The End of the Long and Winding Road

This is a view from Granville Island and the Granville Bridge.  This is a unique market area with lots of shops and fresh food booths.   The highpoint for us was the Granville Island Brewing Company.   We had a brewery tour and tasted 3 of their beers.   We also did some more exploring of the city and ended the day with dinner at Mahoney and Sons Irish pub and a visit to the Museum of Anthropology on the University of BC campus.   It was a long day, but a good way to end our vacation.   Our flight leaves at 9:00 tomorrow morning, so we will be up bright and early.   We are tired, but content with all we did in the wonderful corner of the world.  

So, until the next Noll adventure, we bid you all farewell.

Bob and Deb

Vancouver: Here We Come!

Here we are, just about to hop on the Sky Train to head down to the center of Vancouver.   We are staying at a suburb called Richmond.   It is out near the airport.   We figured this would be convenient for getting to our Winnipeg flight on Wednesday morning.   When we got here the sun was trying its best to peek out, so we just headed to do some exploring.

First stop was Stanley Park.  Even though it was sort of cold and windy, there were no raindrops! Totem poles are big here in this part of Canada.  They hold lots of meaning for the First Nations people.    The other picture is taken along the seawall looking back toward the city.   This seawall runs for miles around the city.   You can literally walk/bike/run etc the entire way around.

After we grabbed some fish and chips (a senior special-$5 for more fish and fries than we could finish!) we decided to just stroll back toward the waterfront.   Did some window shopping and and ended up back down by Canada Place.  It is the area where the cruise ships dock.   Looks like big white sails.   The area is so pretty.    We finally made our way to Gastown, one of the oldest parts of the city.   This is where the famous steam clock is found.

Looking forward to our full day tomorrow.

Hugs to Everyone,

Bob and Deb

Good Bye Victoria

Our last full day in Victoria was a relaxing and leisurely one.   There is a sign in front of the hotel across the street from us that says, "Night is for sleeping, day is for resting".   That was our motto today.    We went to church early and then strolled around the harbor and ended up back at the Helm's for a little rest.   Then off again to explore the park where this picture was taken.   It is called Beacon Hill Park.   So peaceful and lovely.   The flowers and plants are quite amazing.   Apparently it is mild enough all year around that many things don't die.   There always seems to be something in bloom according to the locals.   After our park stroll we headed back for lunch with much anticipation because we thought we were going to be able to see the Packers.   Only apparently local channels can choose which games they broadcast and the locals decided they wanted to broadcast the Seattle game instead.   Guess it makes sense with Seattle so close, but sure was frustrating for Bob!   He kept checking online and watching the updates on the tv.  It looked like they won handily according to the last we saw.   We did get to see most of the Brewers game so that was fun.   After supper we took another stroll along the harbor area and back to our inn.   We are making our plans for the long journey back to Vancouver.   We are hoping to time it better tomorrow so that we can leave here around 9:30 and still  make it to our hotel in Vancouver by around 1:30.    The weather is supposed to be awful tomorrow, so we are not sure whether we will head into the city  or not.   Guess we will see what the day brings.   Sad to say good bye to this lovely city.   We have enjoyed our relaxing stay.

Toodles,

Bob and Deb

To Evan and Emily

Hi Evan and Emily,

This is to try and answer your question about what makes the water so aqua.   This picture shows a little bit of that, but nothing like it looks in person.   It is so amazing.  There were areas where the water was so aqua that it almost hurt your eyes!   As we understand it, the water has that color because it comes from melting glaciers.  There are glaciers all around this area and when they melt, the water contains small particles that have been picked up by the glacier.   Then when the light hits the water, this is the color that gets reflected to our eyes.   It is just so beautiful!  What a great question you had.  You will have to go online and see if we got the answer correct!

We love you,

Grandma and Grandpa

Hello Victoria

We actually intended for this all to be one post, but we were too quick on the "publish" trigger!

Anyway, here we are in Victoria.   We arrived in Vancouver this morning at 9:00.   Our train ride from Jasper was a bit of a disappointment.  Not the train ride, but the views.   It was so cloudy, foggy, and rainy that we could hardly tell we were in the mountains!   Can't do much about the weather when you are traveling, so we made the best of it and had fun on the train anyway.   We got to the Helm's Inn here in Victoria after rides on the Skytrain, bus, ferry, and bus.   Only took 7 hours!   It was surely worth the trip.   The Helm's is wonderful.   We dropped our bags off and then headed to the nearby grocery store.   You can see we enjoyed beer and pizza as we watched the Badgers play  Nebraska.   Yea, Bucky!   Even scurried out during halftime to get the picture below.   It is one of legislative buildings right down on the inner harbor here in Victoria.   What a beautiful city!   We will have a good weather day tomorrow, so we plan to make the best use of our time that we can.  We will surely have some great things to share tomorrow.   Bob thinks life is pretty good right now.   He was able to follow the Brewers victory online as we cruised on the ferry today, he is enjoying the Badgers romp over Nebraska right now, and just checked the paper to make sure we can catch the Packers tomorrow.   Doesn't get any better than this-traveling and Wisconsin sports combined.

