Phase 4 #motherofallroadtrips: Western Canada

British Columbia & Alberta

16^th September to 28^th November

Phase four continues our #motherofallroadtrips.

In phase one we toured Eastern Canada for over one month. Phase two saw us spend a little under one month in the Midwest USA. And for phase three we made our way from Oregon to Vancouver, Canada. Phase four was our discovery of Western Canada with a quick side trip to Alaska. 

Bow Lake in Alberta

Phase #4 – Western Canada & Alaska

A reader of our blog mentioned that her apartment building had a guest suite we may like to rent. Funnily enough it was available and a superb location for exploring Vancouver.

During our stay we went whale watching, took a seaplane to Victoria and met several blogging friends that we had been in touch with online for years.

It was during this time we received a last-minute invite to join the final cruise of the season to Alaska with Holland America. So we cut our time short in Vancouver to be whisked, I mean sailed, away to Alaska for one week. 

False Creek in Vancouver

7 nights on board the Noordam had to be the most scenic cruise we had ever taken. 

We stayed in a Verandah suite and while the weather was certainly chilly sitting outside, it was lovely to have the curtains open, admiring the spectacular beauty of glaciers and mountains gliding by every morning.

During our cruise we spent a remarkable day in Juneau, we took a helicopter tour to a glacier in Skagway, and we also went shopping in Ketchikan. One of the favourite moments had to be sailing through Glacier Bay where we spent 1 hour watching glaciers and witnessed the cracking and crashing of glacial ice as it slid into the beautiful frigid ocean. 

Once we disembarked the ship we collected our car, which had been in good hands with our friends, the Traveling Canucks, and headed straight to Kelowna, BC. 

We had a hefty number of articles to write after the beauty of the Pacific Northwest and the wonders of Alaska. So this housesit came at the perfect time. The location was convenient and happened to be nearby friends that we met back in 2013 – The Barefoot Nomad. The housesit also came with two very shy, but beautiful cats. 

Lake Okanagan

After our housesit in Kelowna we decided to spend 2 weeks discovering the neighbouring province of Alberta.

You can read a detailed road trip post here.

First stop was Jasper. We walked on a glass-bottom bridge 800 feet above a steep gorge, walked on a disappearing glacier, flew in a skytram up to Whistler’s Mountain and discovered the boundless natural beauty of Icefields Parkway.

Jasper

Athabasca Falls along Icefields Parkway

Edmonton provided a refreshing stop for a little retail therapy at North America’s largest shopping mall – West Edmonton Mall. A fun stop for the kids. 

A full-sized ship inside West Edmonton Mall

After Edmonton it was time to see Canada’s home of dinosaurs.  A mere 3 hours south from Edmonton you will find the world’s only museum dedicated exclusively to palaeontology – Royal Tyrrell Museum.

A road trip in Alberta is not complete without a visit to Calgary. Calgary is a bustling city with a unique character. And the Sheraton was a fabulous family-friendly place to stay. The hotel’s waterslides garnered a hearty thumbs-up of approval from our kids.

Finally the moment we had been waiting for. Banff was all I hoped it would be and the perfect place to spend time unwinding in a hot tub while the frigid cold air swirled around. We explored all corners of Banff from caves to mountains to lakes. And remember to watch out for bears!

Our chalet in Hidden Ridge Resort

One night in Lake Louise was enough for me. My recommendation is do a day trip here and stay overnight in Banff. But do make sure you visit; the beauty of the south end of the Icefields Parkway is unbelievable. 

View of Peyto Lake from Bow Summit

Lake Louise

After our 2-week road trip around Alberta, we returned to Kelowna, BC. This place had really grown on us and we were ready to spend another month chilling out and enjoying it’s slower pace, and writing some more. Oh, and we squeezed in a couple visits to the ski resort Big White.

Big White

Phase 4 is finished! Are you ready to see what phase 5 of our #motherofallroadtrips will bring? It’s a big one… from Kelowna, BC all the way to the bright lights of New York City – in just 3 weeks! Let’s go!