Never far from HOME: June 2013

Tuesday 25th June - Flowers Galore!!

The photo count exploded today and Cathy's face is aching from smiling so much. The Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island lived up to their reputation and were mind-blowingly beautiful.

We flew across to Victoria on the float plane and were surprised at how big it was. After wandering the streets with their historic buildings for awhile, we caught the bus to the gardens and spent about 5 hours there before our boat arrived to ferry us home.

Big smile even at the front gate.

The sunken garden was a true highlight. It was a limestone quarry before being converted into a stunning landscape.

A whirligig daisy. A typical display of eye catching colour.

A panorama of the Rose Garden. Cathy was everywhere!! (click on photo to make it bigger)

A part of the private garden which is closed to the public.

After such a long day, Cathy got a “mooseage” on her overworked shutter finger.

Cathy now has plans to dig a sunken garden in the front yard and employ a few gardeners to maintain a garden full of flowers!! David will work on the synchronized fountain display.

Monday 24th June - Kamloops to Vancouver

Liquid sunshine began as a drizzle then became a shower as we boarded our train for the last time. The countryside we travelled through was constantly changing and very interesting even without the sunshine. Being in the second sitting for meals, we ate twice as much – they bring extra rations before meals whilst the first sitting dine downstairs – no need for dinner tonight.

Cathy’s thought for the day “When you’re on a diet, all you can think of is yummy food. When you are being fed delicious 3 course meals and drinks every day, all you can think of is going on a diet! (when you get home)

Vancouver has changed whilst we’ve been away – the sun has gone and the clouds have come in with cooler temperatures but we’re back at the Waterfront for our final days. Our Rocky Mountaineer days have ended but the “train legs” continue. We strolled up to Robson St for coffee and were surprised to find the shops open until 9pm on weeknights. Cathy almost bought a new camera in preparation for our visit to the Butchart gardens but decided to borrow David’s or use the iPhone instead. Her current one works, except for the viewing screen, so she takes photos by guesswork.

Sunday 23rd June - Jasper to Kamloops

After packing our bags every morning for the last four days, the hard working staff actually came and collected them today. We boarded the Rocky Mountaineer and headed for Kamloops. The train was double its normal length due to the floods experienced in Calgary. Many (including us) were not where they were supposed to be.

We were very lucky to see the peak of Mt Robson, the highest peak in the Rockies. It's covered in cloud 300 days/year.

Saturday 22nd June - Jasper Tramway

Cathy had a nice sleep in whilst David went to the “Rocky Mountaineer” meeting. They knew about as much as us. The one positive was that we got to stay at the Jasper Park Lodge for another night, saving us having to move hotels. Jordan’s advice would come in handy again as we tried to escape Jasper. We were going to take the GoldWing but Bambi took our spot.

We imagined Zac and Carly would have enjoyed a ride. Instead we took the shuttle and enjoyed the views and food (a Bison Burger – apparently very healthy but undone by the chips!!) at the top of Whistlers Mountain. It was 1200m gain by tramway, plus we walked 1km at the top gaining a further 200m.

We returned downtown for a delicious dinner at “Evil Dave’s” (no relation). We both enjoyed meals with rice and spice.

Friday 21st June - Which Lake?

A rainbow appeared at breakfast giving us new hope during another day of uncertainty.

Our helpful waitress at breakfast assisted us to find something to do after the disappointment of being stranded in Jasper. We jumped on a tour bus to explore Lake Maligne and its canyon. At the Lake we took a boat tour to Spirit Island for iconic photos.

We spotted 2 black bears and 2 elk on the way up, and another black bear and 2 elk on the way back. A wildlife bonanza. We could see why it was voted "Canada's #1 tour by Readers Digest".

David discovered the panorama function on his phone. Our female captain appears twice!!

Spirit Island, the classic Lake Maligne photo shot.

Our final dinner with Kel and Norma. They are heading off to Edmonton, and we are going nowhere (again!!)

Thursday 20th June - There and back again

The few spots of rain on Cathy's morning jog were supposed to clear, but the rain set in and tried to flatten the Rockies with mud slides and rock slides. By the end of the day Calgary was flooded with over 100,000 people evacuated.

We made it as far as the Columbia Icefields and got on the last trip onto the glacier before they closed down operations, closed the road to Lake Louise and sent us home like naughty school children!

The Athabasca falls were churning with all the extra water and the glacier was magnificent when the cloud cleared to open up a view. Kel and Norma will be surprised when we returned to have dinner with them, having said "See you in Banff" at breakfast. To celebrate Kel and Norma started dancing!!

Wednesday 19th June - Day 2 Rocky Mountaineer

Kamloops to Jasper

The weather may have been overcast but there was no rain - only liquid sunshine dripping on the windows. Mount Robson - the highest mountain in the Rockies - hid its peak in cloud but we are told that is not unusual.

Pyramid falls were spectacular but some of the best sights were those from the Fairmont Jasper Mountain Lodge where we are staying.

