Day 46 - Vancouver, Granville Island, Haida

Rockies 2008 – Day 46 – 08.06.08
Vancouver, 25 miles total and 19.0 mpg. Totals for the trip, 7456 miles, 27.7* mpg. Those are the stats.

Our first full day in Vancouver on this trip. We’ve been here before, with Gary and Jane, and we actually stayed only a couple of blocks from where we are now. I’d say Vancouver seems very familiar! At least this little part of it.

Breakfast today was at a little café on Denman Street. Good breakfast, fast and inexpensive. We’ve become city folk real fast, walking to each meal. So far we’ve only eaten on Denman Street, less than 4 blocks from our room.


The plan for today includes two things – Granville Island and the UBC Anthropology Museum. It turned into a full day, with very little driving. I’m not going to describe Granville Island – you can check that out at http://www.seegranvilleisland.com/ or any number of other sites. It started as a source of cement, which it still is, and in the 70’s began a transition to an arts and crafts and fresh food groceries kind of place. It is small, is tremendously popular, has little parking, a lot of traffic, and interesting things to see.
I spent most of the time with the boys, so I’ll ask Sally-Heath to describe the stops we made. What I did do while there was 1) eat, 2) watch the boys, and 3) visit a gallery of Inuit art run by a guy named Robert, who, in the early 1990’s had a similar shop at Pinnacle Peak and Pima! The art in his Gallery, Eagle Sprit, was superb – I wish we could afford just one piece. Robert had a lot of strong opinions about the current president and the (hopefully) future president. All I’ll say here is that the international view of our country and our president/government is not good. See my other blog for more on that.


(S-H; I entered the gallery through a locked door. I had spotted masks by First Nations groups that I recognized. There were perhaps twenty incredible examples of masks. One of these had been used in a dancing ceremony at a potlatch. He was “Smiling Man” and smile he did. I could just imagine the person wearing it taking on a happy persona. The other fabulous one was a transformation mask. This has one face (an eagle) which opens up to show a “person”. It was exquisitely carved. There is a buyer for its $13,500 price and it is worth every bit of that.)


As always the boys drew more than their share of attention. Daniel, a little boy there with his mom spent so much time with them that Sally-Heath was able to get a picture when she came out of a shop.


After Granville Island, we continued west (yes, you can still go west from Vancouver) to the UBC Anthropology Museum. On the way we snailed it along the beach road – what a long, beautiful, very popular beach! The view of Vancouver from here is great.


The museum has many exhibits covering many subjects, but their focus is, apparently, Haida and other northwest coast First Nations people. Here again, I’ll ask Sally-Heath to elaborate and describe what we saw. But I’ve got to say, The Raven and the First Men, a wood sculpture by Bill Reid, was captivating. And the story, the Haida version of the creation, is fascinating too. You can see better pictures than mine, and read the story, at http://www.billreidfoundation.org/banknote/raven.htm. I really like the Haida version. (S-H: At ASU I took a course of Native American art that was one of those special courses a person gets from time to time. The professor had first hand experience in her subject especially with the Northwest Coast groups. I learned quite a bit about their art pre “Canada” and how the ceremonies were shut down and later how rebellious artists decided that their culture shouldn’t die. It is very exciting for me to see the UBC Anthropology Museums presentation of the art from the time it was first photographed in the 1800’s to the art being produced today. There is a replica Haida Longhouse at the Museum along with Totem poles both old and fairly recent. We missed this the last time we were here, I’m glad we got to see it today.)

We drove back, making only one or two wrong turns. I know the bridge really well now. I dropped Sally-Heath off at Curves, about a 2km walk from there back to the room. When she got back it was really hungry time – so we went for a walk to select our meal. Found a great Roast Lamb special, did it! I love lamb. We brought the bones back for the boys, who chewed for about 3 minutes before we had to take the remaining splinters away.

That’s it for today – a great day, warm, clear, sunny – basically a heat wave for Vancouver! Catch you tomorrow.

Day 45 - Squamish to Vancouver

Squamish to Vancouver, 67 miles total and 23.8 mpg. Totals for the trip, 7431 miles, 27.7* mpg. Those are the stats.


