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.