These pictures are not in the order that we went.  Instead they are reorganized from west to east.
We actually took the following rout around Canada:

Rain forest in the Coastal Mountains
Near Vancouver at the west coast.

Whistler
We went to Whistler in the Province of British Columbia.  Here is a view of the Whistler Village from the gondola.

Standing on top of Whistler Mountain.

Most of the snow had melted, but there was still some snow left on top of the mountain.

In the Whistler Village.

We took the gondola that went from the Whistler Mountain peak to the Blackcomb Mountain peak.

There are zip lines between the mountains that cross the valley.  They were fun.

This is how we went from one zip line to the next.

The view of Mount Baker from east of Vancouver.  Mount Baker is an active volcano in the United States and is covered by a glacier.

There is an incredible store east of Vancouver (in Chilliwack) that sells used kitchen cabinets, whirlpool bath tubs, light fixtures, and every other used home fixture that is imaginable.  I purchased an amazing solid glass bathroom vanity that has the counter top and bowl as one molded piece of glass.  I am going to put it in one of my bathrooms at home.

In this picture you can see our white car and small trailer that we used to drive across Canada.

Desert
Between the rain forest of the Coastal Mountains and the trees of the Rocky Mountains there is a dry desert.

Near Cache Creek in the Province of British Columbia.  Almost no trees at all in the desert.

Smelling the wild sage bushes that grow all over.  They smell just like sage (obviously).

In the city of Kelowna
Okanagan Lake in Kelowna is very deep.  People say there is a legendary sea monster named Ogopogo that inhabits this lake.  Here we are standing beside a statue of Ogopogo.

The harbor in Kelowna.

We went to a u-pick orchard to pick our own cherries.  The fresh cherries tasted amazing.

There are many vineyards in Kelowna that produce world class wine.  This picture shows a vineyard with the city of Kelowna in the background.

My mother passed away years ago and we preserved her ashes.  She was very happily married to my father who's ashes were sprinkled in Okanagan Lake, so we brought my mother's ashes with us on our trip to sprinkle in the same lake.  Here is a Google Earth picture of where we scattered her ashes (at the spot marked by the yellow star).

Rocky Mountains
The place where the railway connected Canada from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean is called "The Last Spike."  The railway from the west met the railway from the east in the year 1885 in the Rocky Mountains.

Snow sheds for avalanches
There are many snow sheds to protect the road from snow avalanches in the winter.

Spiral tunnels
The mountainous terrain is too steep for the railway, so two giant underground loops were carved into the mountain to make a gentle slope for trains.  Since each tunnel makes a complete spiraling turn, the railway tracks actually cross over themselves.  This is called the Spiral Tunnels.

Blowing up snow to create controlled avalanches
Howitzers (cannons) are used to control snow avalanches in the winter.  They use these to blow up snow and start an avalanche in a controlled way so that uncontrolled avalanches will not be a hazard to traffic.

Green glacier water
Lakes in the Rocky Mountains are often green because they contain ground up rock from melting glaciers.

The Polar Bear is the most dangerous type of bear.  Canada also has Grizzly Bears and Black Bears.

Jasper on fire!
We drove through the town of Jasper when there was no threat of a fire and the sky was clear.  But only thirteen days after we left Jasper a forest fire came and burned up thirty percent of the town.  We were fortunate to see Jasper before it was partially destroyed.

I was very surprised that there was not much wildlife near the road.  I have driven across Canada many times and usually I see mountain goats, bears, elk, and other wild animals.  During this trip we only saw some deer.

Lake Louise in Alberta
Lake Louise in the Province of Alberta is a beautiful lake.  The water is green because it contains ground up rock from a melting glacier.

Wildlife bridges
Migrating animals require a safe way to cross the highway, so many specially constructed bridges are there to allow animals to safely cross the road.

We went to a large family reunion.  To see pictures of the people we met scroll down to the end of this page.

West Edmonton Mall
We went to West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton in the Province of Alberta.  It has amusement park rides, a water park with a wave pool and watersides, full skating rink, sea lion aquarium performances, miniature golf, and lots and lots more.  Of course it also has an abundance of every store imaginable.

