Bear encounters at Fairmont (2)

Continuing from our previous bear encounters...

Speaking of hot springs, we checked out Radium Hot Springs in the day, and had a dip in Fairmont's own hot spring pool in the evening. It was a bliss sitting in the mineral-rich pool, soaking up views of the Kootenay Rockies at twilight.

Nothing, however, beats the backcountry hot springs. The drive to the Lussier Hot Springs is tough; we had to go slow and avoid a lot of potholes on the gravel road.

But it's well worth the effort. We were told that this hot spring, located within the Whiteswan Lake Provincial Park, is always occupied. It is obviously a popular spot at night, as we found used tea light candles hidden between the cracks.

It's a pity that the two outer pools were flooded by the Lussier River on the day of visit.

 

Closer to the resort, there's a small pool behind the Indian Baths, where people can soak their feet after a long hike. We found this little pool atop a hill by accident, after one of the morning hikes.

On our second last day, we decided to end the trip on high by kayaking down the Columbia River. The river route is scenic. We rowed past golf courses and residential bungalows set against snow-capped mountains. It was a pretty leisure journey down the river; we just had to watch out for eddies and fallen trees.

It was also Aunt Elim and Mom's first time kayaking on their own, and they did a great job!  

On the day of departure, the bears decided to reappear and say goodbye. One pooped in front of us, while the other thought he should cross the road and join us at the vista point.

I'm guessing we were really lucky to have encountered so many bears in one trip. In the safety of our car, too.

A big thank you to Dad and Mom, Uncle Johnny and Aunt Elim, for this awesome Fairmont trip!

Bear encounters at Fairmont (1)

When Dad and Mom first invited me to go to Edmonton, I hesitated because first of all, that would cut into 'me-time'. You see, Panda will be away on a work trip, which means I'll have the car, I don't have to cook dinner, I am free!!!

Secondly, which normal adult over the age of 30 goes on trips sponsored by parents? Totally shameless, right?

Well, obviously I got over my shame. Family time is important. It's sort of Dad's retirement trip, too. Besides, I had such a fabulous trip with Uncle Johnny and Aunt Elim at Whistler last August. If I'm going as a tag-along, I shall be as hardworking as a tag-along can be.

Drive, cook, research, arrange. Bring it all on!

When I first researched Fairmont Hot Springs, information was scant and I couldn't for the life of me pinpoint its location. I know it's six hours away from Edmonton, somewhere near the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia, and there are hot springs (duh!). We are embarking on a journey to the Unknown, at least to me.

We drove south towards Calgary, then moved west towards the Rocky Mountains. We had a scare along the way, because while we were in the right direction following the resort's instructions, the GPS added a good three hours to our final destination. Thank God we had that fixed, and we reached the resort at 9.30pm instead of midnight.

And what did they say about sunshine after the rain? We woke up to beautiful mountain views from our balcony the next day!

We stayed in two apartments with a shared corridor at the Sunchaser Vacation Villas. Each apartment comes furnished with a bedroom, a Jacuzzi bath, kitchenette, a dining and a living room. It was perfect for a big group like ours.

We followed all the guided trails in the resort's summer programme. Wildlife is common in the area and we heard from the guides that there are bears and cougars around (gasp!). But Suzie, Kalyn and Pauline from the resort kept us safe with the 'bear spray sandwich' while we explored the area on foot - that is, one guide in front, one guide behind.

No regrets on following them, too. I love plodding through the forest everyday, climbing rocks, crossing creeks, and discovering all-natural hot springs. Summer is not here yet and it seems like we have the mountain all to ourselves.

In the afternoons, however, that's when our REAL adventures begin, because we are guide-less! With bears and cougars and what-nots in our mind, we went on the HooDoos trail all by ourselves. Dad was charged with singing out loud while the rest of us clapped and stomped our feet.

We felt so silly doing that, but you see, we already spotted two black bears along the road on our first day. We don't want to catch any bear unaware on the hike and end up being their dim sum, yummy as we are.

