Canada Trip Report, 24-Hour Interval 9: Body Of Body Of Water To Heaven Hwy; 24-Hour Interval 10: Victoria Daytrip (Butchart, Miniature)

Day 9, Saturday, Sep 2, 2017:

Sea to Sky Highway 99, BC:

A two-lane scenic highway runs betwixt the Pacific Ocean together with rugged mount peaks. Beautiful drive from Vancouver to Whistler! Of course of educational activity nosotros necessitate adept weather condition to relish the sights,

Video of our solar daytime is at:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/QiyMdiYlcH7CkUxB2

We were out of the domicile at 7am, stocked upward on groceries at Safeway which took some thirty min. There is no dedicated left plow at busy roads inwards the metropolis together with it had been hard to create this earlier. Anyways it was an early on start.

The "Sea to Sky Highway" is the parent given to the department of Highway 99 from Horseshoe Bay to Pemberton. From Horseshoe Bay, the highway travels along the coast of Howe Sound for 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to Lions Bay, northward for some other 21 kilometres (13 mi) to Britannia Beach, together with northward for xi kilometres (6.8 mi) to Squamish, at the caput of Howe Sound. From Squamish, it continues northward for some other 58 kilometres (36 mi) to Whistler, together with therefore to Pemberton 32 kilometres (20 mi) later, where the Sea-to-Sky Highway ends.

Entire route is entirely nigh 2 hours each agency without whatsoever stops.

Starting inwards Horseshoe Bay (Northern Vancouver), the route runs along the steep-sided Howe Sound.

Brittania Beach commencement developed betwixt 1899 together with 1904 equally the residential surface area for the staff of the Britannia Mining together with Smelting Company. The residential areas together with the mining functioning were interrelated, resulting inwards mining together with community disasters through its history. Floods, fires together with avalanches plagued the town throughout the years together with killed hundreds of men, women together with children. High operating costs together with taxes eventually forced the mine to unopen inwards 1974.

Today, the town is host to the Britannia Mine Museum, located on the grounds of the onetime mines. The mine's onetime concentrator facilities, used to dissever copper ore from its containing rock, are a National Historic Site of Canada.

We stopped at the Shannon falls.

Shannon Falls:

Shannon Falls tumbles downwardly a serial of cliffs ascension 335 meters to a higher identify Highways 99, making it the tertiary highest falls inwards British Columbia. The falls are named after William Shannon, who settled hither inwards 1889 together with made bricks inwards the surface area to sell them to the copper mine.

Brandywine Falls:

Brandywine Falls (70 metre waterfall) is brusk easily accessible walk from the parking lots; the viewpoint also presents marvelous views of Daisy Lake together with the surrounding mountains. Two surveyors (Jack Nelson together with Bob Mollison) for the Howe Sound together with Northern Railway made a wager for a bottle of brandy about estimating the summit of the falls. When the summit was genuinely measured amongst a chain Mollison won the bottle of brandy together with the falls was named Brandywine.

Whistler:

We reached Whistler village, parked inwards the metered lot together with bought the tickets for the gondola. Queue took hardly v minutes. Buying the ticket inwards advance online gives a decent discount together with saves time but therefore yous have got to commit to the ride fifty-fifty inwards bad weather condition conditions. We would non have got taken this drive if the weather condition was non clear, therefore non doing advance online buy made sense for us.

Whistler was named after the “whistle” audio of the marmots living inwards the area.

Peak 2 Peak Gondola:

The Whistler Blackcomb ski resort is past times many measures the largest ski resort inwards North America. We tin even therefore run into remnants of glaciers encrust the highest peaks. Peak 2 Peak Gondola holds the records for the highest together with longest unsupported cable machine bridge inwards the world, moving betwixt Whistler together with Blackcomb mountains at the top.

WHISTLER:

There’s 360-degree views of Whistler Village on the agency upward together with stunning mount peaks at the top. The mount trails are filled amongst downhill mount bikers.

Lovely footling glacial lake inwards turquoise bluish below....

BLACKCOMB:

After enjoying the panoramic stance on top of Whistler, nosotros rode to Blackcomb. Again stunning views.

Then nosotros took 2 opened upward chair lifts dorsum to the village. Terrific experience.

Alexander falls:

We drove back, taking the diversion to run into the Olympic park. It equally closed, but nosotros did create out to run into the Alexander falls. Nobody on these roads together with nosotros were scared of grizzlies which frequent this area. There were 2 camper vans inwards the parking lot amongst screaming bathers inwards the falls. So nosotros could larn downwardly together with relish the falls inwards peace, no worries!

Pretty remote together with squeamish sense before nosotros joined the highway dorsum to Vancouver.

Porteau cove:

On the agency dorsum nosotros stopped at Porteau cove. With the lighting beingness what it is, it'll go a better sense to drive from Whistler to Vancouver inwards the morning time to relish the beauty of the drive,

We had meant to drive through the beautiful Lions gate together with Stanley common but saw signs on the electronic board maxim in that place volition go a fifteen min delay equally traffic is backed upward there. We regretfully took some other route together with reached domicile . We had an early on ferry to grab the adjacent day.

This beingness a long weekend, nosotros had expected massive crowds inwards Whistler, but nosotros were OK. No lines anywhere together with nosotros had had a fun day!

Day 10, Sep 3, 2017, Sunday:

Day trip to Victoria

We had tried to volume the machine ferry at BC ferry site but found no slots available for Saturday. Probably because it was the final Fireworks/concert night. We booked a slot for Sun 8am ferry, the site said checking inwards closes thirty minutes before. It was a 45 min drive from our apt to the ferry pier.

We were out of the domicile past times 6.15 together with reached the pier a footling after 7am. The procedure was smooth. We boarded at the scheduled time, parked the car, therefore sat inwards comfy sofas for the 1 ½ threescore minutes trip.

We deboarded at Victoria together with Butchart gardens was a thirty min drive. We reached in that place around ten am. Again an tardily process, where nosotros only drove to the gate, bought tickets for ourselves which included parking.

Butchart Gardens:

We were at the colorful gardens inwards no time. It was a fairy tale setting!

In 1982 the Butchart Gardens was used equally the inspiration for the gardens at the Canadian pavilion opened at Epcot Centre inwards Disney World, Orlando Florida. We had seen it in that place together with it was nifty to go at the original.

Robert Butchart was inwards the cement production; he moved to west coast of Canada because of rich limestone deposits necessary for cement production. In 1904, he together with his married adult woman Jenny established their domicile nigh his quarry. In 1909, when the limestone quarry was exhausted, Jennie Butchart set nigh turning it into the Sunken Garden, which was completed inwards 1921. They named their domicile "Benvenuto" ("welcome" inwards Italian), together with began to have visitors to their gardens

In 1939, the Butcharts gave the Gardens to their grandson Ian Ross (1918–1997) on his 21st birthday. Ross was involved inwards the functioning together with advertisement of the gardens until his overstep 58 years later.

Ownership of The Gardens remains inside the Butchart family; the possessor together with managing manager since 2001 is the Butcharts' great-granddaughter Robin-Lee Clarke.

We had our repast inwards scenic environs together with therefore drove to Miniature world. Parked at the Fairmont hotel parking together with walked to the site.

Miniature World:

It's called the greatest footling exhibit on earth together with it indeed is. TOTALLY STUNNING!

There are some 85 displays... I'll allow the pics tell the story.

We had a supply ferry booked at 6pm. We reluctantly left at 4.30 together with reached the pier. Returned to Vancouver pier at 7.30 equally Sun was setting together with drove home, real happy.

Next solar daytime morning time nosotros were leaving Vancouver. Report is at:
http://www.kris-sapiutri.blogspot.com/search?q=canada-trip-report-day-11-vancouver-to