The United States is one of a small handful of countries that does not widely use the metric system across its roadways, so traveling by RV in Canada, we needed to be familiar with this change. 

When driving  in Canada, distances and speed are in kilometers, not miles. The first speed we encountered in Canada was 60 kilometers per hour which is 37 miles per hour. 

Another change is how gas is measured. In the United States, we pay by the gallon. In Canada, it is by liter. 

STUDENTS:

If our truck took 66.711 liters of gas at the price listed above per liter, how much money did we spend? - Round to the nearest dollar.

I was immediately mesmerized by the large fields of neon yellow/green blooms across the rural parts of the Canadian landscape as we drove. I had NEVER seen a crop like these before! After doing some research, I learned these were canola flowers.

Canola is a primary agricultural crop in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. It generates $43.7 billion for Canada's economy. 

The seeds from the canola flowers are used to make many products:

cooking oil

bio-fuel

animal feed

It is also an ingredient in margarines, salad dressings, ink, paint, and even some cosmetics!

There are several of these across the Trans-Canada Highway, but what I did not know is that there are also more UNDERpasses as well. No one else in the WORLD has as many as Banff!

They were created due to many collisions with cars and wildlife on the highways and more are being constructed once funding is approved.

Data from 2006 provided to me by a park ranger, showed they  have found 11 species (grizzlies, black bears, wolves, coyotes, cougars, moose, elk, deer, bighorn sheep, wolverine, and lynx) have used the passes over 70,000 times. Imagine what the numbers are now!

It takes some wild animals awhile  (bears up to five years) to become familiar and safe with using the corridors. Elk were the first to cross. Each type of animals has a particular crossing they prefer. Cougars and black bears like long, low, narrow crossings while grizzlies, elk, moose, and wolves prefer short crossing that are high and wide. 

Scientists are now using DNA left by the animals that cross to track how many of which species are using which passes. It will help them determine the role these crossings are providing to sustaining healthy wildlife populations in the area. 

STUDENTS:

• Each group will read one of the following articles:

  • CBS news 

  • Jr. Scholastic - "Safe Passage"

  • Parks Canada 

• Create a factual Google Slide presentation based on your findings. 

• Gallery Walk to view each group's presentation.

• Class discussion: What were some similarities or differences learned depending on which article was read? 

• Dig Deeper: Does Missouri have any wildlife crossings? Should we? What animals in our local ecosystem might benefit? Where would  you suggest putting it - why?

There was a pull off area on the highway with a viewing platform, but there was no schedule for when a train might come by. Within 10 minutes of being there, we heard the whistle!

Due to Canada's geography, mountains created a big safety problem with train travel as the trains would pick up too much speed if going straight down the mountain. Engineers came up with an idea to bore into the mountain with tunnels that allowed the train the spiral down at less intense steep grades. 

In this video, you will see the train in THREE places. It is the SAME train! On the BOTTOM, the train is moving to the right and working its way up. On the TOP, it is entering the tunnel and making the curve around while inside the mountain. In the MIDDLE, this is the train after coming out of the mountain tunnel and making its way on down the mountain. 

Pretty impressive example of adapting by these engineers to the geography of the mountains.

Takakkaw is a word from the Indigenous Cree that means magnificent. It is among one of the highest waterfalls in Canada. Walking closer to it not only could you heard its thunderous roar of rushing water, but you could begin to feel the spray mist coming off it.

Poutine is French for "messy", and it is the perfect word for this dish. 

It is a dish of french fries, cheese curds, and gravy. Now, the version we ordered added hot sauce buffalo chicken,  bacon, green onions, and Bleu cheese. Theyhad other varieties, too, like Pulled Pork with bbq sauce and jalapenos. 

One of my Canadian colleagues from my 2023 Grosvenor Fellowship messaged me when she saw this picture and said, "What is all that extra stuff? 🤣 Make sure you try an original one at Banff Poutine!" A few days later, we tried the original. 

The natural spaces have made for spectacular views, and if you get up early enough they provide double the beauty with their reflections into the lakes below. 

This lake was named after Ebenezer Bill Peyto, a mountain explorer and guide. He was also one of the first wardens of the park working to conserve parts of the Rockies. He was known to camp near this lake to get away from the crowds in Banff. 

This exhibit was full of gorgeous photographs of many of Canada's glaciers. There were some interactive exhibits to learn more. 

STUDENTS:

• View this silent film: through Ice and Time (20 minutes) about a boy's experience with glaciers over his lifetime. 

• What did you notice?

• What do you wonder?

• What did you learn?

STUDENTS:

• Visit the Meltdown Portfolio.

• Choose ONE image from either Mountain, Ice, or Glacier. 

• Write a Haiku (Japanese nature poem) based on that image. Title it the same name as the photograph.

