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Go west, then go west some more.
a travel blog by
rickandsuejohnson
Heading to Canada to visit the Canadian branch in Ontario, then off to BC for Vancouver, Vancouver Island and the Rockies.
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Chillin in Victoria
Victoria
,
Canada
You have been warned
A more casual start to the day today, leaving Howard Johnson, a sort of Travelodge franchise chain. A well organised place and a good nights sleep. Off to Cathedral Grove and arrived before 10; the guide book suggested an early arrival to find parking. Sure enough by the time we left at almost 11, the car park was double parked in places and we were glad to be able to navigate out before being completely blocked.
Under the old man
The grove itself was stunning; words really can't describe seeing an 800 year old tree with huge girth and height, festooned with mosses and lichens, surrounded by fallen comrades returning to the earth the nutrients they have stored, together with other younger comrades of perhaps 600 years old. They bring a sense of one's own tiny contribution in the timeline of evolution. The 800 year old tree was already 300 years old when Christopher Columbus discovered N.America.
Bridge damage
On arrival, we were warned that one of the trees had fallen yesterday afternoon and taken out a bridge and footpath, so while we could see the damage, that circuit was closed. I'm quite glad we didn't stop there yesterday as a tree on the head is quite likely to spoil your day; there is a notice outside the entrance spelling out the risks...............
The beach
Quitting the Grove, we drove on to Qualicum Beach, where we had a lovely brunch of crabcakes, salad and fries in a pub on the sea front. The beach here is extraordinary – huge only just begins to define it! And it was busy but looked empty.
Upper English River Falls
Driving on south to see the English River Falls at Errington, we pulled in to the car park which was huge and quite empty. There are two sets of falls with bridges across just downstream to admire the view. These were quite spectacular. Despite the bridge being very substantial, I still felt uncomfortable looking down into the void at the upper falls, where the river tumbles over a ledge into a deep narrow channel at right angles to the flow. The lower falls are rather gentler by comparison but the clamber back up to the car park is quite strenuous, especially in the warm conditions. We were glad of the air conditioning to cool us off back at the car.
Arriving at Victoria late afternoon, it was obvious it is a Friday, with the long queues getting out for the weekend going the opposite way. It is a lot cooler here than it has been, with a temperature of 20°C and a fresh breeze. We checked in to Ocean Island Backpackers and were given our keys, directions and essential information before driving off to the flat.
The house at the back of which we had our flat
It is a lovely place with its own bathroom and fully equipped kitchen. It was nice to be able to choose and cook our own meal again. The shops are within a 10 minute walk, so we put our coats on and spent a happy hour there before getting back and cooking supper.
written by
rickandsuejohnson
on August 6, 2010
from
Victoria
,
Canada
from the travel blog:
Go west, then go west some more.
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Rainy day in Victoria
Victoria
,
Canada
Provincial Government building
Our first experience of a full day's rain. (Memories of Rotorua 3 years ago but not as hard). Nothing daunted set off for a walking tour of Victoria – Old Town. Ocean Island Suites is only a 10 minute walk from the inner harbour and we started our tour at the Parliament Buildings. A very interesting tour of the interior by timed ticket and then on to view the Helmcken House, reputedly the oldest home on Vancouver Island built on land given to his bride upon their marriage by the bride's father Governor James Douglas.
Dr Helmcklen's house
The house was donated to the Province by Dr Helmcken's daughter on her death a few years after her father early in the 20th the century.
Across Government Street to the Empress Hotel and the Crystal Garden. Managed to sneak in via the Crystal Garden to catch a glimpse of old world opulence and use the facilities!
The Empress (on the left)
On to Market Square and then to China Town and 'the world's narrowest street' Fan Tan Alley then back to Government Street and our walk back to the flat for lunch and a dry out!
Narrowest street
Still raining at 5.30 pm so we decided to abandon our plan to go to Butchart Gardens and view the fireworks in the evening and go instead to the park just two blocks away – Beacon Hill. Not much of a view to the Juan de Fuca Strait to the Olympic Mountains in Washington State. Maybe the rain will clear tomorrow morning before we travel back to Nanaimo.
Mile zero marker
Terry Fox memorial
We found the Mile Zero marker of the Trans-Canada Highway and the touching statue commemorating Terry Fox's sad, mammoth attempt to cross Canada from Labrador which he was forced to abandon at Thunder Bay and plaque commemorating Stephen Fonyo's successful one. A walk through the formal gardens with colourful flower beds and. beautifully manicured lawns. We saw a terrapin the size of a small dinner plate in one of the small lakes, peacocks, and loads of squirrels.