Good night to everyone back home.  

Bob and Deb

A Dedication from Jasper and Hello to Victoria

This last Jasper memory is dedicated to our good friends, Roger and Marsha.   They were supposed to be with us on this trip and when cancer reared its ugly head, they ended up having to cancel their plans.   We have missed their company and have felt so bad that they are missing this wonderful trip. So, Rog and Marsha-here's to you.   We had this beer,  burger, and that gigantic cone-looking thing filled with sweet potato fries all in your honor.   And Marsha, we are very proud at your strong will and determination to beat this thing!  We are checking things out and hopefully we will get to experience this all again next fall.

Saying Good bye to Jasper

This was our first stop on this frosty morning in Jasper.   It is called Athabasca Falls.   The Athabasca River is the biggest river flowing through the national park.   It begins at the Athabasca glacier high in the Columbia Ice Fields and actually flows all the way to the Arctic Ocean.   The falls are so powerful, they have carved interesting potholes and other formations in the rock.   As you can see, a deep canyon has also developed.   We climbed down to the bottom of the falls and the river was wide and peaceful.   Pretty neat.

Our next stop was a wonderful hike back into a pretty area called the Valley of the Five Lakes.   Of course, we got confused and took the 5 mile route instead of the 2 mile route, but it was worth every minute and every sore calf muscle!  We hiked up and over a ridge and then down into the valley where these aqua blue lakes greeted us.   We ate our lunch sitting on a log in the warm sunshine looking out over the water that was like blue-green glass.   Sort of had to pinch ourselves.

This last picture is taken from Whistler's Mountain where the Jasper tramway runs.   Is shows Jasper townsite in the distance and beyond that some of the beautiful mountains that we see all around us.   You can't look any direction without having a view that takes your breath away. Jasper itself is just a wonderful little town.   Right now it is so peaceful and unhurried.   Then there is the surrounding countryside.   It's hard to describe all the natural wonders we have seen since we arrived in Jasper last Sunday.   It certainly has to be one of our favorite spots and Bob says it should be put on everyone's bucket list!  We must sadly must say good bye to everything tomorrow as we board the train at 2:30 in the afternoon heading for Victoria and Vancouver.   Everyone has told us that the train ride from here west is one of the best train rides in the world.

After tomorrow morning we will be "out of touch" until we arrive in Vancouver on Saturday.   Then we are crossing our fingers to get checked in to our hotel and be able to watch the Badgers beat Nebraska and then on Sunday watch the Packers beat the Broncos.

Hugs to everyone.

Bob and Deb

Exploring Jasper National Park

This is Maligne Lake.  It is about 30 miles outside of the town of Jasper.   We headed here this morning.   On the way we stopped at a deep canyon and did some hiking.   Then we passed an interesting lake called Medicine Lake.  Every year,  by October, the lake drains away almost entirely!   In the summer it can be as deep as 60 feet.   We also saw our first real wildlife there.   Two caribou were wading around in the water that was left.   Then we arrived at Maligne Lake.    We ate our lunch here and then hiked part way around the lake.   Very pretty.   After that we headed back toward Jasper to visit a couple other small lakes.   After supper we decided to take a sunset ride.   On the way we had about 5 elk cross the road near us.   We got a picture, but as you can see it was into the setting sun.   We also got some nice shots of the mountains in the waning light of day.   Nice way to end a busy day in Jasper National Park.

Hope all is well with Everyone.


Bob and Deb

Lake O'Hara Adventures

Hello Family and Friends,

This is a picture of Lake O'Hara.   It is a beautiful lake fed by glaciers in the surrounding mountains just like Lake Louise.   But this one is pristine.   Only a few busloads of people are allowed to go up to the lake (about 6 miles up a steep dirt road) each day.   There is a resort there, where you can stay for the bargain price of $750 per day in a little cabin on the edge of the lake.  Or you can haul all you gear in the bus and camp for $30 night.    We might be tempted to consider that camping option, except for the grizzlies in the area!  We hiked around the entire lake and also hiked partway up a steep, rocky trail that headed to another alpine lake.  It was quite a challenge.  In fact, if the picture was bigger you could see the field of boulders at the end of the lake that we literally clamored across.      Any of you who know Deb can understand why the hike was cut short!    The views were great and it was so quiet and peaceful.

