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 Trans-Canada Trail by jamiesno
North of 60, land of the very hardy. The sections of the Trans Canada Trail that score this part of the country are as totally different from those that skip across, say Prince Edward Island, as Earth is from Pluto! Only a small number of adventurers will see the Northwest Territories’ Trail routes. Those that do travel them – they’re waterways for the most part – will remember the experience forever.
Those that do travel this part of the Trans Canada Trail will be following the path of an intrepid bunch of trailblazers such as Frobisher, Hearne and Mackenzie. As is the case in the Yukon, the NWT represents a large land mass and is characterized by sparse population – always a difficult challenge to overcome for trail planners and builders.
In the year 2000, the Government of the Northwest Territories proclaimed the Mackenzie River a part of the Trans Canada Trail, thereby ensuring a permanent and integral presence of the Trail through this important part of Canada’s north. Source: www.tctrail.ca
I personally havn't geared up to explore all of this national trail yet anyway but I have seen the start of it in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador and close to the end of it in Whitehorse, Yukon.
I provided the web site address to this trail which has a lot more detail. This is a very challenging trek but certainly a challenge here! Go for it!!! Leave a Comment
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 Trans Canada Highway
Symbol by jamiesno
Personally I did one very long trek on this highway myself. I left Banff, Alberta and drove the entire way to St. Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador. That was a long drive!!!
I will never forget it though, I remember after making that long drive I had a much better appreciation of how big Canada is and how different each of the provinces are. It's very different right across the country and you learn a lot driving across. If your into road trips this is a great one.
If you have lots of time you can make this into a 5 or 6 day race or months of leisurely exploration! I would love to be able to do the latter!
I provided a symbol picture. These tell you your on the TCH. I also provided an external site with a lot more information on this national highway! Happy travels..... Leave a Comment
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 One of the Otters moves out
for take-off by Bwana_Brown, 1 more photos
I've done the international and domestic routes many times, but my favourite flights were a couple of business-related ones! During a June, 1990 trip to Hydro-Quebec's complex of dams at Radisson, near Hudson Bay, we were treated to an all-day fishing trip on the shores of the Bay. A total of 18 people were flown 100 miles further north from Radisson in two venerable bush planes. DeHavilland Canada 'Otters', the one shown here was built in 1957, are the workhorses of northern Canada and are amazingly durable. Beavers were specially developed as a tough bush plane, with 466 of them being built between 1951-1967.
Before that, in September, 1971, I had returned to university in Fredericton, NB to complete the final year of my Engineering degree. By chance, the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), with open pit mines in the Labrador part of the Province of Newfoundland, were on a recruiting drive. By a hat-draw, I was one of the ones picked for the trip and was soon on my way, flying from NB north across the St. Lawrence River to the Quebec city of Sept-Isles where IOC had their bulk storage and shipping facilities. The next day, we were taken out to the airport where we found this company-owned Douglas DC-3 waiting for us! It had a top speed of 160 mph and had been built in 1939. Luckily, I knew that this was one of the most durable aircraft of all time, and in fact, it has been voted as one of the outstanding aircraft designs ever built! That was good, because we were headed 320 miles due north to the mining town of Scheffarville, Quebec, after flying over the part of Labrador that juts out into Quebec! Leave a Comment Theme: Airplane
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 Icefields Parkway - Jasper NP,
Alberta by Bwana_Brown, 2 more photos
This April, 2001 photo of the Icefields Parkway was taken in Alberta's Jasper National Park, the most northerly and largest of the Parks that make up the Canadian Rocky jewels. Its main claim to fame are its fields of glaciers, with the Columbia Glacier being visible from the Parkway as you drive straight through the middle of this region. Being as far north as it is, the road conditions here are a trifle more touchy, so you have to check the time of year to see if the road is even open. During our late Spring drive we saw a few snow flurries and not much traffic!
Further east in Quebec, we spent some time exploring Ile d'Orleans (2nd photo) in the middle of the St. Lawrence River just east of Quebec City. It was mid-October, so the best of the Autumn leaves had passed, but we still enjoyed the view out over the River as we pulled off for a lunchtime picnic.
