Tag: #life

Drive from Kamloops to Whistler BC (be prepared, totally mind blowing!) – part 1

On By mubeenazamIn September 2015, UncategorizedLeave a comment

(My solo road trip of western Canada – Sunday 27th September)

According to common opinion, the drive through the Canadian Rockies is one of the most amazingly scenic drives in the world, it is true, and I was still recovering from the spleandour and positive energy gained from such a fantastic drive so far during my road trip.  There are many beautiful things I saw along this drive from Kamloops to Whistler, I will show them in 2 different blogs, blew my mind, let me know if you agree?

The first photo shows my humble accommodation for the night in Kamloops where I arrived after sunset, the second photo shows  when I awoke in the morning,  the view is from outside the door that I was welcomed by, nice!  As I left Kamloops, I was greeted by two frozen lakes, at least that is what they looked like, very strange considering the surrounding landscape and the current weather, very beautiful nonetheless.

Kamloops is a city in south central British Columbia in Canada, located at the confluence of the two branches of the Thompson River near Kamloops Lake. It is ranked 37th on the list of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in Canada and represents the 44th largest census agglomeration nationwide, with 85,678 residents in 2011.

The Suede Hills were one my favourite things along this particular part of the road trip, it really is as if the hills have been covered with blankets of suede, really awesome sight and gave me a taste of how I was going to be blessed with some very different landscape along the way, quite different from the majestic and splendid Canadian Rockies.

I drove past Okanagan Lake which seemed massive and just looked as if it was going to go on forever, very lovely scenery, gorgeous mountains and the railway along the lake was really cool, not to mention the green and brown fields which I had to adapt my senses too after seeing so many snowy white and grey mountains in the Rockies.

The mountain drive was truly, truly spectacular, as you can see from the photos below, at times, I was literally driving along the edge of the mountain roads, and to be honest, at times it was quite scary as it would have only taken one mistake and it could have been bad, real bad!  If you have time, look carefully at some of the mountain passes and you may see what I mean when you identify some of the awesome, windy roads.  I am totally aware of this as there were a few times when I was quite close to a mistake and my heart was literally in my mouth with a huge dose of adrenaline whizzing through my mind, body, and soul (which I think left my temporal existence a few times!).  This was not because of my lack of focus, just simply because there were certain parts of the drive that were a bit tricky and needed a lot of caution.

There was also something very, very special about the sky on this day, the beautiful blue was dazzling, at times mesmerising and hard to believe.  I was told about the vineyards, they were amazing and it was quite refreshing to see, not because I drank any wine, but because I was now driving on a much lower, safer level!  Apologies if I have said this before, for example, when I was driving through the Icefields Parkway, but this is one of the most fantastic and buzzing drives I have ever, ever experienced…and there is more to come in part 2…

http://www.kamloops.ca/index.shtml

                  

  
  
  
  
  

The weather is changing…

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Just a short note to say that the weather is changing in Toronto, it’s getting much colder now!  Prevention is better than cure they say, so some things just have to be covered, especially the outdoor swimming pool, and other things have to be put away.  We have had a tiny bit of snow, not very much really, but I think we are just being teased, the cold is coming, oh yes it is!  

Also below are some photos from my parents in laws apartment, they live in a penthouse apartment on the 30th floor, the views are fanatastic, and on top of that, there is a gym and swimming pool we have access to.  The trees are all changing and there are fantastic colours on display at the moment, I suppose it’s  natures way of telling us the cold is coming!  In a couple of the photos you can see downtown Toronto and just about make out the famous CN tower (in the night shot  it is difficult to make it out) and Ontario river in the background in the daytime photos, beautiful scenery to adorn the windows in your apartment!

 

  
 

  
 

   
  

 
 

St Lawrence Market, Downtown Toronto

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This is a bit late, but we visited this market back in September, fantastic weather, awesome variety of food, beautiful architecture and not too far from downtown Toronto where I went to later on with Fatimah and Maryam, what joy!  Will hopefully be visiting some more markets during our stay, I believe Kensington Market is in the plans, at least that’s what the girls keep telling me!

St. Lawrence Market is one of two major public markets in Toronto, the other being Kensington Market. It was named the world’s best food market by National Geographic in April 2012

http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/

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British Colombia – River and Jeep Safari…Bears!

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(My solo road trip of western Canada – Saturday 26th September)

I find it difficult to explain how I was feeling driving from Mount Robson to my first ever river and jeep safari where there was a very high chance of seeing bears.  My mind was totally preoccupied, I was nervous, excited, anxious and very focussed on getting to my destination as soon as I could.  Blue River is on Yellow Head Highway Five, halfway between Jasper and Kamloops, as well as halfway between Mt. Robson and Wells Grey Park.

