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Places we visit |
Our Hosts |
| Calgary | Calgary Boys Choir |
| Banff | |
| Vancouver | |
| Anchorage | Alaska's Broadway Kidz |
| Denali National Park | |
| Seward | Seward High School Choir |
Calgary,
Alberta, Canada: Calgary stands conspicuously and confidently
on the spacious plains of southern Alberta. Blocks of mirrored skyscrapers make
the city look new, which it is: Most of downtown has been built in the past
25 years. The city's major businesses are in keeping with this modern image
-- oil and gas and high technology. It's among Canada's fastest-growing cities;
new residents arrive daily, seeking employment and the good life. But there's
still a wild, frontier side to the town. It's surrounded by cattle lands and
farms, and the Rockies rise dramatically to the west. Calgary has acquired a
sophisticated demeanor while retaining a cocky, entrepreneurial spirit that
stems from the independent, self-reliant cowboy culture that was the city's
foundation. This mixture of the urbane and the untamed gives the city much of
its vitality. It's even reflected in the major events associated with Calgary.
The same town that showed off its cosmopolitan qualities for the 1988 Winter
Olympics also puts on a cowboy hat each summer for the Calgary Stampede, the
mammoth rodeo that is by far the best-known event in Alberta.
Banff, Alberta, Canada: From quiet meadows to thundering
waterfalls, towering peaks to misty canyons, Banff offers a unique assortment
of sightseeing and leisure activities. Are you looking to find that perfect
virgin powder for your first run of the day? Or perhaps strolling through Banff's
wonderfully eclectic shops and boutiques is more to your liking. Whatever your
style, Banff has something for you. The Town of Banff has an elevation of 4,537
feet (1,383 metres) making it the highest town in Canada. The name "Banff"
is derived from Banffshire, Scotland, the birthplace of two of the original
directors of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada: Vancouver is Canada's emerald jewel. It's simply a
beautiful place to be: From downtown you can see the blue-green Pacific Ocean,
as well as glacial fjords and steep mountains capped with snow and covered in
dense old-growth forest. Vancouver is also loved for its multicultural flair.
The city has long been a home to people from all over the globe, especially
from China and other parts of Asia. The overall atmosphere is relaxed and outdoorsy,
yet cosmopolitan: It's the kind of place where outdoor gear shops coexist with
high-fashion boutiques. Add in the city's fondness for the arts and its generally
health-conscious and laid-back residents, and you've got a comfortable city
that has something for nearly everyone. Only the persistent drizzle and gray
skies of winter and spring keep Vancouver from being a total paradise. Vanouver
will host the 2010 Winter Olympics. (Excerpted
from Yahoo! Travel)
Anchorage, Alaska, United States: Anchorage is big-city Alaska,
home to more than a quarter-million people -- nearly half the state's population.
That makes Anchorage an anomaly in a state where the featured attraction is
wilderness. The city has shopping malls, national discount stores, movie theaters,
fast-food restaurants, high-rise hotels and a busy international airport. But,
as with most places in Alaska, the wilderness is never far away. The snowy Chugach
Mountains rise just behind the city, and some of the state's premier natural
attractions are nearby: Denali National Park, the Kenai Peninsula, Katmai National
Park and Portage Glacier. These sights -- and Anchorage's status as the state's
primary transportation hub -- are the reasons that many travelers to Alaska
spend at least some time there. If you visit in summer, you'll have extra time
to see the sights -- there are 17-21 hours of daylight then.
Denali National
Park, Alaska, United States: It's more than a mountain. Denali National
Park & Preserve features North America's highest mountain, 20,320-foot tall
Mount McKinley. The Alaska Range also includes countless other spectacular mountains
and many large glaciers. Denali's more than 6 million acres also encompass a
complete sub-arctic eco-system with large mammals such as grizzly bears, wolves,
Dall sheep, and moose. For Mt. McKinley, The vertical relief of 18,000 feet,
greater even than that of Mount Everest, tops out on the snowy summit at 20,320
feet. Temperatures at the summit are severe even in summer. Winter lows at just
14,500 feet can plummet below -95 degrees F! During storms, winds can gust to
more than 150 mph. Permanent snowfields cover more than 50 percent of the mountain
and feed the many glaciers that surround its base. The mountain's granite and
slate core is, in fact, overlain by Ice that is hundreds of feet thick in places.
Seward, Alaska, United States: Set along the protected waters
of Resurrection Bay on the Kenai Peninsula and 80 miles from Anchorage, Seward
(pop. 2,800) is a terminus for many Gulf of Alaska cruises and is a base for
exploring nearby Kenai Fjords National Park. It's surrounded by forest and park
preserves, snowcapped peaks, shiny glaciers and ice-studded cliffs. The famous
Iditarod dogsled race to Nome starts in Anchorage each year, but the real beginning
of the original trail was in Seward. The Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward is
an increadible place to visit. Their exhibits feature a large bird enclosure,
seals, sea lions and a hands-on sea life exhibit. The Alaska SeaLife Center
also provides care for sick and injured marine animals, yielding important information
about wildlife populations.
The City of Vancouver, British Columbia
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