SUN PEAKS to JASPER

Last night we were at the Delta Hotel in Sun Peaks, where we had a sumptuous buffet including salmon prepared in different ways. This was followed by a presentation on the history of the fur trade and exploration of western Canada.I found it very interesting to see how courageous the pioneers were exploring by canoe along the freezing wild rivers. I won't say who nodded off.

Next morning we boarded the coach for a scenic drive through the Rockies to Jasper in Alberta......but it wasn't to be, because the smoke haze was as bad as ever. We stopped near Mt Robson for lunch. It is the highest mountain in the Rockies. Our guide pointed into the haze and said that's where it is.

This is what we should have seen.

To cheer us up, our tour guide (Valerie, who was excellent), made a detour from the itinerary and took us to see salmon spawning in Swift Creek.The creek was full of salmon.

The salmon swim for 500 miles from the Pacific Ocean to lay eggs here. The female scours a nest with her tail in the gravel and lays four thousand eggs then the male sprays the eggs with sperm. After 10 days both parents die and provide nutrients for the young. Only 200 make it back to the sea, where they fatten up for four years before they begin their torturous journey back to exactly the same place where they were born but only two make it.

 We motored on to Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. Our room wasn't far from the lake with a backdrop of mountains but it was hard to see through the smoke.

However, the smoke created a different kind of beauty to the scene. Eerie like.

This is the main lodge where there are restaurants, lounges, bars and shops. We had a choice of four restaurants. The food was delicious and view lovely. The accommodation blocks were scattered around the huge property.

One of the lounges with a roaring fire, where we relaxed with new found friends from the tour.

SWINGING FROM PEAK TO PEAK

Yippee, we had a sleep in this morning. After another delicious breakfast it was Free Choice Activity time. We chose the Peak2Peak Gondola ride. The gondola swings from Blackburn Mountain to Whistler Mountain but first we must get to the top of the mountain on a chairlift.

I was a little apprehensive but I was so excited to be here, that I didn't care anymore and just looked out for bears and the beautiful scenery.

There was a fabulous 360* view at the top of Blackcomb peak, however the pink haze in the sky was to haunt us for the next few days. It was smoke from numerous forest fires in BC.

My stomach did a flip when I saw how far down the Gondola falls before it rises again to Whistler peak. There are no more pylons after this one until the other side of the ravine. Bill relaxed when he saw that it was made in Switzerland.

There was a glass floor just to give you a bit more of an adrenalin rush. It was very hard to get shots of the magic view due to the reflections on the windows, but I managed this one. We stopped at the top for a coffee on the terrace. Bill's foot was sore so he stayed there with a friend while I and a two others walked to another chairlift which took us even higher to the summit.

This one really took your breath away. It felt like we were going to splat into this wall of rock.

Now we were really on top of the world with this Inukshuk. Originally these  symbols were created by the Inuit people to show 'someone has been here' or 'you are on the right path'. However it can have a variety of meanings today. It was the logo for the Winter Olympics meaning 'welcome'.

This fellow was trying a one legged meditation pose for a photographer. He kept losing his balance. I expected him to topple over the edge at any minute and take a short cut down the mountain.

Then it was time to take the chairlift down to pick up Bill and then swing in the gondola back to the other peak and then down, down, down again in two more chairlifts to Whistler, which you can see at the bottom here. Look at that smoke blowing in and starting to hide the mountains. We had the afternoon to ourselves, I explored the village while Bill checked out the doctor's surgery and then the pharmacy. A few hundred dollars later he had some antibiotic tablets. Thank goodness for travel insurance.