The first stop on our trip to Vancouver, BC was to visit Leavenworth, WA. We got in lots of shopping in all the little shops and we had a good German lunch in one of the restaurants in the town. It was a beautiful sunny day so the mountains were pretty spectacular. On our way back to the RV Park, we stopped in Cashmere and went through the Applets & Cotlets factory (and of course we came away with some candy!)
From the Leavenworth we drove up to Winthrop to camp for the night. One our way to Winthrop we stopped in Bridgeport and visited with Howard's Aunt Becky, who just celebrated her 96th birthday. After a night in Winthrop, we drove over the North Cascade Highway. WOW! We were having trouble with the coach (bad fuel so we had no power except in 1st gear!) It was frustrating for Howard, but while going uphill we would slow down to about 20 mph so I got some great pictures! We actually drove up the mountain in this picture (you can see the diagonal cut for the road along the lower side of the mountain. It wasn't too bad, only a 7% grade, but really pretty.
We stopped at this lake towards the summit. It is that beautiful aqua color like the lakes in Jasper and Banff Canada. We just looked for a long time at the beauty of the area. The 90 mile drive was well worth the delay in time and frustration in how the coach was preforming.
After a two day stop in Bellingham so we could stock up and get the coach fixed, we arrived in Vancouver, BC on August 27. We did very little driving while we were in Vancouver. We rode the skytrain into Vancouver from the RV Park everyday that we went into the city. Of course I didn't get a picture of a train, but they were pretty cool. We also rode around the city on these trolleys for two days, one was red and the other was blue.
The Canada Center was our landmark for about everything while we were in Vancouver. The Trolly, the sky train, the sea bus, and the Harbour Tour all left from this vicinity. It is a beautiful structure and well worth a visit.
This is a picture of the Sea Bus. It took us over to North Vancouver. They go both directions and are very quiet and very smooth sailing.
This little ferry was not so much! It held only 12 people and bobbed in the water across the little inlet from Stanley Park to Granville Market. We had great fun in Granville Market with lunch at the Bridges restaurant and lots of fun shopping.
The other boat we went on was this little paddle wheeler. We went for a harbor tour thanks to Janice. It was a fun trip around Vancouver Harbor. Lots of boats coming in and out and sea planes taking off and landing and of course the ferries crossing every 10 minutes or so. A very busy place.
This is the Capilano Suspension Bridge and yes, we did go across--TWICE! You had to get your sea legs to walk across, but the view was really beautiful. It's quite a deep gorge and a beautiful area. Brian and Janice were married in a little area adjacent to the bridge.
They were actually married on the overlook to the cliff walk. This walk wasn't as bad as the bridge because it doesn't move as you walk, but it is actually higher over the gorge than the suspension bridge so you can really see down into the canyon. It was a beautiful setting. We had perfect weather (especially after clouds and rain all week!) And the wedding was really cool with the pastor speaking in both Korean and English. Afterward we had dinner and dancing at a little building right across from the park. We had a wonderful time in Vancouver: touring, getting to meet Janice's parents and sisters, and being able to celebrate a very special day with Brian and Janice and Grayson. Now we are in the Portland area and ready to enjoy this area and visiting with family in the area.
If you look really hard you can see Mt. Hoot in the background with Willamette Falls in the foreground. This is really near Oregon City at the end of the Oregon Trail. It's a beautiful falls, but we're a bit prejudice -- we really like the Portland area. We had a great visit, visiting cousins on both sides Dave & Kaylene & kids on my Mom's side, Beth & John & kids & sibs on my Dad's side and my Aunt Sally, Mom's youngest sister, who had just moved to Vancouver, WA. What a good visit!
We had a really good visit with my Aunt Sally and got to help her get a bit settled in her cute, new house in Vancouver. It was fun to go shopping and share meals with her and Dave's family.
This was taken from Bonneville Point just south of Boise. We could barely see some of the really tall buildings downtown from this point. It is said that this is the point where early trappers named the valley "The Trees" or Boise. The desert was pretty dry, but there is beauty in the desert -- even in the Fall.
This picture was also taken at Bonneville Point a bit more east toward Idaho City. There was a storm coming in so there were shadows over the desert.
This is the marker for the Oregon Trail just west of Bonneville Point. After looking at barren desert for so long, early pioneers were very happy to see trees again and Ft. Boise so they could resupply some of their stock before traveling over the Blue Mountains in Oregon.
This marker is on the eastern edge of Boise. The markers were placed in the early 1920s by a gentleman from Oregon who had traveled the Oregon Trail and felt it was being forgotten. He traveled the entire trail and was instrumental in placing markers along the trail.
Sage brush and flowers even in September. We even felt a few raindrops while hiking in this area. The park overlooks the Boise River in east Boise and there is another park just across Hwy 21 from this one. I love looking up landmarks along the Oregon Trail. When you travel across the west you really get a respect for the early pioneers who traveled this route. What we do in an hour (at 60 mph) what they did in 5-6 days! And lots of times the scenery doesn't change much in the hour traveled. We had a good afternoon exploring the desert and looking at the markers and just enjoying the smell of sage and the feel of the desert. We're in Burley now until October 9 when we'll head down to Phoenix for a few weeks. We had a really good visit in Boise with my sisters and Trish & John's families. I have really cool siblings!!!
