Last day in Whistler before travelling to Vancouver Island tomorrow. Cooler this morning but still managed to have breakfast outside. Then for a walk to try and walk it off! By the time we’d finished the stroll the clouds had cleared a little so we looked around the shops, bought a moose and finished up at the Westin patio for a Shock Top. After we were rehydrated we returned to the hotel for a dip in the jacuzzi and pool before doing a little packing and odd out again for tea.

Wish we could fit this fella in our suitcaseLook closely and you’ll see claw marks where bears have been.Apparently there was a forest fire nearby – wondered if this helicopter was filling up with water to help put it out.We’ve had towels made into swans but never one that looked like this!

Really hot day in a Whistler. Breakfast at Purebread – delicious coffee and cake. Wanted to go on the Peak to Peak and watch the marmots but unfortunately they were doing annual maintenance! (Not the marmots). Sad. Lots of roadworks and maintenance going on in Alberta and BC at the moment which has meant that we’ve had to change our plans a few times. Never mind, it has meant we’ve done other things.

We had a lovely walk around Lost Lake and then needed a beer to cool down – Shock Top of course!

Back to the hotel for a cooling down shower before a meal of coconut prawns with garlic chips at Earls – scrumptious. This was followed by an ice cream from Cows.

Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler – maybe not a bad thing.BreakfastA balanced fridgeLost LakePaul’s signature dish

The hotel in Prince George was really lovely – they even had all sorts of different pillows, including lavender pillows. There’s posh!

Left there at 7am as we had a long drive ahead. The road was much busier than the road from Jasper to Prince George but made good time. The scenery is very different to that around the Rockies – lots of ranches with cows and horses. Did manage to catch sight of bald eagles, ospreys, red tailed hawks and a ground squirrel!

Stopped for breakfast/lunch at about 11am at a really weird restaurant. Just one man cooking and serving and a very small menu. Paul had ham and eggs but the only thing I fancied was peach pie and ice cream. Shame I only had a fork to eat it with – had to eat the ice cream really quickly before it melted!

The journey on the 99 was scenic but winding, up and down and slow. The last couple of hours of the journey seemed to go on for ever – not helped by a woman overtaking three cars (with us at the front) on a mountain pass and narrowly missing a car coming the other way. It was very scary and the driver obviously realised how stupid she’d been as we saw her a few miles up the road out of her car, looking off in the distance and smoking! Hope she doesn’t do it again as we could mm have been killed.

We’re now at The Summit hotel in Whistler and had a lovely surprise when we checked in – we’d been upgraded and are in a one-bedroomed suite. We’ve also found that the main off licence in BC sells Shock Top and when we got back to the hotel there was a present in the room for Paul – some olive oil and speciality salt with a note welcoming us back. Great service.Looking down at the Fraser River from the very scary road!LoungeBedroomKitchen/dinerView from the bedroom balconyUnfortunately had to buy 15 cans!

Glorious weather thank goodness. Off to Grama’s for breakfast. Full of locals which is always a good sign and the waitress was full of personality – in other words she was full of witty repartee (or she was very rude, whichever way you like to look at it). She certainly got on with us anyway.

We then needed to walk off the food and I had found an interesting looking walk on the net before we came. So off we go to Cottonwood Island Park. Unfortunately all the trails had flood warning barriers across them but, as you would expect, it didn’t put us off and we kept going till the water was lapping at our feet. It didn’t seem to put anyone else either as there were plenty of locals walking their dogs. We then went to McMillan Creek regional park and did another walk which had lots of steep ups and downs. Worth the view of Prince George. We then went back to CottonwoodPark and managed a lovely saunter along the Nechako River.

Then back into town to the White Spot for a delicious veggie burger with Brie and a glass of a Granville Island beer – not Shock Top but we were very thirsty!Nechako RiverThese signs didn’t put off intrepid travellers like us!Cutbanks where people used to hold sand ski races and people were climbing up them today – mad!Granville Island’s Lion’s Summer Ale – very refreshing.

Time to move on. A last breakfast and then off we go. The most exciting thing to happen was a chance to watch a grizzly eating his breakfast. Quite a large bear with a large hump. Obviously enjoying the dandelions.

As well as the grizzly we saw three black bears, a bald eagle, a moose with his antlers just beginning to regrow, a red tailed hawk, not forgetting a ground squirrel.

