Origin: Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada MAP
OF TOUR
Day 1 Arrive Edmonton, the most dynamic
city in Alberta. We greet your at Edmonton International Airport
and transfer to your hotel. Depending on arrival times we include
a downtown city tour including one of the most impressive City Halls
in any city, Winpsear Center and the Alberta Parliament Buildings.
From here, and time permitting, we head across the North Saskatchewan
River to Whyte Avenue where we stop into one of the many pubs or
restaurants. Overnight West Edmonton Mall Hotel (Fantasyland
Hotel) or the majestic Hotel MacDonald
downtown. Day 2 We have
the full day to visit spectacular "WEST
EDMONTON MALL". We are dazzled by the 800 stores, theaters,
night clubs and restaurants in the World's largest shopping mall.
The multi-acre water park is fun, there is an NHL size hockey
arena, submarine rides and dolphin shows. For those who prefer,
we can introduce you to life on the prairies in the largest "Olden
Days" park of its kind in Canada. FORT
EDMONTON PARK is a great step back in time to the days of
fur trading and outposts of the Hudson's Bay trading company.
You can even step into the modern day Hudson's Bay store (a large
department store) which is the oldest corporation in North America!
Enjoy our dinner theater this evening!!
Day 3 Depart Edmonton for JASPER
NATIONAL PARK, Alberta on VIA RAIL
TRAIN in the early afternoon. Roll across the great Canadian
prairies into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Overnight
in the first of our world heritage centers. Jasper,
Banff, Kootenay and Yoho Parks together
make up a Unesco World Heritage sight. Your dinner this evening
in JASPER TOWNSITE is at the
L and W restaurant includes great dining, wine, coffee and dessert.
Overnight at the fabulous Jasper Park
Lodge, nestled directly between 2 lakes.
Day 4 A highlight of the trip
is hiking and exploring the trails that have made Jasper world
famous. We tour MALIGNE LAKE, one
of the jewels of the Rocky mountains. Later we hike Pyramid
Lake and we can arrange bicycling and hiking through the nature
trails in the area. See hidden lakes and wildlife while riding
through primary forest. We’ll also see the lake where top-secret
experiments were carried out in WWII. The allies need a way to
safely get men and equipment across the Atlantic Ocean and an
ingenious idea was hatched and tested in a lake right here. We’ll
soak in the hottest hotsprings (53 degrees C) in Canada at MIETTE,
in the Fiddle Valley. There is no better way to "get in touch"
with Alberta. Of course there is time for souvenir shopping this
evening. What a great day! Overnight Jasper Park Lodge.
Day 5 Depart south on the ICEFIELDS
PARKWAY. Stare in awe at the rush of water at Athabasca Falls.
We ride a sno-coach onto the COLUMBIA
ICEFIELD, the largest ice-cap south of the Arctic Circle (Sno-Coaches
available May through early November). What river (s) and oceans
does this massive ice cube feed? How far does this water flow?
What affect does the nearby continental divide play in the path
this water will follow to the ocean? We’ll learn that the
great glacier is receding 16 feet per year and is as tall as a
hundred story building. Continue south to BANFF
NATIONAL PARK, Alberta. We pass Peyto
Lake and Bow Lake. World famous
LAKE LOUISE shines with an incredible
aquamarine blue found only in the Canadian Rockies. Learn about
rock flour and the cause of this amazing phenomenon. Continue
down the Bow Valley Parkway before we overnight in a first class
hotel in Banff. The BANFF SPRINGS
HOTEL never fails to impress!
Day 6 Those traveling in April
and early May can choose to ski for a day at Sunshine Ski resort.
Depart to the southeast to visit our next UNESCO world heritage
sight "Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump" near Fort Macleod..
See the spot where thundering herds of Buffalo were stampeded
to their deaths. An ingenious start to the world’s original
slaughter house! Natives then carved meat, hides and bone into
the essentials of life. Today the bones of thousands of years
of buffalo bones are piled 10 meters high!! Near the Crowsnest
pass is the town of Frank. It is here that a catastrophe occurred
in 1903 involving 92 million tons of rock. The Fay Wray fountain
is dedicated to Cardston’s most famous citizen-actress.
Continue to another of Alberta’s World heritage sights and
the sight of the world’s first international peace park.
We visit WATERTON PARK and return
late in the day to our hotel/lodge.
Day 7 After breakfast our motor
coach takes us east to "Writing on Stone Provincial Park"
to visit to see the continent’s largest collection of petroglyphs.
The latter part of the day will find us hiking the Hoodoo trails.
Step into the ROYAL TYRELL MUSEUM
one of North America’s great dinosaur museums and learn
of the geology and topography of our great province. Dinosaurs
roamed this area millions of years ago and then vanished forever
from the face of the earth. Why? See the equivalent of Tyranosaurus
Rex (Albertosaurus) and the gigantic fossil of a fish that had
just swallowed another fish. This museum has the largest collection
of large full dinosaur skeletons in the world. Time permitting
we visit the Reptile World where we can wave at a real Alberta
Rattlesnake? Can rattlesnakes really live in Alberta? Transfer
to EDMONTON or Calgary for another overnight or the flight home.
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Tours
include private car transfers, train transfers, all meals
and beverage at meals, sightseeing as indicated including
entrance fees, superior hotels, airport transfers, tour guide
throughout.
MAP
OF TOUR
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Tour prices start at
$4950CAD
+tax per Person.
Super Deluxe Including the Fairmont Resort Hotels start at $7950CAD
+tax
Prices vary with season and availability. Minimum 2 persons.
Contact us for details.
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