Whistler – the other story!

Canada - land of lakes

We last posted as we were about to leave the USA and head into Canada (with a quick stop at camping world to buy some more levelling blocks for the RV as some of ours were broken). Getting into Canada proved a very stress-free process. We were unsure about what foods we could take across the border so decided to eat up what we had in the last couple of weeks in the USA.
We did try getting information from a website but it was all a bit vague. We arrived at the border on the 4^th July public holiday but only experienced a wait of about 30 mins. We got to the front and answered three questions about our destination (Whistler) what we were going to do (mountain bike) and if we were going to sell our RV in Canada (no) and we were in. The lovely man stamped our passport and almost as an afterthought we asked how long our visa was for – 6 months! How easy was that?

Our trusty GPS was only good for the USA as was our road atlas. Rob had taken some photographs from Google maps and this was our tool for navigating through Vancouver. Even though the GPS has had a few interesting ideas in our travels we have certainly come to rely on it. Another sad loss when we crossed the border was being able to use our mobile hotspot. All too difficult to organise something for Canada so we will be relying on free wifi for a few weeks. It is amazing to think that when we travelled thought Nepal all those years ago we were completely out of contact for a month.

We made it to Whistler and it began to rain as soon as we arrived. Rob met up with his friend Mark and as you can see from the previous post it was all about mountain biking from there on in. I think there might be something about it in the previous post.

Simone and I purchased summer season hiking passes which were great value and spent quite a few days going up and down the various chairlifts and gondolas on the Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. The peak to peak gondola was very impressive. It goes a distance of 4kms with 3kms being the longest stretch between support towers. At the highest point you are 436m above the ground – not a ride for those with height phobias. Symi and I had a great time looking at the views and bear spotting. We were also able to go up and watch the very enthusiastic skiers and snowboarders out on the glacier.

Medal

Still snow in July



Top of Whistler Mountain

We also spent quite a bit of time at lost lake which was lovely - if a little difficult to find!

Symi and Rob out on the dock

Symi - growing!

We did some great hikes and were very taken with all the lovely wildflowers. It was quite hot during our stay in Whistler but it was about 10 degrees cooler up the mountain. You had to take a fleece as often it became too cool for a t-shirt. We were lucky to have one day hiking with Sophie and her family. Rob and Symi met Sophie down at Lost Lake when they were swimming one morning. We had a great day with them and Symi loved having some time with other children.

Symi and Sophie on the Peak to Peak

Lovely walk with Sophie's family

Stand up paddle boarding

Symi and I also hired a stand up paddle board one day. Neither of us were experienced but we  managed well and had a lovely afternoon out on the picturesque Alta Lake. We were very glad to have our bikes and there were lots of great bike paths to get around Whistler so we were able to explore quite easily.



Spinning in the silks

The last thing that Symi did was a circus workshop at the Whistler Children’s Festival. It was pretty hot the afternoon we did this – about 36 degrees. According to the radio the middle of an unrelenting heat wave. Symi enjoyed the trampoline and the spinning in the silks the best.

We really enjoyed the warm weather and as you can see Symi and I had a good time entertaining ourselves while Rob was entertaining himself.