We wanted to get one more hike in, so after a quick muffin/mocha breakfast we packed, loaded, checked out, and headed north one last time to Brohm Lake. We stopped here yesterday, but it was a holiday, and the parking lot was overflowing, and we had Whistler on the brain. This morning the parking lot is almost empty. There’s a loop trail around the lake, with options. No worries, a nice flat round-the-lake trail – done it thousands of times. 2.5km – no worries there either.

Well, we made it a little more interesting than that. The trail starts out flat, but then, almost immediately – after crossing a 100 m bridge – it starts going up. And continues going up. To compress the story, there is a lot of up and down on this trail. Not too steep (in most places), but definitely not flat. It’s a workout. Still, the boys and I finished in about 70 minutes. Sally-Heath was taking pictures, and hiking her pace. But when she wasn’t back 30 minutes later I began to worry, so the boys and I backtracked the trail. It wasn’t too long before “Zuckerman!” got a response, thank goodness, and in just a few minutes we were talking about the wrong turn she took, which at least doubled her hike! The good news is that nothing bad had happened. We still had all the stairs to climb to finish up, but it was easier now.

While I waited for her in the parking lot I had a nice conversation with the trash guy. Oh, by the way, the parking lot was now full! On Tuesday. Even the trash guy was surprised. Anyway, among the things we talked about was Queen Charlotte Island. It’s “the last dirt before Japan.” He described it as a wonderful place, and strongly suggested we go there. Well, we will go there sometime, but not on this trip. The trip to Queen Charlotte will require a lot of planning and reservations, and I’m pretty sure no dogs. But it’s on my list.

It was too hot (!) to leave the boys in the car, so we got some fish (halibut) and chips (and root beer, for me) and found a tree to park under. Good fish! Full of gas, we headed down route 99 to Vancouver. The scenery along route 99 is fantastic. On the west, there is the inside passage. On the east there are vertical cliffs. It was one of these cliffs that came down last week, forcing us to drive the longer way from Hope to Squamish. They amazingly had gotten that cleaned up – the road was repaved, and the railroad track was back in place – all in about 4 days. Hard to believe. Anyway, the drive was slow because the whole road is being improved for the Olympics. The average speed limit was probably about 50 kph, and the average actual speed was probably around 60kph. The trip is short, less than 100km, and it wasn’t difficult – just beautiful and slow. I’ve got to admit, I looked at every cliff and overhang, wondering when it was going to come down.


When you get to Vancouver the first thing you encounter is a 4 lane to one lane merge onto a bridge. That was a bit slow, as all 4 lanes were backed up, and the bridge traffic was slow, although it did keep moving. Basically though we did drive straight to the Oceanside Hotel very easily. The Oceanside Hotel might have been on the ocean at one time, I don’t know. Now it is surrounded by skyscrapers (it is 3 floors tall), and lost in the jungle. It is clean and nice, and right in the middle of the action. (well, off to the side enough that it is quiet) They are renovating all the rooms, but haven’t gotten to ours yet! I’m sure that’s in anticipation of the Olympics, and I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to afford them once it is done.(S-H: The lobby decor tells me that it will be a “boutique hotel” when they are finished with all the renovation.) It comes with free semi-protected parking – that’s really important in Vancouver!


After we got settled we walked to the beach – it’s a very nice and very busy beach – lots of pedestrian traffic, lots of beach usage, lots of people on the grass and benches just off the beach. Lots of people. There are more people on the beach this afternoon than you would find in all of Hope on any given day.

Then we walked Denman Street, a very busy street that is literally lined with places to eat. We finally picked one, sat outside with the boys, and had a nice meal. The boys were good, and got a fair amount of attention and petting. There are quite a few dogs (with owners in tow) prowling the street. And quite a few people. We’ll get use to this, the hoards of people, but it will take a little time. Vancouver is truly a big city. It has a downtown. It is vibrant. It is alive. I’ve been away from that for most of my life. I like it – in small doses.

We’re back in the room – planning our visit here. The Chinese Garden, the Haida cultural venues and art venues, Stanley Park, the Olympic Village, etc. We’re going to be busy, and it’s going to be different – can’t take the boys to many of these places – so they will guard the car for a lot longer than usual. Happily the weather forecast allows that – they won’t fry. I’m going to bed now – the day started around 4:30 – it was my day to do the morning dog thing, and this morning, as a result of previous overeating indulgances, there was a definite urgency from one Mr. Woody to go out. He shat 5 (FIVE) times this morning! Big ones! Unbelieveable.

