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Happy July 4th!
It's weird to spend a great US holiday out of the country. Jeff and I wore our moose flag shirts today to celebrate Independence Day as we drove through British Columbia. We had decided to do laundry at the campground last night and it was a good thing as we were out of undies. We woke up to another sunny day and drove back to Cache Creek to begin the drive on the Sea to Sky Highway which would take us to Whistler.
This road is famous for its beauty and being a challenge to navigate. Like other scenic drives - the Blue Ridge Parkway, Highway to the Sun in Glacier Park, the Road to Hana and the Kankamangus (sp?) this is a road where you take your time to enjoy the surrounding beauty. We began the trip amid pine forests where lots of the huge trees were dead due to a beetle epidemic. The road was narrow with few rest areas and little shoulder. We were high in the mountains and everything was shades of green. Finally we came to an area along the Fraser River where we could see the town of Lilloet on the other side. We crossed the bridge which is named for camels that were brought to this area by gold miners to carry their supplies and stopped at the Visitor Center to get information on Whistler.
With no time to explore we headed out again to the more treacherous part of the road. The guidebooks said there were 14% grades which made me very nervous, particularly travelling in such a big, heavy vehicle. We got a mile or two out of town when we heard a loud, grating noise and realized the tow hitch had partially fallen off. In the category of "what else can go wrong" we got out to have a look.
As problems go this one seemed manageable. One side of the hitch had come off and was a little bent. Jeff unhooked the car and just then a work truck pulled up and a helpful guy got out to see our damage. He suggested a welding shop back in town who might be able to fix us up. So I drove the car and Jeff followed me back through town to the repair place. We are so lucky (again) that this happened near a town and that they have a welding shop that can do this type of repair.
Inside I met the guy in charge who was so nice and wearing red and green suspenders that made me smile. He agreed to look at the hitch and said they could repair it that afternoon. We loaded Ziggy up with treats and water and set off to see Lilloet. The one street downtown is cute with shops, cafes, post office and the visitor center. At one time in the gold rush days it was the largest settlement north of San Francisco and west of Chicago. Hard to believe. We stopped back to get a town brochure and were directed to a cute place for lunch we we sat outside and relaxed.
Later we walked to the outdoor market and then trekked down to the old suspension bridge which is being rehabbed. All in all it was a pleasant few hours and just after 3:00 they had the tow area repaired and also fixed a tiny leak on the fuel tank. Such nice people.
We set off again and were prepared for the rest of the drive to take 2 1/2 hours. Well this may be the most beautiful drive ever and the scariest. There were 14% grades and even a 15% grade. Hairpin turns, one lane bridges, S curves and anything else you can imagine. Thank goodness Jeff is a great driver and cool under pressure. He understands how to use lower gears and little braking and we made it through safely.
The scenery was spectacular with green mountains turning to snow covered ones along the way. We followed a raging creek most of the way and it looked and sounded great. No boating here and probably too dangerous for rafting. But great to look at and admire. I could ooh and aah more, but it is something you have to see for yourself to appreciate. Just enough other traffic to make you feel safe and we finally arrived in Whistler. Our campground is just before the village and ski areas and it is resort like with play areas and cabins. We parked and decided to eat in and relax. At bedtime I noticed it was dark and I haven't seen anything but daylight for a long time. We watched some fireworks on TV and finally got to sleep.
It's weird to spend a great US holiday out of the country. Jeff and I wore our moose flag shirts today to celebrate Independence Day as we drove through British Columbia. We had decided to do laundry at the campground last night and it was a good thing as we were out of undies. We woke up to another sunny day and drove back to Cache Creek to begin the drive on the Sea to Sky Highway which would take us to Whistler.
This road is famous for its beauty and being a challenge to navigate. Like other scenic drives - the Blue Ridge Parkway, Highway to the Sun in Glacier Park, the Road to Hana and the Kankamangus (sp?) this is a road where you take your time to enjoy the surrounding beauty. We began the trip amid pine forests where lots of the huge trees were dead due to a beetle epidemic. The road was narrow with few rest areas and little shoulder. We were high in the mountains and everything was shades of green. Finally we came to an area along the Fraser River where we could see the town of Lilloet on the other side. We crossed the bridge which is named for camels that were brought to this area by gold miners to carry their supplies and stopped at the Visitor Center to get information on Whistler.
With no time to explore we headed out again to the more treacherous part of the road. The guidebooks said there were 14% grades which made me very nervous, particularly travelling in such a big, heavy vehicle. We got a mile or two out of town when we heard a loud, grating noise and realized the tow hitch had partially fallen off. In the category of "what else can go wrong" we got out to have a look.
As problems go this one seemed manageable. One side of the hitch had come off and was a little bent. Jeff unhooked the car and just then a work truck pulled up and a helpful guy got out to see our damage. He suggested a welding shop back in town who might be able to fix us up. So I drove the car and Jeff followed me back through town to the repair place. We are so lucky (again) that this happened near a town and that they have a welding shop that can do this type of repair.
Inside I met the guy in charge who was so nice and wearing red and green suspenders that made me smile. He agreed to look at the hitch and said they could repair it that afternoon. We loaded Ziggy up with treats and water and set off to see Lilloet. The one street downtown is cute with shops, cafes, post office and the visitor center. At one time in the gold rush days it was the largest settlement north of San Francisco and west of Chicago. Hard to believe. We stopped back to get a town brochure and were directed to a cute place for lunch we we sat outside and relaxed.
Later we walked to the outdoor market and then trekked down to the old suspension bridge which is being rehabbed. All in all it was a pleasant few hours and just after 3:00 they had the tow area repaired and also fixed a tiny leak on the fuel tank. Such nice people.
We set off again and were prepared for the rest of the drive to take 2 1/2 hours. Well this may be the most beautiful drive ever and the scariest. There were 14% grades and even a 15% grade. Hairpin turns, one lane bridges, S curves and anything else you can imagine. Thank goodness Jeff is a great driver and cool under pressure. He understands how to use lower gears and little braking and we made it through safely.
The scenery was spectacular with green mountains turning to snow covered ones along the way. We followed a raging creek most of the way and it looked and sounded great. No boating here and probably too dangerous for rafting. But great to look at and admire. I could ooh and aah more, but it is something you have to see for yourself to appreciate. Just enough other traffic to make you feel safe and we finally arrived in Whistler. Our campground is just before the village and ski areas and it is resort like with play areas and cabins. We parked and decided to eat in and relax. At bedtime I noticed it was dark and I haven't seen anything but daylight for a long time. We watched some fireworks on TV and finally got to sleep.
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