Sea to Sky Highway

We decided to go on the Sea to Sky Highway to whistler for the day. The weather was great and we took our South African friends with us for the day. We left at about midday and made our first stop at Shannon Falls. We also took the walkie talkies with us and the other car got a running commentary of the things that we were seeing along the way.

Shannon Falls was fun with the kids climbing all over the rocks at the bottom of the falls. Daniel managed to slip and fall in, getting his shoes, socks and pants wet. We had a picnic lunch in the park and then continued the trip. As we were passing the Strawmus Chief (a huge monolith) we could see the coloured specks of people climbing the rock. We stopped several times for the views of the Tantalus Range and the views of the Cheakamus River valley.

There has been a lot of roadwork on this highway in preparation for next year's winter Olympics, and the road is pretty much completed. It is double lane almost all the way to Whistler.

The next stop was Brandywine Falls. This waterfall has a spectacular 70 metre drop to the valley floor and then feeds into a lake formed by a dam. On the walk to the falls from the carpark we crossed a railway line, and could see the Whistler Mountaineer slowly moving around a bend in the track so that the travellers on the train could get a decent view. The rocks and trees all around are covered in a green moss, which gives the whole are a kind of soft feel about it.

When we arrived in Whistler we parked the cars and walked to the base of the Whistler and Blackcomb chairs. The whole area has been taken over by mountain bikers who are all covered in body armour. Every second chair on the chairlift has been converted to be able to carry bikes. We wandered around the village for a while and then stopped at a pub for some snacks and drinks.

On the way home the views were jast as spectacular and we made several stops for photos.

Meeting family in Burlington

Bryan and family left Seattle after doing the Underground Tour, and drove up I5. I arranged to meet them in Burlington at a supermarket, and we drove out to a friend's place for lunch. We then took Chuckanut Drive along the coast and bought some seafood at Taylor's Shellfish Farm. We stopped for the views along the way and headed for Vancouver via Bellingham.

The Cascade Loop

Paula and I arranged to met Patty at Sea-Tac airport because she was going to be seeing someone off at the same time that we were meeting Bridget and Daniel. We sent them up to Burlington for a few days while we went and met Kerrie, another teacher from Australia, and one of her cousins, Regeena.

We picked them up in Seattle and headed for Everett where we turned off I5 to start the Cascade Loop. The road heads towards the Cascades through the farming area of Monroe and climbs towards Stevens Pass, which also has a ski area with nordic and downhill facilities. The pass is 4,061 feet (1,238 m) above sea level. The trees begin to thin as you head east over the mountains.

We followed the Wenatchee River down the valley to Leavenworth, which is a beautiful village that has a Bavarian flavour. Back in the 1960's the logging industry was falling apart and the town decided to remodel with a Bavarian influence to attract tourism. We spent some time exploring the shops and admiring the scenery. There are many shops catering for tourists, and most of the hotels seemed to be full.

We travelled further along the Wenatchee River to Wenatchee, which is in the centre of a large apple growing area. It is also where the Wenatchee River meets the Columbia River. It has a population of around 30,000 and has a nickname of "The apple capital of the world".

The next day we had a bit of a drive around Wenatchee, crossing the Columbia River twice, before heading further up the Columbia River. The country is so dry along the river valley. It is like a desert. There are no trees in sight, and it is amazing that there is so much water in the river, but that the countryside nearby looks so dry. The valley is obviously very fertile because wherever there is some available land, it is irrigated and producing a variety of fruit crops.

We stopped at Lake Chelan, which is the 3rd deepest lake in the US, and the 24th deepest in the world. We walked along the main street, checking out the shops and local galleries, and then headed towards Winthrop. There was a smoky haze in the sky, which restricted our view of the mountains. There have been fires in BC, and we wondered where this smoke was coming from. It was also quite warm, but it wasn't until we got to Twisp and called in at a supermarket, that we found out how hot. It was 108 degrees Fahrenheit. We stopped at the supermarket in Twisp to get some lunch and also to view the displays inside. The owner is a hunter, and has stuffed trophies on display on the walls and above the upright freezer aisles. He has many types of deer from around here, and a bison, and black bear. He also has lots of animals from other parts of the world including safaris in Africa. At the information counter there are photos of his latest acquisition - a fully grown bull elephant. I didn't think you were allowed to hunt like that anymore.

We stopped several times during the trip, and I issued warnings to be on the lookout for rattlesnakes if we stepped off the side of the road. I have heard several stories of the rattlesnakes in this area. Luckily we didn't see, or hear any.

Winthrop is a tourist town with a cowboy, western appearance. There are covered verandahs with wooden boardwalks on both sides of the street. It was in 1972 when Highway 20 was nearing completion across the North Cascades that the locals decided to restore the town with the American Old Western theme. It attracts tourists throughout the year and has over 100 miles of groomed snow trails in winter.