An absolutely fascinating fact is that I was driving towards the only inland temperate rainforest on the planet!!  If time allowed, there was up to 12kms of bear territory to explore.  When turning off the main highway to enter the entrance, you follow a dirt track which crosses over a railway line where I just happened to be at the right time and place to witness a very loud train crossing, you then pass over a small bridge where only one car can pass at a time.  When I arrived at the main building, like a child in a sweet shop, I decided to upgrade my tour from just a river safari to include the jeep safari too after I was told that there was over a 90% chance of seeing bears.  For me this was worth it as it was highly unlikely I would return to this place for a long time, and even if I did, there would be no guarantee of experiencing this with such beautiful weather and with the likelihood so high of seeing bears.

It turned out to be one of the greatest experiences of my life, without a doubt!  What I saw was much more than I expected…

We saw a large black male following a trail along the coast, popping in and out of the water as it sniffed its way along the trail.  It was quite a formidable sight to be honest.  It was very bothered by us as it was focussed on the trail it had found, not sure where it lead.

We then carried on our tour to a couple of different parts of the river but with no luck.  We then journeyed to another part of the river where we approached a large black female with three cubs (unfortunately I did not capture a photo of all three cubs together as one of them quickly climbed up a tree behind its mother, but in one of the photos, you can see the cub in the tree).  Our guide told us that this sight was quite rare.  The cubs were about nine months old and it was quite common that at least one of them would have died by now or the mother would have at least abandoned one of them.  It shows the resilience, love and care of an amazing mother.

Once the river safari was over, there was a short break before I commenced on the jeep safari.   Other than the river, there was a couple and one other guide.  I was given a choice as to where I would like to sit and I chose to stand at the back of the jeep and have a strap tied behind my back which was attached to the jeep railings. The jeep safari blessed me with the opportunity to see a young brown male, who at one point showed who was boss by standing high on its back legs, a beautiful sight. It seemed he could sense something we could not, it was going up and down the hill behind it, and then at one point crossed the road right behind me and very close to me!

Soon after, it became clear what was bothering the young brown male.  A huge black male came around the corner, totally and utterly awesome and exhilarating!!! A truly fantastic few hours of my life which I will cherish forever and not forget!

http://riversafari.com/

http://www.blueriverbc.ca/planning-your-trip/about-blue-river


  


  


  




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British Colombia – Mount Robson

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(My solo road trip of western Canada – Saturday 26th September)

It was time to leave Jasper and head towards my next destination, Kamloops (over 4 hours away), I would be entering British Colombia, which I will tell you know, I have fallen in love with, breath taking landscape and nature.  Along my way I was to pass by the most prominent mountain in the Rocky Mountain range in North America, Mount Robson, it also happens to be the highest point in the Canadian Rockies at 3,954m (12,972ft) wow!  Along this route, it is apparently the most photographed feature and it is the second highest peak in the whole of British Colombia.

I was happy to have been able to visit and see this place as it closes in mid October.  The mountain is ridiculously huge, so huge in fact that you have to be quite fortunate to see it in all it’s glory and majesty…I was not fortunate as the weather was a little overcast and the clouds were veiling its beauty.  However, I saw some sun sneaking through the clouds and decided to be patient and wait.  I waited an hour and the wind picked up and some clouds gave way to offer a glimpse of this truly gorgeous mountain, you can see through the photos how it became slightly visible just after an hour.  There are two photos I took from within the information centre as it shows it in all it’s splendour.  The last photo is just a real cool trailer, maybe one day?

I found out at the information centre that along my way to Kamloops was a bear safari in a place called Blue River and the chance of seeing bears today was over 85%!  This was not part of the plan but I decided to buy the tickets and take this opportunity to see bears…it was bit of a risk as I did not want to drive on any mountain ranges towards Kamloops after sunset, not sure if I was going to be let down, I suppose we will wait and see…

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/mt_robson/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Robson

  

    


  


  


  
  
  

Jasper National Park: Downtown Jasper

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(My solo road trip of western Canada – Friday 25th September)

Jasper downtown was nice but did not have the character I loved in Banff, much more happening and much more vibrant.  However, there was a different type of character in Jasper, more rugged, more rural, more isolated, more connected with nature.

This is true as far as the wildlife is concerned.  In the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, it is no wonder you will find elk, caribou, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, grizzly bears, black bears, coyotes, beavers, Rocky Mountain pikas, hoary marmots, grey wolves, mountain lions, and wolverines!!!  I know I had already seen Elks, but to see some fighting got my adrenaline going, the sound which I could not capture  (as I did not have enough time when I sawe them) was a bit scary but truly wonderful!

My favourite part of  Jasper downtown without a doubt were the trees, they were so amazing, different colour trees side by side on a day where the weather was wet, miserable and overcast made the trees splendour stand out more…

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/jasper/visit/info-jasper.aspx

  
  
  
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Jasper National Park: Spectacular Maligne Canyon

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(My solo road trip of western Canada – Friday 25th September)

Oh my word, what a stunning place this was, the trip continues to amaze my senses in so many ways and this was no exception, the way it is likely to have been created over time by the melt water is incredible, I mean this dates back to the Ice Age!!  If you have time to read the information posters I took photos of below, you will surely appreciate how fantastic this place is.