World's tallest totem pole
Then on to 'the tallest Totem Pole in the world'. (We have noted a number of extremes on this trip – 'world's narrowest building', 'formerly highest building in the British Empire', 'Oldest building in ….' etc.) Back to the flat for tea with a bottle of Canoe - a lovely rose from the Okanagan Valley, a rest and blog writing!
written by
rickandsuejohnson
on August 7, 2010
from
Victoria
,
Canada
from the travel blog:
Go west, then go west some more.
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Cider, a seal and jumping fish
Nanaimo
,
Canada
Merridale
An early wake up to ring Neil and wish him a happy birthday. Then breakfast, a quick clean up of the flat, pack and on the road. We rang Ocean Island Suites to let them know we were off and spoke to a lovely lass who said that she was from Church Stretton (who said Shropshire folk don't venture far?). After a quick stop to see the Juan De Fuca Strait when it is not raining, start at Trans Canada Highway 1 mile 0 and off to our first point of call, the Merridale Cidery, where I had a tasting after a tour of the Cidery itself. They make some lovely brews both traditional and novel, one of which tastes very similar to icewine. We came away with a lovely 10% 'Cyser', which is slightly sweetened by honey and makes for a delightful appetiser. The girl who did our tasting was from Kidderminster - yet more Brits abroad!
Village
Sue took the wheel for the next stage and drove us to Cowichan Bay Village where we enjoyed our packed lunch while watching the world go by in the little port. While we were sitting there, Sue spotted one of the buoys popping up and down and after a few seconds recognised that she was watching a seal.
I'm watching you!
We sat entranced for several minutes as it cruised the area.
Widest girth in the world
Next stop was at Duncan, advertised as the town of Totem poles. They were not exaggerating and we went on a circuit to see the major poles. I stopped counting at 20 – apparently there are over 80! It is not explained why there are so many, although as almost all of them are relatively modern, I guess it is for tourism. But they are quite entertaining on a Sunday afternoon. Needless to say, we had yet another record – the world's biggest girth for a totem pole! The girl who directed us from the Tourist Information Office was from Chelsea/Windsor - 3 Brits in one day!! You can't get away from them.
Back in the car again for the final leg to Nanaimo. We only drove briefly through it on the way onto the island and so when we checked in to the super flat in the Buccaneer Inn and had a quick skype with Ollie and Ang, we went out and had a walk down by the harbour. From the little that we saw, it really is quite an enchanting place with crystal clear waters despite the traffic.
Jumping fish
As we walked along the sea wall, quite suddenly huge fish of 15 to 24 inches started jumping out of the water within a range of 6 to 20 feet of the sea wall. I imagine they were being chased by some predator but despite the water being quite clear and the fish being so close, wasn't able to see anything.
As I write this, someone with 7-league boots is walking very heavily on the floor above, so if I have made any mistakes you know why!
written by
rickandsuejohnson
on August 8, 2010
from
Nanaimo
,
Canada
from the travel blog:
Go west, then go west some more.
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Journey from sea to sky
Pemberton
,
Canada
Leaving the Island
Breakfast on board the Queen of Oak Bay at 8.30 am. Great views of the island as we steamed out of
Nanaimo
on our way back to the mainland. The smoke haze had cleared but as we took Highway 99 out of Horseshoe Bay towards
Squamish
it started to rain.
Shannon Falls
Brandywine Falls
Stopped off at Shannon Falls Provincial Park just past Britannia Beach to view the 335 metre waterfall just a short walk from the car park and then on through
Squamish
stopping again at Brandywine Falls just before Whistler. As we parked up we spotted picnic tables and decided that it would be a good spot to stop for lunch once we had the seen the falls. The rain had stopped and we headed out for a 15 minute walk to the viewing platform accessed across a railway track. Views of the waterfall feeding in to Daisy Lake a mile or two away. Useful tip - both stop offs have loo facilities and even the Pit toilets at Brandywine falls had a hand sanitiser unit and they weren't smelly!
squirrel with bedding
A tiny squirrel was gathering moss just a few yards from the table – we guessed he was changing the bedding in his little den. We weren't sure whether he was a juvenile or a ground squirrel, if they exist as he never left the ground. Well that was our fix of nature for a while as our next stop was Whistler.
