21-day trip to Canada, British Columbia and Alberta
Visiting Tsawwassen, Swartz Bay, Vancouver Island, Victoria (with the Parliament Building, the British Columbia Museum, Thunderbird Park, Fisherman’s Wharf), Marine Park Island of Discovery, Chemainus, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, Long Beach Unit, Tofino, Clayquot Sound, Wickaninnish Beach, MacMillan Provincial Park, Cathedral Grove, Port Alberni, Telegraph Cove, Port Hardy, Inside Passage, Prince Rupert, Hazelton, Ksan Historic Village, Prince George, Mount Robson Provincial Park, Canadian Rocky Mountains, Jasper National Park, Jasper, Patricia Lake, Pyramid Lake, Annette Lake, Edith Lake, Medicine Lake, Maligne Lake, Maligne Canyon, Whistler ‘s Mountain, Miette Hot Springs, Athabasca Falls, Sunwapta Falls, Stutfield Peak, Sun Glacier, Glacier Athabasca, Sunwapta Pass, Banff National Park, Glacier Saskatchewam, Weeping Wall, Mistaya Canyon, Peyto Lake, Moraine Lake, Lake Louise, Victoria Glacier, Lake Agnes, Banff, Lake Minnewanka, Johnson Lake, Drumheller, Dinosaur Trail, Horseshoe Canyon, River Red Deer, Bleriot Ferry, Path Hoodoo, Living Last Chance, Royal Tyrrell Museum, Calgary (with the Devonian Gardens and the Glenbow Museum), Kootenay National Park, Marble Canyon, Roger Pass, Glacier National Park, Lake District, Salmon Arm, Kamloops, Whisyeler, National Park Garibaldi, Squamish, Britannia Beach, Shannon Falls, Vancouver (with Waterfront Centre, Canada Place, Marine Building, Lonsdale Quay Market, Lions Gate Bridge, Seawall Promenade, Stanley Park, Aquarium of Marine Science, Sam Kee Building, Dr Sun Yat -Sen Park, Granville Island, Museum of Anthropology, Capilano Suspension Bridge, Grouse Mountain).
Vancouver Island: the capital city Victoria
In the early afternoon we arrived at the airport in Vancouver, coming from Frankfurt. Immediately we transferred by car to Vancouver Island, taking the ferry in Tsawwassen. We got off at Swartz Bay and reached Victoria in a short time.
Victoria, with many Victorian houses, is the most British of the Canadian cities.
The most important monument of Victoria is the Parliament Building, a rich palace dating back to the late 1800s. It is spectacular the lighting obtained using more than three thousand light bulbs.
Victoria's Parliament
CanadaVictoria: British Columbia Museum
The British Columbia Museum is a must because through this visit we had an idea of the nation we were going to know. There are numerous sculptures, canoes, and countless other artifacts. The most important room is the one dedicated to the totem poles. The largest ones are displayed in the nearby site Thunderbird Park.
Thunderbird Park
Victoria – CanadaVictoria: Fisherman’s Wharf houseboats
The peculiarity of the Fisherman’s Wharf is given by the countless and colorful houseboats rather than by the typical fishing boats.
Fisherman’s Warf
Victoria – CanadaVictoria: around the city
Empress Hotel
Victoria – CanadaVictoria: looking for the orcas
We took advantage of the services provided by Seacoast Expeditions to go and see the orcas. We crossed Juan de Fuca Straits to arrive, after an hour of fast navigation, to the Discovery Island Marine Park.
It has been exciting our meeting with a group of orcas.
Whale Watching
Victoria – CanadaChemainus: Murales
Chemainus
CanadaVancouver Island: Pacific Rim National Park and Long Beach Unit Reserve
We arrived to the beaches of the Pacific Ocean after crossing Vancouver Island longitudinally and visited the northern part of the Pacific Rim National Park, the Long Beach Reserve.
It is superb the location of the town Tofino overlooking Clayoquot Sound, whose biosphere is under the protection of UNESCO.
We spent one night at the Crab Dock B & B, an excellent and cheap accommodation .
We walked the Rain Forest Trail nr 6, an equipped route within the rainforest. Then we visited the Wickaninnish beach and walked along the Shooner Beach Trail nr 8. It is a path equipped with walkways and stairways leading down to the sea and we could walk “under the sea” thanks to the extremely low tide.
Long Beach Unit Reserve
CanadaVancouver Island: Mac Millan Provincial park and Cathedral Grove
We went back inside the island to visit, in MacMillan Provincial Park, a the place of greatest interest: Cathedral Grove. The forest is rich in huge Douglas pines and red cedar trees, some of them are more than 800 years old.