It is elk calving season so we have our eyes open for more wildlife. Up until dinner time, only a little squirrel has been spotted on the steps of the main lodge. On the way back to our cabin, we found an elk relaxing on the lawn though.

Hard to believe this photo was taken at almost 10pm.

Tuesday 18th June - All Aboard the Rocky Mountaineer

Vancouver to Kamloops

An early pick up precluded any exercise this morning - which is a problem when you board the Rocky Mountaineer train. They serve you great food and wine all day and the most exercise you get is walking up and down the spiral staircase from the downstairs dining area to the upstairs glass roofed seats!

We met our fellow passengers and quickly made friends with Kel and Norma from Vancouver, Sue and Bruce from Halifax, then Quentin and Helen from New Zealand.

The scenery all day was stunning and our knowledgeable crew told us stories all day - some of which were probably true. Leah, Bernardo, Kevin and Jasneet were wonderful and capably supervised by Sean.

Highlights along the way were Hells Gate and Rainbow Valley. WIldlife sightings were limited to long horn sheep, ducks and a deer.

By the time we reached Kamloops, they had to roll us off the train and onto the waiting coach that transferred us to our hotel. We had a quick rest before Cathy headed out for a run along the river. We had no appetite for dinner so had a coffee and headed for bed as the sun went down(at 9.30pm).

Monday 17 June - Back to Vancouver

Disembarkation was very well organised. Princess Cruises have done this before. We were given orange luggage tags, a place and time to meet, and walked easily off the ship when required. A motorcoach was idling nearby.

The longest delay was waiting to pass through the one-lane 2km long tunnel underneath the mountain out of Whittier. The traffic goes easterly on the hour, then westerly on the half-hour. It is also the train tunnel. Trains have right of way at all times.

We had a few hours in downtown Anchorage before our flight to Vancouver. We spent it admiring the flowers in Town Square, shopping (40% off at Banana Republic) and eating Halibut and chips at Humpy's Bar.

On the way to the airport we were amazed to see a motorcycle rider without a helmet or eye protection. Apparently, only the pillion passenger is required to wear a helmet.

Sunday 16 June - College Fjord

Cathy started early making her second presentation of the conference. After lunch David got involved as one of the five judges of the photo competition. Unfortunately, he was not allowed to accept bribes. Late afternoon we headed into College Fjord. The glaciers are named after US universities.

More incredible scenery. This is one of the few areas in the world where you can see up to eight tidewater glaciers at one time.

The Harvard Glacier is actually a formation of 3 glaciers. It is over 2km wide where it meets the water and begins to calve off. After presentations of prizes and gifts, we shared dinner with Nigel and Kate. Dinner finished before dessert so we could all support David Bannister in the Karoke final.

Voting was 1 vote per table, so we spread out. In a prime example of democracy at work, the result was assured before it started. However, David B was clearly the crowd favorite with his (slightly amended) rendition of Sinatra's "We did it our way". He was crowned Karaoke Champion of the cruise. It was then a "Paediatric Dancefest". Even though it went almost to midnight, it was still light outside. Such is life in Alaska in the summertime.

Saturday 15th June - Glacier Bay

An early morning wake up to Glacier Bay. We got dressed and headed for Horizons restaurant for a small breakfast. We were surrounded by snow capped mountains (again!!)

The highlight of glacier bay is the numerous tidewater glaciers (glaciers that end at the waterline). First was Reid Glacier

Further up Glacier Bay was Margerie Glacier, one of the most studied glaciers in the world. We were treated to numerous “calvings” where the ice breaks away and falls into the bay. Several seconds later you hear the sound of thunder, exactly like a thunderstorm.

We held station off the glacier for about an hour. Due to the strong wind we were unable to proceed up another branch of the bay,

Whilst we sat admiring the best of nature, our Champagne Breakfast arrived.

Cathy then headed off to her conference before we enjoyed dinner at Sabbatini’s.

A view of the pools on the top deck.

This one is covered.

Friday 14 June - Skagway

We were more fortunate in Skagway and found a spot next to the wharf. Cathy went for a quick shop downtown before we met Audra from Packer Expeditions for our tour. First stop was Temsco helicopters for a short flight to the start of our hike.

We flew up and over some 6500ft snow capped mountains (who could have guessed) before being dropped off in the capable hands of Wade.

With a small group of six we headed off into the Alaskan forest full of fast growing trees, lichen, Devil’s Club (don’t grab it!!) and fast flowing rivers.

The views towards the glaciers on Sawtooth range was truly spectacular. Wade who has been here for over 15 years was still taking photos. It was that sort of day – amongst the best.

Wade explaining the life cycle of the forest (and with a small example on his chin)

Our tour ended with a windy 20km train journey back to Skagway. Truly one of the best tours we have been on.

Cathy then went on her “Cruise Ship Mission” – to collect as many free trinkets as she could find. Many jewellers offer a free item to get you in the door.