Biking in Whistler
Nice to have seen it and get a flavour of what it's like but predictably commercialised with the main focus currently seeming to be on Mountain Biking.
As we left for Pemberton it started to rain again. It got steadily worse but by the time we arrived at Pemberton Valley Vineyard it was just a light drizzle and as the clouds drifted away we caught sight of the most beautiful mountains, their peaks dusted with patches of snow.
View from our bedroom
Our room was on the first floor with amazing panoramic views of mountains all around us. We have booked dinner here, which in hindsight was a good decision as there appeared to be very little in Pemberton itself.
written by
rickandsuejohnson
on August 9, 2010
from
Pemberton
,
Canada
from the travel blog:
Go west, then go west some more.
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A story of two parts
Kamloops
,
Canada
View from our bedroom
As the rain stopped and the clouds lifted last night, the view was quite breathtaking. We were one of two couples who were eating dinner last night, which was a shame; the chef, Neil, who did everything, cooked us a superb beetroot soup followed by a huge and delicious steak with a cumin seasoning, all made from locally sourced produce and the vegetables from their own garden. We agreed that it was the best meal out we have had, marred only by the uncertainty of what it would cost as no prices were mentioned. It was pricey but not extortionate. The accommodation was quite palatial with the aforementioned views but strangely no tea or coffee making facilities. In the morning, we were treated to a breakfast of what Pat called 'frittata' but we would recognise as 'Omelette Paysanne', with fruit and then toast. It certainly set us up for the day.
Understated horsebox and caravan unit
In Pemberton itself, we managed to get Zoe's birthday present off to her and get some provisions before filling up with fuel for our long drive ahead.
4 hours of driving through some of the most stunning scenery with beautiful lakes, peaks with snow clinging to the tops, rivers chattering and gurgling as they swirled down the mountainside. In places the road seemed perched rather precariously on the side of the mountain and I was surprised that Sue elected to take the wheel but she explained that she wanted me to take some pictures!
Lower Lake Joffre
At Pat's recommendation we stopped at Joffre Lake, where a 10 minute walk took us to the lower lake. Fed by the melt waters of the glacier above, it was a particularly serene spot, troubled only by insects. We had put on insect repellent, so were relatively untroubled but the fish in the lake seemed to enjoy the insect feast – good for them. The lake is not listed in the guide books we have so was a particularly good bit of local knowledge.
At one point we were held up as a girder was being placed in a replacement bridge. We went over the temporary bridge with some trepidation but it was fine. We stopped at 2 for a bite of lunch in a layby before swapping drivers. We were probably passed by a car every few minutes but it made us aware of quite how remote the location was.
River by route 99
We had two particularly long sections with very little on them apart from the occasional homestead. The first was through the mountains after the first ½ hour of the drive until about ½ an hour after lunch, the second was for about 80 km before Cache Creek, where there were no petrol stations or cafés. It was as well that we refuelled before we left Pemberton. The second long stretch started at Lilloet and proved less interesting, with mountains giving way to an arid, hilly scrubland. It was interesting to note that, from Cache Creek we were back on Transcanada Highway 1, where we started out two days ago at mile zero! We reached the beginning of the end as we reached Kamloops Lake and pulled into a rest area where we could get a fabulous view of the lake itself.
Kamloops Lake
We pulled into MacQueens Manor just after 5pm and were given a warm welcome by Pat MacQueen. A lovely room with all the amenities we could want.
written by
rickandsuejohnson
on August 10, 2010
from
Kamloops
,
Canada
from the travel blog:
Go west, then go west some more.
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A fruit picker's paradise
Vernon
,
Canada
Approaching our target
A relatively relaxed start to the day with a breakfast at 8.30 am with our hosts. It really was a home from home experience – except that Pat McQueen's breakfast far outshone anything I could ever provide. Off to Chapters on our way out of Kamloops to see if we could buy the latest issue of Canadian Homes and Cottages but it hasn't reached BC yet, they only had the last issue on the shelves!
The temperature gradually crept up as we neared Okenagen lake passing through the town of Merrit with its own Holywood style path of stars (Johnny Cash, The Dixie Chicks etc). The highway twisted and turned and climbed and fell until eventually we caught sight of Okenagen Lake in the distance. As we reached the town of Peachland the first lake side town on Highway 97 it was 31 degrees.