Canada has many lakes, and they use them for recreation. It is common to see kayaks, paddleboards, and other water vessels on the lakes. They also very much want to protect these lakes, so they are very strict on anyone bringing their own canoes or kayaks to the park. They MUST be inspected to ensure no invasive species enter these waters. 

There are also many businesses connected to their waterways. We supported one business by taking a cruise of Maligne Lake to see several glaciers and Spirit island. 

STUDENTS:

• Tourism is important to understand from an Economic, Cultural, and Ecological  perspective. 

• Historical Perspective: Has our hometown of St. Charles, MO  on the Missouri River or even St. Louis, MO on the Mississippi River ever used those waterways with boats for tourism? If so, what and when?

• How about now? Are those businesses still running? If not, why? 

• Create: Choose either the riverfront of St. Charles or St. Louis with their respective rivers and create a business that using the water with tourism. 

These are specially designed vehicles that took us out ON the glacier. Their tires are five feet in diameter - look at five square tiles on the classroom floor in a line to see how big these are! The tires were designed to ensure they balance the pressure of the vehicle to minimize the damage to the glacier. 

STUDENTS:

Form an Opinion and Debate:

 Should companies like Ice Odyssey be allowed to go on glaciers?

• Think about the question from both an Ecological and Economic perspective. 

• Create two T-Charts: One for the pros/cons from an Ecological perspective and one for the pros/cons from an Economic perspective. 

• Write your opinion/claim statement. Highlight four pieces of evidence from your two T-charts that back up your stance. 

I experienced glaciers and icebergs while in Greenland back in 2023, but I never had the chance to stand on one there. There were ropes up in this section to keep visitors from going to unstable parts of the glacier...remember, glaciers move, so they can be dangerous. There were lots of chunks of ice on the surface kind of like that "rabbit poop" shaped ice at QT. 

There were also a lot of pools or streams of meltwater. This water melts and runs from the glacier into streams below. We learned this meltwater I am touching flows into Canada's Sunwapta River, continues into the Mackenzie River and ends up in the Arctic Ocean! 

The nearby Mount Snow Dome has a glacier that is as deep as the Eiffel Tower in France is tall, and its meltwater feeds into the Pacific, Arctic, AND Atlantic Oceans!

Slow-Motion Video of Dead Trees

Construction along Patricia St.

Closures due to wildfire damage

A tea house in the mountains?! Sounds good to me. 

We hiked 2.2 miles ALL UPHILL to get to this rustic little tea house by Lake Agnes. The building was built in 1901 as a safe stop for hikers, and they started serving tea back in 1905! Some parts of the building had to be replaced in 1981. They have a wide variety of hot tea selections as well as a few sandwiches, soup, tea biscuits, and sweet bars. 

The staff are university students needing a summer job who live in cabins nearby, but they work hard! There is no electricity, so they have to do many tasks by hand or use propane. Staff have to hike 2-4 times a week to bring small supplies up or trash down! 

Because there is no electricity, there is no ice. Things that need to be kept cold like milk or tuna for the sandwiches is stored in a propane-run refrigerator. 

There is also no regular plumbing...meaning outhouse! So where do they get the water for the tea?...THE LAKE. A pump is used to pull water from the lake. It is stored in a tank that gets gravity fed inside. It has to be boiled for safety before it can be used in the food and tea products. 

Once at the start of summer, a helicopter is needed. It brings the 10,000 pounds of dry goods and propane needed for the tea house season. It takes about 15 trips to drop it all with a line and net right next to the tea house. 

These little guys along with about eight of their friends blocked the road for a few minutes as they made their way to the mountainside. 

What are some animals you have seen or hope to one day see that are not native to Missouri?

We spotted two black bear during our trip. In both instances, the bears were along the roadside foraging wild berries. 

Watch how quickly this bear turns from the berry bush in our direction. THIS is why you should be BEAR AWARE and follow the proper guidelines. The video looks closer than we really were to the bear...zoom used.

All signs we have come across in the national parks are written in both English and French, both are languages common in Canada. In the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia where we are exploring, English is the main language spoken. If we were to travel to the Province of Quebec, French is their official language. 

Notice the message on this sign. It is an important piece of cultural perspective. First Nations is a term used to identify the wide umbrella of various Indigenous Peoples that were original to this land. We spotted signs like this in many locations of Canada where they recognize the historical impact of a variety of cultures. 

On a golf outing, we were paired with this couple. They are from the Province of Manitoba and were on vacation, too. We had a great time getting to know them, and we even shared contact information to stay in touch. We are hoping to make a trip back to Canada to explore Manitoba in a few years. 

Manitoba is not in the Rocky Mountains. Instead it is mostly prairie. They have a large garden on their property and were talking to us about Canada's climate and the types of foods they are able to plant and harvest as a result. 

