Water, water, everywhere!

Is it because we are in a drought here in San Antonio, that I just couldn't get enough of the waterfalls in Canada? We were so fortunate to have a Tour Director who wanted to really show off his country and was willing to stop so often for us to see and photograph the beautiful scenery. I wondered if I would ever get over the excitement of the waterfalls, and the answer was a definite NO! Here are some beauties. Bear in mind that I don't remember exactly where they were, nor does the camera do justice to the power and majesty of the water.

These are from Graham's and Bill's perspectives. More to come.

River Rafting in Jasper

Surprisingly, one of our most favorite activites on our trip was the Rafting on the Athabasca River. We left our hotel early Sunday morning and bussed out about 25 miles from Jasper where we were to start our rafting adventure.

We were all given these yellow plastic bag-like gear and told to put them on first. Then a guide outfitted us with proper life vests to put on over our plastic baggies. Next we had a lesson in "how to get onto the raft." As we were all sizes, and I mean ALL sizes, this wasn't an easy task for most of us! First you walk across a gang plank and step onto the raft. Then you make your way onto a seat and squish in real tight, locking your feet inside a rope near the floor.

As soon as we were all settled in safely, our boatsman, Shamus, moved out into the river and began a nice, slow float. How relaxing! And what a beautiful day to float lazily down the river! Well, that didn't last long! As soon as he was sure we were all comfortable and happy, Shamus quickly located the rapids and took us for a grand ride. Just imagine a boat load of senior citizens bouncing out on the river! As far as rapids go, these were probably equivalent to the bunny hill on a ski slope, but, boy, were they fun!

It didn't take long to understand why we had our plastic baggies on! We had enough warning to put our cameras under wraps and hang onto to the hand ropes. And had enough calm waters to get lots of great pictures. Then, as we were coming to the end of our ride, we crossed under a bridge where a photographer waited to take a group picture! What a fun time!

Enjoy the slide show that follows.

Athabasca River Rafting

Ft. Steele Heritage Town

Ft. Steele, British Columbia

On day five we finally leave the United States and move north into Canada. Our border crossing was uneventful and soon we were ready for lunch.

Enter Ft. Steele Heritage Town, a restored mining boomtown of the 1890's. I'm quoting now, "... that will stimulate your senses with the sights and sounds of frontier life. Feel the rhythm of western life through the town's scripted street dramas, by joining tours aboard horsedrawn wagons, or by listening to costumed townfolk in lively debate over the controversies of their day."

We had a beautiful sunny, but cool, day to walk through the town, making our way to the International Hotel which housed our restaurant. Every now and then a costumed group of children would appear, or a blacksmith or shop owner would explain his craft. It made for a very pleasant break in the day.

Glacier National Park

Following this post is the slide show from Glacier National Park. It was the most beautiful place, with every natural element you can imagine. There were mountains, glaciers, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, trees, trees, and more tree! There was still snow on the ground in some places, though the lakes that we saw had thawed. We didn't see any wildlife inside the park, though. All our sightings were on the road and from the bus. There were so many of them, that will have to be another slide show at another time! Enjoy the pictures from the park!

Glacier National Park

Next Stop, Kalispell, Montana

Sorting out photos for the blog and my other projects is so hard. Graham took over 850 pictures, I did the same, and Bill hasn't sent me his thousand or so yet, so I have spent a full week just uploading my pictures and then filling in the spaces with Graham's. So I'm having a difficult time choosing just a sampling of photos to post here. Bear with me, as it will seem that I'm skipping over a lot of places (which I am, but for your sake!).

As we left Spokane, we also left the state of Washington. Our next stop was just outside of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, at Cataldo State Park. This mission church is the oldest building in the state. It was built between 1848 and 1853 of straw, mud and saplings. It has been restored inside to its original appearance and many of the items inside are original.

Russell had the bus turn into this tiny little town that was of great interest to us, as the name of it is Wallace, Idaho. Bill got some teasing on the bus because one of the buildings is the Oasis Bordello Museum! I'm sure it had something to do with the Gold Rush!!!

We kept telling Russell we wanted to see snow, so he made a quick stop at Lookout Pass Ski area. We were here the end of May and the season had ended just a week before. There was still plenty of snow on the slopes, though it probably wasn't cold enough to be safe. Graham sure enjoyed throwing a snowball!

