3 more weeks till school!!

Yay!! But the downside is that I have to start waking uo at 7am again.

Early August, we took a coach trip to the Canadian Rockies. On paper, it sounded wonderful. 4 days 3 nights. From Vancouver to Kamloops, Banff, Jasper to Calgary to Kelowna and back.  In reality, it is one tiring journey. We decided to take this tour because (1) 2 other families we know were going (2) we didn’t want to drive because my kids especially our daughter always whine when she’s gonna get there and how bored she is every 5 mins. That drives us nutty even when we only drive to Maple Ridge. (3) we took the discounted package (less meals)

Sitting on a “luxurious” coach has its advantages. We are seated high up and the AC’s great. The down side to it are you can’t really photograph the scenery as reflections appear on the windows and too much information on minor stuff but still I learned a lot about the Fraser River and the mountains and how important everything is. Rightly so. And secondly, the driving takes about 2 hours from anywhere to somewhere.

Here’s a map of our route.

Day 1:  Kamloops for lunch at Tim Horton’s.  Earlier we went to a ginseng factory. We weren’t that interested in the process. My mother-in-law requested me to buy 2lbs of cut ginseng for her but the price was exorbitant! Then off we went to Spahats Falls.  It’s a bit impressive to me – the sheer height of the ridge. My daughter will tell you that there were too many mosquitoes chasing after her. It was a surprise to see someone you know from the city visiting the same Falls.

Then it’s another 2 hours to Valemount for the night.  The next morning, we had to be at the bus by 7:15am. We drove a short way to Mt Robson Visitors Centre. The early morning cloud was shrouding the top of Mt Robson but it was a beautiful morning. (pic below: Mt Robson on the right)

Then, we drove again to Athabasca Falls. I am more impressive with his fall because the water was like thundering down crazily from a very lazy river.  I guess like macho waterfalls.

Atabascha Glacier is next. The last time, I was there in 2001 it was November and bloody cold. Now, in summer it’s pretty warm. What hasn’t changed is how bloody touristy it is over there and the food is still as expensive as ever.  Nevertheless, as much I like to groan about it, I like sitting on that snowmobile and being on top of that glacier.

Top Pic: Panorama of Atabascha Glacier.

Left: Going up the glacier.

Below: My kids on the snow mobile.

To be continued.