3,127 Miles Later

I arrived in Vancouver today after grossly underestimating how long it would take to get to here from Banff. It wasn’t the distance so much as the roads and how fast you can go on a winding mountain highway. I also ended up pulling over to sleep for an hour in the middle of the day because I was so tired from driving. I’ve never had to do that before.

The Canadian Rockies are beautiful, especially Lake Louise. Trying to take photos when you are surrounded by mountains can be challenging because the sun is either blocked by the mountains, or shining right down on everything. I had to schedule my visits to a few places just to make sure I was there when there was quality light.

The license plates in British Columbia say it is the most beautiful place on Earth, and I don’t think I can argue with that assessment too much. The drive through the Fraser Valley is, in my opinion, one of the best drives you can take in North America.

In Alberta I was able to visit three more World Heritage Sites: Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Dinosaur Provincial Park, and the Canadian Rockies. This puts my total of World Heritage Sites visited since March 2007 at 98. Numbers 99 and 100 should be Olympic National Park in Washington and Redwood National Park in California.

From Vancouver I’ll be heading south by way of Victoria Island, then taking the ferry to Washington, head over to Seattle and then go south to Portland, Crater Lake, Redwood and San Francisco. I’ll then take a trip to Yosemite and probably drive to LA before arriving in Las Vegas for Blog World Expo. If you are in any of those cities, let me know if you’d like to meet up when I am in your town.

9 thoughts on “3,127 Miles Later”

  1. Hi Gary,
    I’ve got a place in Hermosa Beach for you to stay. Please let me know if when you are going to be in town, and I will reserve it for you. Can’t wait to meet you.
    Kelly M

  2. What a journey! Funny how things can look quite different on a map than how they appear in person. We have gone to many places in Colorado where it looks like a short distance to somewhere, but with all the winding roads around the Rockies, it takes much longer and is very tedious driving. Good thing that you pulled over and slept, though, than driving when you were too tired to be safe.

    Enjoy Vancouver! Departed from there for an Alaskan cruise a few years ago but didn’t really get time to explore it. From what I saw, it looked beautiful and like lots of fun. I really want to go back.

  3. Hi Gary, I really enjoy reading your blog! Lake Louise is one of my favorite places on earth. One my favorite things to do there is to hike to the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House. It’s about 10.6km (~6.5 mi) and should be on the “must do” list when you visit the area. Beautiful views of the Victoria Glacier and the lake below.

  4. Hey, I’ve been reading your blog for a while now, and I think it’s really cool that you’re in BC now. I think that when you said you were travelling through Victoria Island, you meant Vancouver Island, as Victoria is a city on Vancouver Island. This is where I live and I can recommend going to Beacon Hill park and taking some pictures there. There is also some great ice cream there, if the weather is good (which I’m thinking it will be). Have fun!

  5. I agree about Banff/Lake Louise, we were just there two weeks ago and canoed on Lake Louise. We stayed at Bow Lake about 45 minutes towards Jasper and it was even more beautiful than Lake Louise.
    It really is a beautiful drive!
    We lived in Vancouver for 3 years and to explore around there is gorgeous as well.

  6. ps

    yes it IS a long way from Banff to Van…. next Wed I head to Calgary, then up to Cold Lake. Long couple of days there.

  7. Lake Louise is definitely one of the most memorable landscapes I have ever visited, both times in non-frozen conditions.

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