Picnic spot
We parked up just before Penticton for lunch in the picnic area beside the lake before motoring on to the first Winery Rick had chosen – Red Rooster. I had volunteered to be driver from then on in whilst Rick did the sampling. My experience was limited to put it crudely 'sniffing' the wine, which in actual effect gave a good impression of what Rick was tasting! Red Rooster seemed to be a middle of the road place. Neat, ordered and not pretentious and we both particularly liked the Reisling. Bought a bottle to sample at the weekend when we have our two night self catering unit.
Mission Hills Winery
Back through Penticton and the vineyards and fruit orchards to Mission Hill Family Estate Winery just north of a town called Westbank, not far from Peachland. Think of the Ritz and Hotels and you will get the impression of this place. It cost twice as much to taste the wines and although all were at least 15C$ more expensive per bottle than Red Rooster they really weren't that much to write home about. As Rick said spend less on the grounds and the shop and charge less per bottle!! Crossing over to the east side of the lake we made our way to Gray Monk Estate Winery.
Gray Monk Winery
They were the only one to offer free tasting and a glass of non alcoholic juice to me. They had a range of very unusual wines and we succumbed to buying a bottle of their 'Port' wine plus bubble wrap packaging to transport back for Christmas! Now what shall I throw out of my case to accommodate it?
We arrived at Richmond House, our B&B in Vernon at around 6.45 pm and asked if the hostess knew of a good restaurant for pasta not too far away. With a little difficulty due to the road having changed a bit since Tom Tom was last updated we found Tita's a small, family run restaurant in Vernon tucked away just by a level crossing. We both chose the house special, pasta shells with lamb following a salad with home made bread and olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Rick had an Okanagen light ale and I had a peach cider. Rick treated me to a Lemoncello with my coffee to make up for missing the tasting. Feeling quite mellow now!
written by
rickandsuejohnson
on August 11, 2010
from
Vernon
,
Canada
from the travel blog:
Go west, then go west some more.
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To go or not to go; that was the question....
Clearwater
,
Canada
Huge rolling hills with exposed flanks outside Kamloops
Another wonderful breakfast courtesy of Kathy, with local fresh apple juice, a plate of fresh fruit and then a wonderful croissant filled with herbie scrambled egg. This set us up well for the day again. Today we were off to Wells Gray Provincial Park and our route took us back to Kamloops by a different way. The lush tropicality of the Okenagan gave way after passing Mount Tuktakamin to a more austere landscape with huge hills and scrubland. We travelled for some distance on highway 97 along the South Thompson River. The landscape here is impossible to accurately reflect in photos, it is so vast that it is like being in a Brobdingnagian landscape.
Just outside Kamloops we passed a stationary goods train; it must have been the best part of a mile long and had three locos, one at each end and one in the middle!
The black dot by the water half way up and about 2/3rds to right is a bear
Shortly after leaving Kamloops on highway 5 we had our first wildlife encounter with 3 huge birds with broad wings circling about 50 feet from the car. I'm tempted to say they were eagles but I couldn't be sure; needless to say I couldn't take any meaningful photo with the lens I had on in the time before they disappeared. We changed drivers again at Barriere where we stopped for provisions for lunch. Some time later, as we were driving along the North Thompson river near Little Fort, I spotted a large black animal that at first I thought was a cat on the other side of the river. It was a black bear, roaming free and wild and very happy in his environment. Sue just managed to capture the magical moment; being in a stream of traffic I couldn't stop.
Muddy North Frazer on the far side, Clearwater nearside
Shortly afterwards we stopped for lunch at the North Thompson River RV campground and picnic site, about 1½ Km off the road. It is just just downstream from the confluence of the Clearwater and Thompson Rivers and you could see the muddy Thompson on the far side had not yet integrated with the clear, Clearwater on the nearside. Lovely sturdy, clean tables and benches and unsmelly pit loos back up the track for relief afterwards.
Refuelled, we started out for Wells Gray Park, turning off the highway at Clearwater. We wanted to see three falls here and decided to go to the furthest one first and work our way down. The park is a true wilderness park and apparently relatively unvisited; when we were there there were quite a few people visiting but it could not be said to be busy, certainly no crowds. From highway 5 it is 36Km to the park's actual entrance with nothing other than the occasional homestead or farm and then another 12Km to the Helmcklen Falls, the furthest we wanted to visit.
