A New View of Canada Unfurls by Road and Rail Awesome Prairies, Primeval Forests - and Hordes of Insects Series: At Banff National Park, a Grazing Bighorn Sheep Let a Photographer Get within 15 Feet or So. 3-5) ALONG THE WAY: Freighters and Tankers (Top) Lie at Anchor in English Bay as Strollers Roam Stanley Park at the End of the Journey in Vancouver, British Columbia. off Highway 22X in High River, Alberta, (Left) Cowboys at the Hays Ranch Brand Calves in a Spring Ritual of Mooing, Mud, Whistling, and Smoke. Early Morning View of Vast Farmland from the Dome Car (above) on Via Rail, Canada's Government-Subsidized Passenger Service. the Train Is about 20 Miles East of Edmonton, Alberta., PHOTOS BY BILL GRANT, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR. ILLUSTRATION BY STAFF

Story Mark Clayton, writer of The Christian Science Monitor, The Christian Science Monitor

I KNEW, intellectually, that Canada was a vast place. But it didn't really sink in until I stopped amid the wheat fields of Saskatchewan to gaze down a set of railroad tracks that seemed to bend over the horizon.

A friend had told me this prairie province is so flat that in some places you can see the curvature of the earth. And there it was: Freshly plowed black soil laid out on a Titanic scale, running over the edge of the planet.

It was only a small personal revelation, but one that made me wonder what would be next as I worked my way west from Winnipeg, Manitoba, on a three-week trip across Western Canada's four huge provinces: Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, …

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Article title: A New View of Canada Unfurls by Road and Rail Awesome Prairies, Primeval Forests - and Hordes of Insects Series: At Banff National Park, a Grazing Bighorn Sheep Let a Photographer Get within 15 Feet or So. 3-5) ALONG THE WAY: Freighters and Tankers (Top) Lie at Anchor in English Bay as Strollers Roam Stanley Park at the End of the Journey in Vancouver, British Columbia. off Highway 22X in High River, Alberta, (Left) Cowboys at the Hays Ranch Brand Calves in a Spring Ritual of Mooing, Mud, Whistling, and Smoke. Early Morning View of Vast Farmland from the Dome Car (above) on Via Rail, Canada's Government-Subsidized Passenger Service. the Train Is about 20 Miles East of Edmonton, Alberta., PHOTOS BY BILL GRANT, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR. ILLUSTRATION BY STAFF. Contributors: Story Mark Clayton, writer of The Christian Science Monitor - Author. Newspaper title: The Christian Science Monitor. Publication date: June 15, 1994. Page number: 10. © 2009 The Christian Science Publishing Society. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.