June 28th-July2nd
Oh Canada, what a lovely place. I’m sure the winters are brutal, but I have to say I am loving the Canadian summer. We started our time in Vancouver, British Columbia to check off at least one major city. It was so funny listening to the campground guys tell us how we needed to leave the car and take public transit because “it is a madhouse down there!” Honestly, the traffic in Vancouver has nothing on Los Angeles, California; London, England; or Washington, DC. We risked it and never had a problem.
Our first full day in Canada had us driving the “Sea to Sky” highway up to Whistler, BC. There was so much to see and even with cloudy skies and a full on rain most of the day, it was beautiful. We hiked a suspension bridge, several waterfalls, stopped by the ocean for some shell hunting, enjoyed some great pizza, and landed in Whistler after 3-4 hours had passed. This drive was important, because we have a ski trip booked this December for Whistler. I wanted to scout the area and decide if we should vacation rental again or go with a ski in, ski out hotel so the kids have more access for lessons. You’ll have to tune back into the blog this winter for that information, but I don’t think either option is a bad choice. It is a bit of a drive up, around 1.5 hours if you don’t stop, but no one complained and Cody came for the day so he was able to have some fun on an alpine dog friendly trail where he met a few friends and chased his ball until he legs grew weak (well, until our arms fell off!).
Video of our Lynn Canyon hike from the suspension bridge to the twin falls area plus a few stops to see waterfalls and other sights on the Sea to Sky drive.
Out second day, we wanted to do something extremely touristy. The weather was perfect for a nice bike ride around Stanley Park sea wall. The entire loop is 9 kilometers / 5.6 miles. We stopped often to watch for whales, though sadly we never saw one. Only one lone otter showed us some fun that day. Still, the views were great. It was a nice half day activity if you ever find yourself in the area. We came back to our campground around 1pm and let the kids swim while tackling ‘laundry day’. It takes a while and a ton of change to get all the bedding done. That is one thing you don’t have to deal with if staying in a hotel, but I will take the hassle for the comforts of home.
On the 30th we packed up and headed to our next stop. A ski resort in Revelstoke, BC. Some of you might not know, but ski resorts in the summer are incredibly fun. We have hit a few on this trip and man they never disappoint. If you asked Aiden and Kenzie, I am sure they will state the alpine coasters have been their favorite activities. The resorts have learned the best way to get families to come in the summer is to make kids happy. With built in transportation in the form of gondolas and ski lifts, why not put in some downhill summer fun? Revelstoke had the grand opening of their new ropes course which is a 5 story tower of terror that my kids both LOVED. Keith and I felt our muscles straining at the thought and left that fun to the younger generation. We did ride the gondola up to the top of Mount Mackenzie and hiked down a double black, expert only hiking trail called “Kill the Banker”. I don’t know if any bankers have died, but walking has been extremely hard for every single one of us over the last few days! This was probably the hardest hike I have done, and I have hiked a TON in my life. We survived and maybe by mid-July our muscle will stop screaming. Everyone in the family thought it was worth the pain for the feeling of accomplishment we gained form that hike. We will see if Keith needs knee replacement surgery next year. <HAHA>
VIDEO 1 is the ropes course:
VIDEO 2 is our hike down Kill the Banker:
VIDEO 3 is Kenzie’s wild ride down the mountain coaster “The Pipe”
Banff is here and we are loving it. It will probably be at least a week before I edit and get that post uploaded. Be ready for some beauty and tips if you plan to come up this direction anytime soon.
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