Canada Finale - Waterton, Whistler, Vancouver

When we left Jasper and Banff, our intent was to head to Washington via southern Canada and Idaho.  For the most part, we were able to  implement our travel plans, traveling from mountains to plains in Alberta.

Canada

Along the way, we visited the Bar U Ranch which is now a part of Canada Parks.  Established in the 1800's this ranch is a historical landmark of cattle ranching in Canada.  The old buildings are preserved and the flavor of yesteryear still exists.

After an afternoon of enjoying ranch life, we headed through the plains from the Rockies to the top of the Cascades and Waterton Lake, where we enjoyed some bicycling, hiking, and bear watching.

Prince of Wales Hotel

Lake Waterton

Red Rock Canyon

Idaho

We bade farewell to Canada not sure that we would be traveling back to Vancouver.  We dropped down into Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, to visit our friends Gail (Moura) and Cam MacVean who are building their dream home on their property overlooking the lake.  We enjoyed a three day visit, hiking, geocaching, playing cards, and filling ourselves with wine, laughter, and renewed friendship.

We Introduced Gail and Cam - 2 MooseLaTrek to Geocaching - Tucker doesn't look thrilled.

The House is Coming Along Well

Cam, Roz, Gail, Russ

While we were in Coeur D'Alene, we were able to introduce some other friends whom we met while traveling in New Zealand, the Lamps, Theresa and Steve from Spokane, WA, to Gail and Cam.  We all enjoyed a fine lunch at the Bardenay Brewery.

Theresa, Roz, Steve, and Russ

Washington

All too soon it was time for us to move on.  We were now heading across Washington to Antacortes. Our first stop was the Grand Coulee dam,

 then through Cascade National Forest on Highway 20.....well not quite.  Fortunately before we got too far along, we discovered that Highway 20 had suffered from several rock and mudslides during the last storm and the road was closed.  We would have to detour far south or up north on the other side of the US/Canadian border.

Back to Canada

We rearranged our plans, and headed north deciding to travel to Vancouver after all and heading south from there.  Once again in Canada, we drove north up to Whistler Mountain where enjoyed a couple of days in beautiful clear weather.  Our hikes in the mountains were magnificent.  We rode from Whistler Peak to Blackcomb Peak on the tram.  The weather couldn't have been better.

After a brief two days in Whistler, we traveled down the mountain to Vancouver, where we revisited Vancouver, having been there several times before.

This time, we spent less time sight seeing and more time visiting with friends,  Clark and Nina on Rikki Tikki Tavi.

These are sailing friends who crewed with us on the Baja Ha Ha in 2009.    We enjoyed a wonderful lunch and afternoon in the Vancouver sunlight in False Creek where they were anchored.

The following day we, visited our friends, Eva and Marek, whom we had met while traveling in Southeast Asia, earlier this year.  They have a lovely apartment in downtown Vancouver.  Eva prepared us a delicious lunch.  We drank wine, watched travel slides, walked through Stanley Park, and ended the day with Sushi and wine.

When we reflect on all of our travels, the times we remember the most are those spent with good friends.  The last leg of our Canadian trip is now memory filled with friends from Idaho, Washington, and British Columbia.

Good Bye Canada

We are now in the USA, Anacortes, and spending time with friends, Marcia and Dave Meyer on Juniata.  Our Canadian Adventure has come to a close and we are homeward bound, the last leg of our cross country adventure.

All is well with the Worrall Travel R's