3 Weeks Wandering Western Canada

Me at the top of Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station in Banff, Alberta.

I have recently arrived back home from a 3 week whirlwind in western Canada. Now this may not sound as interesting or glamorous as say Asia or Europe, but I find Canada to be a remarkable place to travel around. Canada has so much to offer and a lot of times we tend to take the place we are living in for granted.

My first week was spent on Vancouver Island soaking up the sun and enjoying the 15 degree weather. Fifteen degrees may not sound warm to a lot of you, but I flew from Ottawa where it was -30 and snowing, so I was pretty happy. I have been to the Island (how western Canadians like to refer to it) before, it helps that my father lives there, but I never get tired of it. British Columbia has got to be one of the most beautiful places I have traveled to. The forests, mountains, rivers, lakes, wildlife and of course the ocean, make up one spectacular area. 

I was staying in a little town called Lake Cowichan, not many people have heard of it, it’s in between Victoria and Nanaimo. There is not much to do in this small town, but it is set in a valley, with beautiful hills surrounding it. A cute river runs right through the middle and in the summertime I would often go tubing down it. Winter gave us even less options for activities, if you can call fifteen degrees winter. Basically I just relaxed and spent some time with my family. We did drive over to Victoria and Sidney a couple times. Victoria is an amazing harbour city with some beautiful buildings and lots of fun activities, it also features The Empress hotel, a Fairmont property that has a wonderful old world charm and some interesting and tasty places for food and tea, my favourite being The Bengal Lounge, the decor inside is unusual and wonderful.

The Empress Hotel, Victoria, British Columbia

Sidney is a small town along the coast, fairly close to Victoria and has a wonderful array of small quirky, cute shops that sell unique items, also a lot of thrift stores. This town also boasts a large amount of bookstores in one area, which if you are anything like me, makes you so excited you don't know which direction to walk in first. There is one more interesting thing about this place, its Aquarium, it is small, but put together really well and the staff are all very knowledgeable.  

My next stop on the whirlwind western adventure was Calgary, which I only stayed in for one night and then the next morning promptly caught my bus to Banff. Not that there is nothing to do in Calgary, there is quite a bit, but I did not have time to stick around. 

Now living in Banff is quite the double edged sword. You walk a very thin line between being amazed and awestruck by the scenery and wildlife, and being on the verge of poverty and homelessness. It mostly has to do with how expensive most things are there, and it's so difficult not to spend money while there. I did have a reason for going to Banff and draining my funds, I was doing a two week placement with Brewster Vacations, a tour company that focuses on Canada. Lucky for me they provided my accommodations, one less expense. I have to say though, they were a tad bit sketchy, although I think it was only our room. They were set up dorm style, two single beds, with a bathroom. Our toilet didn't flush, the light inside the bathroom could have given you an epileptic seizure and for some reason the heat kept coming on, even though we had turned it completely off. Our own little seizure inducing sweat lodge. But seriously, I can't really complain, we were staying there for free.

I should probably mention that there were three other girls that accompanied me on this placement. We all go to the same college and are in the same program that this placement is a part of. The four of us packed everything we could into two weeks. As soon as we arrived in Banff and put our stuff in our rooms we went out for a leisurely hike along the Bow river, which just happened to have a couple lovely waterfalls. Our next grand adventure was going to Johnston Canyon which had another beautiful waterfall, basically everywhere there's water in Banff there is some sort of waterfall. I have to say it is really difficult to hike in the winter when the trails are slick with ice, it was not fun slipping and falling on my rear end, I hurt for a couple days after, but the view was worth it.

Lower Falls, Johnston Canyon, Banff, Alberta

During our grand outing that day, we came across a lot of different types of wildlife, hence wildlife bingo was born. First, there was a squirrel, I know, very exciting. Then we stumbled across a mule deer, who was very unimpressed by us and just laid down and watched us walk around snapping pictures like the silly human tourists we were. Next was our greatest find, a whole herd of Elk, who were not impressed with us either and decided they didn't want to be around for our shenanigans, gave us a dirty look, then proceeded to wander away. Our crowning achievement was spotting a coyote, who really did not like us and got the hell out of there as fast as he could, and that was the end of wildlife bingo.

The next day we decided to rent a car and head out to Lake Louise and do some more site seeing. Lake Louise was beautiful, but the best part of that day was our hike through Kootenay National Park, some of the most spectacular scenery yet. 

Along the Paint Pots trail, in Kootenay National Park, BC

That night two of us went up the Gondola that takes you to the top of Sulphur Mountain and gives you some of the best views you will ever encounter. They also do a three course dinner at the top, which gives you a great view of the town below and the mountain range, plus they have pretty good food for being so isolated up there.

Towards the end of our trip we did a hike to the Cosmic Ray Station, which is where I am in the first photograph of the article. This station is a National Historic Site, here you will see the remains of a geophysical laboratory. If you would like to know more about this you can visit this website : http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/v-g/pm-mp/lhn-nhs/cosmic_e.asp.

Afterwards we headed to the Banff hot springs, which is basically just a man-made hot pool, nothing too spectacular, but the view is good, and you can also learn a bit about the history of the area. I would definitely suggest to anyone wanting to explore Canada to visit Banff, but be warned it is specifically geared towards tourists. The winter is a good time to go because the sidewalks are not jam packed with people and things are a bit cheaper. There is lots to see in this area and renting a car or taking a bus out to some of the nearby towns and parks will benefit you greatly and give you a more authentic Canadian experience.