Do you ever feel the need to get back to nature? Leaving the city behind and heading to the Canadian Rockies is a destination filled with more scenic beauty than most people see in a lifetime. The majestic grandeur of the granite mountains on view before us had our group of 40 travelers in constant wonderment, enjoying one amazing view followed by another.
We began in Calgary, a metropolitan “cowboy town” that has flourished into a laid back city of about a million residents. What our group loved about being in Calgary was shimmery glass towers defining unique architecture with lots and lots of sculpture everywhere. The rivers surrounded the town dotting it with lots of parks, gardens and green space, balancing out the cityscape.
Our next stop was to Montana and Glacier National Park. On the way, we visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump, once belonging to the Blackfeet Indian Tribe. A fascinating look at how this society once survived using buffalo for food, clothing, housing and a variety of other uses, we gained insight into how these first inhabitants to the area lived.
Soon the mountains and lakes started appearing and the scenery became vastly enhanced. Looking out of the window of our coach, we gazed upon what we had come to see… snow covered mountains, set in the background of farmland and fields of green. Once inside Glacier National Park, our full day tour in “red touring cars”, once known as Jammer Cars took us around the amazing sights inside of the parklands. Waterfalls, long-horned sheep, the bluest lakes and streams and glaciers were what we had come to see and no one in our group was disappointed! If you go, there are some cool places to stay within the park, and a few cute nearby towns such as Whitefish, or Columbia Falls (which has no waterfall, they just liked the name when the town was built!). A cowboy style barbecue (with real cowboys) on a lakeside setting was one of the highlights of our stay in Montana. We loved taking photos of one of the most beautiful sunsets we have ever seen.
Traveling back up north to Canada through BC and Kootenay National Park, crossing over into the province of Alberta and Banff National Park, the scenery was amazing! We “ohhhh-ed” and “ahhhh-ed” our way through the drive until we reached Banff and our famous hotel, the incomparable Banff Springs Hotel, also known as the “Castle on the Hill.” Built in 1907 by the Canadian Pacific Railroad, hoping to get more people to take the train by building magnificent hotels in scenic destinations along the train route, this hotel is the original and has lived up to the high standards it was built for all these years later. We all gasped when we saw the magnificent hotel waiting for us to explore for the next three days. Evening entertainment, sitting on the patio with drinks in hand watching a late night sunset over the granite Rockies, walking to Bow Falls and the Bow River, and dining on yummy treats for dinner and breakfast were just a few of the things we loved about the property. We all agreed it would be wonderful to stay longer.
With Banff as a base, we spent the next two days discovering what we had come to see. We took the Sulphur Springs Gondola high up into the mountains and had 360 degree views of the Rockies, Banff and the surrounds. With breakfast at the top of the hill to start, we then climbed our way up and down platforms to see all that we could see, taking pictures all along the way, Next, we were off to Lake Louise with the beautiful Victoria Glacier as the backdrop to this famous turquoise lake. With the Chateau Lake Louise at one end, and the glacier at the other, there were miles and miles of hiking paths and trails in-between. We hiked, we walked, we sat in the garden and drank beer or ate ice cream… everyone had an amazing day.
On our last day together, we set out on the Icefields Parkway to take in what Mother Nature was offering up. We stopped at Mirror Lake which was so serene and reflective, our photos are just spectacular! Continuing down that road, we stopped for a visit to Maligne Lake where you will find the bluest waters in the world. Imagine the blue on our Amazing Journeys logo. That is the blue of the lake we saw! Continuing into Jasper National Park, the piece de resistance was the Columbia Icefields and Athabasca Glacier, where some rode on an Ice Explorer and played on the face of the glacier, while others walked on the Skywalk and walked out over the ice fields. We all sipped on glacial waters.
A visit to the Canadian Rockies is always very special. To experience such scenic beauty is something that sets you straight and lets you know that all is right in the world.