After lunch we enjoyed an hour at the National Bison Reserve in Montana. They have an interesting visitor's center with lots of historical information about the Bison (or buffalo). As we were leaving we came across this trio with a newborn calf.

Next morning we spent half a day in Glacier National Park. I'll have to divide my post with those pictures as there is just too much to share. I'll try to make a slide show or two, especially if I combine Graham's pics with mine. Our first stop was at McDonald Lake which is where the Going to the Sun highway begins. Here are the first of our pics from the Lake area.

Bill and I were exploring a little before getting on the Sun Peaks tour bus.

The moment we arrived at Lake McDonald the waters were perfectly still and looked like glass. But by the time we had all piled out of the bus there were ripples in the water and the mirror effect was lost. Still, the pictures we stook (and there were many) of this view of the lake are magnificent. Don't you agree?

Here we have stopped at the north side of the lake. We are still traveling on the Going to the Sun highway, which has a rich history in and of itself. That's another post altogether. This view was another "to die for" photo opportunity and we got lots of them!

I'll close this post for now. There is so much more, and I'll try to put a lot of it in a slide show to conserve space. Do enjoy the scenery and maybe appreciate how much we were loving our trip.

Moving on Toward Spokane

Continuing on our journey, we left Leavenworth and set across Washington State until we came to a place called Dry Falls. Apparently this whole area had been under water that melted after the "Little Ice Age" and caused this massive canyon. After moving through mountains and forests, this place looked awfully barren.


Our next stop of the day was the the Grand Coulee Dam. Now I never knew this dam existed and was even more surprised to learn that it's bigger than the Hoover Dam. It was built after that one, and was part of the work program following the Great Depression. This one is on the Columbia River and provides electric power for a broad area of the northwest US. There is a wonderful Visitor's Center with all kinds of interactive display and history.


We arrived in Spokane with time to wind down at our hotel before enjoying a "champagne dinner" with our group. This was a Red Lion Hotel and it sprawled along the banks of the Spokane River which was running fast and high. A combination of snow melt and heavy rains had the river out of its banks in some places. Graham and Bill are discussing the intensity of the flow!

I really loved Spokane. The climate is wonderful - nice and cool. And the flowers are splendid! All along the river bank were wild looking bushes with fragrant flowers fully in bloom. Around the bend from our hotel is the Gonzaga University. Its most famous alumnus was Bing Crosby!

The hotel gardner has a big job keeping track of all the landscaping. There were beds of flowers everywhere. The rhododendrum were magnificent, and the irises were just starting to bloom. In the front of the hotel are hanging baskets with these lovely purple and scarlet and white blossoms dripping from the branches. We saw these at Butchart Gardens in Victoria a few years ago and still don't know their names! Aren't they gorgeous?

Here is one of the flower beds with purple rhododendrum and read and white impatiens. I couldn't identify the purple poms or the yellow flowering bush. I couldn't get enough of the flowers. What I would give for a vase and some shears!

Bill and I picked up the habit of walking the grounds both morning and evening and we made friends with this little critter right away. He's called a Marmot and looks like a cross between a squirrel and a ground hog. Tuesday morning after breakfast we discovered he had "tenants" living in his hole! There were eight or nine little marmots out looking for food. I had to run back to my room and bring a package of crackers to share with them!

As we left Spokane our driver took us across a bridge upstream from where our hotel was. Remember the rushing high water behind the hotel? Here is where it was coming from! I wouldn't want to be crossing that footbridge! The power of the water was palpable even inside the bus. This was just the first of many waterfalls we were to enjoy in the days ahead.

All that was left to do now was to sit back and enjoy the view. There's much more scenery ahead.

The Little Town of Leavenworth, Washington

I'll start today's commentary as we set out from Seattle across the state of Washington. Mountains and trees! Don't see too much of them in Texas, so I reserve the right to be impressed. Our Tour Director gave us an ample number of stops on today's 330 mile ride. There are lots of parklike rest stops and here we are at one of them.


