Saturday, September 01, 2007

Lofty mountain granduer

The words from this hymn kept coming back to us as we travelled through the Rockies...


Angel Glacier, Jasper National Park
The glacier tumbles down from Mount Edith Cavell, and looks very like an angel with arms outstretched...


Lake Agnes, Banff National Park
This is about an hour and half's walk above Lake Louise
There's a lovely tea shop next to the lake - a just reward after the walk uphill!


A glacier tumbles down from the Columbia Icefield
The Columbia Icefield is one of the largest masses of ice outside the polar regions, and is the source of water for three oceans - the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific!


Castle Mountain, Banff National Park


The top of Whistler Mountain in Jasper National Park
Elevation: 8,100 ft (we took the gondola rather than climbing!)
The Athabasca River is in the background, with the Queen Elizabeth range of mountains behind.


View from the top of Sulpher Mountain, Banff National Park
Elevation: 7,400 ft (again - there's a gondola!)
The views from here are incredible - mountains for 360 degrees!


Peyto Lake, Banff National Park
The water in many of these lakes is vivid green / blue because they are fed by glaciers. The glaciers crush the rock underneath them, making a very fine rock flour which is deposited in the lakes, and stays in suspension - absorbing all the light except green / blue.


Spirit Island and Maligne Lake, Jasper National Park
This is one of the best views in the Canadian Rockies...


Lake beneath Mount Edith Cavell, Jasper National Park
Just look at the colour of the water!

Wildlife in the aquarium

These are some of the animals in the Vancouver aquarium - well worth the visit if you ever find yourself there...


Jellyfish
These are spectacular... Luckily we didn't stand on any at the beach!


Sea Otters
These are the cutest things - they lie on their backs all day floating around, washing themselves... and holding hands so they don't lose each other. There is a fantastic video of them on youtube (not mine, I'm afraid) - have a look...


Beluga whale
This is an amazing creature - with advanced sonar to find its way, and loads of blubber to keep warm. It also has a smile on its face too!

Canadian wildlife


Bald eagle
These are everywhere - there were a pair nesting in the garden of one of our B&Bs - they have a white head and bright yellow beak.


Big horn sheep
This was one of about 12 which decided to cross the road in front of us in Banff.


Black bear
We went bear watching in Tofino and saw 10 - they come down to the shore at low tide, turning over the rocks to look for crabs. We saw a couple more beside the road on our travels too.


Ground squirrel
They look a lot like chipmunks, but apparently aren't related at all. They were everywhere we went and are particularly tame - it must be the Japanese tourists feeding them muffins!


Hump back whale
We went whale watching from Victoria, and watched this humpy for an hour or so.

Race Rocks and lighthouse


Perhaps my favourite photo of them all...
This is Race Rocks, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. We went through here on our boat while looking for whales... There is an urban myth that the stone for the lighthouse was quarried in Scotland and shipped over... the internet is full of claims and counterclaims over where the stone came from - but there isn't a shortage of rock in Canada, so it seems a little strange to have brought it from Scotland!

More fantastic views from Canada


Long Beach, Pacific Rim National Park
Vancouver Island, BC


Early morning looking for bears on Clayoquat Sound, Tofino
Vancouver Island, BC

Athabasca Falls