Hello From The Canadian Rockies Skiing In Lake Louise

•Hello From The Canadian Rockies Our First Excursion To Calgary Banff And Lake Louise
My husband and I try to go skiing for a week at least once a year and so far we've been to about 15 different ski resorts on the east coast, anywhere from Ontario to Quebec, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. But we had never been out west in the Rockies. Well, it was time to change that..... So we planned a trip to the Canadian Rockies, and for both of us it was the first time for us to see this majestic mountain range. Just after we landed on March 4, 2006 we started off with a whirlwind...

•Hello From Banff Arrival In Banff And Skiing At Norquay
On Sunday, after our high-intensity day in Calgary and after stocking up on groceries in the Mount Royal Area,, we left the city to head towards the Rocky Mountains. It was an interesting drive on Highway 1, the Transcanada Highway, heading towards the mountains. There were some interesing looking clouds on the horizon that kept us entertained on the drive and it didn't take us any more than about an hour and 15 mintues to get to Banff. We checked in at the Banff Rocky Mountain condominium...

•Hello From Banff High Altitude Skiing At Sunshine Village
We planned on an afternoon of skiing at Sunshine Village, one of the largest ski resorts in Canada. It is located just 15 minutes from Banff, going west on the TransCanada Highway. Sunshine Village is a pretty historic place and as a ski resort it dates all the way back to 1936. With over 3,300 acres of skiable terrain Sunshine Village is one of the largest ski resorts in Canada. The top elevation is 8,954 feet (2730 m) and the base elevation is 3,514 feet (1070 m). It receives a huge amount...

•Hello From The Kawarthas Early Fall Colours Scarecrows Frogmen
Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons in Ontario when forests light up in hues of yellow, orange and red. It's the perfect time for drives in the countryside, to visit small villages, check out farmer's markets, attend country fairs. We've had a long hot summer this year, even as I write this we are expecting temperatures 10 degrees Celsius above average. As a result the fall colour season is a little delayed, but that did not change the fact that it was time for a country driving tour....

•Hello From Banff Taking The Gondola Up To Sulphur Mountain And A Last Walk Through The Village
Our skiing had come to an end and I allocated the last full day in Banff to explore some more local attractions while my husband headed into Calgary to do some shopping. We got going at about 11:30 am and Nigel dropped me off at the foot of the Banff Gondola. This historic attraction has been around since 1959 and the gondola was just recently reconstructed and reopened in 1998 and features a state-of-the-art gondola system engineered by a Swiss gondola construction company. On the parking...

•Hello From The Canadian Rockies Part 26 A Final Walk Through Calgary
Our last couple of hours before our departure had arrived. We had left Banff at about 9:30 am and got into Calgary just shortly before 11, parked our car just east of downtown and set off on foot on our final walk to explore a bit more of downtown Calgary. The first place we passed by was Calgary City Hall, a classic sandstone building, located right opposite the Olympic Plaza. Originally constructed for the medal ceremonies for the 1988 Olympics, Olympic Plaza has become a centre of...

•Hello From Toronto Part 1 A First Little Driving Tour The City Viewed Through The Eyes Of First Time Visitors
So my brother is in town, together with his wife and 2 friends from my little home town in Austria. It is everybody's first time in North America and their initiation to Toronto. Just to give you ideas of dimensions: Austria has a population of about 9 million and the country extends about 900 km from east to west while the Greater Toronto area nowadays probably has about 4 to 5 million people and Lake Ontario alone is over 300 km long. The first thing my visitors noticed was the difference in...

•Hello From Orlando Part 7 Yeeehaaw Our High speed Adventure At Boggy Creek Airboat Tours
After my rather quaint and leisurely scenic boat ride through Winter Park, a rather different boating experience was in store for me: a high speed airboat ride through Lake Tohopekaliga, provided by Boggy Creek Airboat Rides. We got started early in the morning and took the first tour out. The temperature must have been about 45 degrees Fahrenheit or so, and in wise anticpation we both wore our Canadian winter jackets. Good thing, because it gets pretty darn cold zooming along at high speed...

•quot Hello From Orlando Part 5 The Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour quot
The Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour, founded in 1938 and located just 15 minutes north of downtown Orlando, is one of these lovely side trips that combine beautiful scenery, a bit of local history, some close-up exposure to local wildlife and vegetation with a relaxing outing in a slow-moving 18-passenger pontoon boat, all complete with expert (and sometimes humorous) narration provided by the boat's captain. The tour takes you through 3 lakes: Lake Osceola, Lage Virginia and Lake Maitland. On...

•Exploring Ontario In The Winter Hello From Barrie
Our winter getaway over the last two days was supposed to include a couple of different activities: snow-tubing and outdoor skating. Well, our outdoor skating fell through, due to the extraordinarily warm conditions, however, we had a beautiful day yesterday on Kempenfelt Bay in Barrie, where we enjoyed some great outdoor time on frozen Lake Simcoe. Today, after our delicious filling breakfast at Nicholyn Farms Bed and Breakfast, we headed off for another adventure: snowtubing at Horseshoe...