For those that have been following my
blog, you would know that I have been up in the Yukon for the past
few months. This week I got to head home for a week, but I would not
stay home, as we decided to go visit my family in Alberta.
So I left Watson lake and got to the
airport in Whitehorse to fly home. My plane was delayed so I had time
to go grab the
cache nearby that I did not get last time I was here.
Nearby the cache is a plane on a pole, and as I looked at it I was
sure that it moved. Upon further inspection I realized that it does
move.
CF-CPY, "The World's Largest Weather Vane"
Whitehorse, Yukon Territory Starting in 1977, the Yukon Flying Club restored this northern veteran to its Canadian Pacific Airlines colours for permanent display at the Whitehorse airport. The restoration took four years, but in 1981, she was raised onto the pedestal built by master welder Al Jacobs. Pivoting on its mount, CF-CPY always points into the wind, just as she would have while lined up on the runway for takeoff. Due to the fine balance point, it only takes a 5 knot wind to turn her.
Road trip to Alberta
Once home, I repacked and was ready for
adventure with my sweetheart, my new baby, and the boys. The plan was
to go from home to Victoria for one night as I had a show to do. The
next morning we headed out to grab a ferry and we were off on an
adventure.
The first stop(other than baby feeding
stops, of which we had many) on the mainland was Hope. I have passed
the cache at the entrance to Hope, at least a dozen times while on
road trips and tours, but today was the day to finally get this one
off my list.
The next stop after Hope was the
Othello tunnels and some caches within. This area is where the movie Rambo First Blood was made.
“In November of 1981, Hollywood film
crews began to transform Hope, BC into a rural American town for the
filming of the blockbuster hit Rambo First Blood. Over the next
several months Hope and the Fraser Canyon experienced gas station
explosions, gun fire and stunt men. The Success of Rambo First Blood
led into a series of 4 film made from 1981-2007
Rambo fanatics from around the world
travel to the small town of Hope, BC to get a glimpse of what people
now call Rambo town.”
Located in the most rugged section of
the Coquihalla Canyon, the Othello Tunnels have a great history and
scenery and make for a nice leisurely walk. Engineers forged through
mountain cliffs and over raging rivers to construct a series of
bridges and tunnels that blast through the rugged terrain.
If you get a chance to walk this trail,
I would highly recommend it.
We stopped in Clearwater, BC for the night and would head on down the highway in the morning.
The next morning, Welcome to Alberta!!!
On the way thru Jasper we did not see
as many animals as we have in the past, but we grabbed a few caches and
even did a couple of cool Earthcaches.
Sand Dunes at Jasper Lake Earthcache
We made it to Fort Saskatchewan where
we would stay for a couple of days. This is the town that I grew up
in some several years ago. While staying here we took in a day at
West Edmonton Mall. While living in Edmonton years ago, this is the
mall where the Magic bug bit me. I even managed the Magic shop in the
mall for awhile. We spent the day relaxing in the water park and
enjoying some of the slides.(no line-ups midweek)
After our few days of visits, it was
time to start making our way home. We started to head towards Calgary
where we would make a brief stop. But as we were leaving Edmonton, I
noticed that there was a new cache in Leduc. A quick stop and an FTF
was in hand. (Yes.... I have notifications set for new caches where I
am travelling. One of the many reasons to be a Premium Member)
On the highway further down the road,
we came across what we thought was a transformer heading down the
hwy. But it was just some farm equipment being moved.
Going through Banff we did not see much again in the way of wildlife as we have in past years. They now have a lot of fences and some cool looking bridges for the animals to get across the highway safely.
Banff National Park
Banff
National Park is Canada's
oldest national
park,
established in 1885 in the Rocky
Mountains.
The park, located 110–180 km west of Calgary
in the province of Alberta,
encompasses 6,641 sq km of mountainous terrain, with numerous
glaciers
and ice
fields,
dense coniferous
forest, and alpine landscapes. The Icefields
Parkway
extends from Lake
Louise,
connecting to Jasper
National Park
in the north.
We stopped for a cache just coming into
Golden, BC which was placed behind a huge painted Inukshuk.
We headed a bit further up the road to Revelstoke, where we would spend the night.
The next morning we headed down the road as our next stop was Kelowna.
Coming up towards Kelowna we stopped at
Dave's goat walk
 |
| Dave's Goat Walk |
A place we have stopped before, the
kids love to feed the goats. Here I was able to complete a challenge
cache. A quick stop in Kelowna for a visit and we were on our way back to the island.
We got home just in time for me to unpack, repack and head back to the Yukon for my last turnaround. Sitting here in Watson Lake on Thanksgiving day, writing this blog, and looking forward to my return trip home.
Till next time, keep on caching
Chris Yuill
Magicman65
