Rocky Mountains Trip

On the second Monday of October, Thanksgiving was celebrated here in Canada. In our area, this is described as the harvest festival. It is a public holiday, which I find very nice. Not because of the holiday itself, but because of the reason: thanking God for the harvest of the year. Even though not many people are involved in agriculture anymore, we should still be grateful to God for everything we have during the year.

This festival, the holiday itself and not specifically giving thanks, was a reason for us to drive to the Rockies for 4 days. There were 50 people from different language schools, from different countries and cultures, all traveling together in a bus. I secured the first seat in the first row and was able to take some photos during the journey. Some turned out very good, others not so much, because at 100 km/h, the pictures sometimes become a bit blurry.

On Friday, we started at half past five in Victoria and drove to the ferry to get to Vancouver.

During the one and a half hour drive, the sun rose and welcomed us into the big weekend.

During this time, we were also able to observe orcas from afar. From Vancouver, we traveled by bus through Hope to Kamloops and then to Valemount, where we stayed overnight after an interesting evening.

Hope is well known for its sculptures.

During this trip, I had a young Chinese girl next to me. After some general conversation, she came up to me with a very personal question, which she was a bit embarrassed about, but didn't know who else to ask. She had a date the night before and showed me the text message conversation. She didn't know how to interpret it, and since I am a man, she thought I could surely help her. I did my best and gave her my advice, which she gratefully accepted.

During our trip, we had to make an emergency stop because our bus had an electronic problem and urgently needed an update to continue. This took 1 hour, and so some members of the group were able to experience snow for the first time in their lives.

I noticed a bird that flew in a very strange way, almost in slow motion. The driver said it was a very clingy bird that eats food out of your hand. Its nickname is Whisky Jack.

In the afternoon, we visited the Spahats Creek Falls.

When it was announced that we were going to have dinner at a ranch in Valemount, I thought Canada is so big, that surely this ranch is not the one that I know in Canada. But it turned out to be the same one, and the rancher recognized me immediately. Because in our last family vacation here in Canada, we also went horseback riding at this ranch.

After a good dinner, we did lasso and horseshoe throwing, line dancing, and roasted marshmallows at the campfire, for many it was the first time.

The night was not very pleasant for me because an older gentleman in our room was not exactly quiet during the night. So in the following nights, I used earplugs, which allowed me to sleep a bit better.

The next day, the trip continued to various national parks, to Jasper and via Icefields Parkway, which is apparently the most beautiful road in the world, to Banff where we also stayed overnight.

We were able to observe not only animals, but also snow and lots of nature.

Most of the group went on the special vehicles to the Sunwapta Glacier.

But since I have the Aletsch Glacier right at my doorstep, I didn't go with them, but instead walked around a bit to pass the time.

Some noticed this and asked me what I was doing. I said I was hiking a bit. A woman said she also liked hiking and asked what I signed up for the following day. I said I didn't sign up for anything because I planned to go hiking while some are sleeping in and others enjoy the view from the mountain. She said she also liked hiking and asked if she could come along. Of course, why not was my answer. Speaking English is more likely when there are two people.

On the way to Banff, we visited a beautiful lake and took the obligatory group photos for the schools.

The temperature on this day was pleasantly cool at 0 degrees, which some of the group found to be very cold.

When we arrived in Banff, we checked into our rooms and had dinner at one of the various restaurants. The two of us hiking enthusiasts and a young woman from Korea went out to eat together. And while getting to know each other, we found out that they also plan to explore Vancouver Island by car next week. So we joined forces and will travel together next week. On one hand, I will speak more English than if I were traveling alone, and on the other hand, we have 2 drivers which makes renting the car cheaper.

The next day, a group went up to the viewpoint of Banff and I went hiking with the woman. But since the trails were frozen, it was a difficult task. So we quickly changed our plans and settled for a 10-minute hike and went to the hot springs instead, where we enjoyed our hour-long time at 39 degrees Celsius, until we picked up the rest of the participants at the hotel and continued our journey.

On this day, we visited Lake Louise and other lakes, whose names I have forgotten. At Lake Louise, we couldn't resist and took a hike to a viewpoint of the lake. After a long bus ride, a short hike feels good.

Since we only had an hour and the viewpoint was a 20-minute walk in the summer, covered in snow and slippery now, we had to hurry, and that with sneakers. But it was worth it, and we returned just in time for the departure.

The second lake was almost frozen. The tour guide said that in the last 10 years she has been here for Thanksgiving, it is the first time the lake is frozen.

Another lake was without snow and ice, but no less impressive due to the fog.

The journey continued to Revelstoke, where we spent the last night.

Before leaving the house like every morning, I took some photos of the sunrise. I was amazed when I saw an owl on a roof.

I immediately started taking photos until I realized that it was just a decoy to scare away the crows. We continued without breakfast on Monday morning. In the next town, there was a Tim Hortons, where we got the typical Canadian breakfast on the bus. Now I understand the other mornings when there were also such small (in my opinion) breakfasts.

An important place in the history of Canada could not be missed on our trip: the place where the last spike was driven into the railway track for the construction of the East-West railway.

They had planned 10 years for this railway route and started with two groups. One in the east and the other in the west. After 4 years, the route was finished. Many Chinese people helped in the construction, which is the reason why Vancouver has the oldest Chinatown.

Our next stop was a surprise because throughout the year, the travel company does this trip several times, but this stop is only available in autumn: the salmon migration. On this day, there were not yet tens of thousands of salmon on the move, just a few hundred. But it was impressive nonetheless.

And wherever there is food, the "eaters" are not far away. There were bald eagles and golden eagles, and surely also bears, but we didn't see them.

Our journey continued through Kelowna and Merritt to Vancouver, and after the ferry, back to Victoria, where we arrived at 9:15 pm.

It was a great weekend, but only having a maximum of 2 hours at each location, sometimes only 30 minutes, is often too short and a bit stressful. But because the country is so big, this cannot be changed.

After these four days, I must say that everything we saw and experienced is certainly more than enough reason to thank God for everything we have. Not only here during the language stay, but also at home. THANK YOU.