The Rocky Mountains: An Awe-inspiring Look at Nature

Dramatic Moraine Lake

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A trip to the Rocky Mountains is one of the most popular excursions international students can take while staying in Vancouver. This destination offers an experience of vast, protected forests and public parks amongst towering mountains and serenely beautiful lakes. To do the trip from Vancouver, you need four days. Plan to go on a long weekend and take an additional day off school. Trying to cram the experience into three days, students always regret not having an additional day. Wonderful memories will make up for the day’s schoolwork that you will miss.

If you are going primarily to see the scenery, do the trip sometime from June through September. Labour Day weekend, the long weekend of early September, is an ideal time. This is before the mountain lakes begin to freeze over, so you will see the brilliant turquoise colour of the lakes contrasting against the dark greens and grays of the mountains and the intense blue of the sky. July and August are busier, as that is when families of Canadian school children are having their summer holidays. However, Canadian Rocky Mountain national parks are so large that “crowded” does not come to mind when exploring national parks any time of the year. Note, however, that if you plan to make a trip to the Rockies primarily to go skiing or snowboarding, you should go from November to April during snow season.

On occasions when a homestay student, usually Japanese, has told me she is “going to the Rocky Mountain,” I have asked her where exactly and she has been perplexed. She has simply repeated, “to the Rocky Mountain.” Apparently she is picturing a stand-alone peak (perhaps like Mount Fuji). I have had to explain that the Rocky Mountains are not a single mountain. They are a very long range of peaks stretching more than 4,800 kilometres from northern British Columbia in Canada to the southwestern United States.

Banff

Some of the places visited in most four-day tours of the Canadian Rockies are the resort towns of Jasper or Banff and Lake Louise, or and some other sights including Moraine Lake, Bow Lake, Peyto Lake, the Columbia Icefield, Maligne Lake and Maligne Canyon, Athabasca Falls, and Sulphur Mountain, Mt. Robson, and many other peaks. Tour buses also pass through Merritt, Kamloops, Clearwater, Valemount, and other small town on the way to the Rockies or on the return trip.

European students who are accustomed to the Alps are most surprised by the relatively uninhabited aspect of the Rockies. Areas of human settlement are uncommon compared with those in the Alps. So don’t expect scenes of domesticated sheep or cows grazing on mountainsides! They simply don’t exist here. Instead, you will see vast, largely untouched forests and mountains.

A South American student that I hosted in the mid 1990s told me about her experience of being overwhelmed at the immensity of a glacier when she was standing at the bottom of it looking up. She said she felt powerless and vulnerable in feeling that it could slide down the mountainside and crush her with its enormity. But in returning to the same site nine years later, she was struck by how diminished in size the glacier had become. She said she wept in seeing this, even though she knew in theory about climate change.

Still, there remains so much to be amazed at in the Canadian Rockies—mountain landscapes of lakes, peaks, glaciers, waterfalls, canyons and, depending on which of the national parks you visit—Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, or Yoho—you might experience limestone caves or have the chance to bathe in hot springs. Also you never know what wild animals you will see. The Canadian Rocky Mountains are habitat for elk, mule and white-tailed deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, black bears, grizzly bears, coyotes, lynxes, and wolverines as well as being home to North America's largest herds of moose.

In talking with dozens and dozens of my homestay students who have gone to the Rockies with various tour companies, only a few have had any complaints. One recent disappointment was about substandard accommodation “The motel’s quality was really poor,” commented by Riccardo (from Italy) after his recent July (2012) trip. To ensure the hotels or motels you will be staying at are adequate for your needs, ask the tour companies you are considering for photographs of the interior and exterior of all hotels/motels used. This will help ensure that you instead feel as Gabriel (from Brazil) did after his October (2012) trip, that “the three different hotels were very welcoming.”

Also find out about the arrangements for sharing a room. Are there any options? Having four people in a room sharing two queen-size beds is not uncommon. Will you have a choice as to whom you will be sharing a room with, a bed with?

 “I didn’t expect to share a hotel room with other people, and it’s embarrassing to sleep in the same bed with another guy, however, I did,” Riccardo stated. Find this out before you sign the tour agreement so there are no surprises during the trip.