The water park at West Edmonton Mall.

We made a video of us on a waterside at West Edmonton Mall.
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I drove a race go-cart in a race with other competitors.  This was fun.

Jill had never shopped at the Hudson's Bay store before because there are no "The Bay" stores in our region of Canada.  In this picture Jill is looking at some The Hudson's Bay merchandise.  The Hudson's Bay is the oldest company in Canada and was started in the year 1670, but in recent decades "The Bay" has not understood the desires of Canadian shoppers and as a result stores have been closing.

Fantasyland Hotel
While we were at West Edmonton Mall we stayed at the Fantasyland Hotel.  They have amazing theme rooms.  During previous visits I stayed in the Roman, Western, Truck, and Igloo rooms.  This time we spent one night in the Space room and one night in the Dinosaur room.

The space room at the Fantasyland Hotel.

The dinosaur room at the Fantasyland Hotel.

The following picture is High Quality and High Resolution, and is suitable for making large prints.

Oil pumps
Canada produces a lot of the worlds oil and natural gas.  There are many oil pumps in the Province of Alberta.

This picture is for Danny
My friend Danny lives in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.  Danny wishes that he could live in rural Alberta just like in the television series "Heartland."  While we were driving through the Province of Alberta we passed this quaint farm and I took this picture of it for my friend.

Smoky
Unfortunately, our view of distant objects was often obscured by the smoke caused by forest fires elsewhere in Canada.  It was often difficult to see the mountains while we drove through the Rocky Mountains even though we were close to them.  Distant objects in both Saskatchewan and Alberta were often obscured by the smoke.  This picture shows power lines with the distant power lines hidden by the smoke.

Drumheller in the province of Alberta

Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller
We looked at the dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller.

Hoodoos in the Bad Lands near Drumheller
These rock formations are called Hoodoos, and are a result of wind and rain erosion over thousands of years.

Dry land
The western side of Saskatchewan and parts of eastern Alberta have an extremely harsh, dry, and cold environment.  The extreme lack of precipitation makes it impossible to farm crops, so the only agriculture here is cattle ranching.

Looking at a cattle ranch.

Salt mines in Saskatchewan
There are salt mines in the Province of Saskatchewan.

Looking at the salt.

We went to Buffalo Pound Provincial Park in the Province of Saskatchewan to look for bison (buffalo).  Unfortunately, the bison were not visible because they were at another part of the large paddock.  I have seen bison before but Jill has never seen them, so we were really hoping to see some bison on this trip.

We went to the location where the television series "Corner Gas" was filmed near Regina in the Province of Saskatchewan.

Flat land
Parts of the Provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are very flat.  This picture shows both the power lines and the road disappearing into the horizon and going over the curvature of the earth.

Flat land.

Standing in a canola field with yellow flowers.

Standing in a flax field with purple/blue flowers.

Winnipeg
Jill visited the grave of her brother in Winnipeg in the Province of Manitoba.

Ontario
The Province of Ontario has lots of rocks and lots of lakes.

Terry Fox
In the city of Thunder Bay, in the Province of Ontario, there is a monument to Terry Fox.  Terry Fox was a Canadian athlete and cancer research activist.  After he had one leg amputated due to cancer, in 1980 he embarked on an east to west cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research.  His cancer eventually forced him to end his run across the continent after 143 days and 5,373 kilometers (3,339 miles).  Then he died from cancer.  His efforts resulted in a lasting legacy for cancer research.

The Province of Ontario is very beautiful.

On the shore of Lake Superior.

Can't see the other side
Lake Superior is so big that you cannot see the other side.  The fresh water of the lake goes all the way to the horizon.  The other side of the lake is hidden by the curvature of the earth.

Ancient pictographs
We looked at ancient pictographs on the rocks beside Lake Superior.  It is a difficult hike to reach the pictographs.  I wanted to take this picture of the "warning you are going to die" sign.

Going to the pictographs.

Looking at the pictographs.

