Air Canada flight to Cargary

Cargary is one of the few international airports near Banff and Jasper national parks. Air Canada is one of the only airlines to fly to Cargary in Alberta, Canada. However, Air Canada is treated in Newark and JFK as a domestic airline, therefore, be prepared for long lines at Customs in Cargary. Also, bring your own pillows, blankets, and headsets for they cost money on the plane. Remember to eat before you get on the plane. With the exception of beverages, all food items are not covered by the plane ticket.

Whistler Mountain

I climbed Whistler's mountain's arduous trail to the summit. I first drove my rental car up to the parking lot. Then I rode the Tramway up to a midpoint level. From the Tramway station on the mountain, I began my climb up the long and steep trail. The view is wonder , but you need to bring your camera filters for the DSLR and SLR. Bring your warming, polerizer and color grad filters for the best results. Also remember to bring your hiking boots for the trail is unpaved and there are unexpected twists and objects.

Johnston's Canyon

In Banff National Park, there is a canyan that was formed in last 8000 years. This canyan is called Johnston's canyan. It is a one and a half mile hike up from the parking lot. There are seven waterfalls. Remember to use the TV mode on your DSLR camera to photograph the waterfalls. The hike is so easy that even a child can do it.

Iceroad Parkway or Highway 93 and 93A

The Ice road Parkway is a highway that connects Banff with Jasper. This parkway is one of the most beautiful parkways in the world. What makes this road so beautiful? The Glacier capped mountains and the glacial lakes define this parkway as one of the most beautiful places in the world.

The clear lake and sky make the area look like heaven. However, the real beauty is two hundred miles away from Calgary. The lake is called Maligne Lake.

The Columbia Ice field is on the border of Jasper and Banff National Park. From the visitor center, you purchase tickets to go on the largest glacier south of the Arctic circle. The tour  guide drives you by bus to a ice truck center on the mountain. Then he moves everybody to the big machine that will take you to the glacier. When you get to the glacier, you should be extra careful not to slip on black ice. Even worst than black ice are the hidden holes. These holes are hidden underneath the thinnest layer of ice and snow. The huge machine can travel safely because it has five foot high tires. These tires are also one meter wide. When you take photographs, remember to watch your step. It is human nature to take a step back to focus the camera. Before you take that step back, look at the ground before stepping. It is crucial that tourist watch their step. Sometimes people can get carried away with photography that they forget about common sense.

One more thing, the tour guide will mention the terminal moraines. The Terminal Moraines are piles of rocks. These rocks were left behind by glaciers that had melted away.

You can also hike to the ice field; however, the trail is long and treacherous. It typically takes an experienced hiker five to six hours to hike to the top. An inexperienced hiker could take as long as twelve hours to climb up. They could take as short as seven seconds to come down. Beware of avalanches.

Lake Louise Village Travel Diary Day 4

Lake Louise is a one hour drive from the industrial town of Banff which is part of Banff National Park. I canoed through the lake. The lake is beautiful from upclose and from far away. It is beautiful because of the glacier covered mountain. I ate lunch at the Fairmount hotel which has a good view of Lake Lousie. The waiter gave me the window  view of the lake. While eating, I can enjoy the glaciers and the rock-flour covered lake. Afterwards, I rented a canoe for one hour which proved to be not enough. If you plan to enjoy the lake and paddle from one side to the other side, then you need a two hour rental. After I finished canoeing, I hiked up to the Lake Louise viewpoint. From the view point I got a good picture of the lake and the hotel. The viewpoint is a thirty minute to an hour walk. The trail splits into two trails. The right is to the viewpoint. The left is to the tea house. The Tea house is farthur away, but you can get a better view. If you have lots of time like two weeks in the Canadian Rockies, then you can walk. However, if you only have one week like me, then you should focus on other details.

There are a good restaurant at the Lake Louise village that serves Chinese, American,and  Canadian food. Behind the restaurant is a small stream, where you can take pictures of the rolling water. After dinner, you can relax in the picnic area.

From Lake Louise, you can head north to Jasper national park. Jasper National Park is the most beautiful place in the Rockies. Therefore you should arrive in Calgary to Baniff not from Edmonton to Jasper. Save the best for last. Jasper does not have many good hotels, so it would be nice to live in a Bed and Breakfast. The house I lived in has a very good host.  He is a good cook for my breakfast. He gave some very nice suggestions about where to head off. For example, he told us about Mount Edith Cavell. He said that Mount Edith Cavell has a meadow at the summit and a huge glacier called the Angel Glacier. He said that you should walk up the meadow first then come down to the glacier lake.

