So, as a treat for ourselves, we decided to take a day and go to Whistler, Canada, which is about 1.5 hrs away from Vancouver. A friend, who has a van, drove us and spent the day with us. The drive there was just as beautiful as when we got there. Benjamin was the most excited about the snow. It has been really warm here (in the 70's) for a week straight, so we were not sure if we would get to see snow. Much of it had melted, but there was plenty to play in still. It was an odd feeling playing in snow with it being so warm. I thought it would be colder that high up, so I brought gloves and jackets for everyone. In reality, they could have been in shorts and been plenty warm.
On our way up, we stopped for a picnic in Squamish at Shannon Falls. It is officially the biggest waterfall I have personally seen. (I have not been to Niagra Falls yet) The other neat thing, considering that we had 4 kids in tow, was that we did not have to hike very far at all to see it.
I really like this picture of Regan. Some of my favorites are when they are not posing for a pic, but just having fun. The kids enjoyed making snowballs.
So, once we got to Whistler, we rode the sky lift to the peak of it. That is where we saw all the snow. We saw a total of 7 bears, including a mom and 2 cubs! At the peak we rode a second gondala called Peak to Peak. It was fully enclosed and took you from one peak to the adjacent peak. It had great views, but was not for people afraid of heights. I love that kind of thing, but there were times when you looked down and felt a little dizzy. But like I said, I love that kind of thing.
This picture is not from the Peak to Peak, but just the first lift up. During the summer, the ski slopes are turned into bike runs. There was a competition the day we were there, so we saw lots of bikers riding down the mountain. One guy was riding down and jumped off a rock/mini cliff and everyone inside our little skyride was startled because it really looked like he was going to hit us. We looked at the spot he jumped from on the way back down and still can't believe that he made the jump.
And we have finally seen the inuksuk for ourselves. This little guy is everywhere in Vancouver (gift stores, etc) The best explanation we were given is that they are a sign of welcome and hospitality. We got a little one for a souvenier and it came with a card explaining some more. Here's what it said. They were originally created by the Inuit people (1st peoples to inhabit Alaska, Arctic Canada, and Greenland). Reasons to build one include hunting and navigational aids, message centers, to show people where food is stored, to mark the entrance of a landscape, to act as helpers in hunting caribou. So, now you know as much as I do :)
So, as a treat for ourselves, we decided to take a day and go to Whistler, Canada, which is about 1.5 hrs away from Vancouver. A friend, who has a van, drove us and spent the day with us. The drive there was just as beautiful as when we got there. Benjamin was the most excited about the snow. It has been really warm here (in the 70's) for a week straight, so we were not sure if we would get to see snow. Much of it had melted, but there was plenty to play in still. It was an odd feeling playing in snow with it being so warm. I thought it would be colder that high up, so I brought gloves and jackets for everyone. In reality, they could have been in shorts and been plenty warm.
On our way up, we stopped for a picnic in Squamish at Shannon Falls. It is officially the biggest waterfall I have personally seen. (I have not been to Niagra Falls yet) The other neat thing, considering that we had 4 kids in tow, was that we did not have to hike very far at all to see it.
I really like this picture of Regan. Some of my favorites are when they are not posing for a pic, but just having fun. The kids enjoyed making snowballs.
So, once we got to Whistler, we rode the sky lift to the peak of it. That is where we saw all the snow. We saw a total of 7 bears, including a mom and 2 cubs! At the peak we rode a second gondala called Peak to Peak. It was fully enclosed and took you from one peak to the adjacent peak. It had great views, but was not for people afraid of heights. I love that kind of thing, but there were times when you looked down and felt a little dizzy. But like I said, I love that kind of thing.
This picture is not from the Peak to Peak, but just the first lift up. During the summer, the ski slopes are turned into bike runs. There was a competition the day we were there, so we saw lots of bikers riding down the mountain. One guy was riding down and jumped off a rock/mini cliff and everyone inside our little skyride was startled because it really looked like he was going to hit us. We looked at the spot he jumped from on the way back down and still can't believe that he made the jump.
And we have finally seen the inuksuk for ourselves. This little guy is everywhere in Vancouver (gift stores, etc) The best explanation we were given is that they are a sign of welcome and hospitality. We got a little one for a souvenier and it came with a card explaining some more. Here's what it said. They were originally created by the Inuit people (1st peoples to inhabit Alaska, Arctic Canada, and Greenland). Reasons to build one include hunting and navigational aids, message centers, to show people where food is stored, to mark the entrance of a landscape, to act as helpers in hunting caribou. So, now you know as much as I do :)