Tree down, Wells Gray Provincial Park
As we drove towards the Main entrance, the sky became very black and while it started to rain, the wind got up and with tall trees either side of the road, we were conscious of the advice at Cathedral Grove. About 8Km short of our objective we had to stop, a tree had just blown down across the road, 2 cars in front of us turned around and were gone. We stayed with another couple of cars to clear the road of debris while a 4x4 from the other side pulled the tree off the road. While I was clearing the road, several more branches were blown down and another tree looked threatening so we turned tail too while the cars in front decided to brave it. We went back to the relative safety of the camp entrance and parked up while we thought about it.
Helmcklen Falls, Wells Gray
After about 10 minutes, the wind started to drop and the rain eased considerably. We decided that as we had come this far, we would carry on, so quivering like a couple of jellies, we gingerly drove back to find another tree had blown down just before the other but that a track had been made around it. The next 6 Km to the Helmcklen Falls were nerve wracking – a total of about 8 trees (I didn't count carefully) had been blown down across the road. Competent unfazed Canadians had just either moved them enough to get past or made a path around them. The falls were worth the effort; we have given a lot of superlatives on this trip, so I shall use a Morris favourite – they were fantastic! A fall of 141m into the gorge below thunderously reverberating in the amphitheatre the water had created and pillowing up a huge mist cloud.
Dawson Falls, Wells Gray
We didn't foreshorten our stay but we were keen to get back to more security, so we didn't hang about for long and drove back along the trail across a perilously rickety single track bridge to the next set of falls at Dawson Falls. Here, the river tumbles across a 100m wide ledge of rock with a relatively modest fall but with great force and huge sound, again creating a mist over the falls. Again, we didn't spend too long and a newly downed tree along the path to the falls created a sense of some urgency, although the weather that had caused it had now abated.
Back in the car, we drove out of the park towards the highway and 10km short of this, stopped to see the Spahats Falls. Another stunning, mind boggling view.
Spahats Falls, Wells Gray
The river falls from about 2/3rd up a vertical cliff face 61m into the bottom of a narrow gorge. Photographs just can't do the scene justice and the mind can't absorb the scale. The mountains here are created by volcanic activity, each eruption providing a different strata. Glaciers carved out the start of the valley and the rivers have done the rest. Ain't nature wonderful?
We got to our B&B in good time but were disappointed that this is the first place without wifi, so will not be able to do our blog tonight, although I have managed to pinch an illicit bit of bandwidth. We found a super place for dinner – a Chinese restaurant that offered a buffet for all you can eat at C$13.49! And very good it was too.
written by
rickandsuejohnson
on August 12, 2010
from
Clearwater
,
Canada
from the travel blog:
Go west, then go west some more.
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Wireless free and twitching
Valemount
,
Canada
Shouldn't I have a glove for this?
It wasn't until I tried to send a text message to make arrangements for birthday phone calls for Rick at bedtime that we realised there was no mobile signal. So after an interesting chat with our hostess Abi at breakfast we motored to the highway and used the internet facility at the Shell gas station. Received and sent a couple of emails in case anyone was worried and then headed off for Cranberry Marsh. The previous evening I had read that it was a good place for spotting birds and or Moose. The interpretive board said we might even see Beaver. Would our luck with wildlife spotting continue? Sorry to say - no. We headed north down the road to the information centre to pick up any leaflets that might give us directions to Rearguard Falls where I had read you had a chance of seeing Salmon leaping the falls from mid August.
Chinook Salmon, Swift Creek
While we were there we decided to use the picnic tables (it was 1.50 pm by then) which were right by Spring Creek. People were congregating on the bridge and peering into the water and an interpretive board told the story of migrating salmon. We joined the crowd and peered but saw nothing and started to walk back up the hill when Rick spotted a hand made sign saying 'Salmon Spawning Now'. Was it worth a walk back and further up the bank? Well yes it was. We say several huge fish about 2 feet in length on the river bed. Rick saw a female laying eggs and she was shortly joined by another female and then a darker coloured male. What a sight. We must have stayed there for over an hour.
