And yes, we did make it to the Lake on Day 2 of Whistler. Another absolutely stunning day with clear skies, a bright sun taking the temperature to a cracking 29C.

Mindy and Ian were in charge of the organisation of the morning activities and picked us up at 10.30 for a ride up to Lakeside at Alta Lake in The Four Seasons car. They were carrying bags with a blowup boat, two paddles and a picnic lunch supported by the ever present lemonade plus... lovingly referred to as Mike's.

A shady spot was secured, all the non essentials were left on shore and in the blink of an eye, we were aboard and pedalling towards the centre of the lake for a floating lunch. Very nice!

The pedal boats were easy to manoeuvre and we pedalled for an hour exploring the perimeter of the lake and getting some closeup views of the secluded homes in this part of the mountain.

An ice block and a quick toss of the frisbee heralded the end of the lake adventure and we were transferred back to The Four Seasons in the Hotel courtesy car (via the hospital to pick up a bike rider who took a tumble in the gravel). Nice service. We loved our lake morning ....thanks to our personal Whistler guides.

The afternoon saw us heading back to Vancouver via a 4 hour rain ride. Again, with Rocky Mountaineer. This trip uses their standard carriages plus a 1914 heritage observation car so that travellers can enjoy the amazing transformation in the landscape from Sky to Sea. The heritage car was the best. It had open windows, and rattled and clanged and screeched along the track with trees and branches whipping by.

I am not sure what it is about The Rocky Mountaineer but it makes people wave and take photos and out here in the open carriage the royal wave was needed at every township, crossing and lake. Because it was a stunning day, so many families were out on the shores of the lakes and rivers so the train was drawing a great crowd. Children were running alongside the train, regular train spotters were on their balconies and at windows and cars stopped on the side of the road so that photos could be taken. We did feel special!

Today, we got up close and personal for some new sights or were up high for spectacular new vistas. We have been on the road via Greyhound and Pacific for many of these places, but never with quite the same perspective of The train. We cruised by the beautiful Alpha Lake, saw the Brandywine Falls for the first time, revisited the spectacular Cheakamus River and Falls, zoomed by Squamish and the Chief, saw Britannia Beach and Porteau Cove for the first time, marvelled at Howe Sound and Horeshoe Bay from a different angle and arrived in Vancouver for another look at The Lions Gate Bridge.

All the sightseeing was interspersed with Rocky Mountaineer hospitality....drinks, snacks, tea and coffee and food. And although it was nothing like the silver service of the glass domed coach, it was still appreciated. I have to admit I think we have been spoiled for life by the Gold Leaf experience of The Rocky Mountaineer.

We have nearly made a clean sweep of The Rocky Mountaineer routes having completed:
The First Passage to the West
Rainforest to Gold Rush
Whistler Sea to Sky Climb

There were lots of goodbyes as each group made their way to the various drop offs. We hope we will continue to keep in touch with our Texas ladies Nelwyn and Doris.

Our arrival at The Fairmont was almost like coming home ... our efficient checkin process made the end of the day so easy. This time our room was on the eleventh floor looking west. We dropped the bags and headed for The Winking Judge for a pub dinner and some people watching.

It doesn't matter how hard we try, because of the extended daylight, we never seem to manage an early night. What a big day.

Saturday
Temperature: 29
Pedometer: 7 811
Bear Sightings = 0

Total Bear Sightings = 12