Banff National Park , Yoho National Park Day 3

Yoho National Park is the second park that I visited on monday August 8, 2011. Yoho has a large lake called Emerald Lake. The lake and the mountains make a great photographic moment. However, there are lots of mosequitos. Remember to bring Mosequito repellent to your trip. Also , remember to wear hiking boots. The next place on my agenda is Takakkaw Falls. The Takakkaw Falls is an enormous waterfall. I climbed up near the falls. I could have climbed higher; however, the rocks on the ground are unstable. It is unsafe to climb because I was afraid to fall. The water coming down from the falls is good enough to wash your hands. The Falls is the third largest in Canada. It has a free fall of 254 Meters. If you are looking to take good pictures of the water fall, then turn your DSLR Camera or SLR camera's mode to Time Priority aka TV. It might be useful to bring a tripod for you will be taking pictures at a low speed. You might also want to bring an umbrella and a lense cloth for the water will splash onto your lens.

Welcome to Banff National Park Day 1 and 2 post 2 out of 2

DAY 2 at Banff National Park: The First Canadian National Park

On my second day of exploration, I explored Lake Morine and Lake Louise. Lake Louise. On the bank of Lake Louise, I can see the snow capped mountains. On the left side of the lake has less trees than on the right side. On the bank of the Lake is the Fermont Hotel and Restaurant. The Restaurant has good prices and it has a  good view of the mountains. After I ate lunch, I rented a canoe to go sightseeing on the lake. The Lake has a clear, greenish-blue color. It looks very refreshing and comforting. The best part of the lake is that I can canoe and hike. Canoeing gives me one perspective of the lake, while hiking gives me another. Even though the trail to the overlook tower is approxiamately two kilometers, it is worth the walk. There is a steep incline that may be challenging for some of the older folks. Remember if you want to canoe to the end of the lake, make sure to buy the two hour package. You cannot make the whole thing in one hour without going to overtime. The mountain and the hotel make a great photographic moment. Remember to bring your camera.

If you really love hiking, then you should hike to the tea house which is about 4 kilometers away from the bottom.

At night, there is a mall where they shave the best restaurant in town. After dinner, I took a walk behind the mall. There is a bridge where you can take photogrpahs of the mountain and the flowing water. The water flows from Lake Lousie.

Tomorrow I will wake up nice and early to get a good photograph of Lake Lousie at Dawn for that is one of the best times to take pictures.

Thanks for reading

Welcome to Banff National Park Day 1 and 2 Post 1 out of 2

I am currently at Banff National Park in Canada. It is the first National Park in Canada. It is part of the Rocky Mountain Range. It is one park out of four national parks on the Rocky Mountain range. On my first day at Banff National Park, I visited several sites including the Hot Springs and a long hike. The hike is to smaller summit compared to the rest of the Mountain Range. The Hot Springs is a must go location because the naturally occurring springs is known to have therapeutic effects. However, staying in the water for too long is bad for your heart. The difference in temperature between night and day is very big. In the early morning, it is 7 degrees celesius and the highest it can reach is around 75 degrees celesius. The hot springs is on the Sulphur mountain. The temperature of the hot springs is both relaxing and comfortable. It helps people keep warm from the harsh Rocky Mountains' temperature. Once I got out of the hot springs , I wanted to get right back in because of the cold wind that had hit me. I suggest that you guys go into the hot springs at night to relax from a day of hiking, canoeing, and photography.

Before I went into the hot springs, I did two things. I rode the Gandola up one of the mountains. I continued to hike to the top. The view is wonderful. It is like a dream. Some of the peaks have snow and ice which makes a good subject for cameras. The walk path is very bumpy and very rugged. Do not put too much focus on your photography for your life is more important.

Afterwards, I also took a lake cruise of Lake Minnewaka. The cruise is a guided cruise with a tour guide. He explains the history, the geography, and the ancient Native American stories. First he gave us a memorable story about the Lake monster. Native Americans once did not go on the lake for one hundred years because one family went out on a boat singing. Then the lake monster that is half human and half fish. It is like the Little Mermaid, except its less pretty. The monster grabbed every one in the boat except one person. The one person told the story to the tribe and every body stayed far away from the lake as possible. That is where the name Minnewaka come from.  It means Lake of the Lake spirit or monster. On both sides of the lake, there are lots of trees. The right side of the Lake  has more than the left side side of the lake. The Left side of the lake experienced a huge forest fire. The Canadians put out its first forest fire and its last forest fire by burning one kilometer of land to burn out the fire. A little bit past the end of the lake is the farthurest point and the end of the Rocky Mountains. The mountains surrounding the lake has Elk, Moose, Wolves, Black Bears, Grizzy Bears, Cougars, Deers, and Sheeps. Although Mooses and Cougars are rare, they have been spotted. The tour guides the whole boat a photgraph of a Cougar biting the neck of a Mountain Sheep. The Moose is a rare animal because the  Elk has a bateria in its stomach that kill Mooses. Elks and Mooses stay as far away as possible in the Rocky Mountains.