When I asked Gabriel, who is from Porta Alegra in southern Brazil, if he would recommend the tour company whose trip he went on, he answered. “Yes, this agency has professionalism, credibility and has been successful in organizing the trip.”

His only disappointment was in two pre-paid meals. Gabriel’s city (Porta Alegra) is known for its fabulous barbecues. Also his country’s cuisine centers on beef. Apparently their barbecues routinely feature a piece of steak almost the size of the dinner plate. So when Gabriel read that his Banff hotel was offering an outdoor barbecue, he was looking forward to it. He was understandably disappointed to find the beef portion of this barbecue consisted of one patty of ground beef the size of that in a regular hamburger. He was doubly disappointed the next night when the dinner featured one hotdog.

This may be standard fare for some tour companies because Riccardo had been offered the same two pre-paid meals (by a different company) a couple of months earlier and was equally let down. Yet most of my homestay students have agreed that the lunches they purchased off a regular menu (not pre-paid) were good quality and good value. Also, some of my previous homestay students have raved about the dinners they ate while in the Rockies and have shown me photographs of their memorable meals.

I recommend that Rockies-bound visitors, and not just the hungry, mid-twenties guys, take with them snacks to eat on the bus and late at night in the hotels. Include some protein (cheese, nuts, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, peanut butter on crackers), fruit (especially bananas, apples, mandarin oranges), and sweets (chocolate bars, cookies, energy bars). This will ensure you have something to munch on if the schedule of your trip is out of step with your hunger pangs.

So despite these concerns, when asked, “Why did you find the trip to the Rockies enjoyable?” Riccardo answered, “It’s impossible not enjoy being there because it is one of the most amazing places in Canada where you can see Canadian nature and mountains.”

Striated Mountains and Valley

Riccardo also commented, “The trip is so long so when you pass through the Rocky Mountains on the bus you can enjoy and admire the infinite green environment. I saw seven bears—six black ones and one grizzly. The best experience was going on the Banff gondola. The view from the top of the mountain is awesome. Unforgettable. When I was there I understood that I don’t spend enough time in nature. Ånd the rest of the tour made me realize that four days are not enough to see the Rockies. The Rocky Mountain trip was also a new life experience inasmuch as you share your trip with a lot of people that you don’t know, so it is a good chance to make new friends from other countries. You enjoy talking about things that you have never talked about before.”

In asking Riccardo how he would sum up his trip in one or two phrases, he responded, “Awesome trip I’ll remember all my life.”

Road to Coumbia Ice Fields Crop

In asking Gabriel, why he enjoyed the trip to the Rockies, he answered, “Because I was in a place that for a long time I have wanted to know. Moreover, it is practically impossible not to be dazzled by the different landscapes.”

In being asked what places he enjoyed visiting most, Gabriel responded, “Banff city, Lake Louise and Moraine Lake.”

I also asked Gabriel what optional activities he did and why he did not do other activities that were offered?

“I went on the Banff Gondola and the price was reasonable. I did not go on the snow coach on the glacier because I thought it expensive. Besides, there is only so much time.”

Another question: You said your tour guide added to the value of the trip. In what way?

“Our guide knew very well about everywhere and she was always willing to help and answer questions.”

Do you have advice for others considering making the trip?

“My advice would be to go in the summer to be able to bathe in the lakes.”

How would you sum up your trip in one or two phrases?

“A trip to the Rocky Mountains made me realize how much I like nature. This is a fantastic place where everyone should have the opportunity to visit. I would like to rent a canoe and explore the environment more. I wish I had stayed longer in the lakes enjoying the silence of the place.”

Serene Lake Louise

The photographs accompanying this article have been supplied to me courtesy of Gabriel Macedo, Brazil (the opening image and last two photographs), and Riccardo Rosso, Italy (the central two images).

There are additional photographs of the Rockies included in my online imaged novel Vancouver Memories: My Year Abroad in the section entitled “Touring the Rocky Mountains” [September Diary Entry #1]. This novel is available free of charge for viewing at www.vancouvermemories.ca.

