Vancouver, Part I

Settled into Vancouver, we are back to putting in the miles au pied. 

I began the day with the usual oat milk latte and a pastry, and then Hannah and I walked to the port, where we saw the structure that held the Olympic flame lit by the torch carried all the way from Greece for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games (below).

Also at the port by the conference center is a giant Shamu.

Seaplanes land and take off in the harbor.

After the harbor visit, we met up with two tour guides from Vancouver Foodie Tours who guided us around downtown to sample a variety of Asian cuisines. We had shumai, pork buns and palm-wrapped rice treats at Kirin Chinese restaurant.

We visited a Japanese convenience store for a yuzu cone, ate Korean barbecue with all the trimmings and finished up with a fresh mango dessert. We also watched a robot make an iced latte at Muji.

The robot is named Jasper.

In this super multicultural city, I definitely wanted to see some indigenous art so I went to Bill Reid gallery of northwestern coastal art.

Hoping to see more art and eat more fun foods in the coming days in western Canada. 🇨🇦👍😀

Rocky Mountaineer, Day 2

We continued our westward journey today, amassing a longer list of wildlife spotted, as well as more interesting insights into BC. This morning began with the sighting of two different clusters of big horn sheep, as well as a single large black bear high on a hillside to far afield for photos, but nonetheless impressive. Later, we saw two bald eagles perched in a tree, some ospreys and geese flying over water, and lots more water fowl.

The most interesting natural phenomenon of the day was the confluence of the Thompson and Fraser rivers. Because of their routes thru different terrain, the Thompson appears aqua blue and the Fraser appears grayish white. When they meet, the waters take several minutes to blend together so they look like this:

We also passed by a variety of colorful rock striations. The reddish and green colors come from copper, and the darker color from iron. These minerals, as well as gold, all are mined in BC.

Old bridges and remnants of the railway dotted the route.

And before we knew it, we had arrived in Vancouver… and onto the final leg of our Canada adventure. Stay tuned for more news from the great white north tomorrow!

All Aboard!

This morning, we boarded the famous Rocky Mountaineer train for a two-day journey from Banff to Vancouver.  This  route retraces the historic Canadian Pacific Railway that joined eastern Canada with British Columbia for the first time in 1885.

 Day 1 of our journey took us through two and a half subdivisions of the rail system, covering 391 miles. We followed seven different rivers, passed through two spiral tunnels, crossed the Continental Divide, traversed three National parks and changed time zones.

Our seats upstairs in the domed car gave us great views. Service on board is excellent, too, with a robust staff, meals cooked to order in an onboard galley, and hosts who shared stories and history about the railroad and the region.

Can you tell we love traveling together?

People everywhere loved to wave to the train as it passes through their communities.

We passed by some railroad museums along the way. Eventually the mountains turned to farmland, so we also saw cows, sheep, loons, herons, Canadian geese and deer.

Shuswap Lake.

Tonight we sleep in Kamloops before setting out again at 7 am for the final leg of the journey. 

We are eager to see what lies ahead. Are you?

Glacial Waters: Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Bow River and other glacial meltiness

There is a Passover song called Dayenu, which refers to all that God gave us and how even the least of it would have been enough, and yet, God gave us more.  Religion aside, I cannot think of a better word for the bounty of beauty that Nature gave Hannah and me over the past two days.

We walked the path along the Bow River from town to our hotel, passing art installations in the trees, but nothing could take my eyes from the river.

Walking 20,000 steps makes for tired feet.

Time to rest our feet in the icy cold water.

Sun hitting Mount Rundle late in the day.

Moraine Lake from the top of the Rockpile hike. Perfect.

Moraine Lake 

Glacial water flows into the lake from the Wenkchemna Glacier. A moraine is a ridge of glacial debris that acts as a natural dam, thus forming the lake.

At Lake Louise, you can clearly see the glacial ice, even at the end of summer.

Cold water feels so good on tired toes.

Savor the view.

Savor the joy.

Banff

Banff and the Fairmont Hotel are as close to heaven as I’ll ever be.  I know I’ve said it many times before that I love the Rockies, but the Canadian Rockies are perhaps even closer to perfect than the ones in Colorado. 

I met Hannah at the Calgary airport and we drove up to Banff on a perfect afternoon. Locals say this week is the best weather of the summer so far, as June and July were unusually wet and cold here.

Thanks to Hannah’s taste for luxury, we’re staying at the historic Fairmont Hotel with endless views of the mountains and river.  The hotel was built in the late 19th century and is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Our first stop was for a drink and a snack on the patio.

Bow River runs past the hotel, which is not far from the headwaters at Bow Lake. 

After settling in and a good night’s sleep, we grabbed coffee and pastry at Wildflour Bakery, then drove about 30 minutes north on the TransCanadian Highway to Johnston Canyon to hike and catch some stunning waterfalls.

The water really is that color turquoise.

Even though we shared the trail with lots of other tourists, this was one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever done. Hannah liked it, too, and was happy there were only tourists and not bears.

Now we’re back at the hotel for lunchtime tea and some R&R poolside.

As I said: Heaven on Earth.