Canada

I recently had the opportunity to vacation in Canmore, Canada. Canmore is located about 5 minutes from the entrance to Banff & Jasper National Park. The park is a beautifully preserved area where people have worked hard for many years to keep it beautiful. There are very few towns and they park is designed to attract hikers. You can hike/bike all the way through the park with overnight camping stops every 20km.
Alberta, Canada is known as Wild Rose Country (according the licensens plate). While on our first hike I learned what that really meant. The picture of the flower is the beautiful wild rose that grows all over the countryside. Another tidbit I learned a little more about was the growing season in that part of Canada. Because it is so cold the evergreens (most prominent tree) do not grow very large. At one point in Jasper National Park our guide pointed out trees that were about 500 years old, but they looked like they couldn't be more than 20 years old when comparing them to evergreens I've seen grow in parts of the U.S. It was amazing to think they had lasted for 500 years. After learning and seeing that I watched carefully where I stepped while hiking to insure I wasn't stepping on any "saplings".