Author Topic: Need advice from canadians/alaskans  (Read 836 times)

Offline Lizard3

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Need advice from canadians/alaskans
« Reply #15 on: November 27, 2002, 05:35:19 PM »
Fly him to Anchorage, send him by train to Denali. He can see southern Alaska and about as far north in Alaska as most would want to go. He can also see the biggest F'in mountain in the world.

http://www.denali.national-park.com/

http://www.nps.gov/dena/

http://www.alaskarailroad.com/

http://www.alaska-alaska.info/alaskan-railroad/

http://www.alaska-alaska.info/alaskan-travel/

You could also fly him to Seattle, cruise ship or ferry to Anchorage, Train to Denali then fly home from Fairbanks. Of course, thats only if he's been a very very good Dad.

Offline Pongo

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« Reply #16 on: November 27, 2002, 05:52:09 PM »
Fly him to Calgery in June. Rent him a moter home for a month.Have him do a golf tour of western canada for a month...He could play a differnt course every day for the month and end up in Victoria..He would see the most beautifle part of the world. Get to enjoy his favorite game..

Or do what Curval wants and visit the artic circle for a month and watch the snow blow...

If you decide to do this and have any questions as to a route you might want to take...just ask...

rv rental

Offline Curval

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« Reply #17 on: November 27, 2002, 06:14:01 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by Pongo
Or do what Curval wants and visit the artic circle for a month and watch the snow blow...
[/URL]


LOL...except it ain't about what I want to do.  It's about what Cyrano's Dad wants to do, and from what I read in his post he wants to go to...no, he has a DREAM to go to NORTHERN Canada.

You all seem to want him to go to Southern Canada.  

I understand your reasons.   But let's just let the man go where he wants to go for heaven's sake.  

I think Midnight has hit the nail on the head.  Sounds like a life experience we should all be lucky enough to have.
Some will fall in love with life and drink it from a fountain that is pouring like an avalanche coming down the mountain

Offline Pongo

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« Reply #18 on: November 27, 2002, 07:08:18 PM »
Does seem to be about you.
Having never been to canada..he asked for advice. Having been to northern, eastern, southern, and western canada..and met people from all over the world that have images of canada in their heads..I and every other canadain on this board are advising him to see the Rockies.
He also said this
"That's where you guys, hopefully, come in. The thing is that my father is of the adventurous kind, but my mother isn't, so I have to find this delicate balance where he can see as many interesting things there are to see over there, but at the same time finding nice, comfortable (I can't stress this enough) places to stay, and not making her walk long distances.
"
You seem to think your being clever. Your not. Your just being silly.If the gentleman is from spain. And we put him up anywhere in canada. He will think hes in the north take my word for it.

I just viewed the trailer for insomnia. If you would like to see that kind of terrrain. include the Prince Rupert   BC in your tour. Northern canada looks nothing like that.
No matter what curval says.

Offline CyranoAH

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« Reply #19 on: November 28, 2002, 01:23:37 AM »
Wow, thanks for all the most informative replies guys! They are appreciated.

On the North/South discussion, well it seems that Banff, Alberta is a fine place, but from the looks of the resorts you suggested, it looks like a place to stay for a whole week, while the idea is to have them see as many things as possible.

The ideal situation would be to find a balance where my father could see all the things that make those northern territories worth visiting but allowing for a certain level of civilization that would make my mother comfortable.

Again, thanks for all the help!

[EDIT]Just read Pongo's reply. From what I saw in the trailer (opening sequence) there were plenty of ice formations on the water, that's why I thought that the place was quite up north, but I could definitely be wrong. You see, the most northern place I have been in america was Wisconsin Rapids, so the places pictured in the movie or the imax features about Canada could be 5 mins from the US border for all I know :)[/EDIT]



Daniel
« Last Edit: November 28, 2002, 01:29:26 AM by CyranoAH »

Offline Curval

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« Reply #20 on: November 28, 2002, 05:58:09 AM »
Cyrano,

One option you have not been informed about in Canada is Newfoundland and Labrador.

Of course Pongo and the other western Canadians are determined to send your Dad golfing (Spain has some excellent courses btw) and to places that are indeed beautiful but for some truly breathtaking scenery, that would better represent the Norweigan type coastal areas as seen in this film (that I haven't seen) you might want to check it out.  

It has the added advantage of being significantly closer to you and could be a more economical trip...if that is important.  

Tourism info
« Last Edit: November 28, 2002, 06:01:50 AM by Curval »
Some will fall in love with life and drink it from a fountain that is pouring like an avalanche coming down the mountain

Offline Lizard3

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« Reply #21 on: November 28, 2002, 06:03:12 AM »
Ah, and thats where the train ride comes in. Its a loooong ride with plenty of stops. And Ice features? Hehe, Denali is one BIG ice feature ALL year round! :D

(I was born and raised in AK, so I'm a tad biased like Pongo is about Canada)

Remember, its the BIGGEST mountain in the world. No kiddin, from base to peak its the biggest. Its just not the highest. And for a bonus, its surrounded by a Huge park.

Offline skernsk

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« Reply #22 on: November 28, 2002, 06:57:06 AM »
Well I'm not one to argue with an "islander" like Curval:)

I have never been to Alaska, and never been to Newfoundland so I can't and won't comment on them.  I read your post and I immediately thought of two places where I have been in my home province and know a hell of a lot about.  I go there every year and it is still exciting and I find new things to see and do.

On the RV idea.  Some Scottish relatives of mine flew from Heathrow to Vancouver, BC and did a tour of BC.  They loved it and were amazed by the scenery.  