Around noon we pulled into this little Bavarian Village, a town called Leavenworth. After the gold rush was over this became pretty much a ghost town. So several years ago the citizens got together and did a "makeover" into a tourist attraction with lots of shops, restaurants, a park and pavillion. It's still very much under construction and lots of fun strolling the streets.


As you can see, it stretches for about 6 blocks down and maybe 4 blocks in. There was a large outdoor art show going on with booths of paintings, photography, jewelry, wood carvings, etc. Graham grabbed a bowl of soup in one restaurant, Bill and I opted for an ice cream cone and lots of walking!

You know me, ever on "Westie watch" when I travel and I really hit the jackpot here! This happy fella was one of three doggies I spied. He was ready to jump into my arms! Had a very congenial owner too.

This one caught my eye because it's a sight I've never seen before. I first saw the dog in the back seat of a Jeep. Next thing I knew, he was out cycling with his owner! I've never had a Westie who could keep up with a bike!

As we walked the streets, Bill and I heard the sounds of an "oompah" band. So we meandered toward the center of town and this pavillion to find what appears to be a family of musicians and lots of folks sitting on grandstands or picnicing on the meadow beside the pavillion. This is where we found Graham, who had already purchased a CD of their music!

All too soon it was time to get back to the bus. As we made our way we passed by this lovely building and, lo and behold, it's a Starbuck's Coffee shop! That was expected in Seattle, and we'll see them a lot on this trip, but none in such a pretty setting as this!

That's going to do it for now. I'm still poring over the hundreds of photos, just from my camera. Still have to look through Graham's, sort out the duplicates, delete the out-of-focus ones, and then look for Bill's to arrive in the mail! I'll get another batch out soon. Enjoy!

Working Through Our Pictures

I'm just starting the process of editing our photos from the trip. These are from our lovely hotel in Seattle the afternoon we arrived. No rain!! And the flowers are in bloom all around the hotel.

These were taken right at the entrance. We had a couple of hours to look around Seattle before our introductory meeting with our Tour Director, Russell, and the other 35 members of our group. The hotel is just five blocks from the water, so we walked down to get our bearings. The difficulty was in climbing back up the steep streets back to the hotel. (We found out at the end of the tour that there is a much easier way back just three blocks over!)

Next morning we set out on our eastern trek across Washington state.

This is the area where Sleepless in Seattle was filmed. Russell said the house that Tom Hanks' character lived in is for sale - got a million dollars???

More to follow....

Back Home in Texas

Just a very short post to say we are all back home, safe and sound. The trip was fabulous and I can't wait to give you a more detailed report. I was never able to upload pictures from any of the hotel computers, so hold on to your hat in the coming days!

Hello from Jasper

Well, Bill and I are taking the afternoon off to catch up on some email and stuff. So I thought it would be fun to blog just a bit and tell you where we've been (if I can remember it all!) We are half way through our tour and it seems we've been on a bus forever!

First, we started our trip from Seattle last Sunday. It's been five years since I've been in Seattle and the streets are just as steep now as then! We huffed and puffed back up the hill - wait, Graham and I huffed and puffed trying to keep up with Bill.

The next morning we piled on our coach with 35 others and our Tour Director and set out for Spokane. On the way we stopped at the Grand Coulie Dam. Spokane is a beautiful city, and the river behind our hotel was very high and swift. We enjoyed a wonderful champagne reception and meal with the other guests on our tour.

Next morning we set out across the panhandle of Idaho and into Montana. We went to the Lonesome Dove Ranch for a barbeque and Montana "experience" with a storyteller and his wife who sang, fiddled and told tales about Montana.

Then on up into Canada, into Banff National Park and the city of Banff. There is still snow on the mountains and in some areas yet on the ground. Glacier National Park was wonderful. Our Tour Director said this group has had more wildlife sightings than usual and we have gotten lots of fabulous pictures. I'm unable to upload them from here, so you'll have to wait another week and then I'll overwhelm you!

Today we're in Jasper - a great climax of the trip was our rafting trip this morning on the Athabasca River. The rapids were just enough to thrill our bunch of "frisky geezers" - the new AARP term for senior travelers! So tomorrow starts the second half of our trip as we turn west toward Vancouver. We have crossed the Continental Divide twice as we've traveled through the Canadian Rockies. Can't wait to see what unfolds.