We began the climb into the mountains, which were mainly hidden from view by the smoke haze. It actually created an eerie kind of scene as mountains appeared out of the haze, and had an orangish tinge as the sunlight shone through the smoke. We still stopped several times for photos, and found that there were still patches of ice that hadn't yet melted along the side of the road. When we got to the viewpoint over Ross Lake there was a sign from the National Parks Service stating that they were monitoring at least 12 fires in the National Park that ranged in size from a single tree to quite large fires. Some of the fires had been burning for over two months. The lake was a brilliant milky aqua colour, which sparkled with the sunlight.

The road follows the Skagit River, which had very little water flowing in it below the dam. It began to grow as other streams and rivers flowed into it. Near Concrete we stopped for a view of part of the local elk herd grazing near the river. There would have been around 30 animals in the herd. We continued down the Skagit Valley towards Burlington where we caught up with Bridget and Daniel. Paula stayed here with them and I drove Kerrie and Regeena back to Vancouver.

Edmonton, Alberta

From Canmore we headed to Red Deer. We wanted to have a look at the place because this was where I had originally been matched for an exchange in 2008. It is in the middle of the Alberta praries. It has a population of around 90,000 and is surrounded by farms. We stopped at the Information Centre, which was at The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

We then headed north towards Edmonton, calling in at the small town of Lacombe, which has, in recent years, been getting the walls of the central business district painted with murals depicting the history of the area. You can see, read about, and listen to a podcast about the murals here.

From Lacombe we again headed towards Edmonton, passing the town of Leduc, which was the site of Alberta's first oil strike in 1947. We decided to head for Elk Island National Park to camp for the night. On the drive into the park we saw a small herd of bison near the road. We set up camp in the Astotin Lake camping area and walked to the lake to watch the sunset. The next day I went for a walk to the Beaver Ponds. I should have used the insect repellant before I left. I didn't see any signs of moose, or beavers, although I did see several lodges in the lakes and ponds.

We packed up our tent and went for another walk in a search for bison, but with no signs of them within an hour of walking we left the Park and headed for Edmonton. We found a campground very close to Fort Edmonton, which we planned to visit the next day. It was in a valley just off Whitemud Drive, and it was right next to a ski club. The local Snow Valley Ski Club has a lodge and 2 chair lifts on the nearby slopes. This is only minutes away from West Edmonton Mall, Fort Edmonton Park, and not far from the centre of the city. We camped next to a teacher from Red Deer, who said that there have been quite a few teachers from Red Deer exchanging to Australia over the years, and he thinks that the teacher I was matched with last year, is in Australia now.

The next day we packed our tent and headed for Fort Edmonton. It was a nice sunny day and we got quite warm walking around. Once in the Park, we boarded a steam train for the journey back in time to the fur trading and the Hudson Bay Company. The fort has been built to original plans and gives you an idea of what life would have been like in those times. The docents (the people who act in period costume) tell you what it was like and answer questions as if they were living in those times. Just outside the fort is a First Nation settlement with a couple of tepees. From the fort you walk around a corner and are greeted with a vista of an 1885 Edmonton street, with a variety of shops and houses. Further on, and around another corner you find a 1905 street with electric lights and a tram car running down the street. You continue around another corner to the 1920's. It was very good value for $13.50 per adult. We spent most of the day there.

We then wanted to see West Edmonton Mall and it's nine attractions:

• Galaxyland - the world's largest indoor amusement park
• World Waterpark - five acre indoor waterpark
• Professor Wem's Adventure Golf
• Putt 'n' Glow
• Ice Palace - National Hockey League sized ice skating rink
• Sea Life Caverns
• Sea Lions' Rock
• Deep Sea Derby
• Ed's Rec Room

There are also over 800 shops in the mall. When you park your car you need to take note of the door that you enter the mall through, so that you can remember where to get out. There are 58 entrances. Click here for some Mall trivia.

Canadian Rockies

After taking Bridget and Daniel to Seattle so that they could go to Philadelphia for a couple of weeks, Paula and I headed inland on our way to Canmore in the Canadian Rockies.

We crossed the Cascades over Snoqualmie Pass, and headed towards Spokane. On the way we travelled through the farming area of Ellensburg. All along the highway the fields were full of hay bales in various shapes. Some were looking like huge marshmallows wrapped in white plastic, but most were in large rectangular shape that were then stacked in huge hay sheds, or stacked in long shapes like a shed, which then had large blue and white tarpaulins thrown over the top. It seems like a lot of the summer work on the farms here is to provide feed for their animals in the winter.

The landscape continued to change as we went further inland. It seemed that the closer we got to the Columbia River Valley, the drier the land looked. There were no trees, and the entire landscape was rocky and brown. From this plateau it is quite a descent to the river. We crossed the river at Vantage, and then began the climb back out of the valley. The dry valley began to change to huge farms on both sides of the highway.