One interesting fact I learned is that in the northern city of Churchill, Manitoba, there is a law that you CANNOT lock your car doors! The reason...polar bears. Where grizzlies and black bear attacks on humans usually happen due to getting too close or surprising them in their territory, polar bears will hunt people. Churchill has a declining polar bear population that is currently around 600. Car doors are to be left unlocked in case anyone is outside and needs a quick and safe place to jump in to avoid a polar bear attack.

During my trip to Greenland in 2023, we did hikes in the wilderness. We always had to stay in a line formation. At the front and rear of the formation was a trained guide armed with flares and if necessary a rifle. There were also two other trained guides at separate lookout locations to act as spotters to keep us safe. 

A loon is a common bird in Canada. They are great diving birds, and are found on many of the freshwater lakes in the country. They even have a coin named after them! 

This is a Loonie; it is the Canadian one-dollar coin. They also have a coin called a Toonie. It is a two-dollar coin with a polar bear on one side. It is like the word Loonie, but they start it with "too" for the two dollar amount. 

We had to use Loonies in the washer/dryer at our campground.  We also used them to pay for our tea and treats at Lake Agnes Teahouse because paying by credit card there is not always reliable since it is in the mountains and service can be disrupted.

A Grizzly Bear has longer claws to go with its stronger shoulder muscles which allow it to DIG. They create their own dens by digging into sides of hills. 

A Black Bear's claws are more curved which allow it the ability to grip trees as it climbs them. 

Ospreys migrate here for spring/summer to breed. They like nests up high on isolated perches that are near a river or water source for fish. An issue they had here was the ospreys creating nests on top of active wire poles creating a hazard for the electric company.

There is a law here stating you cannot move an osprey nest without first getting permission. Several additional poles with no electric lines attached to them have been erected with platforms for th ospreys to use to build their nests upon. We spotted TEN osprey nests during our drive. 

At this point between Banff National Park and Kootenay National Park, there is a mountain divide. Water from one side of the divide flows to eventually empty into the Atlantic Ocean while the other side flows to the Pacific Ocean! 

At the trailhead for this hike, there was a park ranger with bear items and info on display. We also saw recent evidence of bear activity in the area in several forms.

One item was this dry erase board where hikers, just like me, could help the park with data collection about bears. This is a form of Citizen Science - every day people participating in scientific observations. Any hiker that spotted a bear during their time in this part of the woods was encouraged to record those observations on this chart. 

STUDENTS:

What patterns do you notice with the data recorded at this time?

Which data points do you believe are the strongest help? the weakest?

Go to the hall and measure out some of the distances recorded between hiker and bear!

What other data or evidence do you believe could be added to strengthen this collection?

Hikers and visitors are requested to be responsible members of the park. One of those responsibilities is saying something when you see something that doesn't look right. 

Along our hike today, we spotted this unusual white foamy substance with little bubbles that clung to some plants. We knew it did not belong there, and we wondered if it was a sign of disease or pest?

When we saw the park ranger, we shared the photo with her. She was not aware of what it was, but she snapped a picture of our photo and was going to report it. 

STUDENTS:

Do some research - What do you believe the substance is?

How sure are you based on your research? Why? 

What additional information do you need to know to be certain?

This art sculpture caught my attention, but I didn't realize until we got much closer that it was created with old electrical cords! 

There were even small rodent animals near the base of the sculpture that had silver spoons as ears! 

STUDENTS:

If you could create wildlife art for our community in Missouri, what animal species would you choose? Why? 

What recyclable materials might be used to depict that animal?

Where would you place your environmental art? Why did you choose that location?

These rodents are common in SW Canada and through Western US States along the Rocky Mountains. 

Two animals they would be similar to back in Missouri would be the ground squirrel or the groundhog. 

It was a chilly 49 degrees Fahrenheit when we started this walk to the Lower Falls. It felt even colder as most of the walk was within the canyon's steep walls meaning there was little sunlight reaching in to warm us. 

Click the video - Which of our five senses do you think was most engaged as we stood at the base of the falls?

How might this area visually change in appearance in another 100 years? Explain.

Another example of poor park behavior was seen today. 

Some people call these "love locks". They leave them on bridges and toss the keys away as a symbol of a commitment between two people who vow to stay together in love. 

While it seems harmless, it is a form of littering and national parks have policies to keep nature spaces natural. Beyond the problem of littering, there is an even more serious issue with these locks.

STUDENTS:

• Predict: What more serious issues could these locks present?

• Read the section "The Problems with Padlocks" from this article.

• What economic and ecological impacts do these "love locks" present for national parks?

• Create a slogan and poster advertisement that could be used on bridges in the national parks and beyond that might deter this behavior.