By the end of the day, I am exhausted and I quickly fell asleep.

Banff National Park Photos at Frommer's

Banff National Park Photos at Frommer's

Banff National Park Attractions

Banff National Park Attractions

Facts About Banff National Park

Facts About Banff National Park

Be Amazed at the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is a library and a museum for visitors to explore. The library is three buildings. The Madison building , the Adams building and the Jefferson building are all part of the Library of Congress. The most popular exhibit is the first world map drawn in the 16th Century. It was given to the LOC by the German Chancellor in 2007.This map was drawn by a skilled cartographer. It was the first time that North and South America was drawn on a map. The Library of Congress was built in 1800 by Congress and the library was housed in the Capitol for most of the 19th Century. After the War of 1812, Jefferson sold his entire collection to the library after the contents were  destroyed.

The Jefferson building is the only building open to tourists. It is also the largest. When you set inside, you can feel the building uses Ancient Greek and Roman designs. There are carved statues in the building which are symbolic elements in US history.

There are three levels to the LOC and visitors can view everything except the reading room. There was a separate room for Jefferson's donated books. He had a wide arrangement of books from many different places. There was also a place for the Constitution exhibition.

AP US History Vocabulary

AP US HISTORY - Ultimate Study Guide

Philadephia Museum of Art: The Last Renoir

The Philadelphia Museum of Art was first established in 1928. The museum is on higher ground because the land that it is on was once a reservoir that supplied drinking water to the city. In later years, the reservoir became polluted due to the industrial factories that had opened during the Industrial Revolution, so they drained the reservoir and build this fabulous museum. The museum’s architectural design was based upon ancient Rome and Greece’s buildings like the pantheon and the aqueduct. I knew that the building had to be based upon ancient Greek and Roman architecture because of the ionic columns in the buildings exterior and interior. The statue of the Greek and Roman Goddess Diana also symbolized that they cherished Greek and Roman culture. The architecture is something to marvel at, but this summer I visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the Last Renoir exhibition.
The Last Renoir is an exhibition that showcases Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s last three decades worth of artwork. The exhibition has most of the artwork, but it may be short one or two paintings or sculptures. The museum’s exhibition pamphlet shows a picture of Gabrielle Renard, who is his children’s nanny and their long time friend because she is Renoir’s wife’s cousin. This showcase of Renoir’s artwork taught me that his artwork influenced many other artists during his time and after his time. One of those people was Picasso. Picasso was upset that he did not get the chance to meet Renoir, so he attempted to create his own version of Renoir’s girls. Although it was still a little bit off, Picasso did learn a new way to paint the same picture. The last three decades of his life, Renoir started to stray away from his original paintings of impressionism and started painting pictures with nudes and paintings that depicts the life of his family and his friends’ families. One of my favorites is his two self portraits and the two photos with Gabrielle in it. (One was the side painting of Gabrielle and the other was Gabrielle with Jean or his elder son.) I took about one hour to two hours in the exhibition rooms because I want to learn more about this artist’s work, life and family. Visiting this museum is a wonderful opportunity to understand a once famous artist that I have rarely heard about.
Not only did I see the Last Renoir, but I took a public tour to the European Art 1500 to 1850. This collection of art is very full of rich culture and history. There is just so much to learn and so much to see because there are Knights and their weapons and there are paintings and furniture from that time period in different countries. Some of those countries include the Netherlands, France, England, Italy, Germany, and the United States. Each country had its own unqiue form of art. For example, England has a room with furniture and paintings, and sculptures from the house of William Penn. They moved the entire room to the museum for people to see a section of an old English home. From that room we can infer that the owner is pretty wealthy by looking at the fireplace and its design and by looking at the painting of him and his wife. His wife was wearing a very long and puffy dress that had a very vibrant color. We can infer that the dress was probably made from a very expensive material like silk. That room also had a couch from that time period and it was the original. That couch was made by a famous designer that wrote a book with his designs and his designs travelled to most of Europe and landed in the colonies. That would be the reason that in America, we would have a similar couch.
This museum is very unique and the museum price for general admission is free on the first Sunday of every month and they have a very big collection of art. It is a place that I intend to visit again when a new travelling exhibition arrives.

