Getting Around

'the greatest outdoor show on earth' features a real rodeo, a midway (amusement park), concerts, chuck wagon races and more. The city of Calgary is transformed for 10 days into town celebrating the cowboy culture. Each year, millions of visitors from around the world come to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to partake in the annual event, the Calgary Stampede and Exhibition.
source by rockymountainview.ab.ca

The Calgary Stampede is a wild west extravaganza - a historic celebration of farming life, of agriculture and of the rodeo. It features musical entertainment in the evenings, chuckwagon races, agriculture competitions, fair ground rides, a daily parade and the world’s largest outdoor rodeo competition.
The first Calgary Stampede took place in 1912 and drew large numbers of competitors and more than 100,000 spectators. Visitors to the modern, ten day annual July event usually total more than a million, and a further two million viewers tune in and watch the parade on television. Prize money for the six rodeo events has now topped $1.6 million dollars.
Locals and visitor are encouraged to ‘dress western’ for the duration of the Calgary Stampede and enjoy the range of traditional sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-seat style western entertainment.

Apart from guzzling down coca cola, here’s a few facts about the polar bear you might find interesting…

As we celebrate Canada Day and launch our new summer tours I have been fondly remembering my first trip to Canada, many, many years ago when I was lucky enough to spend a couple of months working in Banff, in the heart of the Rockies. It’s hard to describe the beauty of Canada; its spectacular scenery is on such an epic scale, and offers such contrast from the grand peaks and glaciers of the west and the endless lakes and forests of the east; the picturesque fishing villages of the Maritimes and the wild Arctic landscapes of the far north… The country is home to fascinating indigenous histories and the wildest of wildlife, as well as a surprisingly diverse range of modern cultures and vibrant cities.

There were countless highlights of my summer in the Rockies but the bright turquoise waters of Lake Louise remain a vivid memory to this day; setting foot on the Athabasca Glacier and climbing to the top of Mt Rundle were also incredible moments for me. Seeing elk wandering down the highstreet and even getting a glimpse of a bear one morning on my way out of town were heart-stopping – so much more exciting than the squirrels and foxes that frequent my own local neighbourhood!

A tour of Ontario and Quebec followed, where I searched in vain for moose and spent many happy hours canoeing through the still waters of Algonquin National Park, marvelled at the torrential Niagara Falls and practised my rusty French in Quebec City.

Much more recently I have just returned from a trip to Nova Scotia, a real gem of a province that offers a unique combination of picturesque charm and rugged scenery. I barely scratched the surface of the Maritimes, but I did finally get to see that elusive moose…. albeit in a wilderness reserve rather than out roaming in the wild. Ah well – there’s always next time…!
source by discover-the-world-blogs

when it was known as Thang Long, the city’s name changed several times before it eventually became Hanoi in 1831.

source by http://pennydelossantos.wordpress

Depending on whether you like cooler weather or warmer weather, there are a few diverse and affordable Canada vacation packages suited best for your needs. There are rocky mountain adventure packages, kayaking, hiking, and white water rafting packages that come as Canada vacation packages. There are Canada vacation packages to fill everyone’s needs. Planning a trip to Canada using a travel agency that have Canada vacation packages included would make planning your trip a lot easier. Getting Canada vacation packages will have multiple nights taken care of, activities and other services needed to provide you with a great vacation.

