An Adventure - The Stawamus Chief

 Hullo! We got up uber early one morning and headed off to the ferry line-up!

We are bringing Gramma's car over to Auntie Pam and Rose... but along the way... this bear has decided we are doing an Adventure (with a Capital A!)

OK... sooo it is a bit choppy out on the Salish Sea this morning and beary windy... we heard some people upchucking their cookies in the bathroom...

But it is a gloriously sunny day!

Although if Mama wasn't holding onto me... I might get tumbled all the way down the deck by the wind...

Onwards!

Alright... we are having a pit-stop in the Starbucks in Horseshoe Bay... bear blogging and stuff like that you know!

We then drove up Highway 99 towards Squamish. We were a bit early for an appointment so we thought we'd stop at Shannon Falls but... there was a line-up of cars to get into the parking lot!!! This is what it looks like...

We drove a bit further and stopped here to admire the flowers... 

Isn't this cool!!! Glacially scoured granite...

Cause we are just opposite the Stawamus Chief... a granite monolith that is over 2200 feet high! That's pretty impressive.

It's hard to get a good picture cause it's backlit...

I can climb my own mini-version!!!

If I had paws that could actually grip anything. Sigh.

The Stawamus Chief is a world-famous rock climbing location...

Seee... people come from all over to climb up here. The parking lot was packed.

Let's see if we can spot some climbers on that rock wall behind me...

Hah!!! I see two!!! Do you see them??

How about now???

That's crazy... This little bear is not going to be taking up rock climbing anytime soon!

We thought about doing the hike but it was getting a bit late and so we decided not to...

But if we ever come back here... we'll come early!! And then do a hike!

Onwards!!

Another Conqueror Challenge Completed!

 For the last little while, since Little Fox and I finished the virtual PCT, I've been doing the virtual Cabot Trail.

It's nowhere near as long as the PCT! Only a few hundred km and it was easy peasy...

Well I like the ribbon!! And the medal is pretty nice too!!

Ta-dah!!!

Those are puffins on the front... and one the lighthouses that line the Cabot Trail. It's beary pretty and one day... we will drive it.

The back says "Stay Wild"... you betcha!!!

But now... do I do another virtual challenge? And if so... which one??

I have four contenders at this point,... Anyone have any preference...?? 

The Appalachian Trail because... well... it's a classic and 3343 km long soooo... doable in two years (the deadline for completing any Conqueror Challenge) if I did 5 km/day... might be a squeaker though.

Then there's the Continental Divide Trail... a tad longer - 4611 km... and probably not doable at the current hiking rate... although if LF got onboard... maybe.

Then there's this one... the North Coast of Scotland... 806 km - almost like another Camino... we thought this medal had been retired (they do that sometimes) sooo... might want to snatch this one up.

And, of course, the West Coast Trail which is just the other side of the Island... it's also a classic and the medal is pretty... And it's short!

Thoughts? Votes? Anyone?

The Day in Vancouver

 Alrighty... trivia time... here we are in Vancouver... Anyone know what building that is in the background??

I bet Little Fox knows!!!

Maybe Beanie Mouse?

It is the Marine Building!!! Built in the 1930s and a beautiful example of Art Deco... of course we are going to have a wander through... 

Cause we are here... and the building is here... and it always makes us go "oooohhhh-ahhhhh" inside!

There's STILL scaffolding around the front of the building. Sigh.

But we got kind of a good picture of the main entrance...

Seeee... The theme is "marine"... like boats and sea life and stuff. So cool.

Believe it or not... those doors were locked and we had to sneak around and in the side entrance... not have as ooohhh-ahhhh

But here's the main lobby... ***suitable oohs and ahhhs exhaled***

I love the wood detail in the elevators... it's just exquisite.

See... just a little poke around.

And then... a bit of a rest on a bench and...

Off to Starbucks for a bit!

And then off to the Vancouver Public Library to do some research... it's such a cool building.

But did you know... their rooftop is cool too?? I didn't know you could go up there but... you can!!

Ta-dah!!! There's a rooftop patio and garden up there!!

You can even see it on Google Maps! 

It's beary pretty up here...

The whole building is kind of mimicking the Roman Coliseum...

It's cool up here.

And there are benches where little bears can sit and relax and ponder the meaning of the universe (or at least when the next hot chocolate might be expected).

Righto... that was exciting. Mama's research is done and we are back to catch the ferry again.

On the way we spotted a cool wall mural of salmon!

And a cruise ship was leaving port ahead of us... but we passed it pretty fast!