A New Perspective

While talking to Matt on Saturday morning, the conversation was long and varied. Can you believe it has been four years since he and Tom married? Anniversary wishes were part of our chat, as was the weather, the love of all things birdy, and the idea of perspective. There was nothing wrong with my perspective before, however, I'll admit it was narrow, having lived my life in only one place. This adventure not only took us to a brand new climate, but an entirely different culture and way of life. And man has it been fun! The things we've seen!! While it is not even remotely warm enough to swim in, living beside the Pacific Ocean has been fantastic.

As has living up high. Before we came, I had no idea what we would think about living in a tower, but now I do. Love it! The views are so worth the inconvenience, well, that's not really true because it is not so much inconvenient as it is different.

While it is very true that we have plenty of flowers in Florida, Bonnie made a good point. She claims, and I'm not one to argue with this line of thinking, that the Florida sun is so bright, our flowers can often look washed out. Here, with often such a heavy cloud cover, the colors are crazy vibrant.

And while it is also true that we have azalea plants, that, while wonderful, don't seem to hold a candle to the flowering shrub called Rhododendron, found in such an abundance here. I've seen some beauties already; plants just covered with bright, full, blooms.

In the coming days I'll be showing you more of them as nearly every day, I'm coming across new colors that are, frankly, stunning. As are the camellias. Good grief, the plants I've seen are groaning under the weight of their abundant flowers. This plant was about ten feet tall with literally, hundreds of flowers, and in such an awesome color too!

And then there are the ornamental cherry trees There really are no words for the sight of them lining streets, adding such a lightness to the rainy days. Although, unbelievably so, there were about four days of sunshine in a row, making me a very happy camper.

Leaving the flowers, and for that matter, Vancouver, behind, Bruce took me back to Squamish on Friday. Friday? Yup, Good Friday is a national holiday here. Having gone there with his work colleagues several weeks ago, he wanted to show me the fantastic view from the mountain top. Woo hoo....let's do it!

The only way to get there is the Sea to Sky Highway, a winding road with mountains on one side, and sea on the other. It takes some getting used to for both the driver and the passenger! That said it is a frequent filming sight for those car commercials you've seen where the driver flies around curves; apparently it is not scary to them at all!

Although it is but 45 miles away, driving that road can make you want to take a break in the middle, so we stopped in at Porteau Cove for both a rest, and some sight seeing. Here's a little something about the park:

Situated on the most southerly fjord in North America, Porteau Cove Provincial Park features waterfront campsites with a view over Howe Sound to the mountains beyond. An old ship has been sunk to provide interest for Scuba divers and to attract marine life. There are special facilities for divers. 

Fjord! I had no idea. Aren't those only found in Scandinavia? Apparently, not. The view looks like this:

Imagine if there were no clouds! I walked out on that platform and there are many islands to be seen in Howe Sound. Refreshed we were back on our way, stopping first at Shannon Falls which we visited in Autumn. The sound from the falling water was evident in the parking lot, and then they came into view as we turned the corner.

Wondering if the volume of water was going to be greater at the tail end of winter, than it was in the fall, we got our answer pretty quickly, once we got closer. All part of our new perspective, we climbed the steps in the forest to get even closer, something that was nearly impossible for us to do before, not having yet become "somewhat" accustomed to steps galore. 

Although Bill and David's birthday was two days away, I couldn't help think of them, specifically Bill who loves anything stone. Ask anyone who has visited his home about that! He can talk for a very long time about granite, and I hope one day he'll take the opportunity to see it first hand in a natural setting. My goodness, they've turned 39 years old already! I can't remember a year when their birthday coincided with Easter. Let's look that up, shall we? No wonder. I was only three years old the last time the two events occurred on the same day!

How about this for a new perspective? Sunshine in the forest instead of the usual gloom we've encountered? Now that's a first for us!

Our destination was the Sea to Sky Gondola which was practically next door to the falls. I saw it before I actually got in it.

See all that craggy rock? Apparently caused by glacial erosion. Well, all that craggy rock is slightly scary to sail over, especially when you have a woman seated next to you that is petrified of the experience! Our first gondola ride in Whistler was over packed snow, giving an illusion of safety. Not so much on this climb. So, does it stop when it gets to the pictured top? Why, no it does not. It keeps going and going, eventually you are riding over snowy ground.

The top is just above the brim of Bruce's hat. I can't say as I wasn't a little happy once we arrived. Not so fast Gail. Bruce wanted us to do the suspension bridge thing. With a little coaxing, as well as reassuring, he convinced me to give it a go. Holding on for dear life, I managed it but opted out of a return trip, instead we went through the woods. 

If only people would walk with caution instead of trying to make it sway! In the distance you see a viewing platform which is good, but not quite as large as the one where the gondola lands seen below.

Oh my goodness, what a sight it was! Talk about "I can see for miles, and miles, and miles! Although we were prepared for it to be cold, surprisingly, it was very comfortable, enough so that we went on a little hike through the woods on a mostly cleared path.

Mostly being the operative phrase because in some places it was very icy, with slow going on the part of the Pecks. Furthermore, there were areas where the snow is quite deep. And oh so pretty!
We were on a trail that went up and down, snowy and icy, so once we reached this little summit, we decided not to press our luck any further. My friends, I am standing alongside four signs detailing the habits of four birds seen in these parts!

I took a boat load of other photographs, but rather than bore you with them, I'll just say that the scenery is nothing short of magnificent.

Of note: those deep holes on the bottom left in the above photograph, made my none other than Mr. Peck. I told you it was deep in some places! 

By this time the day had become bright and sunny, which you and I both know, is how I prefer the sky to look.

Amazingly, the weather was good on Saturday, and although light rain fell as we began our walk to church, by the time we arrived, it had already quit. Easter Sunday was as wonderful as I'd hoped, with parishioners attaching daffodils to the cross as they made their way into the sanctuary. 

Oh my, do we have so much to be grateful for. 

Hallelujah, indeed.

yours truly,

Gail