July 29-August 20
We headed south again to visit the Columbia Icefield Centre, taking a ‘bus to the glacier where we walked on the ice. While it was not a long walk, it was sufficient to enjoy the sensations. Seeing photos in the Centre showing how much the ice front has receded was worrying. The other attraction at Icefield is the Skywalk, which gives a great view into the valley, although not ideal for one with a fear of heights. We then left and headed north to cross the pass into British Columbia. On the way, we stopped to enjoy Tangle Creek Waterfall, Beauty Meadows, Mushroom and Diadem Peak Viewpoint, Sunwapta Falls, and Athabasca Falls.
Tête Jaune Lodge campground was a good stop, with a very nice campsite on the riverbank; the staff were friendly and we chatted with Rodilio from Tumaco. The following day we backtracked a short distance up the road towards Alberta to stop at Rearguard Falls. We also stopped at Triple Decker Falls, Spahats Falls, Dawson Falls, and Helmcken Falls (somewhat of a theme…). We visited the British Columbia Wildlife Park at Tk’emlúps the following day and continued to the Historic Hat Creek Ranch. After making camp we made the short distance to Marble Canyon and swam in the lake. The morning was spent visiting the historic ranch, and then we headed west to Lillooet, lunching at the Fort Berens Winery. On the way to Nairn Falls campground, we stopped to see Seton Lake, Duffy Lake, and Joffre Lakes. In the morning we walked the falls trail, then continued to Whistler.
We walked around the town and enjoyed a coffee at Austrian Passivhaus, and were surprised when seeing a black bear wandering along the path there. On the way south we stopped at the Squamish-Lil’wát Cultural Centre and at Shannon Falls on the way to the ferry terminal at Horseshoe Bay. The queue wasn’t bad and we crossed soon after, arriving at Secret Cove Tiny Secrets campground early enough to enjoy the forest setting as the daylight faded.
In the morning we explored Cooper’s Green, Halfmoon Bay General Store, Sargeant Bay Provincial Park, Sechelt, Lambs Brook Beach, Tuwanek, Sandy Hook, Wobbly Canoe, and Smuggler Cove Provincial Park.
The following day took us to Homesite Creek Falls, Baker Beach Park, Pender Harbour/Madeira Park, Daniel Point Park, and then Earl’s Cove for the ferry. We, unfortunately, experienced a bump while preparing to leave, when the vehicle in front rolled back into us (the Wrangler’s bumper was dented, and the car that rolled back was more seriously damaged.). Continuing to a late lunch stop we then took the next ferry to Vancouver Island, arriving after dark and making our way to a BnB in Mount Washington Alpine Village (whose décor was unusual, to say the least).
The following day, after an inspection of the Alpine Resort. We returned to Comox and continued to experience the Coombs Old Country Market, following which we crossed the island to the west coast, arriving at the Westcoast Campground where we set up for the night. The following day took us to Tofino on a beautiful sunny day; we visited the Tofino Market, Vickers Art Gallery, Harbourview Coffeehouse, and Himwitsa Gallery, and lunched at SoBo. We took the Meares Island water taxi to make the Tall Trees Walk in the afternoon and later visited Combers Beach.
Continuing, the next day took us to Rainbow Beach then back to the east side of the island, where we headed south, after a stop at Goats on the Roof and another on Malahat Drive. Then, we reached Victoria, where we stayed for several days. We visited the Market at Hudson, took the Prince of Whales whale-watching trip, and visited Gordon, Ros, and Louise for tea.
After a few enjoyable days in Victoria, we headed for the ferry to Tsawassen and on to Vancouver, where we spent time with Catriona, Nick, Charlie, and Blair, taking advantage of the opportunity to enjoy Granville Market, Dolce Amore, the Victoria Drive Business Improvement Association Summer Multicultural Festival at Jones Park, and Central Park in Burnaby. We helped with logistics to drop family off for their Alaska cruise, then took care of a variety of tasks associated with the end of our Canadian trip this year, as well as visiting the Museum of Anthropology, Gastown, Stanley Park, cleaning the Wrangler before parking it for the winter, and enjoying the excellent Vietnamese food at Crab Hot Lau.
So, this brought us to the end of this year’s travels in Canada; we’ll return in 2023 to explore the rest of the country, heading as far east as it’s possible to go to Canada and back again.
Hugs
Alan & Marce
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