Canada
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A guide to visiting Waterton Lakes National Park
The beauty of the Canadian Rockies is something that can’t be fully captured with a camera. You have to be there to truly understand the immensity of the mountains and the power of a glacier. You have to be there to look into a lake and see straight to the bottom because the water is… Continue reading
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Crypt Lake – Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta
If you’ve ever hiked to Crypt Lake, you’ll understand why it’s on my All-Time Favorite Hikes list. If you haven’t, you should definitely add it to your to-do list. It’s also high on the list of the most challenging hikes I’ve ever done. It’s incredibly difficult but also incredibly – well – incredible. It’s the entire reason we… Continue reading
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World Capitals: Ottawa, Canada
Today marks the beginning of what is – at this point – a very short series on world capitals. As of the writing of this post, I’ve only visited two: Ottawa and Washington, DC. But eventually that number will increase. (Edit: as of the posting of this post, that number has now increased to three;… Continue reading
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A Meromictic Lake and a Marble Cave – Gatineau Park, Quebec
Unfortunately, our time in Bruce Peninsula was basically the last time we saw the sun for the rest of our trip. We packed up under cloudy skies and spent the next ten hours driving through torrential rain to Gatineau Park, Quebec. Gatineau (GA-ti-noh) is a National Capital Conservation Park, located across the river from the… Continue reading
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The unexpected beauty of the Georgian Bay – Bruce Peninsula National Park, Ontario
If I were making a list – which we all know I like to do – Bruce Peninsula National Park would be #1 on the “Most Unexpectedly Amazing Destinations” list. I began planning this vacation just like any other – pulled up Google maps, located parks in the general vicinity of where we wanted to… Continue reading
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Cave of the Winds – Niagara Falls, New York
If you haven’t been to Niagara Falls, you’ve probably seen pictures of it and read the stats about how big it is and how much water flows over it every second. Hundreds of thousands of gallons – it has one of the highest waterfall flow rates in the world. That’s a big number, but I… Continue reading
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Snails and seashells and kelp, oh my! – Fundy National Park, New Brunswick
After our wonderful adventures on Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton Island, it was time to head back to the Canadian mainland and explore another park. Fundy National Park is located in southern New Brunswick on the shores of the Bay of Fundy. In addition to being a neat area, the Bay of Fundy is… Continue reading
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Highland Adventures – Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia (part II)
After an incredible hike the previous evening, we were excited to see what the rest of the Cape Breton Highlands had in store for us. And so we packed up camp and set off along the Cabot Trail. That night, we’d be camping on the opposite side of the island, so we had a bit… Continue reading
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Skyline – Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia (part I)
If Prince Edward Island was near the top of the list of places I never thought I’d go, Nova Scotia was a close second. Before planning this vacation, I didn’t know anything about Nova Scotia except that it’s way out east and the capital is Halifax. But once I saw pictures of Cape Breton Island… Continue reading
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Red Sand, Green Gables, and the Meeting of Tides – Prince Edward Island
When it came time to start planning our annual summer vacation, we didn’t really know where to start. We knew we wanted to take advantage of me being on the east coast, as this was an area we’d never gotten to explore. But since we weren’t very familiar with the area, we didn’t really have… Continue reading
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Eastward Bound (part II) – Indiana to Ontario
At the end of my last post, my mom and I were wading in Lake Michigan at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Day 4 of our cross-country excursion, however, was the one I was most excited for. Our destination: Niagara Falls! We left Indiana early in the morning, continuing across the northern edge of the state… Continue reading
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Happy 150th Anniversary to Canada!
July 1st marks the 150th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada. To celebrate, among other things, admission to all Canadian National Parks is free for 2017. And to celebrate here on Handstands Around the World, I’ve put together a list of my favorite Parks Canada sites. Banff National Park, Alberta My very first memories of… Continue reading
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West Coast Best Coast – Vancouver, British Columbia
Never in my life have I been so excited for the indoors as I was at this point in our roadtrip. We were so sick of everything being wet. Thankfully, we’d be spending the next 2 nights in a hotel. It wasn’t the best place to dry everything out – after spreading out all of… Continue reading
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Sometimes, things don’t go as planned – Jasper National Park, Alberta (part III)
Our next day in Jasper National Park was supposed to be the day we hiked Mount Edith Cavell. This was a hike we were all especially excited for. Instead, it was the day I woke up sick at 5am and my friends ended up driving me to the hospital. I was suffering from some pretty serious… Continue reading
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Exploring the Icefields Parkway – Jasper National Park, Alberta (part II)
After a night at Honeymoon Lake Campground – in which our camping gear mostly dried out – it was time to continue our journey northward. We hopped back on the Icefields Parkway, poised to spend a day exploring the central section of Jasper National Park. Our first stop, just a short distance up the road,… Continue reading
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Receding Glaciers – Jasper National Park, Alberta (part I)
The Canadian Rockies never fail to amaze, and Jasper National Park is no exception. Together with Banff and other surrounding national and provincial parks, Jasper is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNESCO World Heritage Site. I’m so glad this whole area is protected, because it’s utterly beautiful! Continue reading
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Shades of Blue – Banff National Park, Alberta (part III)
For the remainder of our time in Banff, we continued north on the main road, eventually leading us up to Jasper National Park, which will feature in my next post. Last week, I left off at Moraine Lake. In the same general area of the park is the other iconic Banff lake – Lake Louise. This… Continue reading
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Valley of the Ten Peaks – Banff National Park, Alberta (part II)
The Valley of the Ten Peaks is, as you probably guessed, a valley lined by ten peaks. They form part of the continental divide as well as the border between Alberta and British Columbia. But most pertinent to this post, they form the backdrop for the iconic Moraine Lake. You’ve probably seen Moraine Lake before.… Continue reading
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Rocky Mountain High – Banff National Park, Alberta (part I)
After departing Waterton Lakes, we stopped for the afternoon in Calgary to catch up on the real world. The next installment of the Harry Potter movies had just been released and a little vacation wasn’t going to get in our way of seeing it. We’d purchased tickets in advance for a theatre at a mall… Continue reading
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Vancouver Island, British Columbia (part 2)
(If you missed part 1 of this post, you can find it here) After spending the first half of our trip on the inland side of Vancouver Island, we headed out to the western coast! The coastline is dotted with provincial parks and preserves but we spent all of our time at Juan de Fuca… Continue reading