Whistler to Vancouver to Nanaimo, Vancouver Island

Remember how I said the ride to Whistler was the best? I lied, the best by far is the road between Squamish (south of Whistler) to West Vancouver!!! Stunning. The road (rebuilt for the Winter Olympics) follows the Burrard Inlet and is beatiful. The drivers behind me were probably pissed that I was going so slow, but I nearly got whiplash from turning my head so many times to look at the view.

Missed the turn (outside of Vancouver) for the ferry going to Vancouver Island, so I ended up downtown during rush hour. Finally made it to ferry terminal. Met a bunch of cyclists including a guy riding a 1968 Triumph and a guy who was returning from a month long journey to Colorado. He was riding the "dirt-bike" version of my BMW. He road mostly on dirt and gravel roads in the mountains. As we left the terminal, I tried to get a shot of Mt. Baker:

The ferry was a two hour journey across the Straight of Georgia.  As we neared the harbor, we passed the light house:

Rolled off the ferry and found my hotel and this is the view out my window (it pays to be nice to the desk agent, I was given an upgrade):

Tomorrow I explore the Island, using tips and directions that one of the riders gave me.

Revelstoke to Kelowna to Whistler (via mostly 2 lane roads)

What a day. Probably the longest day, in hours, not miles, since I left. I ran into a couple of Canadian dudes at the gas station and they gave me some ideas about a route. I saw it all today; lush forest covered mountains, fast rivers, dry rivers, parched mountains where the grass was brown and the trees were burnt, and highway 99 (more about that later).

Most of route was twisting 2-lane (or sometimes one lane) roads on the sides of mountains or in the valley between two mountain ranges. Hot as shit. Even Bert was running hotter than usual. One section of the road was on the side of a mountain where a rock slide had just occurred. Blind corners, single lane, no guardrails, and huge double-long trucks. Reminded me of the road to Hana on Maui, but this time I was sure I was going off the cliff.

If you look closely, the speed limit is 30km which is about 18 mph. No one was going close to that fast, especially on the blind curves. Bert could tell I was freaked out-going 65-75 mph is our zone, 5-10 mph is not cool.

Stop to get fuel, credit card won't won't work. Go into gas station and the attendant says "is that an American Credit Card?" I say yes and he says "all the American Credit Cards stopped working the day ObamaCare passed".

Ok, the real trip started when I got to  Lillooet and jumped on highway 99 to Whistler/Vancouver. Tough ride, but highlight so far:

Lakes, mountain passes, roaring rivers, vista after vista. Lots of traffic so hard to stop. Also, towards the end of the day, sun was in my eyes and also encumbered good camera angles. Just amazing:

Not sure of my plans tomorrow, going to sleep in.

Why Revelstoke?

Funky name, wanted to stay there. Some kind ski jumping capital, plus on a cool river.

Ok, all you complaining down staters and Yoopers - Revelstoke holds the Canadian record for snowiest single winter - over 80 feet of snow.

iPad mini number 2 is toast :((((

Crap, crap, crap. About a month ago I left my mini on a plane going to NOLA. Tonight, unpacking Bert and my new mini hit the pavement. Need to find some clear tape or posts will cease until I get into the states.

Calgary, Alberta to Radium Hot Springs to Golden to Revelstoke, British Columbia

Got on the road early, wanted to see how Bert was handling the layoff. No problem, we escaped Calgary before rush hour. Again, worried about Bert's shoes, wearing a little thin - probably get new ones in Vancouver. Very hot today, mid 80s.

Several random thoughts:

• Michigan is so green, you don't realize it until you travel elsewhere
• Michigan and especially Ann Arbor roads are terrible
• When you approach Calgary, it kind of reminds me of Denver, a whole lot of space and then up pop subdivisions. I can't figure out Calgary housing strategy. They have thousands of acres surrounding the city and yet the distance between houses seems like 10 feet - why?

Took an alternative route to Banff and then actually headed south even though I wanted it go west. Went through Kootenay National Park until I hit a northbound road heading towards Golden, B.C. The scenery was pretty good:

Once I got to Golden, "turned left" and headed west. Wow, wow, wow, best scenery of the trip so far. Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park (Canadian version) was beautiful. Hard to stop and take pictures because there was lots of construction and traffic. Clearly, once you get on the other side of the Continental Divide, you arrive at the "wet side" of the mountains. Much greener, more lush, and spectacular views around every turn.

Scattered mom's ashes in this roaring  stream.

Then the glaciers appeared

Stopped in Revelstoke for the evening. This is view out my window.  Will insert picture later tonight

Fog is starting to clear from my brain.

Back in Calgay

Arrived about 1:00 am mich time. Bert was still in parking lot (though I have not found the key I "hid" somewhere in my luggage).

Not sure of the plan, heading back towards Banff and Vancouver.  Stay tuned.

Travel, and Everything Sucks

Long weekend, total downer. The speakers at Mark's service were exceptional, including Tom. Saw a number of people whom I had not seen in 15 years. So sad.

Tried to leave Sunday night, spent 3 hours on Tarmac then we went back to terminal and I went home. Spent $150 on car services to and from airport, plus $240 because I missed cutoff time to cancel reservation at hotel. Will deal with that tonight if I ever get to Calgary. Doctors office screwed up my scripts, so I left without refills.

Not sure of plans, depends if Bert is still at hotel. At this point, nothing would surprise me.

Not real inspired about anything. Pissed off my sister (yet again), was mean to people I love. Totally lost right now. Need to just relax and get back to the journey. Sorry for the negative post.