Up on the HooDoos, we were rewarded with brief but splendid views of the Columbia Valley. A thunderstorm was heading our way, and we barely had time to get down before the wind blows us away.

We explored further north, checking out Panorama, Invermere, Lake Windermere as well as Radium Hot Springs. My favourite place is Lake Lillian along Toby Creek Road. Isn't she tranquil?

More on our bear encounters...

Toronto sparkles because of you!

At Clifton Hill, the Street of Fun by the Falls.

What's there to do in Toronto? Panda asked me when we were planning to visit Uncle Chris and family. My last trip to Toronto was with my family way back in secondary school (15 years ago?) and I only remembered Niagara Falls and CN Tower.

C'est tout.

So our plan was to stay 6 nights in Toronto, take it slow, do our research on New York City where we are heading next, eat, sleep. We envisioned it to be extremely relaxed and laid back.

But it turned out to be so much more than what we had planned, thanks to Kevin and Agnes! We had a full sightseeing tour near Niagara Falls (Peller Estates Winery, Clifton Hill) before taking the Maid of the Mist (almost) into the Falls. We also ate poutine, a Canadian speciality. I love fries so it's perfect for me.



Drenched if not for the little blue ponchos! 

Uncle Chris and Auntie Jessie also pampered us so much with home-cooked food. Steamed garlic lobsters, smoked salmon, Canadian BBQ at home! We miss it so much now that we are back.

BBQ in the backyard

We spent the rest of the days checking out Chinese malls around Markham (Pacific Mall and Market Village are so Hong Kong-y!) and taking the TTC downtown to visit the places of interest. We decided that the CN Tower was not worth the money so we went on to other places. I heart the shopping strip near Yonge-Dundas Square, and St Lawrence Market.



Shopping street at downtown Toronto

The many shops inside St Lawrence Market

We also wanted to check out the cornfield maze; we heard that they can grow taller than a person and you can lose yourself in it! Unfortunately, the weather was gloomy most of the time and we couldn't go. Something to look forward to next time.

A shout out to Uncle Chris, Auntie Jessie, Agnes and Kevin here... thank you for taking such good care of us in Toronto!

That fantastic Whistler trip!

Whistler Olympics Plaza on a sunny day in August

Following Edmonton, I flew with Uncle Johnny, Aunt Elim, Aunt Connie, gugu and gucheung to Vancouver. (Thanks to gugu, gucheung, dad and mom for the generous sponsorship - I keep going on holidays on others' expense this year! My family took pity on me the temporarily jobless one.)

The plan was to spend 4 nights at Whistler's Mountainside Lodge, then a day in Vancouver before flying home in the evening. How cool is that!

Day 1

We arrived in Vancouver in the late afternoon, stopping by Aberdeen Centre to have our dinner. The last time I came here I had 鸡蛋仔 (bubble waffle) from the food court, so this time round I tried the noodles from the same stall. I love it because it's the closest taste I have of the 茶餐厅s from HK.

I want to eat everything!

We bought loads of groceries from a nearby Chinese supermarket and went on our way before it turns dark. Two hours later, we checked in at Mountainside Lodge. Everything's been perfectly arranged by Uncle Johnny so we had a room in no time. But we slept late because we had many Indian chiefs wanting to decide on the sleeping arrangement Poor gucheung carried the mattress 3-4 times up and down the stairs after each decision was overridden. It was too hilarious! ^ ^

The trolley could barely move under the combined weight of our luggage

From the vantage point of the loft

Day 2

We had very good weather on our second day. We spent the day strolling around the village, checking out the shops and taking in the sights. The heat was a tad unbearable towards the afternoon so we stopped by Cows, apparently the best ice-cream chain in Canada, for ice cold sweetness. They also sell the cutest merchandise!

Hordes of tourist around the village

Spot the ski trails on the distant mountain?

