by Clay
Larroy
Regardless
of whether you are traveling to a nearby
location for the weekend or taking a week-long destination vacation, you are
always going to benefit from some tips and ideas on how to make the whole
process, more fun and less stressful. Take time each day to alleviate stress
while traveling or vacationing and you
will thank yourself for it when you get back home. With all the chaos, jet-lag,
partying and other excitement of travel comes a whole lot of stress on your
mind and body. By the time most vacations are over, another one is needed to
recover so taking a few minutes each day to rejuvenate will make it easier for
you to resume your normal life when it's all over. When you want to
plan a vacation contact me!
Things
to see and do in Alberta
Alpine
diving
Horseshoe Lake, Patricia
Lake and Lake Annette are three of the more popular alpine diving locations.
Divers should be experienced and employ the 'buddy' system as the water is cold
and often cloudy. The local Rangers Station supplies permits, maps and other
information.
Ancient fossils
You can study dinosaur
remains on the banks of the Red Deer River, on the 48km (30-mile) Dinosaur
Trail near Drumheller. Also near downtown Drumheller is the Royal Tyrrell
Museum of Palaeontology, with hands-on exhibitions and one of the world's
largest collections of dinosaur remains.
Banff Summer Arts Festival
Alberta's biggest showcase
of the arts (with dance, theatre, film, music and art) takes place over four
months annually, all amidst the stunning backdrop of the Rocky Mountains.
Calgary Stampede
Canada's biggest rodeo is
billed as the 'Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth'; it is held over 10 days in July
each year (www.calgarystampede.com) and attracts many competitors and spectators
with stage shows, parades, concerts, rodeo and agricultural exhibits.
Calgary
Tower
Calgary's most recognizable
feature, the 191m (626ft) Calgary Tower, offers panoramic views of the city,
local towns and the Rocky Mountains. Sky 360, the rotating restaurant at the
top, is a popular treat (www.sky360.ca).
Cowboy country
The heritage of ranching
is alive and well in the town of Cochrane, west of Calgary.
Country-and-western-themed shops pepper the downtown area and genuine cowboys
still live and work in the region.
Historic
site
You'll find Alberta's
oldest surviving structure, the historic log cabin of Father Lacombe, in the
town of St Albert, 30km (19 miles) northwest of downtown Edmonton. At one time
it was the center of a thriving French-speaking Métis settlement (people of
mixed native and European heritage).
Jasper National Park
Jasper National Park was
established in 1907 and is the largest of Canada's Rocky Mountains parks,
spanning 10,878 sq kilometres (4200 sq miles). The spectacular scenery is characterized
by glaciers, rugged mountains, forests and meadows carpeted with alpine
flowers. The park protects a range of fragile mountain ecosystems - elk, moose,
bear, bighorn sheep and mule deer are regular sights - and is home to the
threatened woodland caribou. Maligne Lake, 48km (30 miles) southeast of Jasper
is surrounded by snow-capped mountains and its crystal clear waters are popular
for boating and fishing.
Lovely
lakes
Alberta boasts
characteristic Canadian views: stunning lake scenery in Waterton Lakes National
Park, joined to Glacier National Park in Montana to form the Waterton-Glacier
International Peace Park; and Banff National Park in the heart of the Canadian
Rockies.
National parks
The great outdoors is the
main attraction in the southern part of the Rockies; Banff and Jasper national
parks are obvious starting points.
Native heritage
The name sounds horrific
but the prairie views are unparalleled at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, west of
Lethbridge. This cliff-top is an ancient jump site, used for 10,000 years to
drive buffalo to their deaths, thus providing native people with food, shelter
and clothing.
On
the slopes
Skiing, both cross-country
and downhill, is a major pastime in the Rockies in the winter. Snowboarding is
also very popular.
Scenic
drive
The Icefields Parkway
(Highway 93), running through Banff and Jasper national parks, affords
magnificent views of the lakes, forests and the glaciers of the Columbia
Icefield. It also provides access to wilderness trails in the area.
West Edmonton Mall
North America's largest
entertainment centre and mall, the West Edmonton Mall (www.wem.ca),
boasts theatres, restaurants, nightclubs, miniature golf course, ice rink,
swimming pool, water park and amusement park, skateboard park, aquariums and
bungee jump.
Winter sports
There are myriad ways to
enjoy the wonderful mountain scenery, including dog sledding (trekking along mountain
trails with teams of huskies under the supervision of experienced guides),
ski-joring (being pulled along on skis by teams of huskies), wildlife tracking,
snowmobiling and snowshoeing.
Wonderful wildlife
Elk Island National Park (www.pc.gc.ca/elkisland),
which traces its roots to 1906, is home to over 44 different kinds of animals
(including elk, moose, coyote and beaver), as well as massive herds of plains
bison.
Wood Buffalo National Park
Vast expanses of boreal
plains are yours to discover at Wood Buffalo National Park (www.pc.gc.ca/woodbuffalo)
(Canada's largest national park, bigger than Switzerland), granted World
Heritage status by UNESCO in 1983. It provides the perfect habitat for many
rare species of wildlife, including the world's largest free-roaming bison
herd.
REFERENCE SITES:
http://www.travelresearchonline.com/
”Canada has great natural resources, and its people have the spirit
and ability to develop them.”
-Charles E. Wilson
and ability to develop them.”
-Charles E. Wilson
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