Calgary to Salmon Arm and back again.

Sorry that there has been some time since my last blog post, I was off in Cambridge for work but my contract has come to an end, so back at home now and time for an update.

Approaching the Mountains

So here's my take on the journey from Albertan metropolis through to small town British Columbia. Having no access to a car this journey was taken via the Greyhound Bus. The coach was spacious and comfortable, the coach station was like many others I have encountered, a sort of lifeless hub with some vending machines and a cafe. Back to the coach the seats were a good size and the windows large enough to give great views of the ever changing vista. To break up the journey several stops are scheduled into the journey, but first lets go back to the beginning.

Heading out of the city you begin to leave behind the sprawl of houses and enter what I can only describe as the prairie, with the landscape stretching all the way to the mountains, which are visible from the city on a clear day. The grasslands populated by cattle and the odd farmstead give way to the creeping hills and mountains and the wonderful  Kananaskis Country which acts as a gateway to the Rockies. This is an area I have seen some wonderful photos of and had I the time and my own vehicle I would have spent some time exploring here. The first small stop off is at Canmore a small town with a slight Nordic feel which according to my Mum has a wonderful quilt shop.



From here the road stretches on towards Banff. Banff is a main tourist stop and is a lovely place full of touristic shops, gentle walks and beautiful natural scenery. The bus stops outside of the town at the train station. It's like no other train station I have seen, more just a parking area beside the tracks. The tracks are there for the Rocky Mountaineer and the Canadian Pacific Railway. Whilst stopped here we were lucky enough that one of these huge locomotives pulled in and stopped for a while.

Canadian Pacific Locomotive.

It's then off to Lake Louise, not the lake itself but rather the small shopping area where you can park up before heading to the lake. As we stopped for a while here I jumped off and went for a walk to the nearby river to stretch my legs. This is such a nice area and I remember it from my previous travels to Canada.

The journey to Salmon arm is an average of 7 and a half hours so it is worth taking along some food and drinks to keep you going. One good place to stock up on these is at the service station at Golden. A truck stop and petrol station it has a great selection of food items. I grabbed a large cream soda slushy from here as well as a packet of crisps. On the return journey I returned from my trip with a Canadian Rockies Calendar, so there is an option to pick up souvenirs along the route.

The view from the Golden stop.

After Golden you are really in the mountains with a climb up into Roger's Pass  which is the highest point on route. On the journey back we were held here for about an hour due to a road closure. We were given the option of returning to Revelstoke (the next stop on the outbound journey) but the coach voted against this suggestion, rather waiting for the road to re-open. Revelstoke seems like a nice town and it is a big skiing area however the coach stop leaves a bit to be desired unfortunately. I chanced crossing the highway to grab a subway sandwich instead of buying any of the food on offer at the petrol station as it didn't take my fancy.

Revelstoke slowly changes again into flatter land as you come out of the larger mountains on the way to Salmon Arm. Soon you find yourself in farmland once again and start catching sight of the lakes this area is known for. Salmon Arm and it's surrounding area claims to be the House Boat capital of the world. We were heading to Salmon Arm to meet up with family friends and that evening was spent on a deck having a cold drink and catching up with each other. All whilst taking in a wonderful sunset.

Some other points of interest along the way is Three Valley Gap which is home to an 1800's ghost town. There is also a hotel here which looks very nice. It's hard not to see places signposted along the way and want to go and explore them. I know if I had a car the drive down would take much longer than the scheduled 7 and a half hours as I would constantly be taking detours to explore places. I hope one day to be able to have the time to do this and take in more of this spectacular country. It is well worth keeping your eyes open along the route too as we saw a bear alongside the highway, so you never know what you might see. The weather changes the mood in the mountains and the drive is wonderful both in the sunshine and rain and I am sure looks magical in winter with a dusting of snow. Another thing to be aware of is catching sights you missed on the way back. One example of this is Mount Rundle at Banff which has a stunning view on the return journey.

Mount Rundle

Day 2 in Vancouver: Grouse Mountain.

From the Capilano suspension bridge I caught a local service bus to the base of Grouse Mountain. Now as I previously mentioned I am no great fan of heights, but fuelled by my earlier crossing of the Capilano suspension bridge I opted for the ultimate ticket. This includes everything that you might want to do on the mountain and cost about the equivalent of £28.

The Grouse Mountain cable car

            To get up to the peak of Vancouver as it is advertised you have to enter a large Swiss cable car. These are huge and pack in a fair number of people. On the way up you get a great view of the city and the surrounding coastal mountains, just be aware of the two jolts as you pass over the supports as it can be a little unnerving.  On arrival at the top there is a large alpine area with seating, beware of the sprinklers if you are there in summer as well as a restaurant, gift shop and a cinema that shows films relating to the mountain. I opted not to watch any of the films instead taking the path up to where the Birds of Prey display was being held and past the Bear habitat.

Now I watched the bird of prey display that has a stunning backdrop of a snow capped mountain and the city below. I had quite a close encounter with one bird in particular, the Turkey Vulture who for a brief moment seemed to think I was the landing post he was aiming for. 

Judge Dredd was little too friendly.

The people running the show were very knowledgeable and entertaining and allowed people at the end to ask questions about the birds.

 I will now borrow from my review of Grouse Mountain on tripadvisor in regards to the Lumber Jack Show, as I don’t wish to spoil it by giving too much away. “I didn't think I would enjoy it, but the way it is staged, the audience participation and the skills they show off is wonderful. You learn about the way lumberjack work and also it gets you involved as an audience member. I particularly liked the log rolling part of the show and the whole thing is entertaining and worth making time for.” I was advised to watch the show by none other than the local bus driver who dropped me off, who insisted it was the best part of the experience.

Taking a chairlift up to the next level allows you access to the zip line experience (an additional charge applies). Although it looks thrilling it isn’t really my thing so I continued to the newest attraction, ‘The eye of the Wind’. Standing at 58m tall and supplying 25% of the resorts energy needs it is quite something. Getting up to the glass viewing pod hat offers 360-degree views is via an internal lift. At the top friendly members of staff who are on hand to give you facts as well as to reassure you especially if you encounter some of the glass floor panels greet you.

Heading back down I choose to take a final look at the Bear refuge where earlier I had seen no sign of its residents Grinder and Coola. This time I was in luck and they were out and about wandering around and seemingly posing for photos. Knowing these two Bears who were found as orphans are receiving great care is wonderful. On site was one of the gentlemen who cares for them and he was happy to speak to people about their stories and how they are looked after, including explaining about hibernation to some of the children present. There is also a Wolf at Grouse Mountain, the area in which it lives is at the base of the mountain and so I didn’t know this until I returned back to the hotel. 

         The ride back down was full of people who had just completed the Grouse Grind for the evening, which is an alternative way of reaching the peak if you are feeling active and adventurous. It was getting quite late at this point and I couldn’t work out which bus would take me back to Downtown. Instead I went on a little adventure catching a local bus to the quay and then jumping on board the Sea bus or ferry to take me back across the water. This was a smooth sailing and allowed for a great view of the city as the sun begun to go down. So concluded my second day in this stunning city and I couldn’t wait for my next day of adventures.

If you have any questions regarding my trip to Vancouver please leave a comment I will happily get back to you.