The West Lake in HangZhou , China

The West Lake is one of the biggest lakes in China and it is one of the most famous lakes in Chinese history. Many emperors have enjoyed the scenic view of the West Lake and have added their own scenary to the view. One emperor added the three islets that sit in the lake. The three islets are part of the outer West Lake, the site is well landscaped, creating an impression of "an islet in a lake and a lake on an islet." There are three pagodas built in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) rising from the lake, each with five openings. On moonlit night, the pagodas release shafts can release candlelight on the night of the Moon Cake Festival in mid-autumn, when the moon is full. To travel to different locations on the West Lake, I brought boat tickets that allow me to travel to an island in the middle of the lake. The lake has great scenary that are meant to be in nature magazines, so bring your cameras and camera filters.

World Expo 2010

The World Expo is a great vacation destination for the summer and it is an even better place to see the people of China. Out of all the visitors that pass through its gates at the Expo Axis or other side entrances, most of the visitiors are either Chinese that live in China or the Chinese people coming to China to visit their extended family. The people are generally very nice and friendly, but there are a few people who were nasty and rude. For example, I was waiting in line to get on an Expo Bus to move to the European pavilions , when an old man and his family charged to the front of the line. They were behind me and they charged to the bus pretending that they were the the royal family and everybody else was unimportant. More importantly, they pushed someone off the bus just so that they can bring the old lady onto the bus. The volunteers were looking at the line; pretending that nothing happened.

The old man thought he had an excuse by saying that they were one family and they need to stay togeather. He failed to notice that everybody was with their families enjoying the Expo. When he grabbed his family and charged onto the bus, it was like that was the last bus and no more busses were coming. They ruined my day with one incident because I got furious and shouted at them. They were shaming their nationality with their unacceptable behavior that might have some people look down on them and other races of people would have been shocked to see a Chinese person act like that.
Just be a aware of these people when visting the pavilion because they they still have the old agricultural mind. They want to be fast because they experienced a time that was extremely harsh and there was not food and people had to be forceful. However that is no excuse to charge to the front of the line.

The First meeting of the CPC

The building that stands in Puxi today was the old clandestine location of the first meeting of the Communist Party of China. It is now a museum that offers free admission to learning about the history of Shanghai, the Nationalists Party of China and the Communist party of China. The museum offers artifacts that have been rarely seen in other museums and it offers a glimpse at the profound effect that the CPC had on China today. However the museum did inaccurate create a model of the meeting by putting Mao Zedong as the leader and everybody looking to him. The leader of the meeting could not have been him because he was only twenty to thirty years old.

I learned a lot about how the Communist Party of China formed and who was at the first meeting and Why they created the meeting. They created the meeting because the Nationalist Party was weak and failed to create a unified central government that tended to the needs of the common people. People were starving in China under Chiang Kai Shek's rule because his government was very corrupt. The degree to the corruption is extremely corrupt compared with the current government of China.

Expo 2010

The popular World Exposition Fair started in England during the Industrial Revolution for countries around the world to showcase their new technological advances. England set a precedent for other world expos to be held in developed countries, but this year we broke precedent and held the world exposition fair in Shanghai. Shanghai is China's largest city and it is one of China's most technologically advanced cities. Shanghai encompasses both Pudong and Puxi on the Huangpu River. This city has flourished and boomed because of Western occupation and Chinese workmanship. This city's skyscrapers were built by migrant workers, but the design came from successful Chinese architects. The World Expo is an example of migrant workers handiwork and Chinese Architect's creative designs. These pavilions at the expos were gorgeous, but there are just too many people. In the two days that I was at the expo, I have seen ten pavilions and experienced a heat wave that would make Americans cry and long lines filled with mostly Chinese people. Each pavilion has its own unique style, but I really enjoyed the united pavilions of Chinese provinces, the Spanish pavilion and the pavilion of the future. These pavilions are my favorite because they had short lines, gorgeous exterior designs and their interior material is worth seeing.

