Vancouver, Part two: Up the sea to sky highway

Vancouver, part two: up the sea to sky highway 

Exploring the area north of the city, the sea to sky highway. First let me say unequivocally, this area is just stunning.  We camped at Porteau Cove which is right on Howe Sound, a fiord and one of the bodies of water that are off the Salish Sea. Steep mountains frame both sides of the sound and drop precipitously into the water. Somehow Canadians managed to lay tracks for rail and build a road, (the sea to sky highway), along the east side of the sound. Occasionally, there is a bit more land next to the sound, where they have built parks, some with campgrounds and tiny hamlets.

Porteau Cove, the campground at which we spent most of our time, is one of those magical places. Mists and clouds float and twist through the mountains and down the valleys while harbor seals, sea lions, and whales make their way along the Sound and then back out to sea accompanied by shore and sea birds of all types.

We interspersed days exploring this temperate coastal mountain rain forest with days in Vancouver. I really did fall in love with this area. (Well, maybe not so much with the gray skies and rain…but no such thing as a free lunch, right?)

On to pics:

views along the sound from our campground at Porteau Cove 

line of clouds, reflecting mountains 

canada geese in Canada (teehee)

oystercatchers along the beach

surf scooters

common merganser, a female 

stacked mountains in early morning mist

a small pod of whales swam by our campsite 

velvety mosses and ferns in the shadows of the wood

I find the Canadians are exemplary with their multilingual signage and their recognition of the First Nation peoples place throughout the land. The language of the First Nation peoples was oral, not written. Because of that, it has no letters, no alphabet, per say, to represent the sounds within it. One was created and different symbols were assigned to represent sounds not found in English or French. It seems that the peoples of the Pacific Northwest (and I'm including Canada and Alaska, of course, because, after all, they are part of the Pacific Northwest, even if we tend to forget that) particularly use unusual “characters” as part of their alphabet.  When I first started seeing some of the signs, I just couldn't even imagine them as a language. They looked so bizarre to me. Then finally, after looking at quite a few and studying them with an open mind,  that while I couldn't imagine how to pronounce some of the symbols, they did look like a code. And after all, isn't that what an alphabet is, a code to decipher thoughts so they can be shared with others. In other words, language?        (see below)

More along the sea to sky highway 

Shannon Falls

lower Shannon Falls 

views of the sound from Mt Habrich.     We took a gondola to the top, the sea to sky gondola, hiked about on the trails and enjoyed the views before heading back down.

geometric patterns on the sound as seen from above

300’ suspension walking bridge crossing a deep gorge

mountain peak shrouded in cloud

it was a rescue training day.                   We watched as they dropped the winch and practiced hooking and unhooking it. Several of us were watching from across a valley and kept trying to figure out if it was a real rescue or not. It wasn't, just training.

the clouds have moved on and the mountains are striking against the blue sky

another view looking down at the Sound, mostly 5,000’ to nearly 9,000’ mountains surround it. No wonder it's gorgeous!

They had a cafe at the top with a huge two level deck where one could enjoy a bite and a beverage. 🍻  Nice way to cap off exploring the alpine temperate rainforest trails. 

One day we took a little hike at one of the parks along the highway

Martin found a spot to sit in the sun

lilies and logs

yellow-rumped warbler 

Stellar Jay 

I found the texture of the decaying trees so interesting 

raindrops on leaves

Then we moved from Porteau Cove to Alice Lake, a little ways further up the highway for a few days

The lushness of the moss and lichen leant a quiet, almost secret atmosphere to the surrounds as we hiked. Noises were muffled and I half expected to see fairies or gnomes looking out from around a trunk or mushroom or stump.

the fresh green of new growth on conifers 

more raindrops 

moss covered branches 

the moss and ferns are so lush

and when we came out in a clearing at the edge of the pond we did find a secret world …with babies ❤️ 

following mom's lead


Next blog is a bonus blog. I'm calling it my bird bonus blog, BBB. While in the greater Vancouver area I was able to get a couple of series of pics of birds doing bird things, but things I hadn't been able to see, much less capture in a photo before. I decided that I really wanted to share them, but they would make the regular blogs too long.  So, the birth of the BBB. 

teaser pic


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