We spent the night in Port Alberni, an anonymous town which is washed by the sea despite being in the center of the island. The snowy peaks may deceive you but a 35- km-long fjord makes the town a harbour in the Pacific Ocean.
Cathedral Grove
CanadaVancouver Island: meetings
Vancouver Island- Canada
Vancouver Island: Telegraph Cove
Telegraph Cove
CanadaVancouver Island: Port Hardy
We slept in Port Hardy, the northernmost town of Vancouver Island, from where, waking up at 3:30 am the next morning, we were going to leave with the BC Ferries.
Port Hardy
CanadaCanada: sailing towards the Inside Passage
The ship took 18 hours to cross the Inside Passage. It is one of the most spectacular sea and mountain scenery in the world: wild evergreen mountains, often snowy, characteristic fishing villages, impressive fjords.
Many of these places are inaccessible from inland.
Unfortunately, even if many sea creatures live there: seals, killer whales, humpback whales, blue whales…, we only saw the shy puff of a whale.
We disembarked at 24.30 in Prince Rupert where we spent the night.
The next morning, we began to cross the valley that follows the course of Skeena river, among forests and snowy mountains.
Inside Passage
CanadaHazelton: ‘Ksan village of the Gitksan people
We reached Hazelton where we visited the reconstruction of the historical village ‘Ksan. It is a village of Gitksan people where we visited a museum and saw several totem.
We interrupted our trip to Jasper National Park, after travelling 750 kilometers, and stopped in Prince George to spend the night .
Hazelton Village
CanadaCanadian Rocky Mountains: Mount Robson
We arrived at Mount Robson Provincial Park with bad weather, rain and low clouds, and therefore I was forced to show the highest peak (mt.3.954) of the Canadian Rocky Mountains taking its photo from… a poster (see sidebar)!
We entered the province of Alberta.
We arrived in Jasper, a charming town that gives its name to the homonymous National Park.
We stayed at Miette Guest House. The choice was unhappy: small rooms placed below the street level and high price.
Mount Robson poster
CanadaJasper: bear proof closure
We noticed the “hermetic” bear proof garbage cans.
Bear proof closure
Jasper – CanadaJasper: lakes surrounding the city
Annette Lake
Jasper – CanadaJasper National park: free animals
We realized to be inside the Jasper National Park because, going along the roads around the city, we could find several animals that were freely roaming.
Male Wapiti
Jasper – CanadaJasper National Park: Medicine and Maligne lakes
We drove fifty kms to visit two of the most beautiful lakes of the Park: Medicine lake and Maligne lake.
Medicine Lake
Jasper – Canada
Maligne Lake
Jasper – CanadaJasper National Park: Maligne Canyon
Returning to Jasper we walked along the path that follows the Maligne Canyon.
The highest part of the canyon is very deep (over 50 meters) with rocks smoothed by the force of water, numerous waterfalls and clear water pools.
National Park Maligne Canyon
Jasper – CanadaJasper: Whistler’s Mountain
CWith the Jasper Tramway we climbed on Whistler’s Mountain, the mountain overlooking Jasper.
The wonderful view allowed us to see the cobalt blue water of the lakes surrounding the town and our sight could wander northwards toward the peaks of the Rocky Mountains among which stands out Robson Mount and southwards toward the glaciers of the Columbia Icefield.
Tramway Whistlers
Jasper – CanadaMiette Hot Spring
Miette Hot Springs is a resort with hot mineral waters that flow at 54 degrees.
We visited two large swimming pools crowded with tourists.
From the surrounding woods numerous fumaroles raise in correspondence with many natural springs.
Miette Hot Spring
CanadaIcefield Parkway Hwy n.93: Athabasca and Sunwapta Falls
We left the city of Jasper along the Highway 93 N, the Icefield Parkway. We visited the Athabasca Falls, quite wide, and Sunwapta Falls that are spectacular.
Athabasca Falls
Jasper – CanadaColumbia Icefield: Stutfield Peak Glacier and Dom Glacier
We began to see various glaciers that descend from the Columbia Icefield, the first two are the one of Stutfield Peak and the Dom Glacier.
Columbia Icefield - Stutfield Peak
Canada
Columbia Icefield - Dom Glacier
CanadaAthabasca Glacier: walk on the glacier
The buses of the famous Brewster Company, equipped with huge wheels, allowed us to get on the slopes of the Athabasca Glacier.
After visiting the glacier, we went back to the Parkway road.
We overcame the Sunwapta Pass and entered the Banff National Park.
