The Rockies & Vancouver
We flew into Calgary – stampede city! From the Calgary Tower you can see the railway line disappear towards the Rockies and the Saddledome standing proud surrounded by the deserted showground. We took a city tour which included looking round the stampede ground and I could imagine how exciting it would be when it was full of livestock and cowboys showing off their skills.
We were in Banff for our second night. The Banff Springs is an iconic hotel which was originally built as a castle. It sits at the edge of the town and many of the rooms have amazing views – including ours! Banff is a great mountain town in the summer with lots of interesting bars, shops and restaurants. There is plenty to do in and around the area and I got my equally stunning photos at Lake Louise and Lake Maligne. I would love to be able to return in the winter to ski, take a sleigh ride, see the ice castle sculpture and skate on Lake Louise, but I’d need to learn to skate first!!
One thing I never thought I would get the opportunity to do was to go on the Rocky Mountaineer. The trip we did was from Banff to Vancouver and it was a restful, scenic trip. We had excellent food & service and whilst you can’t expect to see amazing things every minute of the day, it’s a wonderful journey to do. The staff tell you so much about the areas the train travels through that you can’t help being interested even through the plains and less spectacular areas - especially with names such as Hell’s Gate and Kicking Horse Canyon!
On arrival in Vancouver we went straight across to Vancouver Island. The one thing I would have liked to have seen here was the famous Bushart Gardens but our itinerary didn’t allow us the time. Instead we spent some time at the Museum and at the Empress hotel. This hotel has a fascinating history and serves afternoon tea to over 800 people a day in peak season! We had a curry buffet lunch in the Bengal Lounge which takes it’s name and theme from when Queen Victoria was the Empress of India – well I never knew that!
Another thing I have always wanted to do was to fly in a floatplane. It was noisy but fun and a much shorter journey back than the ferry had been on the way over.
Back on the mainland we tried to cram in as much as we could before it was time to leave for the UK. There was shopping to be done on Robson and in Gas Town but the more adventurous of us decided that we couldn’t be in Vancouver and not visit Grouse Mountain. So, off we went to find the SeaBus. This is a catamaran service that operates to the North shore and has a connecting bus service to several places including Grouse Mountain and Capilano Canyon. When we arrived there we queued to board our next mode of transport – the Skyride. This is a cable car/ gondola which takes you up through the tree line to what would be the ski resort in winter. We visited the bears and watched some of the lumberjacks performing their stunt show which was very entertaining and good fun. It’s amazing what talent can do with a chainsaw and there were huge carved sculptures around the site.
On the way back down we got off the bus at the Capilano Canyon and started to get into ‘Indiana Jones’ mode. Unfortunately there were plenty of other people there so we had no control at all over how much the bridge swayed but if you read the information it’s a pretty amazing structure. Over 230 feet above the canyon floor, 450 feet across and strong enough to support ten heavy duty fighter planes, this attraction is over 100 years old and handles 850,000 visitors each year! Once you reach the other side there is a ‘Treetops Adventure’ which would be great for kids as you get to go through the tree canopy on wooden walkways with lookouts and there is also a story centre, a totem park and the First Nation’s visitor’s centre.
A thouroughly enjoyable trip with some of the most spectacular scenery I have ever witnessed.