Advertisement
Published: October 12th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Labor Day we checked out of the Abigail Hotel in Victoria and headed for the Ferry that took us from Nanaimmo to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. The ride to Whistler was an 80-mile winding mountain road that is under construction in anticipation of the 2010 Winter Olympics. We checked into our room at the Delta Whistler Village Suites and decided to upgrade to a suite. We had very comfortable accommodations with a small kitchen-living area and separate bedroom. Whistler Village is right at the base of the mountain with fabulous shopping opportunities, many restaurants, hotels, condos and time-shares. It’s look is very European, a village with all the services; police, fire, schools and a library right there. We took in the sights and the incredible views of the mountains. Mountain biking is very big here in the off-season with hundreds of bikers waking their bikes through the center of town. Looking at the trails they ride down the mountain they must be crazy! The next day we rode the lifts to the top of Whistler Mountain. Getting there requires first taking the gondola and then an open chair to the summit. On the way up we saw a black bear
with her two cubs just walking up one of the trails. At the summit there is a large stone granite humanoid type statue, a symbol for the 2010 Winter Olympics. This is a big mountain and at the top all you see is the surrounding mountain range. It was not the clearest weather but the views are still amazing. We decided to walk down the summit road to pick up the Whistler Village Gondola at the Roadhouse Lodge located about three quarters of the way up the mountain at 6,000 feet. On the way down we found the Harmony Alpine Tea House open and stopped for water and hot chocolate. Before taking the ride back to the village we enjoyed lunch and the views. Amazingly they are building a 2.7-mile peak-to-peak gondola that will span 3,000 feet above the valley from here to Blackcomb that will open this December. What a great way to spend our last day of this amazing trip. The next morning after checking out we drove to Pemberton about twenty miles north of Whistler the site of the 2008 Pemberton Music Festival. We stopped at the visitor center and were given directions to Joffre Lakes Provincial
Park where a five-minute walk brought us to an incredible blue lake with views of the glacier that provides the water for the three lakes in the park. This is also bear country and we stopped the car to watch a brown bear just walking along the side of the road before deciding to go into the trees where it disappeared. It’s time to head back to Vancouver. We still have time to do a little sight seeing and a drive through Stanley Park, the largest urban park in North America, it’s a must see. After dropping off the rental car we ride the bus out to the airport. Our incredible journey is at an end. What a trip!!! So many wonderful memories of people, places and experiences.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.182s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 13; qc: 61; dbt: 0.1253s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb