August 18th, 1962
Dick and Judy Rosene cutting their wedding cake
August 18, 2012
Dick and Judy Rosene ready to cut their Golden Anniversary Cake
OUR GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY JOURNEY
THROUGH WESTERN CANADA
Fifty years ago--soon after our wedding on August 18, 1962, Judy traveled with Dick on a business trip to California, Oregon and Washington. Afterwards we drove through the Canadian Rockies and then across Canada back home to Cincinnati. We decided that after 50 years we would enjoy going back to the majestic Canadian Rockies. We made plans to travel with our close friends, Chiyuki and Yoko Watanabe, who would fly to Vancouver from Japan. As we flew from Cincinnati to Minneapolis and then across Canada to Vancouver, Judy photographed the unfolding scenes below.
Ready to land in Minneapolis for a brief layover...
Our flight from Minneapolis to Vancouver, British Columbia, took us over the snow-capped Rockies--what an inspiring sight!
As we left the mountains, the city of Vancouver appeared below.
The map below shows the places we visited during our tour in British Columbia and Alberta in western Canada.
Introducing Chiyuki and Yoko Watanabe, who have been our close friends since they lived in Cincinnati for one year from 1979 to 1980! Over the years they have returned to visit with us, and we have been to Japan to visit with them. We have kept in touch over all these 33 years. We presented them with a book about Cincinnati.
The Watanabes gave us a lovely golden clock in honor of our Golden Anniversary.
We stopped at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden to enjoy wandering along the path around the garden pond. This is the first garden of its kind built outside of China. Fifty-three master craftsmen came from China with 950 crates of material and constructed the garden using traditional methods--no glue, screws, or power tools were used.
Stanley Park, the largest urban park in North America, is recognized as one of the great urban parks of the world. The park covers 1000 acres of forested peninsula. The following photos will give only a glimpse of this beautiful park.
Downtown Vancouver as seen from Stanley Park...
Flower gardens throughout Canada continue to amaze us.
The First Nations has come into general use for the indigenous peoples of the Americas located in what is now Canada who are neither Inuit nor Metis. There are now over 630 recognized First Nations governments spread across Canada.
There is an impressive display of iconic totem poles representing various First Nation groups from other regions of the province.
False Creek Ferries (the little blue ferries) offer passengers a fun way to reach Granville Island.
Granville Island was once an industrial manufacturing area, but today it has a shopping district and a great outdoor food market.
In between the afternoon and the evening tours, we didn’t have sufficient time for dinner, but we found, in a vending machine, containers of microwaveable yakisoba, quickly heated and ate it in time to make the tour!
One of the unique sights on our evening Vancouver tour was the Gastown Steam Clock. Incorporating electric motors and a steam engine, the clock displays the time on four faces. It announces the quarter hours with a whistle chime that plays the Westminster Quarters.
Vancouver Island, with a population of about 700,000, can only be reached from the city of Vancouver by a one and a half hour trip on a 2000 passenger and vehicle ferry.This BC Ferry leaves from Tsawwassen (meaning a place where there are many beautiful birds) on the mainland and travels through the scenic Gulf Islands. Many artists and writers call these islands home. The islands are also well known for their locally grown produce and handmade foods such as cheese and wines.
One of the highlights of our journey on the BC Ferry was the Coastal Naturalist Program, which was designed to inspire and educate passengers on board the ferry. The naturalist on our ferry gave a presentation about the birds found in this area. One of the birds he told about was the Marbled Murrelet, a small seabird that has been declining in numbers since humans began logging their nesting trees. Because it builds nests in old growth forests, there is now a movement in Canada to preserve these forests.
On the ferry Yoko and Chiyuki enjoyed huge ice cream sundaes.
The city of Victoria, the capital of British Columbia on Vancouver Island, is filled with Old World charm. The heart of the city curves around the stone-walled Inner Harbor. Facing the harbor are the Parliament Buildings and the famous ivy covered Empress Hotel. The flowers along the harbor spell out "WELCOME TO VICTORIA."
Typical street scene in Victoria
The palatial Empress Hotel, resembling a castle, is a 104 year old Victoria landmark.
Weeping Giant Sequoias, like those on the front lawn of the Empress Hotel, are known to live for at least 100 years.
Victoria is certainly a city of flowers! There are 1400 hanging baskets like those below, and each one contains 25 plants!
The British Columbia Parliament Buildings are home to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. They face the Inner Harbor and are diagonally across from The Empress Hotel.
A statue of Queen Victoria stands on the front lawn as well a statue of a soldier to commemorate the province's World War I, World War II and Korean War dead. Atop the central dome is a gold-covered statue of Captain George Vancouver.