After we finished at Lake O'Hara, we headed north back on the Ice Field Parkway toward Jasper.   It rained hard most of the way.   We had planned to stop at Athabasca glacier and take this Sno Coach ride up onto the glacier itself, but it was so cold and snowy/sleety that we just took a couple pictures and headed back to our warm car!    By the time we got to Jasper, the sun was out and it was near 60!   This is such a beautiful little town.   It has a very unhurried atmosphere.   Our lodging is very nice.   We got some groceries, had supper and then headed out for a stroll around the city.     As you can see in the picture below we saw our first "wild animal" right there on the main street!

Bye bye for now.   It's pretty nice up in  Canada, heh.

B and D

Beautiful Lake Louise and the Lake Agnes

Hello Again Everyone.

We awoke this morning (at 5:00 AM because we went to bed at 8:30) to the promise of sunshine.   Lo and behold, the sun appeared right on cue as we prepared to leave for Lake Louise!   We arrived at the lake by around 8:30, and it was like a sheet of glass.  The reflections were fantastic as you can see in the picture.   It was cool, in fact there was some light snow and ice overnight which covered some areas on the ground, but warmed quickly as we began our hike to the Teahouse at Lake Agnes.   It is about 2 miles up a fairly steep path though thick
pine forests.   Halfway up we stopped to take a picture of Lake Louise below us and a couple came by.   We just asked them if they would take our picture.   We chatted a few minutes and would you believe they were from Fennimore, Wisconsin!   We ended up hiking to the teahouse and back with them.   They were just about our age and we had lots in common.   The hike itself was pretty challenging for us, but surely worth it.   On the way we passed a place called Mirror Lake and it was surely that.   Again, the reflections of the surrounding mountains and trees were beautiful.      The Teahouse itself was charming and cozy.   Lake Agnes was lovely as you will see in the picture below. What a fantastic morning we had!   By the time we got back down to the village it had clouded up and actually rained much of the rest of the afternoon.   Guess our timing was perfect!   Tomorrow we will visit Lake O'Hara.   It is supposed to be spectacular.

Wish you were here!

Bob and Deb


               

Driving the Icefield Parkway

Greetings Everyone.

We arrived in Jasper yesterday right on time.   Got our luggage, picked up our rental car and were on the road toward Field, our destination for the night, before 2:00.   The raindrops had just begun to fall then and it got progressively worse, but we didn't let it stop us from enjoying the amazing scenery.   The mountains all around us were massive.   We saw so many glaciers that we lost count.  We made a couple stops along the way to take short hikes.   One was to a raging waterfall called Sunwapta Falls and the other was to a lovely little glacial lake called Peyto Lake.   It was something a fellow traveler on the train had recommended.  It was worth the walk and we even had some peeks of the sun while we were there!    This road follows right along the continental divide.   We were able to see the point at which the rivers began to flow the opposite way.   Pretty neat.  

We got to Field about 6:45.   Quaint little town and the Bugling Elk Guesthouse is wonderful.   Only problem was that there had been a storm come through this Yoho Valley and knocked power out in the whole town!   We walked around town while it was still light and then came back to candlelight.   We finally decided to just turn in.    Lucky for us the power did come back on during the night.    The connection is a little slow, so we are not sure if we can get a picture on this entry, but we will try.  

We were able to check and see that the Packers and Badgers both won yesterday and that the Brewers clinched the division title.   Sports life is good in Wisconsin these days!

Since we went to bed at 8:30 last night, we have been up since 5:00.   There are still raindrops on our windows, so we may be in store for another gloomy day.   But our plan is to do Lake Louise.   We were so hoping for sunshine since the last time we were there it was cloudy and rainy as well.   This time we plan to hike around the lake to the teahouse.  

We will check back in later today.  We are going to keep our eyes peeled for any bugling elk and also bears because Susan, the owner, said they had one across the street already this year!

Hugs to All,

B and D

Well, here we are in Winnipeg!   We had a very smooth and uneventful trip (until we got lost getting to the hotel!).  We would have made it here in less than 12 hours except it took us 30 minutes to get across the border.  No problems, just lots of people.  

We got checked in at the Comfort Inn and then headed to a nearby ATM for Canadain $ and the local McDonald's for our dose of salt and grease for the day.  

We are pretty pooped tonight since we have been up since 4:15, so it will be an early bedtime.   Our train leaves at 11:45 AM tomorrow, so we plan to leave the hotel at 10:00 to head downtown to Union Station. It is a lovely evening here in Winnipeg.   The sun just set and our fingers are crossed for a sunny and warm day tomorrow.  

Hope all is well back there in Wisconsin.

The Happy Travelers

Soon to be heading to Winnipeg

We are getting excited to start our journey to the Canadian Rockies and on to Vancouver.  We will be boarding the Canadian train at Winnipeg on Saturday September 24.  We hope you will be following along with us.  Below is a picture of Winnipeg.  Goodbye for now.

Bob and Deb