Athabasca Glacier
CanadaSaskatchewan Glacier
The landscapes are very beautiful, especially the view of the Saskatchewan glacier.
Saskatchewan Glacier
CanadaBanff National Park: landscapes and animals
We met high waterfalls, beautiful snow-capped mountains, numerous lakes and many glaciers. Weeping Wall is a high wall of rock from which numerous waterfalls descend.
Banff National Park
Canada
Banff National Park - Wapiti
CanadaBanff National Park: Mistaya Canyon
Going onwards we stopped to visit the Mistaya Canyon, where the strength of water has carved and smoothed the rocks so that now the river flows in a very deep canyon.
Banff National Park - Mistaya Canyon
CanadaPeyto glacier-fed lake
Peyto Lake is one of the most beautiful glacier-fed lakes in the world with its turquoise water and is overlooked by the homonymous glacier which is mirrored on its water. We had the chance to see a beautiful flower: the Western anemone.
Banff National Park - Peyto Lake
CanadaSpiral Tunnells
We entered an area where it might be more frequent to meet grizzlies. As a warning for the drivers there was the poster on the sidebar. From a panoramic pitch we could see a train formed by more than one hundred wagons entering a tunnel. The locomotive had already crossed two tunnels when the last carriage had not entered the first tunnel yet.
Spiral Tunnel
CanadaLake Louise village: lakes and mountains
The Village of Lake Louise is the welcome point for the tourists who come to visit the beautiful lakes of the place. Moraine Lake is small, very charming and quiet. Louise Lake is the largest one and is surrounded by beautiful mountains. The Victoria Glacier, 3.459 meters high, is the highest representative glacier. A path (it took nearly an hour to walk it) leads to Agnes Lake in whose calm water the surrounding mountains are reflected. From a small chalet we could admire the intense turquoise water of the underlying Louise Lake and the impressive and famous Hotel Fraimont.
We asked for an hotel at the Visitor Center in Banff: the Banff Avenue Inn has been a perfect choice and was managed by Sandy, a very nice Australian .
Banff National Park - Lake Moraine
CanadaBanff: surroundings
We visited the surroundings of Banff: the artificial Lake Minnewanka, the Tunnel Mountain Road and Johnson Lake.
Banff National Park - Johnson Lake
CanadaBanff: walking in the town
Banff is an important touristic town with beautiful houses, characteristic and very interesting shops.
City of Banff
CanadaBanff: Springs Hotel
Along the Bow Valley Parway we reached the huge (800 rooms) and charming Banff Springs Hotel.
It is an immense granite building with many curious towers. Inside there are several shops and spacious and luxurious public areas.
Spring Hotel
Banff – CanadaBanff: Sulfur springs
In Banff there are also sulfur springs, inside a cave, with healing thermal baths.
We left Banff and, passing Calgary, arrived in Drumheller; this city is the capital of the most famous area in the world for the large amount of prehistoric fossils found
Cave & Basin Centre
Banff – CanadaDrumheller: visiting Dinosaur Trail, Horseshoe Canyon, Hoodoo Drive and Last Chance Saloon
Drumheller is located 127 meters below the level of the prairie.
We went through the Dinosaur Trail, long a little less than 50 km. We met the Horseshoe Canyon, the most spectacular precipice of the Badlands area and then we crossed the Red Deer River on the Bleriot Ferry, a cable ferry working since 1913. We drove along the Hoodoo Drive to see Hoodoos, sandstone pillars that, as a result of wind and water erosion, have taken the shape of petrified mushrooms. We stopped for dinner at the legendary Last Chance Saloon.
Last Chance Saloon - Drumheller Wayne
CanadaDrumheller: Royal Tyrrel Museum of Paleontology
Near Drumheller at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology, fossils and skeletons of numerous prehistoric animals are excellently presented.
Royal Tyrrel Museum of Paleontology
Drumheller – CanadaDrumheller: Dinosaur Provincial Park
We went to visit the Dinosaur Provincial Park, the largest cemetery in the world of prehistoric animals, dating back to 75 million years ago; it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Unfortunately, the fatigue of the trip was not worth the result of the visit since there is little left.
After two hours on the motorway we reached Calgary which, with its skyscrapers, stands on the Alberta prairie.
Dinosaur Provincial Park
CanadaCalgary: “Plus 15” skywalk
Calgary
CanadaCalgary, Toronto Dominion Square: Devonian Gardens
Devonian Gardens
Calgary – CanadaCalgary: Glenbow Museum
We visited also the important Glenbow Museum which witnesses the history of the native peoples of the area.