The magnificent floral displays at Butchart Gardens were the idea of Jennie Butchart, wife of Robert Butchart, a successful Portland cement pioneer. When the limestone quarry that they owned became depleted in the early 1900's, she requisitioned tons of top soil from farmland nearby and
had it brought to the site by horse and cart. She used it to line the floor of the abandoned quarry. Little by little, under Jennie Butchart’s supervision, the abandoned quarry blossomed into the spectacular Sunken Garden.
On the 55 acre site of the former quarry, in addition to the Sunken Garden, one can now wander through the Rose Garden, The Japanese Garden and the Italian Garden.
To make such gardens possible they have twenty-six greenhouses covering one acre, along with trial growing areas, plus a plant, tree and shrub nursery. They have a staff of 550 during peak season, including 50 full time gardeners with additional 12 part time. The guide for the Gardens is available in 21 languages to assist the one million visitors who come there every year.
Amazing beauty captured our attention as we rode through the coastal mountain range. Along the travel route we stopped at picturesque Lake Okanagan where we strolled along the lake shore. The "Dragon King" was the first of many Chinese restaurants where we were to have lunch or dinner during our tour. We had already discovered that our friends, the Watanabes from Japan, one couple from India and the two of us were the only people on the 50 person bus tour who were not Chinese!
Later that day we spent time visiting the Summerhill Winery and exploring the gardens and vineyards nearby.
As we drove
through the interior, well-known for its agriculture, we stopped at a
fruit and vegetable stand to sample some of the local homegrown fare as well as other products of British Columbia.
When it was dinner time, we found ourselves at another Chinese restaurant, the "Jade Buffet."
After spending a night in the town of Salmon Arm, we were told by our tour guide that fishing, mining and lumbering are the major industries in this part of the country. As the spectacular and rugged Rocky Mountains loomed ahead, we knew that we would be taking innumerable photos in the next few days.
Stopping for a short time at Rogers Pass, we were surrounded by spectacular Rocky Mountain vistas.
One of the jewels of Yoho National Park is the lovely turquoise Emerald Lake. This lake provides a beautiful example of one of the more interesting phenomena that occurs in the Canadian Rockies. The highest peaks of the range capture weather that comes in from the Pacific Ocean to the west. Clouds get hung up on the peaks and discharge their moisture down the slopes of the mountains. Where the slopes gather water, you get patches of coastal rainforest, quite different from the landscape elsewhere in the Rockies.
During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color.
During our buffet lunch on the deck at The Lodge of the Ten Peaks, we not only watched many travelers going up Sulphur Mountain in gondolas and on ski lifts, but we heard that one of the lifts had closed down because of the proximity of a bear on the mountain. Then we were joined on the porch by a hungry Columbian ground squirrel, an animal similar in size to our gray squirrels in Cincinnati, but having a tiny three inch tail.
An adventure awaited us after our lunch at The Lodge of the Ten Peaks. We four climbed aboard a ski lift which took us up the slopes of Sulphur Mountain. There we had a panoramic view of the Rocky Mountains, although it was a little hazy that day. We could even have a distant view of Lake Louise, which we will visit tomorrow.
Chiyuki wanted to check the water temperature and decided it was very cold!
The Banff Springs Hotel is a luxury hotel that was built during the nineteenth century as one of Canada's grand railway hotels, constructed in Scottish Baronial style and located in Banff National Park. It was built between the spring of 1887 and that of 1888 by the Canadian Pacific Railway, initiated by its president, William Cornelius Van Horne. A statue of Van Horne stands before the hotel. When it first opened, the cost of a room was $3.50 a night. Now the rooms range from $400 to $2000 for one night! We only looked at it from the outside...that was free!
As we walked along the sidewalk in the town of Banff, the picturesque St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, celebrating its 125th anniversary, attracted our attention. Majestic Mt. Rundle provides a most scenic background.
Special Canadian license plates...
Unique markers in the sidewalks in Banff show the name of each street.
Here is one of the unique sites along the highway, found only in Alberta--a "land bridge." Its purpose is to give the wild animals a safe way to cross the highway! This day began with a little rain, as one can see on the windshield of the bus. Before long we were glad to see that it was clear and sunny.
At Moraine Lake, nestled in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, it was extremely windy and cold, but very picturesque all the same.
When we reached Lake Louise, however, the temperature was comfortable. We spent quite a while walking along the lake shore and enjoying the views of Victoria Glacier as well as the colorful flower gardens
Judy and Yoko at Lake Louise...2012
Dick at Lake Louise...1962
View from inside Chateau Lake Louise
Returning to our bus after lunch, we were told by our tour guide that something had happened to the computer on our bus, and the bus was going to be replaced. Fortunately, another bus was available from a different company, and we had only a half hour delay.
We headed north through Banff National Park on Canada’s scenic mountain parkway, “The Icefields Parkway.” This is the route to over 100 visible glaciers, rushing waterfalls and turquoise lakes.
