Yesterday morning I spent a fair amount of time deliberating on what to do.  I knew I was going to spend the day in/around Vancouver but I was trying to decide if I wanted to take a ferry to Vancouver Island (images) for the day or if I wanted to try and go whale watching.  On the one hand I’ve always wanted to go to Vancouver Island, but I only had a day so I knew I would only be able to see a very tiny piece of it…most likely Victoria, the capital of British Columbia.  On the other hand I have always wanted to see whales (I tried once unsuccessfully in Maine), but it was late Oct. and the season for seeing whales in this area was just about over so it was 50/50 that we might not see anything.  (read on to see what I decided……)  🙂

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My second day in Vancouver started a little slow.  I had breakfast and then took some time to take care of a few things like laundry, groceries and cleaning out the Jeep…it’s been a long trip. 🙂  After that I set out to see a few things around the Vancouver area….  Please don’t leave. Click here to read more…

 

I woke this morning in the town of Squamish, BC.  My goal for today was Vancouver.   After making/eating breakfast I spent a little time at the Squamish Starbucks booking an Airbnb for this evening and doing a Facebook post.  After that I hit the road and headed south to Vancouver.  Please don’t leave. Click here to read more…

 

I woke this morning just outside of Whistler, British Columbia (BC images).  After waiting out the rain for the past 2 days  in Kamloops I was anxious to hit the trail and do a long hike today.  So I quickly made/ate breakfast and headed further south into Garibaldi Provincial Park (images) to the trailhead for the the hike I had I chosen for today….

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After my epic, and painful, hike up Hermit Trail (images) in Glacier National Park Canada (images) the next places on my destination list were Whistler BC (images) and Garibaldi Provincial Park BC (images).

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I woke early this morning next to Peyto Lake (images) and it was COLD!  The thermometer I have said it was 17!  It was getting light outside but the sun had not yet come up.  I went outside and walked down to the lake shore.  It was so beautiful…..

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I woke very early this morning to take care of a little business. 🙂  When I went outside I looked up (as I always do) and saw something really weird in the sky.  I thought maybe it was clouds but the sky was clear.  I kept looking at it and then I realized what it was.  It was something that I had always wanted to see, but had never seen before…..the Northern Lights!

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I woke this morning still feeling really energized by yesterdays hike and I was ready to head north again. After breakfast I topped off my gas and made my way back onto the Trans-Canada Highway (wiki). After about 5 miles I took the Icefields Parkway, hwy 93 north toward Jasper park and Jasper town.

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I woke early this morning, made/ate breakfast and, armed with the information I received from the very helpful park ranger yesterday, headed out for a long (and hopefully un-crowded) day of hiking.  When I reached the trailhead it looked promising as there were only 4 or 5 other cars. So I quickly loaded my day pack, laced up my “serious” boots and hit the “trail” (more on that in a moment)…..

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I made it to Lake Louise late yesterday afternoon.  As I had done in Banff I wanted to take a hike today that would provide good views of Lake Louise and the surrounding mountains. In looking at the map of Banff NP and doing some reading on line I decided to do a hike just up from the lake.  Although I knew it would probably be crowded from what I could see it looked like a great place to see the area….and it sure was!

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I woke in Banff this morning to a very clear and very cold day.  I ended my day last night by watching a large bull Elk walk through a parking lot in Banff just before I went to bed.  While not a big deal in Banff this is not something I see very often (never) outside of Philly (ha ha) so it still excites me.  Unfortunately he surprised me and moved through so quickly that I was unable to get any pictures….but I’m sure you can image.  🙂  However, I did manage to get a great picture of downtown Banff this morning…..

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I woke in the town of Banff Canada this morning. Banff was one of the towns that I was really looking forward to visiting as I’ve always wanted to come here (to ski).  I was supposed to come for a ski trip a few years ago but had to cancel, so I was anxious to explore the area.  My first stop, after breakfast of course :-), was the Banff Visitors Centre on main street Banff to get some information on the hiking trails around Banff.

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I woke up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada this morning.  The forecast called for periods of rain off and on all day so I had already decided today was going to be a “blog and laundry” day.

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Due to the weather and the fires I decided that, reluctantly (again), today would be my last day in Glacier NP.   I was planning to cross over into Canada at the Chief Mountain Port of Entry boarder crossing on a somewhat remote road (Hwy 17) about 45 minutes north of the Many Glacier area.  But before I left I wanted to get in one more hike in this beautiful park. So with that in mind I looked at my map and chose a remote hike that I could access from Hwy 17.  On my way to the trailhead I took a few more pictures of the Many Glacier area and got my first close look at Chief Mountain.  It was a gorgeous morning….of course it is, I’m leaving! ha ha

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