So, I’m tired, it’s late, goodnight.

Day 44 - Squamish to Whistler and back

Squamish - Whistler, 134 miles total and 28.4 mpg. Totals for the trip, 7364 miles, 27.8* mpg. Those are the stats.

Talk about late starts – I didn’t get up until after 9! By the time we got rolling, the meal was no longer breakfast, it was lunch. The place we intended to eat, The Sunflower Bakery/Café, was closed for the holiday anyway, and we found a pub – the Howe Sound Brewing Company, thanks to a fellow tourist in the visitor center! We were the first customers of the day, but when we left the place was starting to move. The food was good, and timely!

We decided to make today a driving tour day – basically drive up to Whistler, taking detours and stopping at interesting places along the way. That’s what we did, and I’ll pass on a few things that we saw. Sometimes wrong turns turn out right! We turned west to go to Alice Lake, and had a very nice drive through a magnificent forest, and into Paradise Valley (!) – a little community right next to the salmon hatchery and railroad track. Mostly very nice homes, with an occasional klunker. It was a great detour, complete with railroad track and river. And the ever present wonderful mountain scenery.


Backtracking (there aren’t a lot of roads, so there aren’t many loops), we crossed route 99 to see Alice Lake. It’s a pretty lake, and a great looking campground. It was very busy, being a holiday and all, and the campground was full. There is a trail – 4 Lakes Trail – from here that is a loop touching on four lakes – we’re not really prepared to hike today, so we pass – maybe tomorrow?


On up the road there is a sign for Cat Lake. We turn in the correct direction this time, and follow a very bumpy dirt and gravel road up the hill. There are ‘stop development of Cat Lake’ signs along the way. Cat Lake is maintained by a First Nation tribe – don’t remember which one. It is a very nice lake, had lots of customers this day. We walked the boys down to the lake and spent a few minutes. It brought back memories of lake swimming when I was a kid.


The next stop though was a surprise and a total winner. We drove up to the Olympic Nordic site! It is open for touring – well, we just made it, getting to the gate just before 4, and they close at 5. There is no charge, but you stop and chew the fat with a very nice guy who answers all your questions and lets you know where to go and what to do. This facility is totally built for the 2010 Olympics, from scratch. There are plans for after the Olympics, but they started building it in 2006, and it looks pretty much ready for action. I’m sure there’s a lot left to do, but the jumps are in place, the cross-country is in place and the biathlon is in place. This is the first Olympics where all the Nordic events will be held at the same site. The only man-made snow will be at the ski jump.


There is a website, http://www.whistlerolympicpark.com/default.html , but I looked at it, and there are not nearly as many pictures as I expected. So check out ours on Flickr – there aren’t many, but you’ll perhaps get a little feel. It’s a beautiful facility. There are photos of all of the explanatory signs (about 4 or 5 of them) too – and if you look at the full size version they are very readable.


The official symbol of this Olympics is the Inukshuk. It is essentially a cairn, or trail marker, but has – it seems – more meaning.


From there we drove through Whistler, up route 99, turned around and took Alta Lake Road back south. Alta Lake Road bypasses the city on the west side. It’s a small two lane road through residential areas separated by forest, and it is elevated from the city, occasionally providing great views of the ski runs to the east and of the city.

The short drive back was uneventful – a busy road – undoubtedly many Vancouverites returning home after the long weekend. We fed the boys, then ourselves – at the Burrow Tapas Lounge. Another great choice by mien frau! Not only was the food really good, it was Majito night! Viva la Majito!

We have discovered that there is no way to have food in the car. As you know, Woody and Jake accompany us everywhere, and we quite often leave them in the car for extended periods. We can’t do that in Arizona right now, but the temperatures here make it possible. What doesn’t seem to be possible is to store food anywhere in the car such that they can’t get to it! There have been many instances so far, but tonights was the corker. We had some candied ginger stored in the closed center console. Somehow they opened it, and it is gone. Nothing left but the twist tie and the plastic bag. No more food in the car. Nada.

Goodnight!

