Alberta and British Columbia, July 5-August 27, 2009

Another trip with so many pictures that it needs to be broken into multiple pages.
Go to page 2 of the "Canada" pages
Click to enlarge any photo.


This trip is a long loop, with the primary destination being the Canadian National Parks between Jasper and Lake Louise, but with a lot of stops on both sides of the loop.
Travel to Canada
We started our trip like a number of others - east through Salt Lake City. On this trip we stopped in one place different, which was Wendover, Utah/Nevada.

Wendover is on the edge of the Bonneville Salt Flats, and as can be seen by this photo is not much beyond a couple of casinos. We did find a few geocaches to get us started.
Geocaching above Wendover, Utah
Geocaching above Wendover, Utah
Getting wet in City Creek
Getting wet in City Creek
Whenever we are in Salt Lake City we try to take Holly for a walk in the off-leash area of Pioneer Park. This year City Creek was running very well, enough that Holly could actually swim in places.
Leaving Salt Lake City we continued East into Wyoming, turning North at Rock Springs. We enjoyed a couple of days in the community of Lander, from which we visited Sinks Canyon State Park.

The Sinks name is because the Popo Agie river sinks into a hole (below left) and then re-emerges about 1/2 mile further down, coming out of many hillside springs. The actual distance the water flows between the two is many miles, taking about 1/2 hour.
The Sink of the Popo Agie
The Sink of the Popo Agie
The Rise of the Popo Agie
The Rise of the Popo Agie
This Bighorn Sheep apparently spent his day posing for tourists outside the Sinks visitor center.
Bighorn sheep at Sinks Canyon State Park
Bighorn sheep at Sinks Canyon State Park
Holly at the Big Horn River
Holly at the Big Horn River
Holly's next swim was in the Big Horn River at Worland, Wyoming. The river was swift, so her swim was short and on a leash, but she enjoyed rolling in the grass afterwards.
We spent a couple of days geocaching around Cody, and spent an evening at the Cody Night Rodeo. They offer a very good two hours of entertainment, every night. Bucking Bronc at the Cody Night Rodeo
Bucking Bronc at the Cody Night Rodeo
Barrel Racing at the Cody Night Rodeo
Barrel Racing at the Cody Night Rodeo
Bullriding at the Cody Night Rodeo
Bullriding at the Cody Night Rodeo
Four days were spent in Yellowstone, visiting all of the scenic spots. A great many pictures, of which ten representative ones are shown below. We had excellent weather during our stay - hot, but not too hot.

Lots of wildlife to be seen, mostly Bison. We did see a bear, but didn't have a camera handy. We thought it was a small Grizzly, but learned later that it was a Blonde Black Bear.
Old Faithful
Old Faithful
Hot Spring on the Firehole Loop in Yellowstone
Hot Spring on the Firehole Loop in Yellowstone
Another hot spring on the Firehole Loop
Another hot spring on the Firehole Loop
Firehole Falls
Firehole Falls
Firehole Falls
Firehole Falls
Hot Spring near Fountain Paint Pot
Hot Spring near Fountain Paint Pot
A herd of Bison in Yellowstone
A herd of Bison in Yellowstone
Upper Yellowstone Falls from above
Upper Yellowstone Falls from above
Upper Yellowstone Falls
Upper Yellowstone Falls
Lower Yellowstone Falls
Lower Yellowstone Falls
Bear Canyon RV Resort
Bear Canyon RV Resort
Departing Yellowstone we continued our trek towards Canada. The first stop was in Bozeman, where we stayed in this nice hilltop park called Bear Canyon RV Resort.
We decided to detour over to St Mary and spend a few days on the east side of Glacier National Park. We visited the west side in 2004, but the weather was not very good - there was deep snow at the top of the Going to the Sun Road.

This year weather was perfect, so we were able to get a lot of good photos both on the Going to the Sun Road and elsewhere in and around the park.
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Holly's next swimming spot was in Lower St Mary Lake
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Holly swimming in Lower St Mary Lake
Holly swimming in Lower St Mary Lake
Finally into Canada, we spent a few days in Calgary. We have found Alberta to be exceptionally dog-friendly, with more dog parks than you could count.

In the photo below right, Holly runs through the grass in Nose Hill Park. This park is around 2800 acres (4.4 sq miles) and most of the central part of it is a designated off-leash area.

There are also a large number of geocaches within the park, and we found several of them.
We received an invitation from some fellow Blue Bird owners met online to stay on their property when we visited the Edmonton area. We had a good visit with them, and used their place as a base to explore the area.
West Edmonton Mall
West Edmonton Mall
One of the better known attractions in Edmonton is the West Edmonton Mall.

It is second in size in North America to the Mall of the Americas in Minnesota, but has more stores (800) than the US one has. Attractions include a huge water-slide and wave pool, and a lake with ships, submarines, and dolphins.

Something not seen before was a Segway training course, at left.

We are big spenders - our total purchase was a ciinnabun :)
West Edmonton Mall
West Edmonton Mall
West Edmonton Mall
West Edmonton Mall
Out on a geocaching trip west of Edmonton this little church caught our eye. It says that it is a Ukrainian Catholic Church orginally constructed in 1909 and restored in 1978. Ukrainian Catholic Church
Ukrainian Catholic Church

Go to page 2 of the "Canada" pages
CopyrightComments? Send mail to donb@arcatapet.net
Snail Mail: Arcata Pet, 600 F Street, Arcata, CA 95521-6301 USA Copyright Webspace provided by and ©Copyright 1994-2024 by Don Bradner, All Rights Reserved.