EXPLORE THE CANADIAN ROCKIES!Including the Dinosaurs at Drumheller & the “Canadian” ViaRail Train Jasper to Vancouver!
September 13-20, 2010

We invite you to join Canadian Rockies naturalist Anne Williams as we discover the dramatic mountains and glacial landscapes of the Canadian Rockies. Our adventure will include an opportunity to learn about prehistoric environments of western Canada. Our expedition leader possesses a wealth of knowledge about the area, and will make every outing special.

Our adventure will begin with flights to Calgary, Alberta where we will have our welcome and trip orientation. The next day, we’ll have a short drive through the prairies to the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller. Here we can explore the dawn of life on earth to the last Ice Age, and learn about the great dinosaur finds and prehistory of the area.

We’ll then head west to Banff National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a resort town nestled in the valley of the Bow River, encircled by spectacular mountains of the Canadian Rockies. Banff contains a variety of museums, hot springs, and other attractions. We will ride to the “top of the world” on the Sulphur Mountain Gondola Lift and take the Banff Skywalk to the Cosmic Ray Station National Historic Site. The historical stories and early explorers are as intriguing as the views! We’ll enjoy dinner in the panoramic summit restaurant with spectacular views of Banff, the Bow Valley, and the Rocky Mountains. The iconic landscape at Lake Louise will draw photographers, where turquoise waters sparkle beneath towering Victoria Glacier.

We’ll then head north, past spectacular hanging glacial valleys, on the Ice fields Parkway to the Athabasca Glacier. Named for the Ice fields lining the Continental Divide to the west, the Ice fields Parkway is one of the most beautiful roads in the world. We’ll see deep turquoise alpine lakes on our way to the Athabasca Glacier, which flows from the Columbia Ice field towards the highway. Eight glaciers descend from the Columbia Ice field, which covers 325 square km. The Ice field creates a“hydrological apex”(its meltwater streams pour into the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans). We will get right up on the Athabasca Glacier on the Columbia Ice field Glacier Tour.

We will continue north up the Ice fields Parkway to Jasper National Park, Canada’s largest Rocky Mountain park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here we will explore the spectacular, narrow Maligne Canyon, whose sheer limestone walls drop 165 feet to the Maligne River. Stream-cut valleys are rare in this land which glaciers left only recently. Maligne Canyon offers a unique opportunity to observe this stage in the shaping of the Rocky Mountains. We will walk downstream to the lowland where the river emerges to flow freely. We will also explore a braided stream valley in search of bighorn sheep which come down from the peaks to lick the mineral-rich glacial silt near the road.

Our adventure will continue as we depart Jasper on Canada’s Via Rail “Canadian” train on the day time journey to Kamloops, British Columbia, which continues overnight to Vancouver in comfortable two-person compartments with private toilet and sink (share shower), with dinner and breakfast included. We will depart Jasper in early afternoon, and travel through scenic evergreen forests, with vistas of jagged peaks, pristine ice fields, and possibly grazing moose and elk or eagles soaring overhead. You will arrive in Vancouver at 9:42 am on September 20th for the end of your expedition.

Optional post-tour hotels can be arranged in Vancouver.

Brochure (Requires an Adobe pdf reader to view)