Day 43 - Stawamus Chief Trail

Rockies 2008 – Day 43 – 08.03.08
Squamish – Stawamus Chief Trail, 22 miles total and 23.3 mpg. Totals for the trip, 7230 miles, 27.8* mpg. Those are the stats.

It’s Sunday. It doesn’t feel like Sunday. The day of the week no longer matters, except that 1) some things are not available/open on certain days, and 2) Non Sequitur is longer, and involves a different story. Other than that, in could be just about any day of the week.


Breakfast. We are in Squamish on a holiday weekend, plus the annual Lumberjack Competition is going on here. This morning is The Squamish Days Elks Loggers Breakfast. It’s a community event, and everyone is welcome. The last time we did something like this was with Bruce in Nashville, when McLean got married (we think that’s when it was). Hey! It’s $5 each for 2 pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 sausages, orange juice and coffee – what could go wrong?! Nothing did go wrong, it was a good breakfast, eaten with townsfolk outdoors and everyone was in good spirits. The line was long, but moved fast, and the line was still long when we finished. Here’s to the Elks!

To the visitors center for info – the visitor center here is architecturally quite interesting. By the way, if you want information on British Columbia, check out http://www.hellobc.com/en-CA/default.htm. Another great site is http://www.vancouvertrails.com/.


We’re going on a hike today, very close to Squamish, called Stawamus Chief Trail. The hike is well described at http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/stawamus-chief/, so I won’t repeat what they tell you so well. But I will add a couple of personal notes. Read the fine print. What is obvious from the outset is that when they say the trail is 1.5km, and there is a 500m elevation gain, they really mean it – an average grade of 30%! That’s steep. They sort of underplay that in their description. There are a lot of stairs. There are ladders. At the top there are chains you can use. This is one steep puppy! The trailhead is a boulder! (and not easy to climb!) (S-H: This in itself should be a warning…I had picked this trail to do early in my research for our hikes) You’re in trees most of the time, sometimes damp almost rainforest, sometimes arid (always UP). I had both boys, and Sally-Heath had two trekking poles. Don’t get me wrong, there are (insert expletive here) people running this trail. There are old people (older than us), there are children who can barely walk, there are many dogs (most off-lead, which is okay here), there are people in flip-flops or sandals. Some things never change. This was, for me/us, a difficult hike, perhaps the most difficult we have done – there are certainly places in the Grand Canyon as difficult, and perhaps as long, but this was a challenge. We only did the first peak. There are three. We did well to complete one.


We didn’t take the boys to the top. Probably could have, in retrospect, but it’s just as well I guess. We each went the last 200 m separately, the other staying with the boys. I hope I’m not painting a bad picture here – the hike was enjoyable, I’m glad we did it, and I’d do it again. It’s difficult, but it’s beautiful too. I really can’t compare it to any hike I’ve done before – it is unique, mostly because it is so straight up. (Wood and rock steps) Not much in the way of switchbacks. Not much in the way of trail (orange diamonds nailed into trees to guide you). The trail that is there must have been implemented by big men – there are big steps – no small steps, and there is only ‘help’, like stairs, in places that absolutely demand it. This is not a walk in the park. We had fun, and were tired as hell at the end.

Nap. Absolutely necessary.

Clean up and head for dinner. We picked The Nest (formerly The Eagles Nest). Just a short drive to Brackendale away. Found it easily, and had a fantastic meal. Todd Good, the new owner/operator, spent time with each of the guests, including us, and I can only say the food was great, the presentation was great, and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening. If you’re ever close, find The Nest. You won’t be sorry.

Back at the ranch, it’s time to crash. Everyone else has, as usual. I just keep tappetty tapping. One thing I haven’t mentioned – we haven’t quite figured this out – how to leave food in the car. You see, as you may realize – we must always have the boys with us – there is no place to deposit them. So we are either 1) in the room together, or 2) in the car together, or 3) they are in the car while we do stuff, like eat. In the case of (3), anything in the car is vulnerable. They have been very good, except when there is food accessible (even if we think it is not accessible, or if we forget there is food). In the last few days they have had quite a few extra meals. Woody is round in the middle – perhaps he is the major offender? Anyway, we’ve got to do better, or come up with a solution, like maybe a strongbox?!

I’m getting an alert about thunderstorms in Scottsdale. I hope everything is okay. It’s tired here in Squamish. Time to sleep.

