Vancouver and Beyond

Blue Horse Folk Art Gallery is an absolute ‘must visit’, if you should find yourself on Salt Spring Island.  The owners are family friends and we were lucky enough to park Lulu on their drive for the night, and enjoy a lovely meal which included figs and cherries straight from the garden.  This little ‘piece of heaven’ also does Bed and Breakfast, so please add it to your bucket list should you be travelling on the island.  (google it!)

A two hour ferry journey from Long Harbour takes you to Vancouver, where we were overjoyed that more family friends had cordoned off sufficient space outside their home for us to park Lulu! (think chairs and string!)  Situated within minutes of the ocean, we enjoyed two nights in a proper bedroom with the use of a proper shower, in this Heritage House with its beautiful front garden.  The garden is FULL of a spectacular array of plants, with lots of colour – and becomes the dining room for the summer months.

From here we discovered that Vancouver is a great ‘outdoor’ city.  Bicycle lanes snake throughout the city, beaches skirt the harbour, and wonderful trails cross the many parks.  Stanley Park is probably the most well known  (think rose gardens and cricket pitches) and it includes a nine km perimeter walk where we watched the enormous ships waiting in the harbour to off-load their cargo, numerous sea planes running passengers to local lakes, ferries rushing back and forth as well as many pleasure boats enjoying the sunshine.

We spent a happy day enjoying both a City Tour and a Park Tour – both hop-on/hop-off type buses – which gave us a good feel of the city.  We will definitely return – it needs at least a week to do it justice.  Vancouver has a vibrant atmosphere, and lots of smiling faces.  It’s location and investment potential make it one of the most expensive cities in the world, but well worth a visit!

The road north, around and through the Coastal Mountains is spectacular.  We spent two nights in Whistler, famous as the skiing centre for the 2010 Olympics.  Jaw dropping scenery in all directions.  Again, it’s not ‘what you know, but who you know’  – another family friend acted as tour guide.  A gondola ride up Whistler Mountain was breath taking (a half hour ride!) – a Peak to Peak Gondola (20 mins) had us suspended from the ‘longest unsupported span in the world – 3.024 km – whilst we crossed from the top of Whistler to Blackcombe Mountain.  Wonderful views in all directions, though sadly the haze and high cloud does not compliment my photos!

Heading further north from Whistler, we put Lulu through her paces as we went up and over an amazing mountain pass  (hair-pin bends++!) and followed the Duffey Lake Road all the way to Lillooet on the Fraser River.  Turning south,  the Fraser Canyon with its precariously built roads and railways has held us in awe for several  days.

Hell’s Gate is one of the narrowest parts of the Fraser River where the towering rocky cliffs come towards each other forcing 200 million gallons of water per minute, through a 33 metre passage.  Simon Fraser himself (after whom the river is named) struggled at this point of the river, which he decreed “a place where no human should venture, for surely these are the gates of Hell”.  The construction of one of the two railway lines that run along opposite cliffs, resulted in a huge rock fall which almost blocked the river in 1914.  The annual salmon spawn was all but obliterated.  Many years of unrest between the local Aboriginal tribes and the Government  resulted in the blockage being removed and fishways being built.  Over the years, they have been altered to allow for the varying water levels and salmon levels have returned towards normal.   All of this along with a heart stopping Air Tram, made this visit a memorable one.

Some of you have kindly asked if we have been affected by Wild Fires.  British Columbia has an excellent website (BC Fire Info) and we have been able to keep an eye out. From our campsite at Canyon Alpine, we have been aware of helicopters coming and going to refuel and pick up more fire crews and support materials.  An area we passed through today was slightly hazy (and smelled of smoke) from the Snowy Mountain fire (currently covering 12,000 hectares)  So far, we’ve been lucky  – we’ll keep you posted.

We are now in an almost desert like area in the south of the province.  It’s a wine growing region – depending on how well the tasting sessions go, (Hick!) I may see you next week!