In Search of Beauty

As you can well imagine, before moving to Vancouver, I did some research on the types of birds I might encounter while here. Except, as has been documented, I've seen very few birds aside from pigeons and seagulls. An occasional finch, and I guess that one time I saw a few sparrows, but otherwise, on the bird watching front, it has not been stellar. That said, Saturday night, Wendy reminded me of something I'd read about and promptly forgot. Eagles! Great numbers of eagles in fact. Ganging up on Bruce, the ladies insisted he take me on a trip Monday, if not all the way to Whistler, at least to Squamish. Naturally, I was all for it, especially when she sent me a link to this.

Not knowing what to expect in terms of holiday traffic, we set off at 8:30. I just love how you leave the relative dimness of Stanley Park and the Lionsgate bridge appears.

Once over the bridge, it isn't long before you take a road that joins the Sea to Sky Highway, the freeway that extends from the US border to Whistler. I'm including this link because their aerial shot is awesome! I kept squealing with delight as Bruce paid attention to the winding road, with mountains on one side, and the sea on the other.

Both of us kept remarking on how marvelous the actual roadway was, and a few days later I learned from Joe, at Bruce's office, that the road saw significant upgrading for the Winter Olympics, as all of the major skiing events were held in Whistler.

Damn it is nice having a chauffeur! I could never drive on a road like this as I am a complete chicken when it comes to high and winding roads. He was not especially keen on it, but became a little more comfortable as the miles flew by.

Destination one was Shannon Falls, the third highest waterfall in BC. Look who came along for the journey...

It wasn't long before Baxter was tucked into Bruce's shirt because, baby it was cold! 43 degrees! Fortunately I had my coat, however, the chilliness at this time of year continues to surprise us, thus, Bruce had no jacket with him, and for that matter, neither did Baxter. Only a short walk from the parking lot, we saw the area the falls empty into before we saw them.

Although I took multiple shots of the falls, I was disappointed with my efforts, however, this one will give you an idea of what the scene looks like.

This type of fall is called a Horse Tail Fall, a new term to me. Very interesting rock coloration as well. Adjacent to the fall viewing area were some steps leading up into the woods and perhaps to a place beside the falls, don't know as we only got this far due to having Baxter, and the chilliness.

The water, flowing over the rocky bed, was crystal clear.

Although Baxter was tucked into his outer shirt, he was still shivering. so back to the highway for us, exiting again in the town of Squamish, where we mostly spent time along what a local told us was called a "spit." Zarita asked me on Sunday if next year's desk calendar would be all Vancouver and my response was perhaps I could make that happen. Well, if ever there were a calendar shot, we sure came across it at the Squamish Yacht Club. Oh my.

Pretty hard to beat a scene with colorful boats reflecting in the water, along with two snow capped mountains in the distance, isn't it?

Bruce wanted a shot of me to show that I was both wearing a coat and that my hair is growing like mad, although during my office visit this week, Beth did give me a recommendation to take care of that.

From here we took a dicey road down toward the ocean, coming across a pretty little family playing beside the water.

In the other direction a dog was having a swim.

In yet another direction, we saw evidence of what was once the most thriving industry in the area, logging.

This link shows that tourism is now a very important part of the local economy. Having Baxter along is our excuse for skipping all of the adventure opportunities. :)

Back on the highway, we traveled only a few miles up the road, getting off the moment I saw the eagle watching sign. Although we were too early to actually see any eagles, as they don't  arrive until  November, the Squamish River, viewed from a dike that serves as the eagle watching area, was gorgeous at this time of year.

Bruce was resting in the car with Baxie while I walked along the dike seeing only a few seagulls as well as a large seal in the water. Once we changed places, and I was the dog sitter, he did the walk and saw TWO big seals. Apparently the eagles perch in the bare trees, waiting for the salmon run. What a sight that must be!

With the sea to our right on the return journey, there were several pull offs for gawking at the beautiful views.

We exited the highway to take a look at Horseshoe Bay, one of the places where you can board a ferry that takes you to Vancouver Island, home to Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. Not often that you see a street named Bruce.

Now we all know what a BC Ferry looks like. I love how the mountains seem to erupt out of the sea.

The ferry took off as we watched from the end of the pictured dock. Within a few minutes, one arrived, and we watched as both passengers and cars came off of the ferry. After making the decision to stay in Vancouver over the holidays, Matt and Tom changed their earlier booked Florida plans to come and spend Christmas with us, during which time, that ferry trip may be on our agenda.

For the tiniest bit the traffic was heavy, but when you think about how the entire population of Canada is about the same as California, how bad could a traffic jam really be? Before long we were back in the city with the gorgeous red trees lining Georgia Street.

We went in search of beauty and we certainly found it didn't we? Holy Cow, I am in love with the mountains!

yours truly,

Gail