Day 42 - Hope to Squamish

Rockies 2008 – Day 42 – 08.02.08
Hope to Squamish, 232 miles total and 27.4 mpg. Totals for the trip, 7208 miles, 27.8* mpg. Those are the stats.


Quick breakfast, muffin and mocha latte, at the Blue Moose – pack and load, and off again on a new adventure. The route we planned to take – through Vancouver to Squamish, is closed. The only highway from Vancouver to Squamish, route 99, is closed by a rock slide. No one was hurt. However, with the winter Olympics 2010 in Whistler, you’d think the Canadians might develop a second way to get there from Vancouver! We went north from Hope, back past Hells Gate, and along the Fraser River canyon. Mountain roads, slow, but beautiful. Need a good stomach for heights and potential rock slides, but it was a nice drive, with intermittent rain and sun.

Lunch was good in Lillooet – sloppy joe and fries for me. (S-H: We were offered gravy with the fries. When we said no our waitperson immediately said “oh, you are from the states…want to “try” the gravy on the fries or on the side…? Doug got it on the side…delicious…one more way to add lots of calories!)From there it is south on route 99. The road starts out as a rough mountain road, twisty and very steep in places, with lots of one lane bridges. It gradually widens and is not as rough, but then the construction starts – they are widening and straightening for the Olympics.


All in all though, the scenery is great, we’re in no hurry, and we finally roll into Squamish around 4:30. Unload, unpack, get literature, and finally, go get food.


Tonight we eat in the restaurant adjacent to the motel – it’s great! Who knew?! Before leaving I asked about live music in the area. There is a country rock band, the Brent Lee Band, playing at the Grizzly Bar in Brackendale, just north of here. We went, got drinks, waited about an hour, listened to a few songs. They were very good – played a lot of songs that reminded me of Ronnie – songs like Cameltoe, and Get Your Tongue Out of My Mouth, I’m Kissing You Goodbye! and the Tequila song (I went to bed with a beauty queen, and woke up with a cow – thanks to my friend Jose). The place was rocking, and was probably going to be wild. There is a Lumberjack Competition here in Squamish this weekend…the band is here for them.

Now we’re back in the room. Getting ready for a good day of hiking! Later!

Day 41 - Hope

Hope, 16 miles total and 19.0 mpg. Totals for the trip, 6976 miles, 27.8* mpg. Those are the stats.


Today there is a threat of rain, but as of noon it hasn’t happened yet. We had a nice breakfast (potato cakes for me!) and let the boys loose on the tennis courts again. They got a good run. Sally-Heath is headed out to do laundry, and I’m doing whatever, beginning with writing.

It’s interesting to watch the reaction people have to the boys. I’d say most have love and affection. But some have fear – whether it’s one boy or both together. It’s the children with fear in their eyes that I wonder about, and am concerned about. Where did that fear come from? The adults who seem afraid – where does that come from? We’ve had some great conversations with dog lovers and with current and former Brittany owners. It’s unanimous, they run [away]. Woody and Jake are not unique in that. Places where we are confined - in close quarters – such as a boardwalk, catwalk or tram – are especially interesting in this regard. Some folks almost seem to be willing to go over the catwalk railing rather than walk past the boys! Most want to pet them – many are pet deprived – they need to love a pet, any pet. I’m sure their pet will soak it all up when they get home. I know I’m that way when I’m away – I’ve even been known to befriend a cat [don’t dare tell anyone, especially not the boys!]. I’m not proud of it. This though has nothing to do with today specifically – I’ve just been thinking of writing it down, so here it is. It’s a slow day, so there’s room.

We accomplished breakfast, laundry, walking/running the boys, and most importantly, napping. (S-H: I didn’t nap, I read.) We made an attempt at hiking, but the weather didn’t cooperate – in fact, it picked that very time to rain as heavily as it rained all day. We caved, and went on a short driving exploration, around a lake and in town. With hiking off the table we were really at loose ends. We spend some time selecting the restaurant for the last meal – ended up at Rollys, where we had breakfast – then after overeating we walked the main street. Not much happening in Hope on Friday night – at least not that we could stumble across. (We did go into a store that had two interesting NW First Nations masks. One an eagle and the other an articulated raven) We didn’t ask anyone where the action was. Tonight our action looks to be an exciting Cribbage tournament.


