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canada 2002. from tidal flow to tidal flow
By Author: Bill Polley
E-mail: billpolley@nasuwt.net
Submitted on Tuesday 3rd December 2002
Canada 2002. From tidal flow to tidal flow.
This summer I went back to Canada for the first time since 1971. I had won air miles on the National Geo-genius quiz on the National Geographic channel and had dreamed of going on the Canadian Pacific railway through the Rockies.
How can I encapsulate 5 weeks constant movement and dazzling new sights? We never spent more than 2 nights in a row in any place we stayed. We started at the tidal flow of traffic on the Lions’ gate bridge in Vancouver and reached the tidal flow of the Bay of Fundy on the East coast about five weeks later. Crammed into this, a wealth of new sights and experiences: – cable cars, gondolas, driving on the ‘right’, free refills of coffee, world mountain bike races and the Rocky Mountaineer, snow at 4,000 feet in July, bear and osprey, glacier and forest, muskeg and river, intense heat (30 C). American football (BC Lions) and a Gastown cycle race in Vancouver and a First Nation pow-wow, eight provinces and five time zones. Every experience you would think it possible to cram into a short few weeks and then some more!!.
Here then is a selection of experiences from a few of the memorable days we spent this summer in Canada.
3 July Wed. - Travelling without arriving. A delay at Belfast City on the flight, a road traffic delay on the M25 bus to Heathrow and problems finding a bus to the hotel (it had changed its name!) meant we got to the Thistle hotel at 8.30pm, having left home at 10.45am. Nine hours from home and I still felt we hadn't got anywhere. Still it beats rushing for a flight and missing it. A slow meal with the wrong bill made us wonder were we wise even attempting this trip[and we still hadn’t left the country!
Thursday 4th Why do so few look out the window? Finally off at 4.30 p.m. Walking up and down the plane, partly to get exercise but mostly to see the landscape over Greenland, Baffin island and the Laurentian Shield (Hey - I’m a Geography teacher) I am struck by the numbers of people watching films/golf/sport or even our progress on the map. Incredibly, they never look out of the windows to see snow on ridges and frozen lakes, rivers winding through brown landscapes. Too much cloud over the Rockies to see much – I’ll have to wait till we get there. Vancouver airport is very spacious and clean – huge totem poles and a waterfall!! Both inside the terminal!!
Airport bus, with a very helpful driver, into the downtown Holiday Inn. I think that I will wake up soon. I still can’t believe that we are on the West Coast of Canada. Bed at 8pm local time (4am for us).
Sat 6th - Up late, we watched the presentation of prizes to the Women’s singles winner at Wimbledon before breakfast – how bizarre is that ??!! Picked up the hire car and drove to Grouse Mountain across the tidal flow of the Lions Gate Bridge. Scary stuff - 30 years since I drove on the right! Skyride to the top – WOW plus stunning views of BC mountains, Vancouver island, downtown Vancouver and even the airport in the hazy distance. Unusual weather – hot sunshine all day while watching the Women’s World Mountain-Bike X country championships. Meal outside and sat on the terrace until 9 o’clock watching the sun sink behind the Lions mountain. Difficult to believe that there was still snow on the mountain in the first week in July. I began to wonder what other surprises this amazing country had in store for us.
Tues 9th – Jasper. Buffet breakfast. Walks around Lakes Annette and Edith (American Robin and Bald Eagle) Raven? Carrion Crow? Late afternoon I went up in a tramcar to Whistler’s mountain. Stunning 360 view of all surrounding mountains due to the heat. Climbed above the top station through Tundra flowers and snow to the summit. 23C at the bottom of the gondola and 10C at the top. Even though I carried waterproofs and a fleece I never needed them although there was a cold wind at the top when the sun went in behind a cloud for a few minutes. I could see then how dangerous it could be if folk went up unprepared. The worst moment was when I had to cross the snowfield in ‘trainers’ – a bit of careful foot placing I can tell you! It would have been a long limp or carry down to the top of the cable station. Tired and thirsty when done. Fish and chips and ice cream for dinner to celebrate.
Sat 13th – Tour bus to Yoho National Park –Spiral tunnels, Emerald Lake, Natural Bridge, lunch at Field then on to Takakaw falls, Moraine lake and Lake Louise. Still too hot at 30C+. I never thought car parks could get so hot and so full. I begin to realise what world-renowned places like Lake Louise are really like. Crowded with people and roasting with cars, buses and exhaust fumes. Why is it that we always end up wrecking the very things that we go to see? Reminder to myself to stay away (if possible) from busy tourist hotspots!!
Sat 20th Jasper by lunch – elk grazing in the train yards. Edmonton by evening and on to Saskatoon. North Prairies – yellow and blue of canola (oil seed rape) and flax. With the drought the crops were much shorter than we had expected, but the landscapes were vast.
Sun 21st and Mon 22nd Winnipeg to Sioux lookout and on to Sudbury and Toronto. The landscape and journey went on and on from prairie into muskeg and thence to forest and eventually into built up areas around Toronto. By this stage we seemed to have been on the train for ages and we were starting to lose track of the day and time zone. Three and a half days on a train across a country does allow you a grasp of the immensity of the country.
Thurs 25th Train from Toronto to Montreal and overnight to Moncton (Fri). I have discovered that after five days in a train, the novelty is wearing off! I am almost wishing that we had flown. Still, it is a once in a lifetime experience of going coast to coast –at least that’s what I tell myself!!
Fri 26th Drove down to the Bay of Fundy through Alma and to the Hopewell Rocks. The distance that the tide drops is difficult to comprehend and we have reached the East coast at last. On to the Confederation Bridge and we think that we are lost it is so far to drive to get there and then we have to go right along Prince Edward island to get to Anne and Gerry’s just outside Charlottetown. Their welcome and friendliness is completely unexpected – with posters on the trees and in the window + goodie bags and a cake!
Sat 27th Up late and drove the Blue heron route past Anne of Green Gables countryside, down to Victoria past lighthouses and an osprey catching fish! And pied kingfishers.
Sun 28th Anne and Gerry drove us to Lennox Island to a Micmaq pow-wow (lobster lunch) where we heard Broken Walls Christian first nation praise music- brilliant. Then on to North Cape with its wind power station and folk music at Summerside.
Tues 30th Rest evening. I don’t want to see another train for a week or two.
Fri 2nd The gardens at Niagara Falls were really lovely. Although it was again too hot for walking around very much [36C]. The Imax cinema presentation of the history of all the attempts to go over the falls and the displays of barrels and other contraptions were definitely worth seeing.
Sat 3rd Drove down the Niagara Parkway along the stunning gorge and around the vineyards [wineries] of this area. Tour of Inniskilling winery – v. interesting and so back to Toronto through heavy traffic of the Caribbean weekend. Eventually found the hotel after driving through the whole city centre complete with gridlocked traffic.
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Tues 6th Up early and plane home from Gatwick for lunchtime. It now seems surreal and it is so long since we were in the Rockies, it is almost like a dream. At least the photos prove to me that I did really stand on those peaks and drink in my most stunning mountain view of a lifetime.