Hiking in Whistler, Blueberry Trail.

While in Whistler we were able to get some good hiking in. We started with a mellow one called Blueberry Trail. It takes you up to a viewpoint of Alta Lake. This trail is marked as a good snowshoe trail, but having no snow, it made for a nice hike. Only around 2 miles. 

 It was very beautiful, and just behind a couple of neighborhoods. Don't they have the life? Along the way there were a few fallin trees. It is hard to see how enormous they really are.

 "Look small Jonathan"

 Here is a frozen Alta Lake. People were ice skating on the lake. Nice and sturdy!

The viewpoint also came with a tree swing.

 When you encounter a frozen lake you must run and slide.

Whistler, BC snowboarding

Whistler, BC was the first stop on our Mountain collective pass tour. In Whistler we got actual passes with lanyards. Pretty Snazzy!

Here is some information about the Peak to Peak Gondola that I got from wikipedia. The Peak 2 Peak Gondola is a tri-cable gondola lift located in Whistler, British Columbia that links Whistler Mountain's Roundhouse Lodge with Blackcomb Mountain's Rendezvous Restaurant. It is the first lift to join the two side-by-side mountains. It holds world records for the longest free span between ropeway towers, (1.88 miles) and highest point above the ground (1,430 feet.)  The Peak 2 Peak Gondola was built by the Doppelmayr Garaventa Group in 2007 and 2008 at a cost of $51 million CDN. The Peak 2 Peak Gondola is the first Doppelmayr "3S" tri-cable lift in North America; there are four similar but smaller lifts in Europe which were built in 1991, 1994, 2002, 2004 and 2010 in Switzerland, Austria, France and Germany.

Statistics

Length: 4.4 km/2.73 mi

Capacity: 4,100 people per hour

Line Speed: 7.5 metres per second (16.8 miles per hour)

Ride Time: 11 minutes

The 28 CWA-manufactured gondola cabins hold 28 people each, with 22 seated and 6 standing. 26 of the cabins are painted red while 2 are painted silver and have glass floors. Pictured here. 

Here we are riding the Peak to Peak

This is a large Bear with a trail map painted on it. Located in the Blackcomb lodge.

Commemorative bobsled for the 2010 Olympics.

All in all snowboarding in Whistler was fun. The mountain was amazingly huge compared to what we have been riding. I liked that they had music playing in the terrain park. I also stopped in Whistler lodge one day to have a baileys and cocoa. Warmed me right up! 

Bellingham, Washington

On our way up to Canada, we stopped in Bellingham, WA to stretch our legs. We found a neat trail to hike, right past Western Washington University called Sehome Hill Arboretum Trail. It wasn't a very long hike, maybe around 2 miles. Along the way we had some snow and cold weather. It still was not as cold as Bend when we left (-15). 

   This tree was pretty cool with the mushrooms growing out of the side.

Here is a neat man-made tunnel. Back in the day this was a road for driving, and Model-T cars would drive though the tunnel. Nobody is allowed to drive on this anymore.

                                                                 

                                     

         This is the observation tower we came upon. 

Jonathan being attractive at the top of the observation tower. Behind him is the bay in Bellingham. Pictures don't do the view justice. 

Random beginnings

After leaving Bend, we had a lovely night in Portland to visit my mom. When we arrived she gave us the Canadian money we ask her to get for us. Thanks Mom! Canadian money is very pretty.

Welcome to Washington!

Merry Christmas from my strereo. Bad picture, but at least I can customize my holiday cheer!

                  Welcome to Seattle where you can have great sandwiches, and see festive vaginas!

Van 3, pretty much done

Just to finish up on the van.
We carpeted the walls, then built a bed frame.

 This is the luxurious sleeping arrangement. We splurged and got the 8 inch mattress. So Comfy. We tried sleeping in the van the first time on a night that it was around 8 degrees. It was cold when we first got in, but we kept plenty warm in there.  The window coverings were also not done yet. We ended up waking up around 7 am to fresh snow outside. All in all a great first run.

All packed up and ready to hit the road!