If any readers can identify photographs in either this blog or in the novel at URL noted above, please contact me at wendy@vancouvermemories.ca. I would be pleased to receive information about any necessary corrections.

Text by Wendy Bullen Stephenson

Ready for Adventure? Visit the Sechelt Peninsula

Porpoise Bay

Having visited the Sechelt Peninsula as a camper, hiker, and tourist over the past thirty-five years, I have always seen this beautiful natural setting as sporting a cluster of relaxed little towns sitting on the edge of ocean. Sechelt itself is the biggest of these 1950’s-paced communities that dot the road from Gibson’s Landing at the southern end of the Sechelt Peninsula to Earl’s Cove and Egmont at the northern end of the Peninsula.

In mid-August I spent a three-day weekend at Sechelt while attending the well-known, annual Sunshine Coast Writers Festival. Besides appreciating the Sechelt Peninsula’s cultural opportunities at that time, I was reminded of the area’s unique geographical features— beaches, forests backed by mountains, and related natural phenomena—that provide opportunities for so many adventures in nature.

I think homestay students studying in Vancouver would find a trip to the Sechelt Peninsula to be a rewarding experience especially for those interested in year-round outdoor recreation activities. Renting a car and sharing expenses with friends makes travelling to this area accessible for those who have a weekend, or long-weekend, to get away. Or if you go on the ferry as a foot passenger from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale terminal, you can then get a bus from the ferry that goes along the main highway (Highway 101) as far as west Sechelt with lots of stops along the way.

Some of the summer offerings of the Sechelt Peninsula include swimming, kayaking, hiking, beach combing, boating, attending annual festivals (such as the Davis Bay sandcastle competition), eating seafood and going pubbing, fishing, enjoying a scenic trek into Skookumchuck Narrows to view the world famous rapids, and water sliding in Sechelt’s community pool. On Dakota Ridge from spring to fall there are world-class biking trails through old growth forests and open areas in beautiful subalpine meadows. These are transformed by snow during winter into cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails.

So how does one get to the Sechelt Peninsula? Reaching the Sunshine Coast takes about two hours travel time from downtown Vancouver, including the pleasant 45-minute BC Ferry ride to Langdale from Horseshoe Bay. To drive to the north end of the Sechelt Peninsula (Earls Cove and Egmont) takes about two additional hours.

West Beach

The Sechelt Peninsula is surrounded by salt water—that of the Georgia Straight on the west side (shoreline with surf pictured here on a windy day) and that of Sechelt Inlet on the east side. Porpoise Bay (pictured at low tide in opening image) is at the south end of the Inlet at Sechelt. Sechelt Peninsula would, in fact, be an island except for the existence of the isthmus (narrow strip of land) that is the town of Sechelt, as it serves as a bridge joining the Peninsula to a larger part of the mainland.

For a pleasant walk on level ground, visitors should check out Sechelt’s marsh, just off the south end of Porpoise Bay. There you can take a pleasant stroll around an active pond surrounded by natural greenery. Countless flocks of birds fly in and out of the area, many of which land on the surface of the water.

Sechelt marshes

If your homestay family is able to lend you camping equipment and if, on inquiring, you find a campsite is available, you and your classmates might enjoy tenting at the wooded Porpoise Bay Provincial Campsite on the east side of the Bay. Or at least you might pack a big lunch and take it to the picnic site on the beach there or to one of the other multitude of beaches on the Sechelt Peninsula.

Sechelt Inlet is famous for its saltwater rapid (Sechelt Rapids) as it rages through Skookumchuck Narrows with fury during tide changes. The skookumchucks (turbulent waters) of Sechelt Inlet are caused when billions of gallons of water rush into the Inlet through a narrow passage, thus creating an intense torrent.

