Blind Bay to Whistler - a Dazzling Drive Through the Mountains

 Blind Bay to Whistler - a Dazzling Drive Through the Mountains

We'd done it before, and we always knew we'd do it again! 

After completing our latest house-sit with those 8 beautiful cats, we took off for the next stage of our expanded adventure in Western Canada - this time, to Whistler, where we had booked into an AirBnB for four nights. 

Retracing our passage through the Coastal Mountains, we passed through Kamloops, and stopped at Kamloops Lake to look out upon the barrenness of the terrain. 

This video clip shows an extra long freight train, snaking its way along the opposite shoreline

Only as we were leaving did we see this sign about rattlesnakes. (When I first came to Canada, I was happy to learn that the only poisonous snakes in Ontario were the Massassaga Rattlesnakes, and they were generally confined to the Georgian Bay area. For years, I had misunderstood that they were the only venemous slitherers in Canada - but this was corrected a few years back - a fact that I had forgotten until I read this sign!)

After a short while, we made our way westward towards Lillooet, situated on the Fraser River (the longest river in B.C.). It is one of the southernmost communities in North America where indigenous people form the majority. In our opinion, it also stars as one of the most beautiful areas in the Coastal Mountains, second only to Whistler and Squamish.

One of the many vineyards that are dotted all over B.C. 

The weather cooperated wonderfully for us, with the sun shining at the most opportune moments when we attempted to capture them on camera. Although the fall colours are not as splendid as those we see where we live, in Northern Ontario, B.C. provides its own version of the Fall, which is still spectacular. 

Before reaching Lillooet, we happened upon a 'ghost town' that could have been part of a movie set. Of course, we had to stop off and do the 'tourist bit', which was easy as it was closed, and so we had it all to ourselves. 

After a brief stop in the town of Lillooet, we revisited Seton Lake, one of the many lakes that take on an emerald hue, created by sunlight reflecting off a white clay layer on the lake beds. We had stopped here the last time we went through but, this time, we decided to take the trail down to the water's edge. We were not disappointed. 

This is where we sat to have our picnic - with a view!

The trail zig-zagged its way down to the water's edge

After sitting in the car for several hours, it felt good to get our bodies moving again. 

From Lillooet, we turned south towards Pemberton, one of the most interesting stretches of valleys, mountains, and bodies of water, gradually moving from steep roadside cliffs to more agricultural areas. 

The journey, if driven without stops, would take just under 5 hours. With various stops to take in the splendour of the vistas, we added a couple of hours to the journey. 

As we drew closer to Whistler, we noticed that there was more snow on the mountain tops and, in fact, we did go through an area where snow was falling gently around us, but not enough to settle on the road, nor make it slippery to drive on. 

Reaching Whistler, we found our accommodation, and settled in for the evening, with a hot-tub, followed by a comfy fire while watching our 'must-see' - Jeopardy! 

We never get tired of traveling amongst the mountains, of which B.C. has in abundance.