After such a late and spectacular evening in Vancouver, we probably would have been slept late and had a leisurely morning. But we had to pack up quickly and be out of the apartment by nine o’clock at the latest. We had made arrangements with the Dog Ranch for them to meet us with the dogs at the ferry dock. We planned to park the car at Horseshoe Bay and come over on the ferry as foot passengers. This would not save us all that much money, but it would save us a lot of time because we could return immediately and now wait an hour or more for the next crossing.
The plan worked perfectly. The morning was warm and clear, and watching the sea and the mountain seemed like being in an IMAX movie. At the dock, I spotted the dogs before they saw me. Their tails were wagging and I could immediately tell that they must have had a great time over the last two days.
Still, Edie was happy to see us, as was Eli.
On the way back, since we had the dogs, we had to stay down on the car deck. Since there weren’t all that many cars on this trip, that wasn’t a big deal because we were able to walk around easily. We talked to some other people with dogs and the time passed pleasantly.
The drive from Vancouver to Whistler along BC 99 is known as the Sea-to-Sky Highway. It is a spectacular drive along the edge of a fjord. You see the see below, tree-covered mountains above, and glaciers in the far distance. But it isn’t easy to photograph from a moving car, and most of the good vista points are on the other side of the highway, heading south. But we did find one place on our side of the road which gives you an idea of just how beautiful this area is.
Like the Columbia River Road, there are a number of waterfalls on this route. They’re also not easy to photograph. We stopped first at Shannon Falls. This waterfall is 1,099 feet high according to the official park information.
We also stopped at Brandywine Falls. It’s not nearly as high, but you can view the falls from a platform above. The dogs were bored by it, and I was not all that impressed either.
Not long after this we came into Whistler. Our first impression of this town was not all that positive. Whistler is not really a municipality; it is a commercial development. It is designed carefully, as these sorts of things usually are, but it is extraordinarily bland. It is split into two adjacent villages, north and south. These are joined by the “Village Stroll,” a wide pedestrian promenade leading to the chair lifts. On each side of the stroll there are shops and restaurants. It is basically just an open air mall like The Grove. Surrounding this retail area are four to seven story hotels. All of them have a bland modern Alpine look. Around this faux urban core are a number of condominium developments. All of them feature bland, two story townhouses in a variety of inoffensive styles. Parking is hidden towards the back of the development, and driving in Whistler is discouraged. There are bike paths and buses, but easiest way to get from one part of the area to another is to walk down the “Village Stroll” with its many opportunities for impulse shopping and dining.
We arrive at our hotel early, and the room was not yet ready. So we walked to Long Lake – after having a somewhat arduous time trying to find legal street parking – and walked around with the dogs. There is a bike trail which circles the lake and small pedestrian trails right on the edge of the water.
One of the reasons for choosing this lake was that we knew that there was a dog beach there. It took us a while to find it, but once we did the dogs jumped right in – up to a point. John really wanted to get Eli to swim over to the platform to join the other dogs there. He went most of the way, then decided to head back to shore leaving John.
Edie never likes to get more than her legs wet, so she watched this whole episode carefully from the a few inches deep.
We had to walk around a bit before the dogs were dry enough to bring them into the hotel. Once we arrived, I sat down on the bed, just to test it out, you know, and before long I was asleep. John snapped this as I dozed. Thankfully, it’s not video so you don’t have to hear me snore!
Once I was awake, we explored Whistler Village with the idea of finding something for dinner. Whistler is full of “dog people” and lots of folk stopped and talked to us. We were delighted to find a family who also had a Bouvier. Unfortunately, we were so busy comparing notes that after they left we realized we forgot to take a picture.
Whistler was the site of the last Winter Olympics, and there are signs of this everywhere. The Olympic Emblem was near a concert stage at one end of the Village Stroll.
Despite all the opportunities for dining on the stroll, almost all of the outdoor area are enclosed and that means no dogs. We didn’t really have the heart to tie them up outside while ate some overpriced burger or steak inside, so the only place we could find to get something to eat was at Zog’s Dogs. This is basically a hot dog stand, but it did get a 90% “Like” on Urbanspoon. John ordered the signature hotdog covered with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese. I decided that since we are in Canada, I ought to try poutine, the classic Quebec heart attack snack. Poutine consists of French fries covered with pork gravy and cheddar curds. Zog’s added a hot dog because they’re a hot dog stand. It was just as awful as I expected it would be, but now I can say I’ve had poutine.
