Bear it all - Whistler , July 19th

We went up to Whistler for the day to walk around the village and enjoy the fairly cold water in Alta Lake (don't get me wrong, it is swimmable). On our way we had an exciting surprise - a bear grazing on some greens at the side of the road :)

Saltspring Island, June 28-July 1

We spent the long weekend camping at the Garden Faire Campground which was really great; sites were far enough apart, very clean, very green and located sort of at the center of the island. There are quite a few artist's studios on the island; two wonderful cheese makers (you can read about them here), one good winery (and one bad); a few lakes which have tiny (a few meters wide) beaches - my favorite being Stowel lake. On a clear day you can either drive up or climb up Mt Maxwell for a view of the surrounding islands and Mt Baker.

The view from the ferry on Mt. Baker
Gary Oaks Winery

Ganges Harbour

Ruckle Provincial Park - a small shady park with a few nice trails and a beautiful view on the water traffic and the neighbouring islands.

Quite a few tidal pools you can observe on the rocks in Ruckle Provincial Park with colorful starfish and other creatures and plants.

On our way back to Vancouver we stopped on Vancouver Island to see whats happening in Victoria on Canada Day. I had great memories of Victoria based on my previous visit a few years back and this time I couldn't really pinpoint what was it that left such a good impression. The city if fairly boring and an hour is sufficient to see all it has to offer. I think the appeal of the area stems from the nature rather then from Victoria itself.