The Rocky Mountains - Part 1

We started the drive to Whistler after our stop at the Capilano Bridge. John was driving and doing a great job but I was finding it difficult to be on the wrong side of the road still. Never mind all I had to be was a passenger. The car is very comfortable and the scenery was fabulous as the drive went on.

We arrived in Whistler to our accommodation The Pinnacle and parked the car as our rooms weren't ready. We found somewhere for lunch close to the hotel and then went for a wander to see parts of the village and find out about the Peak 2 Peak gondola. By this stage it was late afternoon and the information person said it would be better to come back in the morning as we wouldn't have enough time to enjoy it properly. Once we checked in we all had a bit of a cat nap before going to dinner at one of the many restaurants there are to choose from.

Not far from the restaurant were a set of Olympic rings as Whistler had the the winter Olympics in 2010. I made Cheryl have a photo with me sitting on either side. It is definitely a popular thing to do.

The dinner was very nice and the restaurant had a train running above the tables with various carriages with replicas of old fashioned advertising on it. it was hard to get a photo as it went by quickly and it was dark when you looked up into the rafters.

I decided to try the popular Canadian dish poutine which basically translates to "fries with cheese curds and gravy".  It did come with some protein of some sort which escapes me at the moment but it was nothing flash unlike what the name implies. After dinner a short stroll back to our hotel as we wanted to be up early to go to the gondola as we had a reasonable drive to do the next day to Clearwater.

Arrived at the gondola as it opened and there was already quite a line but once we had bought our tickets the line moved fairly quickly. What a great ride and the scenery was fabulous. The views going up of the village and surrounds were breathtaking. The gondola was a very smooth ride and there was lots to look at on the way up. In winter there are the skiers and snowboarders but in summer it becomes a haven for bike riders with lots of summer schools happening for the kids as well as the adults.  There were definitely some hairy trails and jumps!

Once at the top of the Whistler Gondola Cheryl and I had our photos taken on the first place podium at the top of the mountain. We walked around and had a look at the walking trails that you can do from the mountain top and there was still snow!! there were also a few skiers on the very top of the mountain where there was skiable snow.

I had a feel of the leftover snow and it mainly felt like crushed ice! Good for making margaritas I thought. We then got onto the Peak2Peak Gondola which would take across from Whistler Mountain to Blackcomb Mountain. Again fabulous views and this time we got a see through floored gondola to see what was below. I think I must be getting braver in my old age as the thought of the gondola ride previously would have had me shaking but not now. we had a coffee at the cafe on top of the mountain and then decided we had better get going. On top of the mountain was some wildlife known as the Hoary Marmot or Whistler and they made a strange whistling sound. Quite cute though.

Just to show that it did have a see through floor

Hoary Marmot or Whistler

There were 2 ways to go back to the village, one was to go back over to Whistler Mountain and go back the way we came or we could go down on the express chair lift. While that would have been good I wasn't going to trust having to jump off with my knee and with Cheryl's sore ankle as well we decided to go back the same way we had come up. The boys went down by the express route and only beat us by a couple of minutes. from the gondola going down we could see 2 lakes on either side of the village, one was a deep blue and the other one was a turquoise colour, both stunning.

After some shopping to take some lunch with us along the way we left Whistler behind for our drive to Clearwater.

With Peter driving we set off but decided not far into our journey to stop for lunch by a beautiful One Mile Creek Lake. There were quite a few people there swimming and canoeing. After lunch i went and tried the water and it was surprisingly nice.

After a nice repast we were on our way again. It was a very long drive to Clearwater about 6 hours. The scenery along the way was ever changing and while long it was pleasant for us passengers. We were glad to arrive at our destination but a little perturbed about the hotel, think old fashioned roadside motels on the way up the NSW coast. Where your car was parked out the front of your unit and they were all in a single row except that this one was two storey.

We asked about dinner and were directed across the road to the hotel attached to a conference centre. Well we walked in and you know the American yeehah movies where everyone stops to look at the interlopers, well that was us! As there were no tables in the actual restaurant we made our way to the bar and ordered dinner from a very friendly waitress. Surprisingly the dinner was very nice and I know that sounds condescending but if you had of been there you would have understood. After  long day it was off to bed for our next instalment Jasper.

Before breakfast Peter and I walked down to the lake which the accommodation was named after and a very pretty spot it was. There was a campground behind the motel with a few RVs parked there. We have found that there are a lot of RVs in Canada and they are huge!!!

Breakfast was at the same restaurant and it was like a scene from Twin Peaks or Northern Exposure as the trucker boys spent the morning discussing trucks and the waitress looked horrified that I didn't want a coffee with breakfast. Still a nice meal with very friendly service which reminded me of all the books I have read where the characters go to a diner for breakfast.

Another long drive today to Jasper which will be in the next instalment.