Second Week in Canada
We were picked up by Ian and Karen at 9.30 am from outside our accommodation and headed for Whistler. Went through some interesting parts of downtown Vancouver then over the Lions gate Bridge and on to the main highway heading towards Whistler.
When we started off the weather was good (Vancouver style) but started to get a bit overcast with rain threatening. We pulled into Shannon Falls Provincial Park which is just off the highway to see a spectacular waterfall. Not sure of the statistics, however if you use Google you will find all the information you will need. The water coming off the falls is absolutely clear. Funny thing about waterfalls, the Canadian ones sound exactly the same as the ones in Australia, however the volume may be a little bit louder.
On arrival at the falls the rain started, not enough to put a dampener on things.
We proceeded up the highway to Whistler. Whistler is 123 km from where we are staying (pretty close to the centre of Vancouver) and according to Google Maps it should take 1 hour 51 minutes. Because the road is fairly windy and there are some fairly steep grades the speed is limited. The highest posted speed that I saw was 90 kmph. Most of the road was either 80 or 60 kmph.
By the time we arrived it was lunch time so we parked the car and headed for the village where we had lunch. There was a lot to choose from. After lunch we went on the Whistler Village Gondolla which took us up to Whistler Roundhouse Lodge which is at the top of Whistler Mountain. Whistler Village is 675 m above sea level and the Roundhouse Lodge is 1850 m above sea level. I must admit it was a very spectacular way to travel. The view was tremendous.
On arrival at the top of the Gondola ride, (I reckon it was only about 2/3 the way up the mountain because there were chairlifts taking people further up the mountain) we went into another shed where there were larger gondolas coming and going. This was the Peak 2 Peak. I'm not sure if it is the largest, highest etc. but if you look it up on Google you will find out all about it. It is really incredible. The Peak 2 Peak travels from Whistler Mountain at 1850 m to Blackcomb Mountain at 1860 m, 4.4 km away. The gondola we went on had a glass bottom.
The views were absolutely spectacular.
Came back from Blackcomb Mountain on one of the normal cars without the see through floor.
After we came off the mountain down to the village we ad an ice-cream while we investigated the village. It was where a lot of the outdoor sports were conducted during the Winter Olympics held in Vancouver in 2010. There is still a large legacy from that event here in British Columbia.
We had a bit of a rest after settling into our accommodation. Karen did a wonderful job. The accommodation was great.
We went out to dinner and I had a dish called "Poutine". Becca has been wanting me to have this since she came over to visit Karen and Ian and I wasn't disappointed. For the uninitiated Poutine is chips and gravy, but not just any chips and gravy. The dish I had had small cubes of braised beef, mushrooms, onion and cheese curd. Good stuff.
We ended our evening with a walk around the Upper Village where there was still a bit of snow lying about. Deb and Karen both did snow angels. Unfortunately I haven't got a picture of this to show you.
Monday 21 April
The rain was very steady overnight and was still going this morning as we headed back to Vancouver. On the way we stopped at the Britannia Mine Museum. Britannia Mine was a copper mine that was in production from 1904 until 1974 and until 1956 had to have everything brought in and out by ship. The railway didn't reach it until 1956 and the road didn't get there until 1958.
A very interesting tour of the mine and processing plant.
Proceeding into the mine by train.
Mobile toilet facilities (Miners had to provide their own paper)
External view of the processing plant that was constructed in 1923.
Internal view of the processing plant. It was used up until the mines closure in 1974.
Some views from the mine site:
We stopped for lunch at a small place called Horseshoe Bay. It has a ferry terminal, lots of small shops and a fish and chip shop called "Trolls" where we had lunch. Karen, Ian and Deb had cod. I had something different, just for the hallibut. (Had to get that one in). It was hallibut.
Had a nice evening and dinner with Ian and Karen back at their place.
Tuesday 22 April
Today has been a quiet day. Washing had to be done for a start and we wanted to do some shopping for meat and vegetables for dinner tonight.
We went down to Granville Island Market to get our produce. It is similar to the Queen Victoria Markets im Melbourne but not quite as big. I thought I would show you some of thre meat prices that were at one of the butchers. They have the prices for both pound and kilogram as they have not long changed over to the metric system and I also think because of their proximity to the United States they are tending to use both measurements.
If you have a look closely the price per kilo is $65.50
These lamb chops are $72.58 per kilo
Beef mince (Ground Beef) is just over $12 per kilo
We went back to the apartment for lunch, bread and vegemite for me and a bagal for Deb. After lunch we went for a walk and there were a large number of people out and about because of the good weather. We went to local park where there is a play area for dogs. The owners can let them off the leash and let them run around. Out of this area the dogs must be on a leash at all times.
Most of the open spaces and other areas have water features and this one was no exception. Ian was telling us that they are not run through winter because the all freeze up.
Well that is the end of another day of our Overseas Odyssey.
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