VISITING GLACIER NATIONAL PARK were members of the Let’s Travel Group. Standing in front of their jammer that transported them along the Going-To-The-Sun road near the Two Dogs Flat mountain are Tour Manager – Jovanka Mrdja, Amy Kent, Jerri McBay, Karen Smith, Glynis Rosas, Cleo Burlingame, Stephen Burlingame, Amanda Burleson, and Maurice Burleson. (Submitted Photo)

 

Members of Let’s Travel began the Canadian Rockies & Glacier National Park tour in Calgary, AB, Canada. The tour began on June 30 and ended July 6 and afforded the travelers many adventures.

Each day began with breakfast at our host hotel and was followed by one adventure after another. The first group visit was to such a special center at “Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.” The wonderful guide who explained the history of this area is a member of the Blackfoot tribe. He was such a wealth of information explaining the importance of the area and the responsibility of the men and women during the event of pushing the buffaloes to the jump site.

After an enjoyable lunch in Pincher Creek, the bus took everyone into Waterton Lakes National Park where the group spent the night in the Bayshore Inn in Waterton.

Passports were needed as everyone traveled into Montana to spend the day in Glacier National Park. The park preserves over one million acres of beautiful country. Red buses referred to as “jammers” carried the group through the park following the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The name of the road might be Going-to-the-Sun, but there was no sun on this day. As a matter of fact, there were clouds all day. The clouds did not prevent everyone from enjoying the beauty of the park—even when there were rain drops falling in the open bus.

The drivers had decisions to make as to whether the canvas tops should be on or off as they made their way to the Continental Divide and Logan Pass. Sometimes the ride was dry and sometimes the ride was wet as the rain fell with the tops off. The tops were on and off as the group went up and down the road. Once Logan Pass was reached, time was spent resting and shopping before the group went back down the road to the headquarters. That was the first time most everyone had ever walked in the rain with ice pellets falling from the sky.

As the group left Glacier National Park, they crossed back into Canada and spent another night in Waterton.

While traveling to Banff the next morning, time was spent at the Bar U Ranch National Historic Site. The ranch was a working cattle operation from the late 1800’s. A team of beautiful black Percheron horses brought a cowboy and his granddaughter to the visitor center to share some history. They helped the visitors imagine what the ranch was like when it was in full operation.

The ranch operated for 70 years as one of the leading ranching operations in Canada. At one time the ranch included over 160,00 acres with 30,000 head of cattle and 1,000 Percheron horses. Today it is open to visitors who would like to see a real ranch.

The remainder of the day was spent going to Banff, looking around some in Banff, getting settled in the Banff Inn, and getting ready for the next day.

And what a day it was. The group traveled along the Icefields Parkway. This highway was built for tourists. A pass must be purchased to travel on this highway. Therefore, traffic is light and the possibility of seeing wildlife is greater. There are bridges on this road for wildlife. The bridges, of course, stretch across the highway and have trees and tall grasses planted on them so the game can cross without the highway travelers seeing them.

On this day the bus took everyone through Banff National Park and Jasper National Park. The Tour Manager shared much history of the many peaks observed. She shared much about the explorers who first visited the area and some of their hardships.

The main adventure of this day was either walking on the Athabasca Glacier in the Columbia Icefield or walking on the skywalk in the area that allowed a person to view hundreds of feet below them. Most everyone chose walking on the glacier.

The last full day of touring included more adventures. One stop was for travelers to walk through the woods to the beautiful Peyto Lake. Time was spent enjoying the beauty of Lake Louise. Time was also spent at Moraine Lake. Each of these lakes were the beautiful turquoise color caused by the runoff from the glaciers in the area.

Before leaving this area, there was one more major adventure to enjoy. A 14-minute gondola ride took travelers to a viewing platform at 6,850 feet elevation. Mountain peaks, snow, glaciers, and even views of Lake Louise were enjoyed from the viewing platform.
A return to Calgary followed another busy, adventurous day.

The Farewell Dinner was at the Calgary Heritage Park where delicious food was served by attentive staff. One more surprise adventure was in store after dessert. A partial wall was raised, and the travelers were invited to tour the museum on the other side of the wall. There were cars of yesteryear along with old gas pumps and other memorabilia dealing with gasoline. Everyone enjoyed this special surprise.

Of the 42 participants in this tour, 8 were from this area. They were Amy Kent of Oakwood; Glynis Rosas of Groesbeck; Karen Smith of the Woodlands; Maurice and Amanda Burleson, Stephen and Cleo Burlingame, and Jerri McBay of Fairfield.

Let’s Travel has several more tours on the calendar for 2024. Landscapes and Lighthouses of Coastal Maine will begin September 14. A tour to Mackinac Island and Niagara Falls begins October 4. The final tour of 2024 is Nashville and the Smoky Mountains Holiday. This tour is November 30 – December 7. It begins in Nashville at the Gaylord Hotel. Gatlinburg, Asheville, and the Biltmore are also on the itinerary. Just imagine all the Christmas lights and decorations a traveler will enjoy on this tour.

2025 finds a Let’s Travel visit to New York City in February. Then in April several travelers will enjoy the Holland and Belgium River Cruise. July of 2025 will find the travelers on the Pacific Northwest tour. This tour begins in Seattle, Washington, and ends in San Francisco, California. In September a 5-night stay in Sedona, Arizona, tour is planned which will include two train rides as travelers enjoy the beauty of that area including a train ride to the Grand Canyon.

2025 is expected to end with two possible Christmas Markets—one in Canada and one in Europe. For more information about any of these tours contact Jerri McBay at 903-388-2243.