So it was a slow day, but that’s okay. We probably needed to slow down a bit after Golden, and Hope has certainly allowed, almost forced, us to do exactly that. I think the rest of the trip will be at a much slower pace, and that is good. We’ll spend more time doing each thing we do, enjoy it more fully, more completely. I’m looking forward to it. Goodnight.

Day 40! - Hells Gate

Hope – Hells Gate, 171 miles total and 26.7 mpg. Totals for the trip, 6960 miles, 27.9* mpg. Those are the stats.

Hope is not lost, and it’s not going to Hells Gate. But we are, so after a light breakfast – muffin and mocha – at, you guessed it, the Blue Moose – we’re off to see Hells Gate before the predicted rain starts. It’s a little overcast, but nice. We stopped at just about every possible spot on the way to and from Hells Gate – but I gotta tell ya, this was a short trip! We hiked, we dillyed, we dallied. It was a fun trip, and we saw some interesting things.


Hells Gate is a small but interesting place. Here the Fraser river is pinched down to a fairly narrow point, and the considerable amount of water flowing through here makes it not whitewater, but very powerful. It was hell for the early explorers, and it’s still hell today, by all accounts. When the railroad was built, there was an accidental rockslide that made the channel even more narrow. This made it very tough on the Salmon, so eventually they built a Fish Run along the side, so the Salmon could get upstream. It is basically a large concrete structure/pipe with restricted water flow that the fish can swim through with little difficulty.


The highway and parking area are high above the water. There is a Tram down to the other side of the river, and/or, if you’re interested, you can hike down a fairly steep road/trail to the bridge that crosses the river there. We hiked down, naturally, and planned to take the Tram back up. Once you’re down there, there are a number of touristy things to do, such as pan for gold (not in the river, which is still a couple of hundred feet below), buy stuff and such. (S-H Nothing of interest to buy) We got a Salmon Chowder and just gazed at the river and the surroundings. Trains do come by, on both sides of the river. It’s pretty nice, all in all. After a while Sally-Heath decided to hike back up the trail. It was too steep for me, so I kept the boys and bought a one way ticket up. We met at the trailhead about 30 minutes later. She had a good hike, and I saw the river and canyon from the Tram, which was interesting.

We headed back to Hope, and made a couple of stops along the way. One was for a short hike to an old bridge across the river. That was a nice easy hike, and when we got to the bridge we discovered that the boys could not go onto it – the steel lattice roadbed holes were too big – there legs would fit through, and we’d have 8 broken legs in zero time if they got onto that bridge. So we tied them up and went out ourselves. It was interesting. We hiked back and continued down the road to the Country Store, where we had ice cream and sort of shopped.(S-H Nothing of interest to buy)


Back to Hope, and wouldn’t you know, a nap jumped up and grabbed us! Sometime during the nap the rain started. When we got up we continued the plan for the day with a drive (60km) down Route 3 to Manning Park Resort and points in between. This was really just an excuse to see more of the surrounding area – there really aren’t, as far as we can tell, any real ‘attractions’ in this area of Route 3. But the route itself was beautiful, trees and mountains, and the trip was nice. We found Hope Slide, not a kids ride, but a place where, on Jan 9, 1965, a big part of a mountain came down and killed 5 people, raising the local valley some 70 meters! On that same day I was discharged from the Navy. No relation, I’m sure.

Back in Hope we went to the restaurant next door for a drink and appetizers. Good thing. The Red Bistro has only been open for a week. We were chatting with one of the partners, and he asked where we were headed next. We said Squamish, and he replied there could be a problem. Seems there was just a major rockslide, and the road from Vancouver to Squamish, route 99, the ONLY road, was closed! Indefinitely! What luck to find that out now, instead of Saturday at the road closure itself! We’ve decided to Squamish anyway – we can take the long way from Hope – only about an hour longer, and maybe they’ll have it open before we leave Squamish. If not, we’ll have one long drive from Squamish to Vancouver! The appetizers and drinks were good, the information was excellent.

Back at the room, we ate last nights Chinese leftovers, and looked into alternatives to our Squamish plans. Left them as is, just rerouted. It’s not raining now, but rain is forecast for tonight and Friday. We’ll see how that goes. Later!