finished off the day at the Loop Brook trail which was the longest and used to be part of the big railway system from East to West Canada.

See more images here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/sbramhall/RockiesDay3#

OFF TO THE CANADIAN ROCKIES.....

Mom and Dad have finally arrived in Canada and it was a joyous reunion i can tell you!! We spent a nice afternoon catching up and socialising and an early dinner of cottage pie which went down well. Early to bed as the following day we left for the Rockies.

Vancouver to Kamloops
We collected our hire car in the morning and hit the Trans Canadian highway - first stop Hope.
At Hope we went to see the Othello Tunnels, really worth a visit. The old railway tunnels which are no longer used for this purpose are now a tourist spot and its really great to walk through them, some of them are like caves.

Fashion police alert, Moms out on the town!

Moving on from Hope we eventually arrived at Kamloops via Hells Gate round 7.30pm which is our first stop over. I didnt rate Kamloops but it was conveniently located to spend the night.

Below is our hotel and the sunset at Kamloops

So i got stung by a bee in Vancouver, viscious Canadian bees. look at my arm and thats four days later. Sympathy emails will be accepted :) Actually its got alot better, got a sore throat now, the fun just never stops, but i digress!

Back in Vancouver - 1 week till mom and dad arrive!

So its been an interesting week, with lots of variation, and its nearly Sunday when Mom and Dad arrive, cant wait!

Taking Lilly to the creek

There are loads of lovely creeks and rivers in and around Vancouver, and its a common past time to swim in them, rather than the sea, apparently they are warmer. I have to be honest and say that its not my thing, so in this instance, i am an observer! Lilly of course is having the time of her life!

Baking

Well Jen and i decided to make banana bread, but there was a dispute, so we made 3, two with chocolate chip and one without. I am not a great fan of chocolate chip but its really big here and in the states. Thats not all, they love cookies(thats what they call biscuits) so much so you can get an ice cream flavour called "cookie dough"!

Dog washing

Another of my little tasks and this time i had a helper, Lilly loves the water so having a bath is just great fun for her. Here you can see Jen drying off Lilly on my bed!

Sight seeing

This week i was lucky to get taken out in the convertable and saw two different places.

Burnaby Mountain Conservation Park

This is a lovely area maybe 15 minutes drive from North Van and its like being totally away from everything, just gorgous! The totem poles below are actually Japanese and the views from the top of the hill where there is a pretty rose garden and some fancy hedge work.

Deep Cove - a lovely area in East Vancouver, sweet little mariner and cute coffee shops.

Wohoo and i got to have some fun in the Chryzler convertable - what a show off! Poor Bill was forced to pose, for me it comes naturally :)

Tomorrow is Friday, yippee, another tough week at the office!!