To view this tidal spectacle and to experience some exhilarating hiking through deep forest, drive north on Highway 101 and be on the lookout for the Skookumchuck Narrows Provincial Park parking lot.  If you reach the village of Egmont, you have gone to far. The well-maintained hiking trail into the Skookumchuck rapids has viewing lookouts. If your arrival matches a rising tide or you have the time to wait for a changing tide (this happens four times daily), you can see ocean water rushing in through the narrow channel in the rock formations creating boiling rapids, eddies, and whirlpools. A destination for adventure-seeking white water kayakers, this is one of the fastest moving tidal waters in North America. So respect the power of these tidal surges with their roar of churning waters. Stand well back, as they can easily sweep away people and their pets.

On your return trip south on the highway to the Langdale ferry, you might want to take in Wilson Creek’s fascinating salmon hatchery. Also try to leave some time to visit Roberts Creek’s unique shops in small wooden buildings on the main street and the Creek’s picnic site within view of a beach pier. 

Gibsons Beach

Roberts Creek

You might also enjoy a stop at Gibsons, a slow-paced, little town perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. This community was made famous for being the site of a long-running, internationally-renowned Canadian comedy-drama television series, named the Beachcombers, which featured seaside adventures and intrigue. The on-shore setting focused on a popular, community, gathering place named Molly’s Reach that still exists today as a restaurant. With antique shops and art stores, large marina, and restaurants with waterfront views, Gibsons is a unique stop.

With all the recreational activities offered on the Sechelt Peninsula near the many seaside communities including the scenic Secret Cove, Halfmoon Bay, Snuggler Cove (not unmentioned here as a result of space restrictions), I hope you and your classmates can find some quiet time too. This might be in old-growth forests, feeling the awe of seeing some wildlife near waterfalls and creeks, or on sandy and rocky beaches observing marine life, perhaps seals, otters, porpoises, and in watching incredible multi-coloured sunsets.

After two days of almost too-hot weather in Sechelt, the weather turned cooler and windy, so the west shoreline was far from quiet. Here is a short video showing the effect of the wind along the beach trail walk of Sechelt.

Article and photographs by Wendy Bullen Stephenson

Wendy is a Vancouver writer who is author of the online imaged novel Vancouver Memories: My Year Abroad, the story of a group of international language students who study in Vancouver for a year and visit all the places that homestay students routinely visit during their stay in BC. It can be read free of charge at: www.vancouvermemories.ca

Victoria: Romantic City of Many Attractions

 

By Wendy Bullen Stephenson

Author of Vancouver Memories: My Year Abroad

Traditionally thought of as being more British than England, the city of Victoria has also been known for having the most pleasant weather in Canada. On my recent trip there in mid July, decked out with a map, camera, and a big sun hat, I asked a roving ambassador in downtown Victoria to name the notable features of the city. He responded that the city is surrounded by ocean, is particularly walkable, is known for its gardens, and is famous for chocolate and, unexpectedly to me, for beer. Seeing my surprise at this last attribute, he added, “Well, this is a navy town, you know.”

In fact Esquimalt, just west of downtown, is the West Coast port of Canada’s navy. I, however, didn’t notice any visible presence of navy personnel in this serene town during my two days there. Greater Victoria, made up of 13 municipalities, has a population of about 350,000 people. It is the capital of British Columbia, Canada’s western province.

Victoria seems to enjoy its isolation from the rest of Canada that results from being on an island (Vancouver Island) thus requiring an almost two-hour ferry trip to travel there from Vancouver and the B.C. mainland. Ferries carrying up to 470 cars and 1,600 passengers navigate through some narrow passages between lush green, sparsely inhabited islands, so the voyage to and from Victoria is part of the adventure of visiting that city. On the hot day of my return voyage, I sat during the entire cruise outside in the breeze on the top deck (seventh level) listening to the calls of the sea gulls overhead as they followed the ship.

Victoria has been known as a town of seniors while at the same supporting a significant population of young adults attending the University of Victoria and Camosun College. Seeming to be such a safe town, it is also a choice place to bring up children. All of the many dozens of homestay students that I have hosted over the years have thoroughly enjoyed visiting Victoria, confirming my view that is a rewarding place to visit due to its historic buildings, engaging exhibitions, fresh ocean air, lavish flowers and gardens, and relaxed pace.

