TRAVEL IN CANADA
CANADA is very lovely to see, but even if we had no eye for scenery it would be an extraordinarily attractive country., For the sportsman there is an abundance of game in the woods, rivers, lakes and mountains ; for the mountain climber the Rockies are incomparable in their scope ; for the lover of . camp life there is an unequalled variety of choice ; for the Nature worshipper there is a three-thousand-mile panorama of forests, inland waterways, grain-clad prairie, foaming cascades, deep canyons and towering snow-crowned peaks.
In dealing with a country which, during the holiday season, is one vast playground, it is difficult to discriminate. Each section of the Dominion has its own special appeal, and much, naturally, depends upon the time and money at the disposal of the tourist. The shipping companies co-operating on the transatlantic route with the Canadian railways are increasingly active in organizing conducted tours at specified and inclusive rates, and these offer many, advantages to the holiday maker from the Old Country. The shorter and less expensive tours include in their itinerary the chief attractions of the country from Quebec westward to the world-famed Niagara Falls, or across the Great Lakes to Winnipeg. The trans-continental tours cover the whole of Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific, enabling the traveller to see the Dominion in all its scenic delight.
A charming feature of holiday making in Canada is the chain of bungalow camps which now add to the gaiety and comfort of visitors. Each of these summer camps consists of a central clubhouse for dining and social amenities, around which are grouped the sleeping bungalows. In Ontario, the French River, Nipigon River, and Devil's Gap Camps are centres for splendid fishing and for long canoe trips through a maze of waterways. In the mountains there are a number of these camps. One is near Lake Louise, " the Pearl of the Rockies." Four more centre around the Yoho Valley and Emerald Lake,' and another is at Lake Windermere. Along the recently com- pleted Banff-Windermere motor highway—the most spec- tacular scenic highway of the American continent—there are three of these popular gathering places.
The organization last summer of a society of mountaineers, known as the " Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies," has added a picturesque human touch to the majesty of the moun- tain ranges of Alberta and British Columbia. This year, early in August, the Pow Wow will take place beside Wapta Bun- galow Camp, after a three-day (forty-five mile) cross-country ride from Marble Canyon on the Banff-Windermere Road. The first night's camp will be on the heights facing Mount Helmet, and the second, at Lake O'Hara, will coincide with the close of the annual camp of the Alpine Club of Canada in the neighbourhood of the Lake. A squadron will ride up from Lake Windermere, through the Kootenay Valley, joining the Marble Canyon contingent on the Wolverine Plateau.
The membership of the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies is now well over three hundred, composed mainly of Canadians and Americans, with a sprinkling of British. This sprinkling it is hoped to increase as the attractions of the Order become better known on this side of the Atlantic. " Buttons " are issued to members according to the miles ridden, ranging from fifty up to 2,500 miles and upwards.
Beyond the mountains the Pacific Coast beckons the traveller. The sail between Vancouver, Canada's Gateway to the Orient, on the mainland, and Victoria on Vancouver Island, unfolds the charms of the Straits of Juan del Fuca. From Beacon Hill Park, Victoria, there can be had a view which has been described as one of the three outstanding views of the world. Below, the waters of the Straits sparkle in the western sun ; across the bay, on the American side, the Olympic Mountains stretch their panoramic grandeur along the shores, and around the park a background of hills com- pletes a spectacle which would be hard to rival.
A holiday in Canada leaves many imperishable memories, and the two journeys across the Atlantic and along the St. Lawrence River add zest to the enjoyment.
Kura MORRIS.
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