It is always exciting to visit a place that is a Heritage site, something that has been deemed so amazing and special that it is protected.  There were six bridges to explore which took you beauty to beauty.  I wasn’t actually planning to spend very long here, the day was already getting tiring, but I ended up doing the longer walk as I was awe inspired by every aspect of this place, as soon as I visited one area, I longed to moved to the next to see what lay in store for me, and every time, I had no words to explain what I was seeing, remember, this is natures art work where you could say the tree trunks are the paint brushes and the water is the paint!

One of my favourite aspects of this canyon were the log jams which you can see in a couple of the photos below, it is so cool that they are submerged under water when the water level rises so cannot be seen, and when the water level drops, the log jams are revealed once again!

After this spectacular place, I drove back towards Jasper downtown where I was staying the night.  I saw more Elks on a a small hill, there were quite a few of them and lots of people stopped on the roadside to take photos, some people with humongous camouflaged lenses!  There was a ranger in his jeep carefully watching the Elks and the public, who after a short while came out with a gun, he basically went up the hill and started shooting in the direction of the Elks which sure enough scared them away.  This really upset so many people who had stopped to see the Elks and take photos and videos of them, apparently he did this to scare them away from the road side and keep the public safe.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/jasper/activ/explore-interets/canyon-Maligne.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maligne_Canyon

http://hikejasper.com/Hiking-Maligne-Canyon-in-Jasper.html


  
  
  
  



  
  


  
  



  
  


  
  


  


  


  

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Jasper National Park: Maligne Lake

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(My solo road trip of western Canada – Friday 25th September)

Although the sun was not out and it was quite overcast, the magnificence of Maligne Lake was quite obvious, a lovely water colour nonetheless, stunning peaks surounding it, low set clouds, there was still some reflections and a lovely setting with the chalet and boat house nearby.  One of the first things I was greeted with was the warning sign about Moose, I would have liked to have seen some, but today was not going to be that day…maybe next time?

I went for a short walk which was pleasant, I was glad I came but it left me wandering how stunning this place would have been if the weather was clearer and if the sun had blessed us with it’s presence, some of the links provided below show this…if the conditions were better, I would have definitely gone on one of the many hikes that are advised around and beyond this lovely lake.

http://www.malignelake.com/

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/jasper/activ/explore-interets/lac-maligne.aspx

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maligne_Lake


  


  


  


  

Jasper National Park: Drive to Maligne Lake…wow!

On By mubeenazamIn Uncategorized3 Comments

(My solo road trip of western Canada – Friday 25th September)

Never expected to see so many Elks, I suppose the timing was right and I was in the right place, a really good continuation of the day.  I got quite close too which made it more interesting, I have to say the heart was beating a bit.  When I was visiting the Athabasca Glacier, I saw a video of Elks charging at cars and causing some serious damage, I was wise to keep sensible distance and I was always ready to run just in case!

The drive was truly awesome, I had no idea what lay ahead of me and as I said before, the weather really made it for me.  The mountain drive kept me alert, and the view was just spectacular.  The road, the autumnal trees and some of the rocks on the edge of the roads were very nice.  As you can see from these photos, the most fantastic part of this drive was the forest that had been totally obliterated as a result of a devastating forest fire.  I can tell you that this experience was like no other I have had, the smell from the destroyed trees was amazing, like a huge BBQ that has just been put out during camping.  I was left with black marks on my hands and clothes as I brushed through the trees into the forest, it was actually quite sad, I don’t know if you can tell through the photos, but the forest was huge, it just left me imagining what the forest must have gone through as the fire relentlessly ripped through each square km of this land…From all the beauty I saw throughout my trip, there was something very, very special about this devastated forest, the smell, the colours, the story…wow!


  




  


  
  


  
  


  
  
  

Jasper National Park: Lake Edith and Lake Annette

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(My solo road trip of western Canada – Friday 25th September)

I got up this morning and the last thing on my mind was the weather, it has been so beautiful so far that I did not think of checking the weather.  Anyway, I got up this morning and it was pouring down, it was miserable and cold…I was not happy!

I decided not to waste any time and start exploring, I ended up visiting a few lakes, a canyon and finished off with time around Downtonwn Jasper, it was also a very good day for seeing Elks…during rutting season!

I heard about Maligne Lake and Maligne Canyon but passed by a couple of other lakes on the way.  The beauty of these places I am visiting is they highlight different beauty no matter what the weather, these lakes were very nice, but some of the other stuff coming up truly took my breath away because the weather was so different from what I has experienced so far, the fact that the clouds were so low created quite a spooky atmosphere…

https://www.theswimguide.org/beach/366

http://www.todocanada.ca/city/jasper/listing/lake-annette-lake-edith/