Experience The Mountain Parks Blog

Banff Visitor Centre pays tribute to its cultural history

Two original artworks now adorn the outside of the Parks Canada Banff Visitor Centre. Once a well-known auditorium in the 1930s for the Banff School of Fine Arts and today a heritage building, it will once again contribute to the promotion of art education in the park. With its perfect location in the Welcome Kiosk, it is expected to be viewed by over 135,000 annual visitors who seek information services while in the park. In fact, it is likely to be appreciated by a whole lot more visitors exploring Banff Avenue as the brilliant colours and exposed wood inlay technique is highly noticeable and unique. Parks Canada’s intent was to create two distinct pieces that would interpret the natural and cultural heritage of Banff National Park to visitors from around the world. The goal was to create a special place on Banff Avenue where visitors would be naturally drawn and inspired to take a memorable photo of their visit to Canada’s first national park. The only guidance provided for the design was that it was to portray the stories of wildlife, exploration, Canadian Pacific Railway, and mountain landscape. Sketches were hand drawn by pencil to create the initial composition. Then, the two-month long meticulous work of designing and carving each individual piece began. The two panels combined include over 500 individually shaped pieces. The artist, Fraser McGurk says he was thrilled to work on this project because usually his inspiration comes directly from his surroundings. What made this project exciting and rewarding to him was the research element. Spending hours mulling over old black and white photographs in the Archives of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies was inspiring and the direction for the art.

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Getting Off The Grid. Great for Adventure Lovers!

Fishing enthusiasts have long understood the benefits of visiting remote locations. Although the lodging at fly-in camps may be off the electrical grid, the setting meant a better experience. Now, other adventure lovers can have an off-the-grid experience and without the cost of a flight. Nipika Mountain Resort in southeast British Columbia is a scenic four-hour drive from Red Deer and offers premium cross-country skiing and mountain biking conditions with space to roam. Nipika was the brainchild of Lyle and Dianne Wilson. A former coach with Canada’s Olympic Cross Country ski team, Lyle discovered the location that would make his dream of a resort a reality, while out skiing in 1979. Dianne and Lyle bought 144 acres of this land adjacent to Kootenay National Park and started creating trails and adding buildings. The result is an eco-resort with several cabins, a conference centre and day lodge, all developed in harmony with the natural environment. Most of the buildings and furniture at the resort were built from wood killed by the mountain pine bark beetle. The Nipika Day Lodge is a recycled building. Lyle found an old farm building near Golden and took it apart, labelling each piece of wood so it could be rebuilt in its original form. Gazing at the solid wood beams, I could see no signs of mechanical cutting, everything was hand-hewn when these trees were felled. The building is now used for waxing skis, and trail orientation. It was a luxury to leisurely apply wax to my skis while my toes stayed warm. Usually, I shiver and quickly slap on wax in a parking lot. You cannot plug in a hair dryer at Nipika, but it should not be a problem since you will find yourself wearing a bike helmet or ski toque much of the day. Water for coffee is boiled on a stove, not brewed in a coffee maker. Disconnecting from the wired world is probably the hardest change, but rumour has it, that if you wander around the main reception area you might pick up an occasional wi-fi signal. If you decide to go, visit www.nipika.com for more information. 

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And the second place in the Friends & Family category goes to...

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And the second place in the Wildlife & Flowers category goes to...

Yu Liu, of Calgary, Alberta, submitted this shot called "Foxy, Waterton Lkanes National Park, Alberta, September 23, 2012".
Yu won a portable campfire courtesy of Campfire In A Can with an approximate retail value of $330.

Congrats Yu!

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And the winners of our 2012/2013 Photos and Videos Contest are...

The winner -scratch and reveal the name at the bottom of the winning photo-- of our 'Friends & Family' Category, has won a Dream Getaway to Revelstoke including the following:

• 1 night stay for 2 at Poppi’s Guesthouse
• 2 night stay at Powder Springs Inn
• An adult and youth adventure Tower Combo at Sky Trek Adventure Park
• $40 for Benoit’s Wine Bar
• One Family Pass for Enchanted Forest
• 2 passes to Revelstoke Museum and Archives
• 2 passes to Revelstoke Railway Museum
• 2 passes to the Nickelodeon Museum
• 2 Parks Canada passes and 2 prints
• One helicopter sightseeing tour with a stop and walk with Glacier Helicopters

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The winner -scratch and reveal the name at the bottom of the winning photo-- of our 'Wildlife & Flowers' Category, has won  a Dream Getaway to Banff including the following:

• 2 night stay at the Banff Aspen Lodge
• 4 tickets for the Sulphur Mountain Gondola and the Banff Lake Cruise by Brewster Attractions
• $50 gift certificate to the Old Spaghetti Factory
• 1 set of 3 guide books by Graeme Pole
• 1 guided hike with Graeme Pole (priceless) 
• 20 min Family Trail Ride with Timberline Tours
• 4 pairs of hiking boots for a family of 4 provided by Keen Canada (valued around $800)
• 4 portable campfires provided by Campfire In A Can (valued around $330 each) 

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