As we arrived in Prince George there was a tremendous thunder storm – impressive lightening. The hotel is very swish and we have just enjoyed a delicious steak meal. And now for bed!This grizzly was really enjoying his dandelion breakfastThis black bear obviously had a back that really needed scratchingLooked like he was trying to eat the bark from this telegraph pole.

Decided on one last drive up Maligne Road in the dusk and it was well worth it. The bear was great but seeing that big moose in the river was awe inspiring. We are so lucky that we are able to visit this wonderful country.What a wonderful creature

Breakfast in Papa George’s as usual and the walks around Lake Annette and Lake Edith. Not been here before. The weather was glorious and there were lots of families playing on the beach and canoeing – perfect. Then went up to Lake Patricia. We have been there before but it was 2012 and in the snow so a little different. This time it was very busy and 26 degrees. So hot we felt in need of refreshment and found somewhere selling our favourite beer. Not sure why we haven’t realised before but one of the pubs in Jasper sells Shock Top!!! It also has the best chips I’ve ever tasted. Now for a rest and do some packing before our last trip up Maligne Road at dusk.Lake AnnetteMr MerganserMrs MerganserMmm Shock Top

What a glorious day. The weather got better and better as the day wore on. After breakfast we went for a wander around Lake Beauvert where we saw elk and a loon sitting on her eggs amongst other things. If we ever win the lottery we are definitely staying at the hotel here!

We then drove along to the Athabasca Falls which are majestic – as well as being very noisy.

Then back to the hotel and lunch. Paul finally got his turkey club with chipotle mayo and naan bread! After relaxing in the hot tub outside our room we got back in the car and drove up Maligne Road again to see what wildlife we could see. Well worth the drive as we saw three bears – one just ambling along the road and holding up the traffic – plus a white tailed deer, a bald eagle, two cowbirds, a turnstone and a goshawk. Wonderful. Lake BeauvertSoon to be Momma LoonTurnstone – so cuteBlack bear eyeing up a cyclist!

The weather was better than we expected today – only a few drops of rain. Cold and breezy though.

Started the day at Papa George’s for our usual breakfast. Paul has a proper Canadian fry up and I had pancakes. Fully fortified we drove down our favourite road in the world – the Maligne highway. We saw elk, white-tailed deer, our first bald eagles of the holiday, four moose, rainbow trout and a dipper. Medicine Lake was fairly full and Maligne Lake still had plenty of ice on it.

We stopped off at Maligne Canyon and walked down to Bridge 5 – took an hour to walk down and we managed to climb back up in 40minutes – phew!

It was lovely to relax in a hot bath before popping into town to Earl’s restaurant for dinner. I had some wonderful coconut prawns with curry aoli and garlic chips.

A great day again.Our first view of elk this tripMom bald eagle sitting on her nest and Dad taking a restMedicine LakeSome strange bloke got in the way of this pic of the results of a forest fire in 2015One of the four moose we saw todayMaligne LakeRainbow TroutAmerican DipperWhite-tailed deerhttps://www.gillandpaulontour.uk/cms/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/dscn2391.movMaligne Canyon

One last breakfast at Evelyn’s before packing the car and setting off for Jasper. Weather was forecasted to be very interesting – thunderstorms but it turned out that we had very little rain on the drive. We stopped at Peyto Lake as usual although the walk up to the viewing platform was a little different – thick snow with a narrow path worn by other visitors. The snow was at least 2 feet thick on either side – Paul tested it on a regular basis. The view was worth it although different to normal as the lake was almost completely iced over.

We stopped at the Columbia Glacier visitor centre for a hot chocolate. The glacier seems to shrink each time we go and there appear to be more people walking on it each time – beginning to think they should ban anyone from setting foot on it although that would obviously mean an awful lot of money being lost.

As we neared Jasper we managed to photograph two black bears feeding near the roadside – both seemed to be in really good condition with very shiny coats. They definitely looked like you could hug them although I did manage to resist the urge! One deer photo later and we were in Jasper. We (mainly me) decided to go in the back road. Great – we had to wait at least 15 minutes as a goods train went past. Not quite like Felixstowe.

Just had a lovely burger and beer at Jasper Brewing and am now ready for a nice hot bath and bed! Night folksVermillion LakeJust made for Paul!This bloke wouldn’t get out of the way so I could take a pic!Deep snow either side of the pathPeyto LakeIt’s usual colourmountain goatsColumbia Icefield

He looks like Balfour scratching his back against the tree!they were both so gorgeous!White tailed deer