The United pavilion of the Chinese provinces is worth seeing because their lines are short and fast and each pavilion has a unique style. Some of the pavilions like the Jiangsu pavilion and the Hebei pavilion are worth seeing because they connect their province's most famous cultural possessions and their current technological and scientific advancements. Jiangsu province has a huge jade statue that looks exactly like a Chinese cabbage. It was unique because the color was chosen very particularly and the shape was shaped so precisely. Then there was a second floor that included the Jiangsu combs and the old Jiangsu tea room's interior look. Each comb had a unique design that is extremely difficult to make because of the complexity of the design and the precision of the colors. There would be a mountain water design and a wind and water design on the combs. The Hebei pavilion had artifacts that were uncovered from their province. There are old Chinese scientific discoveries and inventions like alcohol and the old Chinese telescope for looking at the stars and planets. Then they have the current space exploration technology and advancements. They also offer a model of a future city and a movie on a future city. It was like the old cartoons except the technology seemed feasible. The province pavilions are only a small part of the Expo’s total 5.28 square kilometers. Another one of my favorite section of the Expo is the European sector.
Out of all the European pavilions, my favorite was the Spanish pavilion because it had a theme that taught me about Spain’s people. It started with a 360 degree show that showed women dancing a traditional Spanish dance. While she was dancing images would appear on all sides of the screen. They would be images of the Spanish land and people because there were groups of horses on the dry land running at a very rapid pace. The movie would be synchronized with the rhythm of the women dancing and it was hard to see what she was dancing because there were too many people in front of me. Then in the next room they would show baby faces and pictures of Spanish families. The pictures were arranged on a wall and they were all together and they formed a picture. It was like all the families are united as one. Then the final room showed a gigantic baby that moved and cried, but we knew that it was not real. The Pudong side had the national pavilions and the Puxi side had the theme pavilions. To get to that side, you can ride an electric motor car or you can ferry over to the other side.
The Theme pavilion that I enjoyed was the pavilion of the Future because it was so new and unique, but the designs were all very feasible. The Pavilion starts with a movie about a futuristic city that motion picture directors would have made. Then there was a room that was filled with ideas from different scientists, engineers, architects, and mathematicians about how to make a city life better. They wanted to make city life better because in the next fifty years, more and more people will be moving towards the city. They want to make life better, but still keeping the same things that we have now. One of the quotes in the pavilion said, “We need to reinvent the wheel again”. That simple quote hit me and I thought it is impossible, but there are people that can do that in ten to fifty years. This pavilion had a sculpture that was made from trash, but it looked like a modern city. That was creative and fun to examine. Each continent had pitched ideas about what they are doing and what they will be doing. The pavilion was just so unique that I could have stayed in there for two hours and just looking at their inventions and ideas.
Whether you are staying in Shanghai or just going to the Expo, remember three pavilions are a must to see and remember that elderly people can have one person accompany them on the express line to some pavilions. This is a unique Expo and being placed in Shanghai is the best because Shanghai is more convenient than New York. The subway system connects Hongqiao and Pudong together by subway. It is easier and cheaper for many commuters coming from other parts of China or from other parts of the world.

World Expo 2010 in Shanghai

The popular World Exposition Fair started in England during the Industrial Revolution for countries around the world to showcase their new technological advances. England set a precedent for other world expos to be held in developed countries, but this year we broke precedent and held the world exposition fair in Shanghai. Shanghai is China's largest city and it is one of China's most technologically advanced cities. Shanghai encompasses both Pudong and Puxi on the Huangpu River. This city has flourished and boomed because of Western occupation and Chinese workmanship. This city's skyscrapers were built by migrant workers, but the design came from successful Chinese architects. The World Expo is an example of migrant workers handiwork and Chinese Architect's creative designs. These pavilions at the expos were gorgeous, but there are just too many people. In the two days that I was at the expo, I have seen ten pavilions and experienced a heat wave that would make Americans cry and long lines filled with mostly Chinese people. Each pavilion has its own unique style, but I really enjoyed the united pavilions of Chinese provinces, the Spanish pavilion and the pavilion of the future. These pavilions are my favorite because they had short lines, gorgeous exterior designs and their interior material is worth seeing.

The United pavilion of the Chinese provinces is worth seeing because their lines are short and fast and each pavilion has a unique style. Some of the pavilions like the Jiangsu pavilion and the Hebei pavilion are worth seeing because they connect their province's most famous cultural possessions and their current technological and scientific advancements. Jiangsu province has a huge jade statue that looks exactly like a Chinese cabbage. It was unique because the color was chosen very particularly and the shape was shaped so precisely. Then there was a second floor that included the Jiangsu combs and the old Jiangsu tea room's interior look. Each comb had a unique design that is extremely difficult to make because of the complexity of the design and the precision of the colors. There would be a mountain water design and a wind and water design on the combs. The Hebei pavilion had artifacts that were uncovered from their province. There are old Chinese scientific discoveries and inventions like alcohol and the old Chinese telescope for looking at the stars and planets. Then they have the current space exploration technology and advancements. They also offer a model of a future city and a movie on a future city. It was like the old cartoons except the technology seemed feasible.

A lesson on discrimination - A Class Divided