There were three in a bed and the little one said…………

On the road to Whistler via the scenic route the car in front of us was involved in a head on collision. A car on the opposite side had lost control and veered across to our side. Donna used her car to block the road and we went to check on the victims. An elderly man had banged his head on the windscreen and was bleeding but seemed otherwise OK although his car was badly damaged. The car in front of us seemed to have smoke in it but on closer inspection it was the remnants of the gas used to inflate the air bags. The lady driver didn't appear to be physically injured but was trembling and didn't seem to understand what had happened. I held her hand until the fire brigade, police and ambulance arrived.

Whistler is what Aviemore could have been if they had spent a few billion pounds on it and held a winter Olympics there. Summer had turned to Autumn here and the trees were spectacular in red and gold. Although it was late in the year there were still a lot of people around. Most of the young people had come for the down hill cycling. They use the ski tows to take riders to the top of the mountain and we had a drink and watched the last cyclists of the day perform their tricks and leaps as they completed the course. When we checked into our hotel room we found that we had a double room with a pull out bed settee. They were in very close proximity hence the title of this edition. Donna pulled the covers over her head in order to (her words) "give us some privacy". Hmm.

After an outdoor breakfast with early morning sunshine and great views of the mountains, we had intended to take the Peak to Peak cable car to enjoy views over Whistler. However, this ride was now only available at weekends because it was the end of season. There was a "First Nations" cultural centre that we had seen advertised on the way up to Whistler and that we were interested in seeing. It was a beautiful building and the First Nations staff were very proud of it. The tour started with some chanting and then we learned some of dancing steps. Donna and I were eagles and Susan was a wolf. We had to move around the dance floor using the actions of our animal. We also had a go at making rope out of bark. Very strong it was too. The centre held some very impressive artefacts of First Nation culture. There was also a collection of photographs demonstrating the oppression of the First Nations people by the incoming settlers. There is evidence that the settlers deliberately infected blankets with smallpox and distributed them to the local population. The figures suggest that 95% of the native population of North America were killed by diseases brought from Europe and for which the native population had no resistance.

We hurried back towards Vancouver to catch the early evening ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Vancouver Island. It was a beautiful evening - flat calm seas and fabulous views of the mountains.