Tag Archives: vacation

Icefield Skywalk

Before I start, I should point out that I really enjoyed Icefield Skywalk. The reason I say that is I shall sound a little critical about it. I don’t want that criticism to lead to the conclusion that it isn’t worth visiting or that we didn’t enjoy it. It is and we did. However, before getting there, it did give the impression of being an elevated walkway over the glaciers. That it is not. Maybe I was reading what I wanted it to say, and their material never made that case but, either way, this is a cool location in the vicinity of some glaciers but definitely not over them.

With that out of the way, this was a very enjoyable experience. Because of its location above a gorge, you have to take a shuttle bus from the visitors’ center to the skywalk. It only takes a few minutes, and the bus drivers do a decent job of providing amusing commentary on the way. Once there, you are free to stay as long as you like and take whichever bus you want back (provided it is from the company you came up with).

From the drop off spot, you walk along the edge of the gorge with a variety of exhibits along the way to look at. You also are getting a great view down at the river and the falls beneath you. The skywalk itself is a semicircular structure suspended out over the gorge. It has, naturally, a glass floor so you can look down and the large drop beneath you. Part of the fun is actually people watching as people either get freaked out or start goofing with each other.

How Many Glaciers Can You Find in a Day?

We drove up the Icefield Parkway in Alberta during our trip to the Rockies. It was a lovely ride through some gorgeous scenery. The mountains around us included a lot of glaciers – the extent of which was apparently less than it used to be as they have retreated as the temperature has increased. I tried to strike a balance between stopping every five minutes to take photos and making sure we got all the way up the highway that we wanted to cover before we needed to turn for home.

The glaciers were quite distant but sufficiently large that this didn’t matter. What I found most interesting was the shapes that the ice would distort into as it came down the side of the mountains with some folding and crumpling of the ice sheets. Also, there was the dirt trapped in the ice from the rocks over which the glacier was passing. We also got to learn about the various types of glacier from some of the informational signs alongside the road. I am glad to have seen this many because who knows how long it will be before they have to rename this road??

Some Unusual Maintenance Vehicles from CPKC

While we were staying in Canmore, we got plenty of train traffic passing us by. Most of the time, it was just the regular freight train movements but there was some maintenance work underway in the vicinity and we had a train come by that was not like the others. The locomotive was a different looking beast and it was pulling some flat cars including one with a backhoe loaded on it. I assume that they were heading to or from a work site, but I don’t know where it might have been. They train did look pretty clean so maybe it was not that old?

Bow Falls

A short trip from the heart of Banff takes you to Bow Falls. The Bow River runs through the town, but it makes quite a drop shortly afterwards before continuing on its way towards Canmore. The falls are a short distance from the Chateau although you can barely see it from the river.

There is a trail that runs up the side of the falls with a long set of steps to get you up to the higher levels. It is not a tough climb, but it does get the heart rate up. That doesn’t stop plenty of people checking it out. From the bottom, the view up the falls is very nice whereas, on the climb, the views of the river can be a bit restricted in places. The noise of the water is most impressive and, as soon as you go behind an outcrop of rock, the quiet can catch you by surprise. While I took a bunch of photos, it felt like the noise and the motion of the water meant video was a better option so here is an edit I pulled together of what I saw.

What You Need to Go on the Glacier

Go up the icefield parkway in Alberta and you see plenty of glaciers around the mountains that tower over you. You can do a trip out on to the glacier while you are there, and a special vehicle is provided to get you out there. It required more time than we wanted to give up to do the full tour but I did want to see the buses that they use to go out on the ice. Giant tires, loads of clearance and very tough looking construction. These things look immense.

There is one in the parking lot by the visitor center so you can get an up-close look. I don’t know whether this is the same as the ones currently in use or if it is an old version that has been superseded. We did see the active buses out on the roads and heading up on the ice. I bet they are not the most comfortable ride but a fantastic way to get to somewhere special.

Early Start at Moraine Lake

Departure from Canmore before the light was up was necessary for us to get to Lake Louise early enough for a slot on the shuttle bus into the town. We got there in good time and took the bus down to the lake, but we immediately switched buses to get a ride down to Lake Moraine. This was about a 15-20 minute ride down some pretty interesting roads – particularly in a large bus. It dropped us at the bottom of Lake Moraine (by which I mean one end – not at the lowest point of the lake) and we walked the short distance to the lake itself.

There were quite a few people around but, given how beautiful the location was, it was surprising how few people were there. A large pile of rock at one end of the lake did provide a spot to climb and some were taking advantage of this. I assume this is the moraine that results in the name of the lake. Instead, we decided to take the trail that went up the side of the lake towards the falls entering it at the far end.

There were definitely a lot of people doing the same thing, but it never felt like there were too many people around. The early morning, the soft light and the low temperatures might have made for an uncomfortable time but instead it felt tranquil and beautiful. No one was crowded and everyone seemed to be in a friendly mood. The trail provided plenty of lovely views of the lake and wound gently along the shore until we were up at the location of the shallow falls where the water ran into the lake from the surrounding hills.

The whole place was absolutely stunning. I experimented with some straight shots and some HDR brackets because the shadows of the hills were deep compared to the sky above. It was hard to believe that it could be so lovely. (When we headed back to Lake Louise, the contrast between the peace of Moraine Lake and the mayhem of Lake Louise was jarring.) By the time we retraced our steps along the shore, we were feeling a little chilly so a stop in the café was in order. (I did chuckle to myself when one of the staff casually turned down the volume of the music during an Alanis Morissette song at just the right moment to avoid causing any offense!) With Nancy reinforced with a warm drink, we continued on our explorations.

Sunrise on the Mountains

The place we were staying in while in Canmore was on the edge of the town but had a great view across the town towards some of the mountains. The early light was from behind us and on to the mountains themselves. First thing one morning, I woke up and looked outside and saw some gorgeous red light illuminating the rock faces. What a wonderful sight with which to start your day.

Hinton Ampner

During our trip to the UK, we met up with our friends Mark and Rosemary. They suggested we meet at Hinton Ampner in Hampshire. Being sensible people, we started out at the local pub for lunch before heading into the grounds of the estate. I didn’t know anything about Hinton Ampner but it was a delightful spot to explore. The grounds were really lovely to wander around. There were the more ornamental gardens near the house but there were paths around the estate which showed off just how lovely the rolling hills of Hampshire can be.

The house also has a café – of course it does – so we stopped off there to sample the goodies after strolling around the grounds. It was spring so the flowers were out in parts of the garden. There was also a local church in the estate since you wouldn’t want to have to go far if you are the local landowner!! What a lovely spot to spend some time and always great to catch up with good friends.

A Selection of Wisley Plants

Earlier in the year, we made an afternoon visit to Wisley – the headquarters of the Royal Horticultural Society. I have posted about it previously but, this post is about some of the really cool looking plants that they have. That is what you would expect for a horticultural society, of course. Some of them are really fascinating looking plants so here are some shots.

Hope On Our Route

Last year, when we made our trip to Kelowna, we stopped en route for lunch at a town called Hope. It is a small town and surrounded by mountains which makes for quite a distinctive view. There is a large park in the center of the town and the place we had lunch faced this park. The town was used for some filming for the Rambo First Blood movie and, when I happened to see a clip of this recently, I recognized the location immediately.  Apparently, the town has some statues of the actors, but we didn’t see those while we were there.