Rearguard Falls
Hopped back in the car for the drive to Rearguard Falls just north of Tete Jaune Cache on highway 16 towards Jasper. It was a short 15 minute walk down to the falls and just as we caught our first glimpse of them lo and behold a salmon jumped out of the water. We made our way down to the viewing platform where several people were lined up with serious camera equipment waiting for that moment of the leap. Despite staying there for a good half hour with cameras poised and seeing about 5 jump we weren't able to capture the moment. I don't think the guys with the huge lenses did either so I guess it was asking a bit much to expect to get a shot ourselves. We did however capture some white water rafters. I wouldn't have the bottle these days and it really didn't look as though there was anything attaching them to the dingy should they tip out – but there I always have been a bit of a scaredy cat!
Mount Terry Fox
On our route back to Valemount we stopped to view Mount Terry Fox named very shortly after his death in 1981. A couple of miles later and Tom Tom directed us off the main road to Summer Solstice our next B & B. What an amazing spot. We were greeted by the owners Lenerya and Giriish Bromley with their new baby daughter, six days old. They started the B & B just over a year ago having completely refitted the original building. It is a log cabin beautifully finished inside with modern furnishings and a huge front deck with panoramic views of the mountains.
We thought a lot about Papa today, especially when watching the Salmon!
We finished the day with a super meal at Cariboo Lodge, watching the sun sink over the mountains - what a day!
written by
rickandsuejohnson
on August 13, 2010
from
Valemount
,
Canada
from the travel blog:
Go west, then go west some more.
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On a clear day you can see for miles and miles............
Jasper
,
Canada
Summer Solstice B&B
A lovely day again with the sun shining and temperatures rising rapidly after a cool start. Giriish had prepared us a full cooked breakfast and we sat down with our co-residents, a young couple from Barcelona who were having their honeymoon before the wedding! They had been to Jasper the previous day and seen elk, wolf and bear in the morning! The thing they said to us that they had had difficulty in getting their heads around was the scale of everything here – from mountains and rivers to roads, vehicles and trains. Something we echoed.
Mount Robson & Visitor Centre
Well set up for the rigours ahead, we made for Mount Robson info centre. A few kilometres before we got there, we pulled into a rest area because we had just had our first, unmistakeable view of the white-tipped giant. The rest area was not too busy and we were able to enjoy the views without disruption. On to the official information centre; it was predictably commercialised and packed with coaches, Rvs, cars and people. Despite this we managed to get some magical views of Mount Robson itself and some of the less lofty, craggy peaks around it. We also got instructions as to how to get to Overlander Falls, on the Frazer River, a few kilometres further on.
Overlander Falls
This involved a 10 minute walk to the falls from the car park and what seemed like a vertical ascent back up the path. The falls were another spectacular sight; the energy being generated by the force of the water is quite thrilling. It was mesmerising to see the thundering waters pouring over the rocks and ledges to emerge downstream apparently tamed, betrayed only by vicious eddies and swirls.
Squirrel
We found a place to have our picnic lunch and the rustle of the crisp bag was enough to allow us our wildlife encounter of the day as an inquisitive squirrel came down to peer at us and check out if we had anything that might be of interest. After finding we were miserable Britons who wouldn't share anything he disappeared back up a tree.
We hit Alberta and were immediately faced with a toll booth; we hadn't appreciated that travelling through the National Park on a highway was sufficient to generate a need for a permit to be issued for each day of our stay. Five days cost us just under $100; when you think that it is used to maintain the park itself, it is not too bad but it was a surprise. Imagine a toll booth at Tebay on the M6 for travelling through the Lake District! Now being in the Mountains officially, we are on Mountain time and have had to put our watches forward an hour.
Another thing that happened as we reached Alberta was that we received a signal for the 'phone again and it immediately started to receive the messages people had sent yesterday – well better late than never!
Trolley from the top
We made for Whistler Mountain; so named, apparently for the Hoary Marmot whose claim to fame is sleeping for 8 months of the year and spending the remaining 4 feeding, resting, sunbathing and whistling!
We caught one of the trolleys up to the top station, noticing a 10°C drop in temperature with the height being almost 1 mile up. We chose not to make the 1.5 kilometre hike to the summit itself but pottered around just above the station. The views here were stupendous and truly mind boggling.
