Tag: #nationalparks

Yoho National Park, Upper Spiral Tunnel

On By mubeenazamIn Epic Solo Road Trip, October 2015, UncategorizedLeave a comment

(My solo road trip of western Canada – Saturday 3rd October)

The mastery of railway engineering is certainly seen here, its quite amazing what has been created.  The railway link that was created here was a massive undertaking and the transport links that have now benefited from such engineering I am sure are fully appreciative of this fantastic feat.  Remember, we are talking about the Canadian Rockies here, the range of mountains that demand respect and leave you in awe and wonder of them, the rugged terrain that surrounds this area is not to underestimated.

There were several options that were available before they created this, but apparently they went for this particular route because of its shorter distance to the Pacific Coast and because of its close proximity to the US border.

Obviously these tunnels did not just appear, and when they were created, they faced significant serious challenges, for example, there was one instance when a train derailed killing three workers.  In addition to this, if you take into account the fact that the engineering of the late 1800’s is not what we have today, relate that to the fact that the geography of this land is demanding to say the least, it really is an awesome job.

Today, between 25 and 30 trains pass through these tunnels daily.  I was lucky enough to see one these trains pass through with the time I had.  It was a pleasant experience.  You first hear the train approaching from a distance, but you can’t really make out exactly where from, then you catch the first glimpse which is great.  However, the highlight, is definitely when the train enters into one of the tunnels and then starts appearing through the lower tunnel, I had not seen anything like it before, the train carriages just keep coming, it was so long that the train was fully visual on the top and bottom level, coming in and out of the tunnels!  The photos that come after, are photos from another road on the way to Banff National Park.

As I left here and began my drive to Banff National Park, I passed by some roadworks, I am not sure exactly what they were doing, but watching them carve out huge chunks of rock from the side of the mountain…while I was on the same mountain, well, a bit disheartening let me tell you!

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/bc/yoho/natcul/spirale-spiral.aspx

Yoho National Park, Natural Bridge

On By mubeenazamIn Epic Solo Road Trip, October 2015, UncategorizedLeave a comment

(My solo road trip of western Canada – Friday 2nd October)

After the truly blissful wonders of Emerald Lake, along my way was something called ‘Natural Bridge’.  I so wanted to see this, the Kicking Horse River over time has simply carved its beautiful artistry out of this ancient rock, and what I saw was incredible, what has been created is something very special.  The astonishing thing is, these various formations we see now are constantly changing as a result of the waters brute force.  There will come a time when these formations will no longer be here as they will transition and manifest into other formations, eventually, the bridge will no longer be able to withstand the power of nature that allows it to display itself now.

There are so many different vantage points to see this amazing formation from, every angle leaves you in total admiration and respect of the power of water and what it can do, no matter what comes before it, no matter what lies before it, it will have to submit to the continuous, gentle caressing yet powerful demands of the water.  There are times you cannot believe what you are seeing, the corrosive force of the water is as if a sculpture has deliberately been moulded and the landscape is the artists pride and joy as onlookers behold its splendid beauty.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Natural Bridge is that it was formerly a waterfall!  I have added photos of information that were present at the site to give a better understanding of what is going on.

http://www.field.ca/yohonationalpark/naturalbridge/


  
  
  


  
  


  
  
  

  
  
  
  

Yoho National Park, Emerald Lake

On By mubeenazamIn October 2015, UncategorizedLeave a comment

(My solo road trip of western Canada – Friday 2nd October)

I honestly did not believe my day could be ending like this, I was physically tired from the sitting and driving, I was mentally tired from the concentration and focus that was needed on the road, and I was emotionally tired as a result of all the amazing sights I had experienced during this day…then I saw a sign that said ‘Emerald Lake’…

OK, so this was on my agenda anyway, I was due to visit this place, it was supposed to be something special, but, on my itinerary, this was supposed to be happening tomorrow.  However, here I was, coming off the main road and journeying to another lake, I suppose it was just going to be another lake, I mean I had already seen some out of this world lakes, right…wrong…

This place was so beautiful and I just wished I had more time to enjoy the stupendous surroundings.  It just seemed to be the most perfect time to be there.  The weather was calm, the wind was light, the water was beautifully balanced and still, the reflections were picture perfect as you may agree.  In addition to this, the colour of the water was spectacular, none of the other lakes I had visited so far displayed this particular glorious turquoise colour, it really was very, very beautiful, wow, wow and wow again!

http://www.everytrail.com/guide/canadas-emerald-lake-yoho-national-park

https://www.crmr.com/emerald/


  
  
  


  
  
  


  

Jasper National Park: Downtown Jasper

On By mubeenazamIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

(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

On By mubeenazamIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

(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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