Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Our day began in Whistler, British Columbia at the Whistler RV Park. Andi had calls for work beginning at 8:00am, so he made himself a temporary desk outside the RV and worked there. Quite the office view facing Whistler Mountain! The weather was already sunny and warm this morning.

Tory slept through the night which I was glad about. I worried about her vomiting while being stuck up in her bed above the cab. Luckily, that never happened. She was still asleep at 9:00am, so Aden and I did school without her.

We finished work and school by 11:00am, and ready to move on from Whistler. Brandywine Falls Provincial Park was just across the way from our campground, so we decided to pull in to the parking lot to see the falls before continuing onward. Tory still looked a little pale, so we let her stay inside the RV while Andi, Aden, and I walked to the overlook.

Like a lot of the popular tourists areas of Canada, the parking lot for Brandywine Falls was full of rental RVs and the trail full of visitors. The three of us beelined it to the waterfalls, snapped a few pictures, and returned to our RV. It’s not fun to be in nature when there’s so many people around, though I suppose it is nice to have places where nature is accessible for all ages.

Brandywine Falls were pretty, as was the valley surrounding them. It’s hard to believe we’re so close to the Pacific Ocean. The drive from Pemberton, B.C. to Vancouver is coined the Sky to Sea Highway, connecting the mountains of Whistler to the ocean in Vancouver. There are several scenic overlooks along the way.

We stopped at one of the pull-outs to see a view of the Tantalus Mountains.

We aren’t planning to spend much time in Vancouver itself, as big cities are not very RV-friendly. Andi suggested we hop on a ferry this evening to Vancouver Island, but Tory still wasn’t feeling the best, and I didn’t want to push her too hard. Alternatively, Andi suggested we stay at Mamquam Campground in Squamish, British Columbia tonight.

Squamish is a bedroom community of Whistler, and an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise with numerous hiking and biking trails. There’s also a vibrant downtown area, and every chain restaurant you could imagine. Mamquam Campground wasn’t within walking distance to downtown Squamish unfortunately, or anything other than a gravel pit and a gun range. It was located on the outskirts of town. There were sites available to camp there tonight, and our Starlink satellite internet would work with its open sky views which was a plus.

I thought we should check out another spot called Porteau Cove Provincial Park about 20 minutes away to see if we could get a campsite there. Campsites at Porteau Cove are quite popular because they’re located right on the water in Howe Sound. The chance of us getting a spot was a long-shot, but it was worth a try.

Down the mountain we drove to Porteau Cove, passing Britannia Beach and the Sea to Sky Gondola on the way. This would have been a fun area to explore if Tory had been feeling better today, and we’d made advance reservations. There’s artificial shipwrecks and reefs that support hundreds of marine life in Horseshoe Bay so could have spent the evening combing the beach at low tide.

Unfortunately, camping at Porteau Cove was full so we returned to Mamquam Campground in Squamish. The downside of traveling without a solid plan sometimes is that we miss out on activities, plus we spend extra time driving back and forth figuring out what we’re going to do.

Luckily, there were plenty of spots available at Mamquam Campground so we had a place to stay tonight. Before settling there for the night, Andi drove into downtown Squamish so we could have lunch and walk around a bit. He picked a restaurant called The Green Olive, which was so tasty. Andi and I split a pear sandwich with brie, proscuitto, and a balsamic glaze and a hummus platter with olives and pita. Since Aden doesn’t like sandwiches, Andi walked him to a food truck nearby to order a chicken teriyaki bowl and rice for his meal. Tory still wasn’t feeling up to eating, she said, but she did end up having a few pieces of pita bread.

Andi booked himself a haircut at a local barber after lunch, and Aden and I walked to the nearby Drug Mart to mail cards to friends & family. After Andi’s haircut, he and I walked around downtown Squamish while Tory and Aden watched their phones inside the RV.

Squamish was a great little city where everyday people live & work. Several of the shops downtown focused on local foods, and there was even a community garden.

Around 5:00pm, we drove the RV back to Mamquam Campground and settled into our spot for the night. “Are the gun shots something to worry about?” Tory asked, as we set up the RV. “No,” I assured her, “those are sounds from the gun range across the street from the campground.” The employee at the campground check-in assured Andi the gun fire would stop after 6:00pm.

It started to rain around 6:30pm, so I made egg roll in a bowl on the RV cooktop for dinner instead of grilling something outside. The four of us spent the rest of the night in the RV watched episodes of Young Sheldon together. Tory seemed to perk up this evening, so that’s good.

We’re booked on the 9:00am ferry to Vancouver Island tomorrow morning.