Whistler is a world renown ski resort but what's less known is that it's a great place for summer activities too. Mountain biking is a big thing and everywhere we go, we see people young and old clad in protective gear. The ski slopes are equally, if not more, exciting for mountain biking!

A group of older bikers... we saw some as young as 4 year-olds!

One of the bikers 'flying' in the sky

In the evening, we drove to the nearby Alta Lake where families were having picnics by the shore. Dipped our feet in the freezing water for the first time.



An unspoken sense of peace



Selfie by the lake

Day 3

We meant to take a 30-min trail to Lost Lake but I followed the wrong map and led the group on a long, long way along Fitzsimmons Creek to the Green Lake 2 hours later. Oops! Luckily, we discovered Nicklaus North Golf Course at Green Lake so we had a nice lunch overlooking the lake.

Whistler Air at Green Lake. Floatplanes!
(My photo doesn't do justice to the beauty of the lake)

Lunch at Nicklaus North Golf Course

Finally back on track on Valley Trail

We finally got back on track after lunch and arrived at Lost Lake 45 minutes (and many, many slopes) later. It was drizzling on and off and the sky was gloomy when we reached.

Lost Lake is much smaller than the other nearby lakes

Had to put on a jacket because of the cold breeze


Aunt Elim must have been looking for some adventure. The mischievous adults, led by Aunt Elim, balanced themselves on two narrow, floating tree trunks to get to the small platform in the middle of the lake. I followed suit after seeing how dangerously fun that is! It started raining heavily after the four of us were cramped on the platform and we started scrabbling back on the wobbly logs.

Gucheung looks like he's walking on water!

On our way back, we noticed these tiny toads supposedly migrating from the lake to the grassy areas. We had to really look out for them lest we step on them accidentally!

Look how small the toad is compared to my shoe!

Day 4

The last day at Whistler is the most exciting day because we took the PEAK2PEAK Gondola! On Whistler Mountain we met our lovely volunteer guide who took us on the gondola ride across the peak to Blackcomb Mountain. It's quite an experience, being dangled in a gondola crossing the two giant mountains!

It's fun moving through the fog though it sometimes blocks the view

The never ending stretch of Alpine trees is lovely!

We hiked around Blackcomb Mountain with our guide enthusiastically explaining the plants and wildlife along the way. The glacier bowls look bare at this time of the year but in winter they are covered in snow!

Our guide walks faster than a 18-year-old!

It will be completely different in Winter

The hike trail is quite rocky and even though walking sticks were provided we had to use every ounce of effort to keep our balance. It was foggy so there wasn't much view but we felt like we are walking above the clouds.

It's worth the climb!

A rocky road

The highlight of the day is the Peak Express! HIGHLY recommended because it takes you all the way to the summit of Whistler Mountain! It's included in the gondola ticket so you don't have to pay anything extra. It's SO awesome sitting on the chairlifts, being taken to the skies and beyond. The view is beautiful on top!

  



Going higher and higher... yay!

Gugu and gucheung having the ride of their lives

I want to touch the sky!



The Whistler Inukshuk!

Final words...

We left Whistler the next day and went back to Vancouver, stopping by Shannon Falls, the Twin Falls at Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge, English Bay and the University of British Columbia before boarding our flights home.

Compared to Whistler, Vancouver's day trip is very toned-down. I had so much fun that I almost didn't want to go home. The only regret is not trying Ziptrek Ecotours at Whistler! We didn't have enough time.
 

Finally a group photo at Shannon Falls



The suspension bridge is not that high but it sways a lot when too many people try to cross!



Looking down at the Twin Falls

At English Bay

Vancouver School of Theology at UBC

I want to say thank you to everyone who has made this trip so memorable. I hadn't expect to have so much fun but I did! My aunts and uncles are so young-at-heart and fun loving... they made me realise it's OK to just be silly and fool around whatever age you are at! Thank you, for generating so much laughter in the trip!

Yay! We are flying (off the railing)!