Calgary
We arrived in Calgary after an 8 hour flight
from Heathrow, the weather was hot as we
transferred to the hotel in the centre of the
city.
I suppose I should not have been surprised
that Calgary is a modern city with
multi-national businesses and not the one
horse town that cowboy films had imprinted on
my mind.
The following day we were taken round the city by coach and visited the famous "Stampede Ground" before heading for the town of Banff.
Banff
Just before arriving we stopped for a distant
view of the famous "Banff Springs Hotel" and
visited the Bow River ("The River of no
Return" with Marilyn Munro and Robert
Mitchum..
However we stayed in the Mount Royal Hotel
in the town.
From here I took a trip in the gondola up
Mount Sulphur, a fantastic viewpoint, quite
a few stalwarts had even walked up.
Next day we left for a day of sightseeing, 1st
stop at Lake Louise - breathtakingly beautiful
aqua marine coloured water from the glaciers.
Next stop was the Athabasca Glacier where we
were taken by "Snowcoach" onto the ice, -
incredible. On the way back we saw elk grazing
at the side of the road and soon after spotted
a black bear just sitting under the trees.
Onwards next day to Kamloops.
Kamloops
Stopped at Kicking Horse Pass, the ingenious
spiral tunnel system to enable the trains to
climb over the mountains.
The lunch stop was at a place called 3 Valley
Gap, we had an all too quick tour round this
ghost town, all the buildings had been bought
and rebuilt in there original condition by one
man and his family over the last fifty years.
He also had vintage and veteran cars, trains
and horse drawn coaches; what a place, if you
ever find yourself there, don't miss it!
We later made a brief stop at the point where
the "Last Spike" in that section of the
railroad to the west was laid.
We left Kamloops quite early (as usual) and
stopped at "Hat Creek Ranch" a staging post
for the stagecoaches. Had a tour round the
inn, still in its original condition.
Then into the Indian Village where we met
Lorraine who belonged to the Sushwap Tribe,
she explained and showed us how her ancestors
lived in the past, an amazing experience.
Vancouver
Arrived in Vancouver and headed for Chinatown,
they were just opening up and saw some weird
things, dried lizards, live fish & crabs and
things in bottles and jars that to us were
unrecognisable.
Round about mid day we left for the dock to
board the ship, this was my first meeting with
US Customs and is something see. Never seen so
many dour faces asking me stupid questions,
taking my picture and fingerprint, hell where
was I going?
Anyway on the ship, but not before them
wanting my credit card details or $100 deposit
against purchases, more photos, hand
desanitizer, not a good start for me.
Nice cabin, fresh fruit, bubbly, fridge, TV
etc.
My first cruise and it seems OK, plenty of
restaurants, theatre, pools, hot tub, bars &
lounges. Bit pricey mind!
Inside Passage
Sailed all night, and next day, which was
maybe just as well as I had seven restaurants
to get round, have to admit the food was
excellent and just never stopped.
Saw porpoises and little auks paddling
around.
Ketchikan
Docked at the town of Ketchikan around 6am,
and after breakfast we hit the shops??? Took a
Duck Tour round the town and then into the
water and round the harbour, saw a bald eagle.
Set sail again around 1.30pm, so it was The
Four Season Restaurant for lunch and relax.
Juneau
Went on a whale watching trip today in the Jet
Boat, very soon saw quite a few Humpbacks, one
of which made a spectacular leap right out of
the water. Stopped at a salmon fishery to see
them going up the fish ladder, thousands of
them.
Sawyer Glacier
Spent today sailing through the floating ice
in Tracy Arm, the lumps of ice just got bigger
as we sailed further up the channel and
finally we saw the glacier itself,
spectacularly beautiful. Spotted black bear
and three cubs on the shore.
Skagway
Docked at Skagway at 7am, then by local bus
into the town, it is a lovely little place,
the name boardwalk certainly means something
here and the shops are all fronted as if it
was still a mining town in the days of John
Wayne.
I took a walk up the hillside, but was careful
not to encounter any bears, some nice views of
the surrounding area, also available were
helicopter trips. Plenty harbour seals and
bald eagles to watch.
Vancouver
After 2 days cruising back to Vancouver,
during which we spotted some Orcas blowing in
the distance, we spent the next few days with
my cousin Ron who lives just outside the city
in Delta.
With Ron and Helen, we visited local markets,and
the mountain resort of Whistler. Ron and I
went up the gondola to the mountain top - wow
some place.
On the way back we visited Stanley Park and
The Lions Gate Bridge, saw some raccoons.
Next day we crossed into US and visited a
piece of land Ron owns at Point Roberts.
Next day it was home again from Vancouver to
Edinburgh via Heathrow.
A very enjoyable trip, the coach part through
the Rockies was spectacular, but we did feel a
little rushed at some of the stops, never mind
if we had been given more time we would not
have seen so much.
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