The Welland Canal

I had to get a boaty post for the blog the above picture is of a boat entering a lock on the Welland Canal. The picture was taken from a coach as we crossed the canal- my excuse for the slight out of focus.

The Welland Canal started in 1829 connects Lake Ontario with Lake Erie which is 327ft higher. It was built to avoid Niagara Falls and to allow large ships to open up the interior of Canada. Its 26 miles long and 27ft deep with 7 locks averaging 47ft deep.


Not the canal but the Maid of the Mist approaching the Horseshoe Falls which are the ones on the Canadian side. With the spray from the waterfall its just like a very wet/windy day on BB except that there are 150 other people on board with you -it was brilliant.

An empty canal lock.

A view of Horseshoe Falls with the mist rising above them- you can see why they needed to build the Welland Canal.

A dumb barge that had lost its moorings a few years back that is left to rust away above the falls.

Nothing to do with canals- but something I saw in Jasper. The ideal gift for somebody who has everything. A John Dere moving hose sprinkler

Our spring/summer cruise to Canada

The above picture of a hump back whale diving in the waters off Juneau Alaska- its just magical to watch these huge creatures in their environment and sums up how exciting Canada is to visit.

No we have not taken BB to Canada this year our trip has been a bit further afield.We left the UK in mid May for Las Vegas (an adult Disney World) and the Grand Canyon.Then onto Vancouver for a cruise up the Inside Passage to Alaska with stops in Juneau, Skagway and Ketchichan. The cruise returned us to Vancouver for a few days and then we boarded the Rocky Mountaineer-Gold leaf for a two day trip to Jasper.A few days to enjoy Jasper before we collected a car for a drive down the Icefields Parkway-described as the most beautiful road passing through exceptional awesome scenery to Banff and Calgary. We passed through/by Columbia Icefields,Lake Louise, Emerald Lake, Bow Lake and the mountains. The final part was a flight to Toronto so that we could see Niagara Falls and the Maid of the Mist trip.

The trip was fantastic,the scenery awesomeeeee and the highlights are many but include whale watching, listening to glaciers calving in Glacier Bay, flying over Misty Fjords in a sea plane, Vegas just to have seen it and the Grand Canyon,driving down the Icefields Parkway and The Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island. The Rocky Mountaineer - the whole experience especially the group of people in our section of the observation car. Special mention must be made of the two Aussie couples Graeme (who wants to do a narrow boat trip) and Tricia and Peter and Claudia all from Sydney.

A few pictures now to show what we have experienced.


Another picture of hump back whales in the vastness of Alaska.


A frozen Bow Lake we passed on the way to Lake Louise.

A view of Castle Mountain between Lake Louise and Banff.

Looking down the lake formed by a glacier to the Fairmount Chateau Lake Louise. A hotel built by The Canadian Pacific Railway to encourage tourists to visit the West of Canada in the early 1900s.

A view along the Icefields Parkway

A mountain reflection from the train on the way into Jasper.

A view of a train making its way back to Skagway on the White Pass Railway