On the Atlantic coast, Newfoundland's Gros Morne National Park has an amazing geological wonder called the Tablelands (3rd photo). The Tablelands is a 260-million year old chunk of lava from the earth's crust that broke off and was thrust to the surface during collisions between the constanting moving tectonic plates in this part of the world. There are a few other places in the world that also boast similar formations, in Oman, Cyprus, Tibet and southern Chile. The rocks are composed of peridotite but, when thrust to the surface they change to the mineral serpentine. Due to weathering effects, serpentine turns to a tan colour, giving this huge formation its distinctive look. The chemical composition of the rocks is also not very condusive to plant life, consequently it appears to be a barren moon-like surface in comparison to the surrounding spruce forests. Leave a Comment Theme: Car/Motor Home
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While travelling in Atlantic Canada, it is often fun to include a cruise aboard one of the many ferries serving the area. On our August, 2001 trip to Newfoundland we left from Nova Scotia on the Marine Atlantic ferry "Caribou", crossing the Cabot Strait to Port aux Basques. This is a 6-hour voyage, costing about US$140 (car and 2 people) each way, including taxes, at 2006 rates. The Motor Vessel "Caribou" is a powerful ferry of the highest commercial ice class, able to break through the winter ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The vessel entered service in 1986 as Canada's largest ferry, and comes with all the required amenities of sleeper cabins, restaurants, lounges, theatre, shops and children's area. We had a great time alternating between sunny topside seating, where we saw a distant whale spouting, and comfortable lounging chairs below decks.
For our June, 2003 trip to Quebec's Iles de la Madeleine in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, we booked passage on the car-ferry 'Madeleine', 2-weeks before we planned to leave. In peak season, it is best to book even further in advance. The 'Madeleine' is a 400 foot, 6800 ton, 20 knot Roll-On Roll-Off ferry, capable of carrying 700 passengers as well as numerous vehicles and semi-trailer trucks. She was built in Cork, Ireland in 1981 and began her life as the 'Isle of Inisturk' in the Irish Ferry service. This particular route leaves Souris, PEI at 2 PM in the afternoon for the 5-hour run, and returns with an 8 AM departure from the Islands. During the heavy ice months of February and March voyages can be dependent on the weather conditions. My wife and I both found the 'Madeleine' to be a very comfortable vessel, equipped with many reclining chairs in numerous locations throughout. There is also ample above-deck seating for fine weather crossings as well as two or three bar/lounges, a cafeteria, movie theatre, TV viewing rooms and a gift shop. High season one-way fares for the crossing were C$79 per car and C$39/person, making a round trip cost of about C$320 (or US$270). Leave a Comment Theme: Ship/Boat
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 Aboard Air Canada flying over
the Mountains in BC by jamiesno
I don't think it is the pride and joy of Canadians or foreigners, there are better airlines. As Canadians we are constantly reminded of the airlines financial trouble, labour unrest, and the agony goes on and on.
There are some discount airlines carriers like West Jet that are starting to provide most cost effective alternatives to Air Canada.
The latest thing I find annoying if you try flying across the country there is no consistency on which legs they charge you for meals or not. Getting charged for a snack after an $1400 ticket is still hard to agree too.
Personally my recommendation here is don't eat on the plane. I have started to time my meals and eat at the various airports where the food is better than on the planes.
Hint: You can get a great Montreal Smoked meat sandwich in the Montreal Airport. There were some envious travellors sitting next to me that time.
Update: There is one new innovation that I now like from Air Canada. You can check in on the Internet and have the boarding pass either printed or sent to your mobile device. With this you also get to drop your bags at a special place at the airport with no line ups! This makes checking in very convenient, faster and I will be doing it from here on out. Leave a Comment
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 by traveldaveLeave a Comment Theme: Bus
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 Drving in the big White North
by PV by RafaelTheSecond
Never overtake 120 km/h, because they will give you a lovely ticket, and if you are stopped you may lose your license.
And if you are a foreigner like me, make sure you have the international driving license with you, the one you have from your country may not be useful in canadian fields!
January 29,2005
We were going back to Montreal after our short visit to Derby Line in Vermont, USA Leave a Comment Theme: Car/Motor Home
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 by jenniferhen
Once here you have to either drive, take the Greyhound(bus) or ride a bicycle which would take FOREVER. Remember, Canada is HUGE! I once took the greyhound from Alberta to Northern Ontario, I was on the bus for 27 hours....YUCK! If you can afford it, a rental is the way to go in my opinion, more freedom to stop and check stuff out. Leave a Comment Theme: Airplane
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 by Redlats
There are however a number of discount carriers now - WestJet (web: www.westjet.com), Air Transat (web: www.airtransat.com), Jetsgo (web: www.jetsgo.com), Skyservice (web: www.skyserviceairlines.com) and even Tango (Air Canada's discount airline - web: www.flytango.com).These carriers are a little more crowded, and are like Northwest Airlines in the States - all you get to eat are peanuts. But fares are reasonable - for instance $400 Cdn (less than $270 US) round trip from Winnipeg to Calgary or Winnipeg to Toronto, and occasionally there are sales. Unfortunately, these independant carriers are limited to large Canadian cities, and are not included in services like www.expedia.com, so you have to check each web-site individually. Leave a Comment Theme: Airplane
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