Honestly, you can't go wrong sending your folks to the Rockies so BC and Alaska are both good choices.  As for finding a place where mom can be comfortable and dad can be adventurous that is hard.  Once again I will plug the Jasper - Banff idea.

Your folks can fly into Calgary and rent a car, and drive about 2 hours to Banff.  Stay in any number of nice hotels that are close to shopping (for mom) and dad can hike, horseback rides, fish, canoe, kayak, golf, whitewater raft, etc.

After a day or two when dad gets bored they pack the car and head north to Jasper National Park.  Trust me their jaws will drop as they round every corner.  They can stop and visit the

Columbia Ice Fields

http://sca.uwaterloo.ca/~praetzel/BC-trip2/Columbia-Ice.html

There are several nice hotels in Jasper and shopping etc.  They can ride the tram to the top of Whistler Mountain and see this (Jasper Prak lodge is on the right where the 3 little lakes are)  And there are all kinds of thinngs that would take too long to list here.  After they are bored they can drive to Vancouver, which will take about 9-10 hours driving straight through or 3 or more days if they are stopping to see some beautiful country.

I could go on and on, but I won't.  All I can say is Canada is huge and driving distances are long.  From Banff to Vancouver is probably 8 - 10 hours.  You father can't see everything in a week or two without killing your mother.

The other idea I like in this thread is the train tour of Alaska.  I would love to do that.  
« Last Edit: November 28, 2002, 07:06:52 AM by skernsk »

Offline Pongo

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« Reply #23 on: November 28, 2002, 10:18:08 AM »
Cyrano, Sounds like your ideas are firming up..how long would this trip be?
Movies can be tricky things. They piece them togther alot from differnt locations. The glacier in the ocean scene may well have been from farther north then Prince George. But the rest of those shots looked like any west coast rain forest.
If you want specifically to see terrain like those glaciers. Do an Alaska cruise from Vancouver or Seattle..thats the only real way to see that properly I would think.

Offline Gman

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« Reply #24 on: November 28, 2002, 10:49:12 AM »
FYI, Calgary was 5 degrees F warmer than Dallas yesterday, and that'll be 9 today.

Offline CyranoAH

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« Reply #25 on: November 30, 2002, 08:21:28 AM »
Ok after considering all possible alternatives and the opinions/ideas posted on this forum (thanks again), they will most probably going in July on a tour of SW Canada, including Calgary, Banff, Jasper, Whistler Mountain (I'm forgetting a couple of places in the way) and down to Vancouver and Victoria to go on a ferry to see the Orcas.

That way they'll see some variation in the landscape and it's all in first class hotels, so my mother won't complain (too much).

Thanks for the help guys, it is appreciated.

Daniel

Offline Thrawn

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« Reply #26 on: November 30, 2002, 08:57:43 AM »
HAHAHA!  Canada wins the Cyrano contract!!  You're going down US!  CA-NA-DA!  CA-NA-DA!!   :D

Offline eskimo2

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« Reply #27 on: November 30, 2002, 09:23:28 AM »
I spent the first 29 years of my life in Alaska, and have lived in about 10 different Alaskan cities including South East, Anchorage, Matanuska Valley, and Central Alaska.  Even though I've been "all around" Alaska, I've really only seen a tiny bit of it.  (I still go back once a year.)
Admittedly Canada and Alaska are very similar to each other, the one big thing that Alaska has as an advantage is coastline (Western Canada got ripped on that deal!).

I think that you can see a lot more variety of landforms in less time in Alaska.  From Anchorage, take the train to Denali Natl. Park, even if the mountain is clouded in (90% chance) you'll see more big wildlife in one day than most folks see in a lifetime.  
Also go to Homer or Seward, send mom shopping and send dad out on a charter boat.  Good chance he'll land a 50 - 100+ # halibit.  Perhaps make one leg of their trip up or down the inside passage, they'll see tons of glaciers and probably see some whales, dolfins, otters, etc.  Somewhere along the way send them up in a floatplane so that they can see the land and wildlife from the air.  All the small coast towns have flight seeing tours by floatplane.  There are comfortable places to stay almost anywhere if you've got the money.

Send your folks to Alaska,
I've never met anyone who visited Alaska who wasn't blown away!

eskimo

Offline Curval

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« Reply #28 on: November 30, 2002, 09:44:32 AM »
Ironically I saw Insomnia just last night.

You made the right choice Cyrano....eastern Canada won't give your folks what SW Canada can offer.

I bow to the wisdom of Pongo & skernsk.

Hope they have a great time.:)
Some will fall in love with life and drink it from a fountain that is pouring like an avalanche coming down the mountain

Offline Pongo

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« Reply #29 on: November 30, 2002, 09:23:59 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by CyranoAH
Ok after considering all possible alternatives and the opinions/ideas posted on this forum (thanks again), they will most probably going in July on a tour of SW Canada, including Calgary, Banff, Jasper, Whistler Mountain (I'm forgetting a couple of places in the way) and down to Vancouver and Victoria to go on a ferry to see the Orcas.

That way they'll see some variation in the landscape and it's all in first class hotels, so my mother won't complain (too much).

Thanks for the help guys, it is appreciated.

Daniel


Its a special piece of the world. Dont forget the golf thing.....Lots of great courses on that treck.

I have been living at the end of that trip(Victoria) for 18 years and spent my first 18 years near the begining of it.(Golden,100 miles west of Banff.) Make sure dad does 18 holes of golf in Golden and take the Gondola to the top of the mountain for lunch...