Monday August 7 – Whistler to Sun Peaks

Stuart has developed a phlegmy throat, another bug picked up on the way. Our bags had to be ready by 7.45 and us by 8.15am. Still a smoky haze. In the hotel we two met an Alice Springs firefighter who was here to help fight the fires. Others in the group met other Aussie firefighters – they were having a break before going back to the fires.

We walked with our local guide, Beth, a Lil’wat lady, through the forest path to the Cultural Centre. We were to have a late breakfast/early brunch at the Centre after a guided tour. On the way she told us about the plants and trees, and what the people used them for. The floor of the forest was covered in moss, which the people used for insulation and sleeping mats. Then we went to the Centre. She snag us a welcome song, and we had to dance for our breakfast (three groups – the raven, the wolf, and the eagle). That was fun and we were all laughing. Then we went   replica house that they build which is insulated by the earth. Eventually we went inside the Centre to see the displays. It was very interesting and Beth was in the middle of explaining how clothing is made when one of our men fainted on to the floor. The rest of us were whisked off to breakfast while he recovered, then he joined us. We think it was a combination of no food, standing in a warm room and him wearing a vest. He’s OK. Lesley bought a necklace and put it on.

moss-covered forest floor looks lovely

this lichen has medicinal qualities

metal logs in gas fire pit

entrance to traditional house

built underground for insulation

human-sized basket frame

We were on our way by 9.45am. The route we were to take had been closed because of fire proximity, so we had to take a longer route. It was a long journey so Laurel had us doing quizzes and puzzles to wile away the time. [Question: If you have a bee in your hand, what do you have in your eye? Answer: see the bottom of this post.]

we skirted the city of Vancouver - we'll come back here later in trip

handed around for our amusement

Lunch was in the town of Chilliwack, at a shopping centre (mall).

Up we went into the mountains, still smoky. The haze cleared at one point for photos but this was short-lived. We stopped at a Tim Horton’s for a comfort stop. Most of us also ordered something. The numerous staff couldn’t handle this and service was awful. They took so long that Lesley had to ask where her drinks were, as we had to get back on the bus. Needless to say, we won’t bother with them again.

an area that had been burned in 2004 - taking a long time to regenerate

farmland in a valley

Country now is semi-arid, with dry grass, and sparsely placed shorter conifers. This is cattle ranching country.

We are seeing pine trees that are red – this means the trees are dying from an invasion of pine beetles which burrow under the bark and eventually kill the trees. There is a theory that this is nature’s way of saying there are too many trees and is weeding out the older ones. While it is a shame to see, there is an upside in that the wood gets stained a blue colour as the beetles burrow in. The timber is marketed as ‘denim’ wood and looks interesting made into furniture.

Finally we got to Sun Peaks Resort, under Mt Todd, above Kamloops. The resort was once called Todd Mountain Resort, but as ‘tod’ (in German) means ‘death’ it seemed bad for business to keep that. The name change has seen a huge improvement in patronage!

This was a LONG day in the bus, longer than it should have been because of the change in route. We were all a bit tired.

The smoke wasn’t so bad here so we could see the mountain well. The resort gave us all a complimentary chair lift ride, so up we went. It was great. We went over a stag just below us, which was eating flowers. The ski run (or ope ground under the chair lift if not a run) under us was covered in wild flowers and was so pretty. Round this were lots of mountain bike trails with very sharp turns and jumps – this resort also is open all year round and is popular with mountain bikers. We also saw a marmot, and two elks (with white bottoms).

mountain bike tracks underneath

more wildflowers

the sun through the smoke

ski runs on the opposite side of the valley

resort of Sun Peaks below

how mountain bikes get up to the top

go-kart track, with its own pull-up lift (on a beginners ski slope?)

the couple at front live in Humpty Doo!

 We had dinner together, then a talk on the North West Company, which opened up the north-west back in the late 1700s. This was very interesting, but most of us were ready for bed when it was over!

[Answer: Beauty (beauty is in the eye of the beholder!)]