Whether you’re planning to go to Canada for your honeymoon, for your birthday party skiing trip,
or for a business trip requiring a conference room and warmer weather, there are Canada vacation packages to fulfill your needs. Call a few weeks in advance to your planned vacation time to get better prices on your Canada vacation packages. As with any vacation, calling and getting tickets and lists of scheduled activities way ahead of time makes for better decisions in choosing Canada vacation packages.
Choosing a travel agency to help you find the perfect Canada vacation package is a great idea.
These are trained professionals there to guide you through the likes and dislikes of everyone included in your Canada trip and hook you up with Canada vacation packages suited to all your family’s needs. The places to go in Canada are nearly limitless. Canada vacation packages that include sightseeing at Niagara Falls or having dinner inside a quaint restaurant in Nova Scotia. No matter what or where you want to go, there is are Canada vacation packages to fit.
Some agencies offer Canada vacation packages for no one but skiers. Some packages are for bike riders and some Canada vacation packages are for the laid back and just want-to-get-away type person. Whatever the personality to decipher, Canada vacation packages await you. Maybe it’s just a cabin in the woods you desire or motel room suite, the lodging in a Canada vacation package can be altered to fit your needs. Depending on the nature of your trip, Canada vacation packages can be customized to ensure that your Canada experience is a good one.
If ou are planning a trip to Canada, make sure you start planning your trip as early as you can possibly can. Don’t wait until the last minute because it will end up costing you much more far your Canada vacation packages. Another plus of planning earlier is it gives you time yo think and rethink what you want to ask for in an agency’s vacation packages. Many adventures await you in Canada . You can ski to your heart’s content or go sailing in Newfoundland. Exploration hiking and camping are great Canadian attractions. The Canadian wilderness is something to behold while camping there. That first deep breath of air in the morning will be all the convincing you’ll need!
source by http://www.discounttraveletickets.com

Canada's First National Park System

In the fall of 1883, three Canadian Pacific Railway construction workers stumbled across a cave containing hot springs on the eastern slopes of Alberta's Rocky Mountains. From that humble beginning was born Banff National Park, Canada's first national park and the world's third.
Spanning 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 square miles) of valleys, mountains, glaciers, forests, meadows and rivers, Banff National Park is one of the world's premier destination spots. Visitors can tour our historic sites, soak in hot springs, stroll along the shores of Lake Louise, spend a night in the historic Banff Springs Hotel, and drive the Icefields Parkway into adjoining Jasper National Park.
Banff National Park is a hiking wonderland, containing over 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) of trails, more than any other mountain park. Hikers can find anything from a one-hour jaunt up a mountain to a month long backcountry excursion into the lonely wild regions of the park.
Banff is home to a number of outstanding geological and ecological features. In addition to the hot springs, the Castleguard Caves in the remote northwest corner of the park are Canada's longest cave system. The park also contains Alberta's southernmost herd of the endangered woodland caribou.
The park is in the Rocky Mountain natural life zone, with terrain divided into three separate eco-regions: the montane, the sub-alpine and the alpine. Each eco-region is characterized by a different plant and animal regime, as well as a different climate and elevation.
The Trans-Canada Highway, the Banff-Radium Highway, the scenic Bow Valley Parkway and the awe-inspiring Icefields Parkway are all major travel routes that bisect the park, enhancing visitors' chances of seeing the abundant wildlife inhabiting the mountain regions. Lucky travellers may see elk, deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, moose, black bears, grizzly bears, wolves and a host of other large and small mammals.

Lake Louise


In 1882, guided by a Stoney Indian, Tom Wilson became the first white man to discover what native Indians called "Lake of Little Fishes". He named his discovery Emerald Lake, but it was later changed by the Geographic Board to Lake Louise in honour of Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria.

Lake Louise, with its blue-green water set against the stark backdrop of Victoria Glacier, is probably the most beloved and most photographed scene in the Canadian Rockies.

There are trails for walking, skiing and horseback riding. Interpretive displays, fine dining at local hotels, a heritage railway station, and a short drive to Moraine Lake awaits.

Icefields Parkway

The Icefields Parkway is a spectacular route that travels past unforgettable scenery through both Banff and Jasper National Parks. The parkway was named for the icefields that spread through the Rockies, and it is considered to be among the world's most scenic highways. Trailheads and wildlife, as well as many other sights abound including Bow Summit, Saskatchewan River Crossing, Lake Louise, Sunwapta Falls and Athabasca Falls.
source by members.virtualtourist.com

The key to finding a spot in one of the Banff Alberta hotels is simple: book far in advance! With up to 50,000 people passing through the Canadian Rocky National Parks a day, and with strict growth regulations in the parks, hotel rooms are a challenge to find. This is especially true during the summer, when many of the hotels in Banff have 80-90% of their rooms booked for pre-booked tours. Don’t even think about trying to find a room in one of the landmark hotels in Banff without a reservation well in advance.