We are a happily married Canadian couple who endeavour to keep a positive outlook on life which overflows into everything we do. This enables us to create a wonderful life together, and we continue to attract the most amazing people into our lives. We love traveling, and are in our element when we are house/pet sitting as we are crazy about animals - both wildlife and domestic.
After a fantastic journey through the Coastal Mountain Range from Kamloops, we arrived in Whistler last night, and settled in to our Airbnb condo, which will be our home for the next 4 days.
The view from our balcony
Today, we ventured up to the summits of Blackcomb and Whistler Mountains, via the gondolas, which are still operating on weekends until Thanksgiving. We had bought tickets online, which allowed us the option of unlimited crossings between the two peaks. Our plan was to travel to the top of Blackcomb Mountain, cross over the valley to Whistler, and find a couple of trails that we could hike before returning to the base.
Alas, we had forgotten that the snow, that looks so picturesque from the village, below, was quite deep in places at the top, rendering any potential hikes slightly hazardous, so we changed our plans and decided to enjoye the views that presented themselves to us.
We were greeted by this snowman - the first we had seen this year!
Road track for access vehicles
Lodge, with restaurant and gift shop at the top of Blackcomb Mountain
View of Whistler Village in the valley, below
Station where we caught the second gondola to travel over the valley to the summit of Whistler Mountain
Olympic Rings at the Whistler Summit
Mark managed to capture this black bear in the valley below. Unfortunately, the swaying of the gondola precluded a clearer picture
Chipmunk feasting in the snow
The glass bottom gondola - our choice for the peak-to-peak crossing
The snow was deeper than we had expected
We spent a couple of hours up at 'the top of the world', partaking in a couple of coffees to enhance our picnic lunch, called a couple of friends to catch up, as well as share what we were doing, and hosted a Facebook Live video call from the returning peak-to-peak gondola, which we had to ourselves. We know several people who will probably never be able to have that experience, and decided to share it with them. What amazes us is that over 50 people joined us on the call, or shortly after, so show their appreciation and/or make comments. Also, it has been viewed over 250 times! Astonishing, really, when you come to think of it. (Here's the link, if you subscribe to Facebook, and would like to see it:
We took this video for the benefit of those who do not have a Facebook account:
Returning to the base, we strolled through the market stalls that had been set up along a couple of the streets, and parts of the main village before returning to the condo for a short rest and to freshen up before going out to dinner.
Maple Taffy, made by pouring hot maple syrup over ice, and then rolling a stick through the cooling liquid
Although the colours are not as splendid as those in Elliot Lake, they put on a fair showing here. Most of the trees in the surrounding areas are softwood.
Mark has a thing about being close to bears!
There were literally hundreds of people lining up for the mountain-biking experience.
Olympic Rings in the village, in honour of the 2010 Winter Olympics, held here, and in Vancouver
We had checked out the menus of several eating establishments, and settled for the Amsterdam Cafe Pub. Like many other restaurants, the outside patio had heaters that enable patrons to dine outside, even in the winter months.
Enjoying a shandy while waiting for dinner to be served
It was a pleasant way to finish of a wonderful day!
Today, we decided to explore the other side of the lake and follow the road all the way to its end at Seymour Arm. We weren't too sure what to expect, but the route passed by some provincial parks, so we were sure to get in a couple of hikes.
Shortly after we had left, we espied a bald eagle high up on a branch of a roadside tree. Eagle Bay Road is aptly named, as they can often be seen along that stretch.
Bald Eagle preening himself
Passing through the little town of Blind Bay, and just 25 minutes or so into the drive, we reached our first stop - Tsútswecw Provincial Park (pronounced 'choo-chwek', meaning 'many rivers').
There were several short hiking trails, and we chose the one leading to a lookout, where one of the many salmon runs may be seen. In fact, this park is known for being one of the largest sockeye salmon runs in North America. We found out that we were just two weeks shy of the time when they start, but this bodes well for where we are scheduled to be on Vancouver Island at that time.
The massive cottonwood trees are amazing, and provided a preview of the redwoods we're hoping to see on the Island.
It's amazing how tall these Cottonwood trees grow
About 20 minutes later, further along our route, we found the entrance to Shuswap Lake Provincial Park, complete with areas for camping and day use.
The beach was stony, but picturesque. We took a walk along a trail following the beach, after having our picnic lunch.
We were able to zoom in across the lake to see the house where we are staying, such is the power of the lens on our new camera, to reach just under 4 km over the bay.
Continuing our journey, the paved road gave way to one that was unmade. What should have taken just over an hour extended to 90 minutes due to the added challenge of frequent potholes and ridges that had to be negotiated.
On the road, which clung tightly to the lake for much of the journey, we were able to glimpse a couple interesting things. A log float was resting by a dock, probably awaiting pick up from one of the many logging trucks that had passed us along the way.
The first time I saw these, there were dozens of log floats in the Fraser river as we approached Vancouver on the Rocky Mountain Train (back when it was still part of the national Via Rail). Fascinated by the logging industry, we see lots of logging trails in, and around, Elliot Lake, and huge logging trucks often wind their way through the backroads and onto the highway. However, we don't see log floats very much in Ontario; but here, in B.C., it is still quite commonplace. Also, there was a small Mississippi-type steamboat anchored near the shore. Not certain if it was a replica, or a working craft, but it was worth the snapshot.
After what seemed a very long time, we took the turning towards Albas Falls Provincial Park. Although the road left much to be desired, the view that met us when we finally reached the lake took us by surprise, and drew an instantaneous gasp from us both.
Such splendour in nature never leaves us untouched, and this was no different as lake and sky seemed to kiss, with the mountain backdrop adding to the effect. The photo doesn't do it justice, but you'll get an idea of what saw in this short video clip:
Stunning view which met us when we came to the end of the very narrow dirt track
We stopped for over half an hour to walk along the beach, revering the different aspects of the surrounding scenery.
Just before we left, a truck and trailer (caravan) arrived and we drew a sigh of relief that we had not met a similar vehicle on our way into the park. The road was very narrow for most of the way, so we were glad that we had had it to ourselves. We remarked upon how lovely it would be to camp in such a remote area.
On the way back to the main dirt road, we stopped by a small footpath leading to another lookout point where the Albas Falls cascade over the jagged rocks.
Love how the moss covers the ground like a carpet of green
We are always mesmerized by the power of moving water.
After returning to the main road again, we continued on our way, finally reaching the end of the route at the little settlement of Seymour Arm.
It has an interesting history, but there was not much there that was of current interest. Apart from a pub, with a deck overlooking the lake, a wharf, and a few cabins, the settlement was very sparse. We both agreed that the view from Albas was far superior. Nevertheless, we were glad that we had made it to the end of the road, if only to satisfy our curiosity.
On our way back, we enjoyed passing through the several townships that dot the area, as well the vistas of the vast lake alongside which we were traveling. We often find that the views seen on return journeys show different aspects of the same setting - and, on some occasions, those aspects surpass the ones seen on the outward journey.
All in all, it was another good day where we got to experience a little more of the wilderness of British Columbia.
