Rob's Roamings 2023

 I'm currently in an internet desert, so can't post until we return to Vancouver!!

An early morning start with breakfast at Tim Hortons meant we could do a Hop On Hop Off trip round the whole downtown area of the city. First stop was the beautiful Chinese Garden in China Town, the only formal Chinese Garden outside of mainland China, in recognition of the massive contribution Chinese workers made to the establishment of modern day Canada. On the way to the Vancouver Lookout tower, is this steam driven clock! From the Vancouver Lookout: panoramic views of  the city. Then on to Stanley Park, a really well cared for urban park, 10% bigger than New York's Central Park.  Totem poles seem to be revered in British Columbia.  There is a definite feeling of respect towards the First Nation,the indigenous peoples.

The Rocky Mountaineer rail trip from Banff to Vancouver was absolutely amazing. Almost every minute of the 2 day trip took our breath away. I really would encourage everyone to do it if they can. Not only was it extremely comfortable, with good seats, great food, unlimited free drinks all day and huge panoramic windows, the views of the changing landscape were fantastic. The on board guide was funny and very knowledgeable about all stages, and some great stories to tell. The weather had improved dramatically, so we left Banff in bright sunshine. Passing through the Rockies, after about an hour we went through the world famous two spiral tunnels to take us down to the river bed level, which we pretty much followed via three rivers and two lakes to Vancouver. Leaving the mountains behind we entered a semi arid area for our overnight stop at Kamloops.   Luggage was transferred directly to our hotel room, but they managed to lose my case for about an hour! Early next morning, we set off ag

Today was an guided tour to 3 of Alberta's lakes Lake Louise is the one that you have probably heard of. Our guide was a young science graduate Amanda,  who was very friendly and knowledgeable about the geology of the area.  An hour's drive brought us to the first of 3 lakes- the famous Lake Louise- named after Queen Victoria's daughter. The colour of the lake is due to the suspended sediment. Photo opportunities galore!! Another 10 minutes drive took us to the much more picturesque Moraine Lake. So visually stunning, I couldn't quite believe I was actually there, looking at it. It really did look like an oil painting.  On the way to the third lake, a 10 minute stop at "Natural Bridge", a limestone carved stone bridge carved out by the rapids. The final stop was Lake Emerald.  Not quite so pretty, but I guess we were spoilt by the stunning Moraine Lake.  The weather was pretty dull, so the mountain tops didn't show up so well. All in all , a photographer&#

An early morning walk to Bow Falls in the cold (2 degrees!) air was great. Rocky Mountain scenery at its best. Not far away was the famous Banff Springs Hotel, which we went to have a look at. Deep pile carpets, huge rooms and opulent decor was what we experienced.  I can't imagine how much it costs to stay here. At mid day we headed up by local shuttle bus to Sulphur Mountain to get on the Banff Gondola lift. I was particularly looking forward to this;  my dear Mum and Dad had taken this trip when they came here on their trip of a lifetime in 1988, and talked fondly of how excited they were to have done it. Cold and misty weather meant that the views were to be severely limited.  We realised that our hopes of spectacular photos were dashed, when it started to snow half way up! Snow in June!!! Actually not as cold at the top as we expected, we managed a short walk along the tops amongst the pine trees.   We stayed for a snack lunch of soup and sausage rolls before descending and re