John and his wife Frances recently returned home from a two week Western Canada Vacation; their journey began with some time in Vancouver before heading to Jasper onboard Rocky Mountaineer. After a couple nights & sightseeing in Jasper they headed down the Icefields Parkway with a stop at the Columbia Icefields. A night in Banff with a trip up the Banff Gondola and it was off to Lake Louise before hoping on the Brewster Mountain Quest back to Vancouver to spend a few days in Victoria before heading home.
"Our trip included the Jasper- Banff - Lake Louise - Lac Le Jeune -Vancouver (Mountain Quest) itinerary including organized trips using Brewster’s. We had a really enjoyable holiday which was particularly helped by smooth transfers, comfortable hotels and in particular friendly and knowledgeable drivers. Both Jim in Jasper and Jay in Lake Louise were brilliant. Please pass on our compliments and best wishes to them. We would love to come to Canada again and will look to Brewster’s as an excellent company to travel with. Best wishes to all and good luck for the future.'
The World Famous Calgary Stampede got under way July 9-18th, 2010 in Calgary, Alberta Canada. I was ready for non-stop action, so I started things off at the Calgary Stampede Rodeo - rodeo's richest, roughest ride - riders attend by invitation only so these are the world’s best rodeo athletes and are some of the toughest in the world. The Rodeo highlights 6 major events; Bareback, Bull Riding, Barrel Racing, Saddle Bronc, Steer Wrestling, and Tie-Down Roping. I enjoyed watching the Novice & Junior events as well as wild pony races for the youngsters.
The GMC Rangeland Derby offers some of the fastest& quarter mile of racing found anywhere. As 9 heats of four wagons, 32 horses and 128 thundering hooves roar by the over 17,000 screaming fans, it's tough not to be on your feet cheering. Following the Chuckwagon races, the Grandstand Show 'World Party' gets under way featuring the very talented Young Canadians, Eva Availa, Tim Nutt (Comedian), Calgary Stampede Extreme Dream Team (Motocross) and the Toupe Barre Russe (acrobatic performers). Finally the day is capped off with a fantastic display from TransAlta’s ‘Light up the Night’ fireworks lighting up the night sky over the Calgary Stampede grounds.
We have a lot to celebrate this year and especially last week with birthdays for both Canada and Banff National Park, Canada's first and oldest national park. A few clouds didn’t scare anyone away from celebrating our country’s 143rd birthday and Banff was alive with visitors ready to kick off the long weekend. Canada day festivities were fantastic starting off with a pancake breakfast, live music, dancing, the Canada Day parade and finally, an amazing fireworks display. Parks Canada celebrated Banff's 125th birthday with one of many exciting events; Performance in the Park featuring Matthew Barber, Hawksley Workman & Spirit of the West. The Canadian Rockies provided the backdrop while visitors relaxed in beautiful Cascade Gardens listening to some great Canadian music. Visit Banff125.com for more birthday celebration events coming to Banff this summer.
