We are now in the magical village of Whistler.
There are thousands of people walking around everywhere, and everyone you talk to is friendly and you have something in common with all of them... Skiing!

We went for a drink at the Longhorn and watched the skiers come down off the mountain. The energy was great and everyone seemed to be having a blast.
Then we went to the hotel and hit the outdoor hot tub. There is not much better than sitting outside in 34 degree weather in a 108 degree hot tub and meeting new people.

We are relaxing now and going to get some dinner next. I am thinking it will be Mongolian BBQ.
Tomorrow morning, I am going to hit the slopes and take some photos from the top of the mountain. I just can't wait. It may be really foggy up there, but I am still going to try.

Whistler was beautiful, however I did not go skiing. The weather was raining at the bottom and top of the mountain. It was just not going to be good enough to make it worth spending the money. So, we walked around the village one more time and then headed south on the Sea to Sky highway. The fog and clouds were absolutely amazing. It made you want to stop every mile to take photos. Here are a few that I was able to grab when we stopped.

We got to the US Border at Surrey and found that it was a 90 minute wait there, so, we scooted over to the Blaine crossing and ended up waiting two hours there, but got to go to Duty Free and I picked up some cool Cologne that at Macy's would be about $85.00 and I got it for about $38.00. So, that was alright. We finally got to the checkpoint and the US Customs agent asked us what we were bringing in from Canada, and then said, alright, move along.
Two hours of waiting so, that he didn't even bother to scan our passports. Security theater at its finest courtesy of the United States of America!

We got back into Seattle around 7:30 or so, and were really tired and starving, so, we went directly to West Seattle and hit Jak's Grill for dinner. The Filet was so tasty it just melted in your mouth. Steaks and a bottle of Robert Mondavi's 05 Cabernet and we were done for the night, Fat belly's and just wanting to sleep!

The City was so fogged in, that the visibility was about 400 feet. There was no chance to get any photos, so, that was a good enough reason to just go to bed.
Our room at the Westin was on the 35th floor overlooking the Puget Sound and the Space needle, and you couldn't see either.
I fell asleep by 9:00 pm and was happy as a clam.

The following morning was a bit of a sleepy morning.  We have an exuberant amount of food left, so i decide to get an early start in the kitchen again and get to chopping mushrooms and totatoes and bell peppers and the such.  The kitchen is definitely deserted.  And it has that cold frosty damp 6am feeling that kitchens get in the morning.  Only one other couple is up, but they have filled the room with the soft warm glowing scent of coffee.  Man, i miss caffeine hahahaha!

We end up having a lot of eggs, so by the time that i get doone chopping everything, the girls are not up yet.  So i decide just to cook the omelets myself (lord have mercy).  The first stainless steel pan i set down onto the stove and add oil to, ignites the oil into a flaming flambe of empty pan.  I take the flaming mess over to the sink and quell the uprising and excitement...the old couple are now staring at me hahaha.  They are wondering what it is im cooking, and alls i can offer them is:  oil.  Hahahaha.  With my face still intact, i opt for the cast iron pan.  It is not as good, and i know that the eggs will stick to the surface...w/e.  I toss in 5 eggs per person into the omelet just to eat up the supply...man thats a lot of eggs hahahaha.  We end up with 3 left so we hardboil them to take with us.

As we sail down the Sky to Sea Highway now, heading south, the familiar landmarks pass by, in a backwards panarama of the last few days.  Whistler village passes by.  The trailhead to Garabaldi Lake passes by.  Eventually the trailhead to Elfin Lake passes by as we once again enter the orbit of Squamish...but not before taking a pitstop at a viewpoint looking over the Tantalus Range.  The range itself stretches over the greater portion of a panaramic photo, carefully stitched together from dozens of manual pictures (via the hard and diligent work of Kelly ^^).  Our guide tells us that Tantalus Peak is a "technical" climb, requiring gear and ropes and such.  Perhaps after i have been reborn a few times over, i will attempt such an assent.  For now i take in the sight, and the soft warm glow of the morning rays, and the fresh crispy air stretching for miles in all directions into the valley beneath the sleeping giant.  We take dozens of photos from our vantage point, even some of ourselves and our faithful Mazda 6, which has served us well since we left Vancouver.