We left Calgary going back to Banff National Park, we passed the homonymous town and entered the Kootenay National Park.
We left the State of Alberta and entered in the State of British Columbia.
A fire in 2003 destroyed the suspension bridges that gave access to the Marble Canyon.
We crossed the Roger Pass, within the Glacier National Park. In winter the snow exceeds 20 meters in height causing landslides and avalanches. The road is open in winter only thanks to the construction of many tunnels.
Glenbow Museum
Calgary – CanadaCrossing the Canadian Rocky Mountains: Hwy n.99 named “Sea to Sky” and Garibaldi National Park
We passed through Whisteler, an important winter resort with numerous and challenging ski slopes, in the Garibaldi National Park.
Garibaldi National Park
CanadaGaribaldi National Park: climbers at Squamish and Shannon Falls
Vancouver welcomed us in a warm sunny day.
Shannon Falls
CanadaVancouver: walking around the City Center
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city in which the people of Asian origin represent more than half of the population. The city deserves to be “experienced ” visiting its most peculiar and characteristic places.
We began our visit along the City Center where we could admire the most important buildings of the city.
Vancouver
CanadaVancouver: Waterfront Centre and Canada Place
Facing the sea there is the Waterfront Centre whose heart is Canada Place, unique with its white sails.
Waterfront Centre
Vancouver – CanadaVancouver: Marine Building
Nearby there is the Marine Building, an art deco palace, with numerous bas-reliefs which represent subjects of the marine environment.
Marine Building
Vancouver – CanadaNorth Vancouver
North Vancouver is noteworthy.
From the city center it can be reached:
– by sea, with the sea-bus which leads to the Lonsdale Quay Market, a typical food market with shops and restaurants;
– by land, crossing the Lions Gate Bridge.
North Vancouver
CanadaVancouver: Stanley Park with the Seawall Promenade
The Stanley Park, in the middle of a cedar forest of more than 400 acres, is on a peninsula near Vancouver.
The Seawall Promenade runs around the perimeter of the park and is a pathway that is considered among the most beautiful urban walks in the world.
Stanley Park
Vancouver – CanadaVancouver: Aquarium Marine Science Centre
Inside the Stanley Park we visited the Aquarium Marine Science Centre. There are very interesting pools where we could admire belugas, dolphins, but also seals, turtles and more.
Aquarium Marine Science Centre
Vancouver – CanadaVancouver: Chinese Garden (Dr. Sun Yat -Sen Park)
It is wonderful the Chinese Garden (Dr. Sun Yat -Sen Park) within the large Chinatown (there is a very high percentage of Asians in the city). It is curious the Sam Kee Building, the narrowest building in the world.
Chinese Garden ( Dr. Sun Yat -Sen Park)
Vancouver – CanadaVancouver: Grandville Village
Then we visited Grandville Village, formerly it had been and industrial quarter, which houses restaurants, galleries and theaters.
Its main attraction is the covered market with many street stalls that offer food specialties from around the world.
Granville Island
Vancouver – CanadaVancouver: Anthropology Museum
In the Museum of Anthropology there are very interesting collections of works and totem poles of indigenous peoples.
Museum of Anthropology
Vancouver – CanadaNorth Vancouver: Capilano Suspension Bridge
In North Vancouver we visited Capilano Suspension Bridge. It is a 70-meter-high bridge that crosses the homonymous river. It gives access to the rainforest in which we found an equipped path of walkways which is placed at an height of ten feet; the path has been built linking huge Douglas pines.
Capilano Suspension Bridge
Vancouver – CanadaVancouver: Steamworks Gastown Pub
Vancouver offers plenty of pubs and restaurants where we could enjoy heterogeneous meals .
In Steamworks Gastown Pub we found excellent dishes and delicious local beers and it was possible to follow all the matches of the FIFA World Cup.
Steamworks Gastown Pub
Vancouver – CanadaVancouver: Joe Fortes Chop House
Another great restaurant is the Joe Fortes Chop House which serves tasty dishes of fish and seafood as well as top quality wines.
Joe Fortes Chop House
Vancouver – CanadaVancouver: Grouse Mountain
We took the aerial tramway to the Grouse Mountain, 1.100 meters high.
We could enjoy the spectacular sight of the city and the games of two huge grizzly cubs.
Grizzly Grouse Mountain
Vancouver – CanadaBefore leaving Canada and, in particular, this wonderful city I want to conclude with a series of photos that show some of its most unusual aspects.
Vancouver
Canada
Vancouver
Canada
Vancouver
Canada
Ignazio MarconiMy name is Ignazio and my motto is Travellingforever
my biography