The Columbia Icefield Glacier Adventure is one of the most unique attractions in the Canadian Rockies. In the distance is the Athabasca Glacier, which was much closer to where we are standing when we visited here 50 years ago!
Judy and Dick with Athabasca Glacier in 2012
Dick beside the Athabasca Glacier in 1962
We were able to journey onto one of these glaciers, the Athabasca Glacier, by a massive Ice Explorer, specially designed for glacial travel. We rode over hills of the moraine rocks on our way to the glacier.
From the top windows we could see the surrounding mountains, and from the side windows, the moraine.
After the Explorer drove out on the glacier, we disembarked and walked on ice as thick as the Eiffel Tower is tall! Although it was extremely windy and cold, the sun was shining brightly on the ice and on the surrounding mountains. It was an awe-inspiring sight.
After leaving the glacier, a stop at Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefields Parkway, provided stunning views of Peyto Lake after a hike to a lookout point. This lake is said to be the bluest lake in the Canadian Rockies!
Judy and Dick at Peyto Lake in 2012
Judy at Peyto Lake in 1962
The new-fallen snow during our days in the Rockies 50 years ago provided totally different and lovely scenery from the beautiful views we had this year.
The climate in the town of Kamloops makes for perfect conditions to grow ginseng, thus attracting the Sunmore Ginseng Factory. The ginseng product is shipped world wide to Canadian, North American, European and Asian markets. We toured the ginseng factory where we learned about the amazing natural root which is used to help de-stress and keep the body in top condition.
Lotus Inn is another one of the many Chinese restaurants in which we had lunches or dinners during our tour. At our meals, we enjoyed getting to know others on our tour. We realized that there were travelers from Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan, Canada and China as well as the couple we had mentioned before from India.
Typical amazing Rocky Mountain scenery from the tour bus window...
Tina and Meliany from Australia were two of our fellow travelers on our tour whom we enjoyed meeting. Now we are in touch on facebook!
Returning to Vancouver on our tour bus after four days in the mountains was quite a shock--lots of heavy city traffic as we approached the famous Vancouver bridge.
On our last evening together before the Watanabes were to fly home to Japan, we walked to a highly recommended Italian restaurant in the neighborhood of our motel to enjoy pizza together--a unique treat after having Chinese food every day on our tour!
Chiyuki and Yoko were fascinated with the waffles they were able to make for breakfast in our motel. They had never had them before and loved them.
On the day after returning from our tour to the Canadian Rockies, Chiyuki and Yoko left on the shuttle bus to go to the Vancouver airport and to fly home to Japan. It was difficult to say good-by to them after our memorable time together.
We decided to take the Sky Train to downtown Vancouver and to enjoy being at the harbor for the afternoon. Below are typical scenes there including photos of a cruise ship ready to leave for Alaska.
On our last day in Vancouver, Lynn Hatcher, daughter of our close friends in Nova Scotia, and her seven year old son, Joel, picked us up at our hotel, took us on a driving tour of some of the beautiful residential areas of the city and then to their lovely home for lunch. Because her husband had to work, he couldn’t join us in the celebration Lynn had planned for our Golden Anniversary. She provided decorations, a delicious Italian lunch, and a special anniversary cake as well. Lynn’s mother, Ishbel, and Judy became pen pals when they were both in elementary school! Below is Lynn and Jerry's picturesque home with its lovely flower gardens.
The rose was one of several flowers planted by Joel in the spring when he was six years old.
What a surprise it was for us to find the table decorated with Lynn's hydrangea bouquet and the "50" for our anniversary!
Lynn's gourmet Italian lunch was served on their porch in several courses.
Lastly came the chocolate anniversary cake, selected by Joel, for the party. Lynn succeeded in making our last day in Vancouver one that we will always remember.
Our early morning homeward flight required a 5:15 wake-up call and a 6:15 shuttle to the airport. Flying over the snow-capped mountains gave us more spectacular views as Judy continued taking pictures from her window on the plane.
During our layover in Minneapolis, we were able to get together with our niece, Lynn Craig, to have lunch at a nearby St. Paul restaurant. Since it is seldom that we get to see each other, this was a rare and most enjoyable opportunity to have some quality time together.
Our flight from Minneapolis to Cincinnati was uneventful
until it was time to land at the Greater Cincinnati Airport. We were scheduled to land at 8:18—our anniversary date—8-18-62, which we thought very appropriate to end our anniversary trip. However, a severe storm hit near the Greater Cincinnati Airport, and it closed for quite a while. After we circled for some time, the runway was opened again, and we were permitted to land. We were thankful that our flight had not been diverted to Louisville or Indianapolis.
At last we had arrived in Cincinnati and would be able to relax in our own home, spending time looking back on all of the memorable experiences we had had on our western Canadian journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment