Western Canadian Rockies (WCR) – Day 4 – On to Whistler

Western Canadian Rockies (WCR) – Day 4 – On to Whistler

 

Today we leave Victoria behind and drive north on Vancouver Island to Nanaimo where we will get on a ferry and float over to Horseshoe Bay where we will hop on the Sea-to-Sky highway.  After yesterdays rain during our stroll through Butchart Gardens, I am happy that we have mostly clear and sunny skies.  Here is our last look at Victoria from the hotel.

We begin our trip following Canadian Route 1, the Trans-Canada Road.  Our first stop is an overlook allowing us to see Saanich Inlet and the peninsula on the other side where we came in on the other day.

Continuing on our way we make a quick stop in Chemainus a town, years ago, it was noted for its lumber mill.  When the lumbering dried up local officials decide to have artists paint murals on the side of businesses and now there is a tourist town.  We walked around town a little, taking some pictures and stopped in a bakery for something for lunch during our passage to the main land.  This mural is probably one of the best and most know of the murals in town.

It was interesting that we found logs in the water as they used to during a log float down the river.  You can clearly see the logs in the water with a log boom to hold the logs for continuing downstream.

We proceeded to Nanaimo to get on the ferry and after getting in line, we had about 20 minutes so off the bus to explore the shops.  While waiting to get back on the bus, someone noticed an otter playing next to the waiting area.  We were able to get a picture of the otter.  It was playing chasing something and it would not stay still.  Eventually it hopped back in the water and swam off.

 

The ferry ride was mostly uneventful.  The sun was shining, the seas calm, and unless you were standing right in front of the boat, the breeze was acceptable.  The temperature was comfortable and cold if you were standing in the wind.  An interesting sight we had during our crossing was that of a submarine bearing North West.

 

We can see the mountains above our destination and our anticipation of seeing snow capped peaks definitely are raised.  As you can see clouds surround the peaks, but that makes for more views that are dramatic.

So now we are on the Sea-to-Sky highway headed to Whistler which is only about 100 km (which is only 62 miles) and should only take us a little over an hour.  When we reach the town of Squamish, we pass Shannon water fall near the road.  There is a short window to take a picture, which I missed, but Carmen was able to catch a quick picture of the waterfalls.

 

On both sides of the road as we travel north along the road, we find tall peaks with snow.  More than likely the snow is glacial or at least permanent.  As you can see from these pictures, the landscape is pretty stunning. 

As we continued down the road, someone on the bus sees a Black Bear sow and her cub, while everyone was looking for a mountain top feature on the other side of the bus.  We were able to stop for about 10 minutes to take pictures, thanks to our driver Adrian.  Unfortunately, there is a lot of glare on the windows, so I’m hoping some of the pictures come out.

As several cars passed close to the bears, the cub ran up the tree.  Carmen says that the cub is so cute.  That may be true, but they still wouldn’t let me get out of the bus to take pictures.

 

In Whistler, we drop off a number of people that will go on a float plane flight around the area.  Helen and Charlie are going, but we are not.  We’ll spend a little time to unwind then grab something to eat at the “Old Spaghetti Factory”.  We are in the section of Whistler where the Olympic torch and rings are. 

By the way, as I write this it is around 9:20 pm and it is still light out.  As a matter of fact, here is the sunset picture.

Bob and Carmen