Mount Robson from The Whistlers
Mount Robson, which must be about 50 miles away, could be seen very clearly; we were very lucky, the guide told us that this was the first day in a couple of weeks that the mountain was free of cloud and we overheard one guy say that he has visited many times and this was the first time he has been able to see Mount Robson. It makes up for the poor luck at Grouse Mountain. The vast majority of the lift personnel were Australian – perhaps it is a job requirement. The equipment itself was installed in 1964 by a German firm and the cars being used were the originals. The laconic Aussie guide's assurance that they had an excellent maintenance team left one wondering....
View from The Whistlers
We looked around and under stones, searched out sunbathing stations but couldn't find any of the eponymous marmots, so we had to come back down disappointed.
Once back at the car, we set TomTom for our B&B but once in town, she seemed to get lost, requiring a U-turn, which didn't seem right. As we reached the town limits, we rang the place and found that TomTom had been right and the U-turn was necessary to get across a central divide. We are in the basement self-contained flat for a girl who is an event organiser and her husband who is a photographer – and yes, they do do weddings too. Fronc eat your heart out!
We have internet again, so have booked our trip on Lake Maligne and on the Columbia Iceway tomorrow and the next day. Tomorrow morning we plan to spend some time downloading some photos and inserting some in the text again so we are back up to date.
written by
rickandsuejohnson
on August 14, 2010
from
Jasper
,
Canada
from the travel blog:
Go west, then go west some more.
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Maligne ('Maleen') Lake & more wildlife but no bears
Jasper
,
Canada
Maligne Canyon
A more relaxed start to our day from Cedar Gate B&B in Jasper's Connaught Drive, which is a short drive away from Highway 93 and the Junction for the Maligne Lake Road. Rick had booked our tickets for the lake trip on-line on Saturday evening and the only available slot was the 5 pm sailing so we took our time covering the 43 kms. As we joined the highway leading out of town Rick spotted a lone Coyote or possibly a wolf trotting along just below the tree line bordering the road and he was the one driving! I was busy getting my camera out of my backpack so was a bit miffed to have missed it.
Maligne Canyon
Our first stop was at Maligne Canyon. The Maligne river has carved its way tortuously through the layers of rock here. The river is fast and very narrow only a few feet across and has sculpted strange and beautiful curves in the rock walls. At its deepest the canyon walls are 30 metres to the river bed with several spectacular waterfalls tumbling down. The footpath winds its way down the gorge. Great going down but harder work going back up!
Bighorn Sheep by Medicine Lake
Back in the car and past Medicine Lake, which apparently is peppered with lakebed sink holes. The guide book says that there is no natural outlet to the lake and that it fills and drains through the holes, which form part of a huge underground complex of springs and channels. Sometimes it can be completely empty. Not so today. A few miles from the lake there had been a large flashing sign warning of animals by the roadside and half way along the shore road we spotted cars slowing. A small flock of Big Horn sheep were wandering slowly across the road.
Far end of Lake Maligne
The maximum speed limit on Maligne Road is 60km (because of the animals) so it took a good further half hour to reach the Maligne Lake car park. We made our way to the ticket office to see if we needed to pick up tickets. We were checked in and offered an earlier sailing at 4 pm so we quickly ate our picnic and were joined by a Grey Jay (yes, you've guessed it, we've bought a small laminated pamphlet – 'Rocky Mountain Wildlife') who was flitting about in the pines above us impatient to get down and search for crumbs.
Spirit Island Lake Maligne
As 4 pm approached we assembled on the quayside and off we went for our 1.5 hour trip down the lake to view the box canyon at its other end. Our guide gave us lots of interesting info on the lake and surrounding mountains with the occasional amusing anecdote thrown in. Plenty of opportunity to snap away as the boat slowed and gently turned full circle a couple of times. Just as well as we had three Korean gentleman immediately in front of us armed with cameras who insisted on bobbing up and down and leaning out of the windows every few seconds during the first half hour.
We passed three mountains with glaciers – another breathtaking sight.
Once back on dry land a couple of Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels were waiting under the first set of benches busily nibbling something tasty. Another photo opportunity and one I said to Rick the boys would love (Freddie and Alfie too, of course).
I insisted on driving again in case Rick had the chance of more wildlife photos. Only the sheep though, not far from where we had seen them a couple of hours earlier.
Back to the flat for a cup of tea before buying our evening meal at the supermarket – very conveniently five minutes walk away and quite large. It certainly has been a very convenient place to stay and it is beautifully kitted out.
written by
rickandsuejohnson
on August 15, 2010
from
Jasper
,
Canada
from the travel blog:
Go west, then go west some more.
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