From Spokane we headed towards Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and north to cross the border into Canada. We were looking for a place to stay and found a Provincial Park at Yahk. We camped right on the river.

We continued on through Fairmont Hot Springs, Radium Hot Springs and into the Kootanay National Park. The road entered the park through Sinclair Canyon, which had been cut through the mountains by a river that the road follows. Amazing mountain scenery all around.

We arrived in Banff and spent a short while getting supplies before driving the 24 km to Canmore. While staying in Canmore we explored the town, walked along some local trails, drove to Lake Minnewanka, and drove the Kannanaskis Loop.

At Lake Minnewanka some of the backcountry trails had been closed because of an active mother grizzly bear and cub, and while on the Kannanaskis Loop we spotted a mother moose and calf near the road, and also several groups of mountain sheep. When we crossed back through the Jasper National Park on the way home we also spotted quite a few mountain sheep.

Celebration of Light fireworks

We have just come home from a fireworks show in English Bay. It was part of the Celebration of Light fireworks shows. Over 4 different nights, 4 countries compete for the overall best show of fireworks set to music. Tonight was the last night and it was China’s turn, Last Wednesday it was South Africa, which also had a natural Celebration of Light with a massive lightning storm just before their show. Have a look at Youtube. Last Wednesday week Canada opened the show and was followed last Saturday by the UK.

We had decided that we would go in our van with friends from down the road, because we could get more in, and would only have to take one vehicle. I arrived to pick them up and found that we had another friend of the boys coming as well. That meant we would have 4 adults and 5 kids in a seven seat van. We decided that two of them could sit on blankets in the back. I also attached the bicycle carrier so that I could take my bike. They were expecting around a million people in the city, and parking would be a problem. We had a good run in at around 6:00 pm, and I dropped them right on the beach road at English Bay, which is where the fireworks were being staged. My task then was to find a parking spot. All parking for blocks around the area was restricted and they were towing offending vehicles. I headed further in to the city. I finally found some some high-rise car parks where it was only $5 for the night. The problem was that I had a cargo boot on the roof and couldn't get in because of the height. I had to get the chairs out of it before it was light enough to lift off, get the bike and rack off the trailer hitch so that I could open the back of the car and get the boot in. This done, I then put the bike and rack back on and parked in the parking garage. I then stowed the rack in the car and hopped on the bike to ride across town back to English Bay.

Everyone seemed to be going in the same direction. When I got back to the beach the crowd had grown. There were people searching for a good position from which to watch the fireworks, and an already large crowd on chairs, towels and blankets. We still had 3 hours to wait. It was entertaining watching the passing parade of people. There were hundreds of boats in a semi-circle around the barges from where the fireworks would be launched. The police boats were patrolling the area making sure that they stayed a good distance away. An emergency fire boat put on a display of shooting water from it's two water cannons, and the police were in force patrolling the crowd, and searching coolers and bags for alcohol. One guy near us was arrested for smoking pot. He was handcuffed, and bags and bicycle marched away. The crowd was very well behaved as we counted down for the show. At 9 pm there was a blast and three sky rockets exploded. The countdown had begun. There was a similar explosion at 9:15, 9:30, 9:40 and 9:50. Ten minutes to go.

Just before 10:00 pm the Chinese National Anthem was played, and then the show began. They put on a wonderful display, but it was difficult to hear the music from where we were and through the noise of the explosions which reverberated from the nearby high-rise apartment buildings. There was no breeze so the smoke hung low over the water. The show lasted about 25 minutes and finished with about 30 seconds of continuous explosions and star bursts. There were huge applause and then the crowd began to move. I crossed the road through the crowd to get my bicycle and when I had unlocked it and turned around I couldn't see the rest of them anywhere.

I walked my bike with the crowd because there were just so many people. When I got to where the crowd thinned a little I got on the bike and rode to where the car was parked, and got it out of the garage. I then had to get the cargo boot back on to the roof and then hope that they remembered where I had said that the car was parked. I had packed the walkie-talkies and had given them 2 while i had the other. I began calling them but was getting no reply. There was no point in me driving in the direction they were coming from because roads were closed and I had no real idea of which way they would be coming from. Finally after about 30 minutes I heard crackling on the walkie-talkie. After several crackly calls I managed to work out where they were and went to pick them up.

Once in the car we had a dream run home. It was quite a fun night.

Roasting in Vancouver

We have been back in Vancouver for the last two days, which just happen to be the 2 hottest days ever on record in the city. There are no fans in this house, and you can't get one anywhere in the city. There is no breeze at all, and there are no insect screens on any of the doors or windows. We can't leave the front door open because of the possibility of local wildlife, including bears, may walk in. The humidity here is high, so it is not too comfortable

Waiting for a breeze to pick up.