On the one road
Oct. 17th, 2005 03:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jawnbcMy dirty pillows are sore. Started back @ the gym this weekend: a farcical yoga class Friday night, and cardio and weights on Sunday. Feels good though--exercise is the last piece of the puzzling I've been working on these last 6 months (diet, sleep, low stress) with respect to wellness.
Saturday was really nice. We picked up a rent-a-car, picked up les australiens, and headed up the Sea-to-Sky Highway towards Whistler. Our first stop was to be breakfast with a view of Shannon Falls, but the eatery in question was closed...very strange. So we adjourned to the Falls, which were magnificent. Last week the monsoon sort of started, so there was lots of water, and the 300m towering cascade is just friggin' awesome. So we gaped, and gabbed and canoodled and got to know Matt and Luke a bit better. By the end of the day we was lovin' them there lads. We stopped inSqueamish Squamish for brekkie instead, by-passing the generic chain restos and finding a loca joint about .5km down the high street. I had very good bacon and eggs, but the others all opted for crabcakes and eggs--about which they raved. Soon we pushed off toward Whistler.
The Sea-to-Sky meandres along the coast between West Vancouver and Squamish, where it heads inland. Ideally one should drive North in the early-to-mid morning, and time the return trip for late afternoon. Very quickly outside of Squamish the road begins to wind inland--and upward. To the left are the Tantalus range and bald eagle nesting area; on the right is the Stawamus Chief and Mt. Garibaldi (Garibaldi is part of the same volcano chain as St Helens and Baker and Rainier, though it's classified as "dormant"). In many places the rock is so high and thick, only 2 lanes of traffic have been blasted through. The trees (green and golden) are gorgeous this time of year, and with the morning rain morphing into mist (and then a lifting veil of cloud), the mountains around us were just stunning. In about an hour we were pulling into Whistler Village.
It woudl be very easy to dis Whistler as a typical planned resort town for the hyper-affluent to show off their blingity-bling-bling. It is. But the planning and design work has left the Village very nice to look at, and reasonably easy to navigate. In ski season, there are at least 3 ski-in apres ski areas, a plethora of boutiques, and even the odd non-gouging resto. Sadly we arrived in the shoulder seasons--lifts were closed--so we didn't get up to 7th heave for a view of the surrounding mountains. Instead we wandered, shopped (bought nothing but a postcard for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
querellle's niece), and had a coffee. Lots of giggling, chattering, and face-slurping (you've seen querrelle's gob, he's totally smoochable)!
We enquired about trips into the mountain, but felt that $100 each for a hummer ride 1/3 of one of them was wholly not worth it. Instead we drove further north, nearly into Pemberton. I wanted to show the gang Nairn Falls, so we did a 3km (total, round-trip) hike to where the granite escarpement has eroding into an incredible, vortex-like waterfall. Over 3 different stages the water pound down--and through--the rockface, using sand and pebbles to dig deeper and depper. Aside from the awesome power of nature, we also enjoyed our chats, and the friendliness of (most) other hikers.
For the drive back, we stopped in a pub just outside Squamish for a late lunch. We hit the Sea-to-Sky coast just as the colours and shadows were peaking. As sailed along, on asphalt and good craic, I recall feeling contented and pleased and proud.
Saturday was really nice. We picked up a rent-a-car, picked up les australiens, and headed up the Sea-to-Sky Highway towards Whistler. Our first stop was to be breakfast with a view of Shannon Falls, but the eatery in question was closed...very strange. So we adjourned to the Falls, which were magnificent. Last week the monsoon sort of started, so there was lots of water, and the 300m towering cascade is just friggin' awesome. So we gaped, and gabbed and canoodled and got to know Matt and Luke a bit better. By the end of the day we was lovin' them there lads. We stopped in
The Sea-to-Sky meandres along the coast between West Vancouver and Squamish, where it heads inland. Ideally one should drive North in the early-to-mid morning, and time the return trip for late afternoon. Very quickly outside of Squamish the road begins to wind inland--and upward. To the left are the Tantalus range and bald eagle nesting area; on the right is the Stawamus Chief and Mt. Garibaldi (Garibaldi is part of the same volcano chain as St Helens and Baker and Rainier, though it's classified as "dormant"). In many places the rock is so high and thick, only 2 lanes of traffic have been blasted through. The trees (green and golden) are gorgeous this time of year, and with the morning rain morphing into mist (and then a lifting veil of cloud), the mountains around us were just stunning. In about an hour we were pulling into Whistler Village.
It woudl be very easy to dis Whistler as a typical planned resort town for the hyper-affluent to show off their blingity-bling-bling. It is. But the planning and design work has left the Village very nice to look at, and reasonably easy to navigate. In ski season, there are at least 3 ski-in apres ski areas, a plethora of boutiques, and even the odd non-gouging resto. Sadly we arrived in the shoulder seasons--lifts were closed--so we didn't get up to 7th heave for a view of the surrounding mountains. Instead we wandered, shopped (bought nothing but a postcard for
querellle's niece), and had a coffee. Lots of giggling, chattering, and face-slurping (you've seen querrelle's gob, he's totally smoochable)!We enquired about trips into the mountain, but felt that $100 each for a hummer ride 1/3 of one of them was wholly not worth it. Instead we drove further north, nearly into Pemberton. I wanted to show the gang Nairn Falls, so we did a 3km (total, round-trip) hike to where the granite escarpement has eroding into an incredible, vortex-like waterfall. Over 3 different stages the water pound down--and through--the rockface, using sand and pebbles to dig deeper and depper. Aside from the awesome power of nature, we also enjoyed our chats, and the friendliness of (most) other hikers.
For the drive back, we stopped in a pub just outside Squamish for a late lunch. We hit the Sea-to-Sky coast just as the colours and shadows were peaking. As sailed along, on asphalt and good craic, I recall feeling contented and pleased and proud.
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no subject
Date: 2005-10-17 10:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-18 03:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-18 11:06 am (UTC)The time I went to Whistler, every second person I met was Australian. I even ran into my neighbour from across the street (neither knew the other was going to Canada).
Admittedly, I was there in the middle of ski season, but Whistler wasn't the kind of place I would have felt comfortable engaging in face slurping with my boyfriend-of-the-time... has it changed, was it the "peak season" thing, or are you just a lot braver than me?
no subject
Date: 2005-10-18 01:36 pm (UTC)I can use my "dirty pillows" icon!
I envy you that you live in such a beautiful place. Not that SF isn't beautiful...
no subject
Date: 2005-10-18 03:09 pm (UTC)Well
Yeah, seems like I still sort of live in Sydney and am here for a visit. I wonder when that will change?
no subject
Date: 2005-10-18 03:10 pm (UTC)SF is awesome!
no subject
Date: 2005-10-18 04:03 pm (UTC)Stawamus Chief was the first hike I ever went on, back in Grade 2. At the time, I hated hiking because it took me away from my Saturday morning cartoons, and because my parents packed gross lunches. But now I am in serious lust of being up in the mountains with a backpack and boots.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-18 08:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-19 03:01 am (UTC)As for when you won't feel like you live in Australia any more... From speaking to other friends who have been in your situation, living in Australia changes you, and there is always a little part of you which stays living here even if you move away.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-19 11:37 pm (UTC)