Lots of rocks, trees, and hills in Ontario.

On the shore of Lake Superior.

The Big Nickel in Sudbury
Dynamic Earth, also known as the Big Nickel, is an underground museum located in a mine in Sudbury in the Province of Ontario.  This picture shows us standing in front of the Big Nickel.

The underground tour was 21 meters (70 feet) below the surface where the temperature is a constant 13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit).  I brought a jacket with me but I did not use it because the cool temperature was a welcome relief from the hot and sunny weather above ground.

The interpretive center there had lots of mining exhibits.

They had a special sandbox that changed colors topographically, with the higher parts of the sand turning red and the sand that represented water being blue.  It was fun to make various mountains, valleys, and rivers.  When you waved your hand over the sand it would look like rain and you could follow the water flow.

We panned for gold.

Both of us found real gold.

Science North
Sudbury also has a science center called Science North.  There were lots of science activities to do there.

Looking at a simulation of a gravity well.

Looking at insects.

We both had butterflies land on us.

Balancing.

Laying on a bed of nails.

Looking around in virtual reality.

Casa Loma in Toronto
Toronto has a gigantic manor with huge stables called Casa Loma.

Casa Loma had secret passages; going upstairs, going to the basement, and to the stables.

Looking from one of the towers we could see the CN Tower in Toronto.

This picture is from Google Earth and it shows how big the stables were.  At the stables there were antique automobiles and a wax museum of famous actors who filmed movies at Casa Loma.

At the stables.

Lots of antique cars in the stables.

Many movies were filmed at Casa Loma, and there was a wax museum depicting famous actors who made movies there.  This is Richard Gere from the movie "Chicago."

Here is Mike Myers and Jessica Alba.

Casa Loma has a military museum on the top floor.  My father was a historian and he had an antique gasmask like the one on display here.  When I was a little boy I would put on the gasmask and lay underwater in the bathtub with the hose and filter above the water.  Memories -- I had to take a picture of this gasmask.

Niagara Falls
This picture shows both the American falls (on the left) and the Canadian falls (on the right).

We took the boat ride that went beside the American falls and then went under the Canadian falls.  The Canadian falls are shaped like a horseshoe and the boat went into the middle of it, so the boat was covered with spray from all sides.

Splashed with lots of spray from the falls.

We made a video of us on the boat under Niagara Falls.
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Click HERE to see the video.

Ottawa
Ottawa is Canada's capital city and the government is at Parliament Hill.  This picture shows that Parliament Hill was being renovated when we were there, with the construction cranes making repairs to the building.

This picture is from Google Earth and shows the Parliament Buildings in the middle, and the canal with locks on the left of this picture.

The locks allow boats to travel from one elevation to another through the canal.  They work by closing big doors and then either raising or lowering the water inside the lock to match the water height where the boats will be going.  This way boats can travel uphill or downhill safely.  We went to the canal and watched the locks move boats from one elevation to another.  The locks are operated manually.

Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains continue from the USA north into Canada.  This picture shows the Appalachian Mountains near Riviere-du-Loup in the Province of Quebec.

Saint Lawrence River
We stood beside the Saint Lawrence River near Riviere-du-Loup in the Province of Quebec.

McAdam in New Brunswick
There is a historic train station in the town of McAdam in the Province of New Brunswick.

The station often hosts events and includes a conference center and seasonal restaurant.  We were married at this station many years ago.

Saint John in New Brunswick
Saint John is a seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick.

Waterfront Container Village in Saint John is made of shipping containers.  It has lots of amazing little shops.

All of the above pictures showed the places that we went, but the following pictures show the
PEOPLE
that we met during our trip.
This was a wonderful opportunity to meet family from across the country.

The following picture is High Quality and High Resolution, and is suitable for making large prints.  Feel free to copy any pictures that you want.

The following picture is High Quality and High Resolution, and is suitable for making large prints.  Feel free to copy any pictures that you want.

The following picture is High Quality and High Resolution, and is suitable for making large prints.  Feel free to copy any pictures that you want.

~ The End ~