Whistler to Vancouver

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The village at Whistler is quite deliberately quaint. Every building’s style complements the overall appearance of an upscale European hamlet. The sidewalks are wide expanses of interlocking brick surrounded by interesting shops and international restaurants. It is beautiful but very contrived.

The contrast with the very natural beauty of its setting is remarkable. The views from the top of the mountains are wonderful - mountain peaks as far as the eye can see.

We took the gondola to the top of Whistler Mountain, then the new peak-to-peak gondola across a 4 km span to Blackcomb Mountain. We saw bears while crossing but weren’t quite quick enough to photograph them.

On the way to Vancouver, we stopped at Brakendale, the winter home of the bald eagles. We knew it was much too early to see the birds but wanted to show Sam the area. Just as well since she’s terrified of birds! We stopped again at the Capilano Suspension Bridge. I had crossed the bridge several times previously so I opted to wait in the car and have some quiet time to myself. Mark and Sam spent a couple of hours exploring.

On the way through Vancouver to our hotel, we took the road through Stanley Park. We got out of the car to look at the view of North Vancouver and encountered some very friendly raccoons, right before we saw the sign warning of rabid raccoons. Hmmm…

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