Imagine Today: Canada

Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts

Monday, April 14, 2014

Liard River Hot Springs

Count-down: 33 days until departure for Alaskan Adventure!

There is a special little place in British Colombia on the Alaska Highway about 18 hours northwest of Jasper, Alberta, Canada and almost 17 hours northeast of Juneau, Alaska that was once called “Tropical Valley”. Hidden within a lush boreal forest like a secret garden, is a group of natural hot springs ranging in temperatures from 108 F to 126 F. Now named the Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park, it is Canada’s second largest hot springs and a popular tourist attraction especially in the summer. Travelers can rest from the long drive on the Alaska Highway and relax in the hot restorative waters.

The warm water pools nourish an immense diversity of flora and fauna, including 14 different species of wild orchid. Moose often feed in the warm swamps surrounding the pools. One hot springs pool is reserved for humans, but moose, beavers, and bears, don’t always follow the rules. Another pool had been open in previous years, but the bears enjoyed it too much so they had to close it for humans.

In the winter, visitors to the hot springs can soak in the relaxing waters surrounded by snow frosted trees and gaze up to see the dancing greens and purples of the Northern Lights. I would love to witness that. Even though we’re going in the spring, I think it will be just as magical and maybe someday we'll return to see the park in its winter splendor.

Snow covered trees surrounding springs
Wikipedia Commons

National Geographic Travel- check out this link to see a cool winter photo of the park
British Columbia Parks

Kathy :)

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Icefields Parkway

Countdown: 37 days until departure for Alaskan Adventure

On our way to Alaska there is a stretch of road 144 miles long (232 km) that parallels the Continental Divide and goes right through the heart of the Canadian Rockies. Connecting Banff to Jasper, The Icefields Parkway, also known as Highway 93, traverses some of Canada’s most stunning vistas, (at least that’s what I’ve been told :)) In the summer, 100,000 vehicles a month travel this route.

I’m most excited about seeing the turquoise waters of Peyto Lake. The color is caused by all the glacial rock flour(tiny particles of rock that have been ground to a flour-like consistency by the glaciers), that washes into the lake in the summer. These particles are suspended in the water and reflect the turquoise color.

I have a feeling on this drive I will be snapping pictures every few seconds. I know it’s silly to try to capture the beauty of a place like this. It never works. When I look at my pictures later, something is always missing. The immense power of the landscape never comes through. But I will fill up my phone with pictures anyway.

Here are a few pictures of what we will hopefully see on this route.

Captivating waters of Peyto Lake from Wikipedia Commons

Columbia Icefield from Wikipedia Commons

Kathy :)

Thursday, April 3, 2014

C is for Canada!

Count-down 44 days until departure for Alaskan Adventure

Banff National Park From Wikipedia Commons

As we make our way toward Alaska, I’m really excited that we are going to make a stop in Banff, Alberta, Canada. I’ve wanted to visit there for a long time, ever since I saw a picture of Lake Louise, which was named after Queen Victoria’s daughter.

Lake Louise from Wikipedia Commons

Its pristine glacier fed waters are an amazing blue-green that mystically draw me in like a luna moth to moonlight.

Established in 1885, Banff National Park is Canada’s oldest national park. It began to be popular in the late 1880’s as a trendy stopover point along the Canadian Pacific Railroad for travelers making their way from Europe to the Far East. At the time this was the quickest route to Asia.

The park today encompasses 6641 square km or 4100 square miles of protected wilderness.

Banff is famous for it’s excellent skiing. I checked the snow conditions for today. They have more than six feet of snow on the ground up there! I hope by the time we drive through in May that at least some of that has melted!

Speaking of the snow and ice, the most visited glacier in North America, the Athabasca Glacier, resides in Banff National Park. It has been measured to be between 90-300 meters (330-980 ft.) thick and covers an area of 6 square km (2.3 sq. mi.). I would love to go on their tour where you can actually walk around on the glacier. So cool!

Other neat facts about Banff:

It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Lots of movies have been filmed there, including River of No Return starring Marilyn Monroe

The Town of Banff is the highest in Canada at 4537 ft high

Two other fun Canadian spots I'm excited about are Dawson Creek and Jasper. Dawson Creek is at mile 0 on the Alaskan Highway, which was built during World War II as a way to get lend lease equipment from the U.S. to Russia. Jasper is a national park which was originally a fur trading post.