Some of the highlights for international students include going whale watching, experiencing the underwater marine world, visiting North America’s second oldest Chinatown, spending a couple of hours at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, riding on a double-decker bus, walking through the elaborate Craigdarroch Castle, indulging in tea at the Empress Hotel, visiting the late 19th century home of Emily Carr (one of BC’s most famous artists), touring the world-class provincial museum and world-famous Butchart Gardens, seeing the wax museum, shopping for souvenirs in the many unique shops, touring the legislature building, and eating in some of the varied restaurants or just munching fudge and chocolates or licking an ice cream cone while walking around the human-scale city centre.

Oh, and did I forget to mention climbing around on rocky beaches including Foul Bay, Mile Zero, and Oak Bay? That’s fun too!

Most of the downtown buildings are under five stories high and suggest the historic roots of the old fort town. The Victoria area was home to several long-time communities of Coast Salish peoples when Spanish and British explorers visited the northwest coast of North America beginning with the voyage of Captain Cook in 1776. Spanish sailors visited Esquimalt harbor just west of Victoria in 1790 and 1792. In 1843, the Hudson's Bay Company established a fort there as its western base under the direction of Sir James Douglas. He became governor when the crown Colony of Vancouver Island was established in 1849. With the discovery of gold in British Columbia in 1858, Victoria mushroomed as the port became a supply outlet for miners on their way to Mainland gold fields. Victoria was incorporated as a city in 1862.

Today’s city’s planners recognize the importance of keeping the city’s heritage personae. In August 2012 Victoria will celebrate its 150^th birthday.

In wanting to revisit, after many years, the legislature building (located overlooking the Inner Harbour), I was amazed that without a reservation one can join a free, guided tour or, on one’s own, explore the unique stone building with its marvelous stained glass windows and colourful historical frescoes. 

 

I was just disappointed that the legislature wasn’t in session while I was there as I missed seeing an animated debate by our MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly), who comprise our provincial government. The building itself is the focal point of the city at night, outlined, as it is, by hundreds of magical white lights reflected in the glittering water of Victoria’s Inner Harbour.

Victoria and My Past

The first time I visited Victoria was as a grade 12 student on a trip organized by the Vancouver Sun Newspaper specifically for editors of high school yearbooks. At that time we were shown the major attractions of the city (Butchart Gardens, Craigdarroch Castle, etc.) and we participated in workshops related to producing school publications—an inspiring event for me.

Later, while serving as a corporate curator for BC Central Credit Union, I guided an art-buying committee to various galleries, artists’ studios, and the fine art department of the University. For the same organization on another occasion, I was in charge of a touring art exhibition, which I had organized, that was on display at a convention in the Empress Hotel.

As a parent I have vivid memories of trips to the city while my daughter attended the University of Victoria—leaving home for the first time. Oh, the struggles to transport her and her personal possessions back and forth on the ferry in vehicles that always seemed too small for the purpose! Even the filled-to-the-roof, rented moving van on the trip home after her grad day hardly left any space to sit.

More recently I spent a gratifying day in Victoria’s Provincial Archives as a UBC doctoral student. In the archives I examined student artwork, old texts, and photographs that related BC’s art education in the 1920s to 1950s.

I would love to return to tour the current dinosaur exhibit at the provincial museum—a truly inspirational institution—with my nephew and grandson, who are dinosaur-enthusiasts.

The purpose of this summer’s trip was to take photographs for this blog and for my article in the Japanese e-magazine Cradle My Spirit at

http://www.ojhasmagazine.com

Needing to acquire insight about and photos of the city for an imaged children’s book I am writing on Canadian cities was another reason for this visit.

Yes, Victoria seems such a romantic town, as revealed in the chapter I set in Victoria in my novel Vancouver Memories: My Year Abroad. Have a look at the relevant diary entries (July 5 to 8), as there are numerous other photographs showing the attractions of Victoria that my fictional homestay characters enjoy while visiting the city, as do my real homestay students. The novel, free for viewing, is at www.vancouvermemories.ca

I plan to spend more time in Victoria. One overnight visit is certainly not enough!

Article and photos

by Wendy Bullen Stephenson,

July 2012

More New Year Parade in Chinatown