Kelly decides that perhaps i have taken too much punishment from her elbows and fists for the past few days, and turns her "affections" to Tantalus Peak itself.  Notice how her smile is now completely genuine ^^  I take the oppertunity to offer some of my own affections to the prospective peak, in hopes that she will grant me safe passage onto her snowy caps when i have grown a bit.  I offer my silent farewells to the landscape as we make our descent back to Vancouver, depositing bits and pieces of my heart, its flourishes and palpitations, buried deep into the forrest hillsides and granite faces.  So many things left unfinished, so many things left undone.  So many reason to return ^^  i already cannot wait to come back...even though i have not yet truely left...

We pass through Lions Den and the many islands floating off the shoreline.  It reminds me very much of driving down the California coastline, except these islands are ginormous and are covered in trees.  Katherine tells us that there is a lot of hiking and camping in this area.  Michael, our elustrious host in Vancouver, has been camping along this stretch as we have been romping through Whistler.  We should see him again in a couple more days.  I wonder how long it will take me to set foot on each and every island in that bay.  I close my eyes and once again let the reflections on the water take me away, mind and body, hands and spirit, to the fusion of water, earth and sky...please wait for me.  I'll be right back ^^

What a trip...ask and il tell you.

Excited from the adrenaline of anticipation, i woke up early and decided to keep my hands busy as my head thawed from slumber.  No one else was in the kitchen, so i just let my mind wander and let my hands do the dancing.  Today was a big day, so we decided the night before not to stuff ourselves as we did the day before and eat a light breakfast of cereal.  Still, we are extravagant.  One cannot simply have cereal plain hahahaha.  Ours is fit for a king (or queen).  I spend a little extra time to make everything look pretty.  Sue me.

We finally get out on the road again, and back to Whistler Village.  Today we are going to hit the peak and hike along the ridges.  Katherine feels that the hiking will be more relaxing with less elevation since we have been getting a good workout for the past two days.  A little reward for us, which i gladly took.

We grab a gondola to the Roundhouse Lodge, which gives us a complete panaramic view of the village and the valley and the mountains in 360 degrees.  Its quite beautiful and it only gets better and better the higher and higher we climb.  We take every oppertunity to take pictures as we ascend.  The first mini stop is where the bikers hop off the hit the bike trails.  We continue to go deeper into the trees and the light fog, which turns into a heavy fog as we roll up into the cloud bank.

When we hit the top of the gondola, we are greeted with smiles as we exit to the lookout point.  Cheers ^^!  The wind is whipping us around along with the many Canadian flags waving frantically at the morning.  We take as many pictures as we can with the Red & White before our noses get cold and we retreat into the warmth of the Roundhouse Lodge.  The ladies immediately make a rush for the floor and start shopping before i can get my hood off, hahahaha.  Actually, i neglected to bring a beanie or head cover of any kind, and i left my wet gloves from the day before on my bed, so i ended up getting a fleece headcap & an official 2010 Winter Olympics gloves.  Hurray for double lining.  Sooo warm, and i would need it today more than ever.

On our way out, we stop to take some photos with a local bear.  Not quite as charming as Yogi, but quite a warm heart within the mass of fur and blubber.  The ladies highly approve and practically swing in his arms, peppering him with bear hugs hahaha.

Katherine ends up falling in love with a light blue jacket, even though she already has like 5 billion of them (she was wearing one when i first met her).  It looks like it was custom made for her, and she wears it with a giant canadian smile hahaha!  Treat that with a knit cap, complete with built-in pigtails...which is the style of the times apparently ^^.  It is also a piece of 2010 Winter Olympic gear.  We zip up, take one last luxurious bathroom break, and head back out to the ready and waiting outdoors.  It greets us with an excited blast of winter mint.  Fresh!  We are also greeted by one of Canada's many informative signs.  I ignore it as i shakey shakey to the trailhead.  Cant stop the funk!

The start of our day begins underneath the Peak Adventure sign.  The trail behind it leads us to yet another chair lift, which will take us to the summit of Whistler Peak herself.  One "can" hike up from the bottom of the hill to the summit, which is supposed to take only 14 hours.  ONLY!  I thank Katherine that she saw fit to start us off on the proper foot for today hahahaha, on training wheels.  We take lots of pictures of our dangling feet over the many chasms and cliffs that we pass on our final ascent to the top.

So many big giant statues to say hello to.  An Inukshuk stands at the summit, a First Nation landmark, which is the symbol of Vancouver and the official symbol for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.  The word itself loosely translates to "something which acts for or performs the function of a person."  Inukshuks are primarily used by the people of the Arctic regions of North America, from Alaska to Greenland.  We have to fight for photo-op time here, very much like Disneyland, except that its freezing and the Inukshuk isnt as warm and fuzzy as Mickey or Donald Duck.  We take a few snaps here and a few snaps there, and then a "classic" pose underneath the heavy legs.  Classic in what sense, i dunno myself, hahaha, but snap snap snap and off we go.

The real trailhead begins behind the Inukshuk, leading down (wheee) into the foggy rocks, devoid of trees and vegetation at this point.  A lookout point provides a panoramic area map, pointing out the distant peaks and landmarks, which cannot be seen in the white soup we are swimming in.  As early as it is, a lot of people are already making their way "back" to the Roundhouse Lodge and greet us with heavy panting and heaving and cheerful hellos.  Kelly stops here and stops there to take many of the beautiful photos you see imbedded in these pages, so we kinda mosey our way down, hopping and climbing on the boulders and rocks.  Eventually, we dip below the alpine line and trees begin to sprout out of the fog.  And then flowers, and vegetation.  Our first trail marker is another fine (wooden) furry friend.  He doesnt exactly point us in the proper direction, but we make a small pit stop and answer the calls from nature.  We find it hard not to give something back when she has given so much to us already hahahaha.  Ahh how i miss leaning with my back against a giant boulder in the trees, ducking people on the trail.

There is a lot of traffic in the morning.  Lots of people coming and going as we make our way traversing the hill around the backside of Whistler Peak.  And by lots of people, i mean 10-12 hahaha.  We pass by families having breakfast, and experianced hikers complete with ski poles and shorts.  We are looking for Lake Cheakamus, but are not expecting to find it in the mist, when the sun comes out for the first time through the thick of it and reveals the beautiful and marvalous lake to us.  It is long and elegant, curving around the base of the peak, probably a few miles below us.  We will not be taking that trail down today, but we take many many many pictures with the lake, and the flowers, and the trees.  Actually, the flowers smell great up there.  Quite aromatic and sweet,  The scent permiates the air around us, almost like a subtle perfume, whispering on the wind.  Not only do we get a great view, but we also get a sweet olfactory treat.  The soundtrack unfortunately, is provide by yours truely as he pants and heaves for more air hahahaha.  We are actually flying by my standards along the trail, and my head is pretty light and fluffy too, but quite grounded today.  Small brooks and beds of pink and blue cross our path behind every turn.  There is so much to see, so much to take in.  At moments i steal a few seconds to close my eyes and fill my lungs with it all.  Cramming it into my gut.  Becoming one with the universe.

The trail is quite dynamic.  Sometimes it crosses a small creek.  At times we have to climb up ropes tied onto trees.  At times we have to crawl and climb rocks and boulders, metal grated walkways, slalom the trees as they shake hands (or limbs rahter) with our limbs on our passing.  Its a lot of fun.  More than i expected but well worth the effort.

As we hit the bottom of the first musical peak, it starts to snow.  I mean it starts to SNOW!!  Bonus.  The snow is really falling lightly, so faintly that we couldnt get a good picture with it at all, so we just bum along and enjoy it, coming down over our heads, like falling feathers.  Not in any hurry to come down, as we weave through the trees to go up to meet it.  I know i said back along the trail that i was stealing moments to become one with the universe, and i was not the only one to have a spiritual awakening there on Whistler.  When the snow began to fall, Kelly suddenly feels the rapture of the outdoors, of the moon and the sky, of the mountains and the trees, and answers the calling.  Its amazing how deeply one can become connected to the pulse of the universe, feel its current strong and steady, and realize that you are a part of it all, and it a part of you.  You never come back with everything you left home with.  You always leave a piece of yourself out there.  And you take some of it with you, and cherish it for the rest of your life.  Are you hungry enough to come and find it ^^?

Hail.  Sun.  Clouds.  Wind.  Snow.  Clear.  Snow Storm.  Titanic photos.  Clear and crispy alpine weather.  Running mad around a small lake.  This is my new home.

After a solid morning and afternoon hike, we settle down into our humble lodgings for the next few days. This place is a wayward traveller's paradice. Full kitchen, five fridges, complete with hardware, silverware and all the amenities, two stoves, a gigantic lounge, a fireplace, a game room with foosball, ping pong and billiards, a sauna and lots of new friends and faces from all over the world. The guest lists have a very international flavor. The place is as warm and embracing as the people. This is a private club, which opens up their accomidations to the public, so treat everyone and everything with respect, and you will be treated with the most cozy experiance. Accomidations for bikers, skiers, snowboarders, hikers, and even for roadside prophets. If you have a love of the outdoors, then you will love the FROC. Occasionally there is a black bear wandering around on the road out front. Just hand over the picnic basket, and no one gets hurt ^^. Everyone conducts themselves to the minimum standards of common curtesy...well everyone conducts themselves above and beyond the call of common curtesy hahaha. Its quite a treat to be in a place of rest, surrounded by responcible people for a change haha. What a terrible time i chose to give up wine ^^;;. We were graced not only with good company, but nightly fireside concerts in the lounges in the evening. I quite reccomend them before bedtime if you can arrange for a guitar player or two. Encourage people to sing more. So many lovely voices around ^^. We stayed in a private room for three, but there are hostel style dorms as well. This is really the first time i have stayed in a private room, as i prefer to kick it with the other travellers. Meet more people. Forces one to be social hahaha. Of course if you are travelling with two lovely ladies...i would reccomend the private rooms too hahahaha! The evenings can be quite lively, with the pitter-patter of feet and wine induced conversation over dinner. The mornings are quite serene in contrast...slow and quiet. Perfect.

After our grueling ordeal at Lake Garabaldi, we are wet and dirty, still shaking from exhaustion and excitement.  Although the sun came out to thaw the remnants of the rain and cold, it got to us deep within our bones, so a unanimous vote for a nap resolves and we head back to the FROC.  I ask how long a "nap" would take.  Are we going to be taking a "nap" or a "power nap?"  For myself, a power nap takes 45 minutes and a nap can take 2-3 hours.  Katherine assures me that her power nap can take 20 minutes hahahaha, so we opt for a real nap.

Now that the afternoon has really opened up, we can see the sky and all the peaks in the surrounding area along Highway 99 (Sea to Sky).  The trees come alive in the bright light, as do the snow glimmering on top of all the mountains.  We are cruising at a good clip until we fall behind a dump truck, and then it is 60 kph all the way back, which is nice since we get to chatting and ejoying the view more.  We even get to see two black bears with two cubs on the side of the highway.  Many cars had pulled over to take pictures along the side of the road, only 100 meters from the bears, but they do not seem interested in coming closer to the road.  Their mother keeps them rolling around and playing at a safe distance, heading back into the trees.  "Kelly" cannot contain herself at this point and squeals incessantly.  "We" promise not to tell anyone hahaha.

After our nap, we get dressed and take a small adventure down at the Whistler Village.  We need more groceries anyhoo and the village is on our list of things to do.  I have not been to a ski village in over a decade.  The bottom half of the ski lifts is open to bikers, and a giant downhill course is in full swing.  Bikers of all shapes, sizes and ages are tearing down the trails.  They ARE much bigger up close, hahaha, and they are much more dirty than they look from afar.  They look like weekend warriors from Mad Maxx.  Full football style pads, padded like military super soldiers from the future, HALO style helmets, and $4000 bikes hahahah.  And i thought that skiing was expensive ^^.

Katherine assures us that we should try the local ice cream, from a place of prevalence, called simply:  COW.  No surprises as we pull up and there are 5 or 6 kids climbing and crawling all over the life-size cow in front of the quiant store.  (http://www.cows.ca/)  Not only do they carry an extensive assortment of Copyright infringing merchandicing involving cows, but they also boast some of the best original homemade ice cream flavors, such as Moo Crunch, Wowie Cowie, Moo York Cheesecake, and Gooey Mooey.  I go for a double scoop of the Wowie Cowie and the Cowcrispy Crunch in a cup (a cap?! i know, im conservative hahahaha!).  The Cowcrispy has a Canadian version of a butterfinger crushed into the caramelized ice cream...a bit sweet for my taste, but decadent by any definition.  The Wowie Cowie is actually really good, although i have no idea what is in it.

I manage to find some Maple shaped maple candy in a trinket shop.  They remind me of the friend i made while sitting on my flight to Japan last year, so i grab a bag for her.  Seemed like as good a gift as any for an anniversary with a distant aquaintance ^^.  She had given me a small maple candy, which i initially declined because i knew that i didnt like maple flavor, but for the life of me at that moment, i could remember why hahahaha!  So i took her offer and popped the damn thing into my mouth, only to realize why i didnt like it ^^.  We humans are a strange bunch arent we ^^?  Or is it just me (T_T ;)

With our tourist shopping of souvenirs done and ice cream in hand, we head back to the car happy as can be, until we pass a live band playing in the frosty evening light.  Its loud, and its cold, and there are hundreds of people in front of the hotel rocking out with the band.  Kelly and i pass by, until we noticed that Katherine is nowhere to be seen.  We stop by at a hotdog stand next to the Pan Pacific Hotel, and pop, out comes Katherine grinning and skipping from the crowd.  "Live outdoor music and dancing are a inherent part of the BC experiance," she says in between her smile.  Hahahaaha!  Cant take her anywhere hahahaha!

If you are craving a burger in whistler then this is the place to go! they make real gourmet burgers with an infinite choice of toppings! they have beef, vege, chicken, and lamb as well as otehr options available. Basically you pick your meat, then you get to dress it up how you like with a large variety of toppings and sauces. The fries here are also very good, and the staff is quite friendly! If you are there in the summer you can sit out back which is quite nice, but this is more of a layed back burger joint, so don't expect a fancy sit down deal. The burger is just so delicious! i have been to whistler twice, and i want to go there every time!

After a solid morning and afternoon hike, we settle down into our humble lodgings for the next few days.  This place is a wayward traveller's paradice.  Full kitchen, five fridges, complete with hardware, silverware and all the amenities, two stoves, a gigantic lounge, a fireplace, a game room with foosball, ping pong and billiards, a sauna and lots of new friends and faces from all over the world.  The place is as warm and embracing as the people.

Accomidations for bikers, skiers, snowboarders, hikers, and even for roadside prophets.  If you have a love of the outdoors, then you will love the FROC.  Occasionally there is a black bear wandering around on the road out front.  Just hand over the picnic basket, and no one gets hurt ^^.

Everyone conducts themselves to the minimum standards of common curtesy...well everyone conducts themselves above and beyond the call of common curtesy hahaha.  Its quite a treat to be in a place of rest, surrounded by responcible people for a change haha.  What a terrible time i chose to give up wine ^^;;.  We were graced not only with good company, but nightly fireside concerts in the lounges in the evening.  I quite reccomend them before bedtime if you can arrange for a guitar player or two.  Encourage people to sing more.  So many lovely voices around ^^.

We stayed in a private room for three, but there are hostel style dorms as well.  This is really the first time i have stayed in a private room, as i prefer to kick it with the other travellers.  Meet more people.  Forces one to be social hahaha.  Of course if you are travelling with two lovely ladies...i would reccomend the private rooms too hahahaha!  The evenings can be quite lively, with the pitter-patter of feet and wine induced conversation over dinner.  The mornings are quite serene in contrast...slow and quiet.  Perfect.

Today we would embark on our drive towards Whistler, traveling through a vast mountain range with only small towns and exhilerating views.  covering over 400kms, this part of the drive would take more than 5 hours due to the challenging terrain, but would be well worth the time!

Another car driving day had started. Today we will move from Kelowna to Whistler Mountain. On our way we passed different villages like Kamloops, but more or less, one village is a copy of any others. It starts with some junk-food restaurants, then some motels and hotels appear and in the center is... the city center. That's it. It's exactly as it is in the States, even the Canadians don't like to be compared to the them.

In Whistler we found a hotel called “Haus Heidi”. This hotel is owned and managed by a old lady from Germany, who came over to Canada 50 Years ago. But she still speaks perfect German. The hotel is very nice, clean and it provides some add-ons others don't have: in the price of 130CAD is also a breakfast included (only between 8-9am) and a Jacuzzi which you can use all the time. And for the ones who like to speak German, here you can do it ;-)

Here's some great hiking info from my Lazy Dazy friend, Andrew, who is terrifically helpful and whose advice I trust:

Food:

Are you wondering how we eat on the road?  Maybe this info will help someone. 

This is how we do it:

Travel Food:

We need our meals to be nutritious, fast to prepare, and preferably edible.  Those are our most important criteria.  Our focus is on the places we’re visiting, not on our food.

Food for “RV touring” is different than food when camping for the fun of the great outdoors and playing pioneer.  For the latter, you want good campfire food:  hot dogs, hamburgers (with real buns, not bread slices), s’mores, etc.  While that’s great fun, we haven’t the energy, time, or resources (firewood/charcoal require storage space) to cook such intensive meals. 

Local Food:

We rarely eat out:  It’s far too inconvenient, unhealthy, and expensive.  However, if there’s a highly-recommended place, a local specialty, or a historic dining opportunity (like Old Faithful), then we try to make a point of visiting it. 

We’re also doing our “Best Pizza in the World” research, which certainly hits the spot for an occasional snack.

We enjoy local treats:  homemade cinnamon rolls in Alaska, ice cream, elk jerky, local jams, syrups, honey, chocolates, halibut in Homer, etc.  This makes us feel culinary-involved locally.

Here are some examples of our meals:

Breakfast:  Cereal, milk, my coffee, hot chocolate if kids want

Very rarely we cook up pancakes or eggs, toast, and heat-and-serve bacon or sausage - this gets us on the road later and we’re usually plenty late already.

Lunch:  Sandwiches (pb&j or ham), soup, or rarely leftovers (I have teenagers-there are no leftovers!)

Snacks: 

Yogurt

Carrots with ranch

Apples with birch syrup caramel dip

Granola bar

Appetizers:  (when we’re really hungry and dinner will take some prep time)

Cheese slices with crackers

Tortilla chips with salsa

Typical Dinners: 

We use the Stove or Oven:  Cooked on the stove, simple, and very quick.  Sometimes, we use our RV oven (lots of brownies)

90% of our camping is “dry” with no hookups and we are often restricted for when we can use the generator (it’s noisy and uses gasoline).  Thus we avoid using the microwave.  Due to space, we left our little Weber Baby-Q at home, so no grill.  We haven’t used our Coleman outdoor propane stove at all.

We need it fast:  Cooking timeframes on travel days need to be around 15 minutes.  We might stop for “dinner camp” at a lovely roadside rest area, cook and eat overlooking a river or spectacular mountain by candlelight, then clean up, and drive for another two hours.  (Note:  This is easiest when the sun sets late in the day.  Arriving in a campground after dark is a no-no)

We keep it simple:  A tip from the book “Adventure Travel with Kids” is to make “one pot meals” which include a carbohydrate base (pasta, rice, etc) and add in meat and veggies.  One pot reduces cleanup time and resources (water and filling the holding tanks).    She notes that traditional foods in countries where resources are conserved include this type of cooking (i.e.  China, India, etc).

Instead of cooking 2 veggies, I heat just one nutritious veggie like spinach, broccoli, corn, or peas.

Then I add a sliced fruit, carrot sticks, salad, or canned fruit.  They require no cooking and no additional pans (can be prepped and served in a paper bowl).

We like it nutritious:  We start dinner by searching the RV for carbs, protein, fruits and vegetables to make dinner.  Storage space is limited.  Having to eat food that’s available can lead to creative meals. 

Easy Meats:  Freezing, defrosting, and cooking meat is not something I enjoy, so we have limited meat.  Canned chicken and tuna are useful.  Meats within frozen meals are popular.  Prepared hamburger patties can be cooked in a skillet as burgers or chopped up for use in another dish.  Frozen boneless/skinless chicken strips can be stir-fried quickly.

Here are some sample dinners we might have:

Pasta with marinara sauce, salad

Rehydrated beef stroganoff in a bag, frozen peas

Stouffer’s frozen lasagna, broccoli

Skillet in a bag, frozen peas, carrots

Soft tacos with hamburger, cheese, & salsa, salad

Salmon chowder or Campbell’s soup, cheese crackers, frozen broccoli or spinach

Rice with chicken, broccoli and teriyaki sauce, corn

Ken’s fresh Halibut, frozen peas, pineapple

Crockpot frozen meal in a bag boiled on the stove, spinach

Chicken noodle soup supplemented with ramen noodles (no added seasoning), veggie

Shredded pork in BBQ sauce- heat and serve in plastic container (from Wal-Mart)

We’ve all lost some weight on this trip.  It could be due to limited snacking, limited meal options, less meat, more exercise, or our cooking.  We’re eating for nutrition and not necessarily for flavor.

However, I think we’re more grateful for our food- maybe because we’re hungry, we appreciate any edible food.  It seems like a little miracle when we’re able to create a really fast, nutritious meal.  Shopping and cooking together provide good life lessons for the kids.  We shop carefully due to space considerations.

When we get home, we’re really looking forward to a big steak on the grill- and making sushi!

We crossed 12,000 miles on our trip today- during 10.5 hours of mostly driving from Ten Mile Lake Campground near Quesnel to Whistler, B.C.

We took the scenic "Sea to Sky Highway" here- we've been on the "Road to the Sun" and "Top-of-the-World" highways already, so this one was a pleasant-sounding addition.  It was beautiful, but rainy.  The 15% grades were slow, but Ciao did fine.  Usually a steep grade is up to about 8%, so these required both gearing down and braking. 

Whistler has but one campground and in spite of the price ($57), we took it.  We want time to explore in the morning before heading to Vancouver.  The 2010 Olympics are slated to be here!  There are so many options in this resort town that we cannot possibly brush but the surface, but we'll know if we want to return in the future.

Williams Lake has a fabulous "Tourism Discovery" Visitor's Center unlike any we've seen.  http://www.visitcariboo.com/About_Us/Tourism_Discovery_Centre  It was an amazing log lodge built by reknown log builders from the area and featured another log cabin within it.  

The big pole spanning 3 floors in the center of the lodge had the roots still attached, the stairs were beatuiful wood, and cross-beams were carved into wild animal figures.  The movie was extremely convincing, professionally showcasing the adventures available by local folks.  We were entranced and really wished we could stay in that town.  The kids and I agreed that we want a warm, golden lodge like that for our next house! :)  (Pictures below)

In the smaller cabin, they had big leather furniture, a stone fireplace, and a movie.  But the movie had a special effects where the narrator appeared lifesize in a doorway, things on the wall would be bathed in light as they were mentioned in the movie, stars of light would shine on the ceiling, and the fireplace would appear to light and brighten the room.  It was extremely cool!  

Our "RV 2: We're Living It!" movie scriipt will definitely include a bank representative presenting the RV'ers with a Visa debit card from "Block of America."  Flash forward to the RV'ers in foreign countries, on weekends, without cell phone or internet service (the more desolate, the funnier), and low on foreign cash.  Then the bank will randomly put blocks on their card when they buy expensive gas!  <snicker!>  The bank's "unblocking" department will only work short hours, on weekdays, and will allow only the cardholder in the foreign country (not another authorized account holder who has communication tools) to initiate a temporary and random unblock.  Hilarious, huh!?

We stopped at a fruit stand in the Okanagan region of B.C.  www.okanagan.com/  Instead of states, Canada has provinces.  Then within each province are regions.  The Okanagan region is known for it's lush agriculture crop and enviable fruit, vegetables, and vineyards.  I must find some of that wine!  But we did get blueberries, corn on the cobb, pears, peaches, and apples.  We bought honey from the Cariboo region at the Williams Lake Visitor's Center.

We're thrilled that Ned has a flight scheduled for later in the week as we cannot wait to see him!  His originally scheduled Anchorage trip for tomorrow had to be cancelled when our ferry schedule interfered, but now we are on track to catch him in the States.  Whoo-hoo!

Whistler Mountain, a place I really love, even this village seems to be the matter why I'm divorced now.

Wake up in house heidi and have a fantastic breakfast with cereals, milk, toast, egg and ham. After breakfast we are driving down to the village. Today there seems to be any kind of a bike downhill event.

Dear downhiller out there in the world, believe me, I am a biker, no downhiller, but a biker who goes out at least three times a week to bike, and I never saw such a huge and just cool downhill environment like here in Whistler (check out the photos and remember, this is just a small part of the whole park).

Nevertheless we are here for hiking, and therefore we plan to climb the mountain (whistler mountain) by peds. We only needed 3 hours to climb the 1100 m altitudes. But the fantastic thing was, that we met 4 different black-bears while we hiked up the hill (see the photos).

Now two of my deepest wishes came true, start hiking and jogging in ca and watch a bear in the wilderness. I'm pretty happy about that.

In addition, I probably fell in love to my very first girlfriend. I met her in Lucerne a few days before I left Switzerland, and now we wrote an uncountable number of sms to each other. You may know, or even not, but I never forgot that girl. And as of today, I think I'm in love again....

If this is true, the third wish would probably come true, also. Thank you.

But independend of any kind of love, I really recommend to visit Whistler. It does not care if you do that in summer (bikers) or in winter (boarders and skieers). You will find a fantastic village and you will have a great time, independently of any temperature.

Whistler mountain is definitely a must see and stay for a few days location. And this is true for at leas 365 days a year.

For those who have been here earlier, please find on the photos the info: whistler mountain and blackcomb will get a direct connection – Jippiiieeehhh*

I love Whistler and I will probably come back to here in 2010, when the olympic winter games will take place in Whistler.