Beachin' It Northwest Style

When a friend heard we were going to Whistler in August, she had to comment.  You DO know you can't ski there this time of year! 

Oh geez, whatever shall we do?  Let me see.  Hiking, biking, canoeing, kayaking, ziplining, riding the gondola, dining, shopping, fishing, and even the beach!

Lost Lake's one of the main beach venues in Whistler. This palapa umbrella gives it a tiny tropical touch.  Close your eyes and dream you're -- chilling on a cold Canadian beach?

I didn't even stick my big toe into Lost Lake.  The water's fairly frigid, but I guess that's why Canadians can hop right into 70 degree water down in the tropics in the winter without blinking an eye.)



We've always heard there was a nude beach on Lost Lake.  After I took this photo of the dock around the corner from the main beach, Craig told me there were nudies.  Ha!  Finally found it!

Besides sunbathing and polar dipping, people also paddle canoes and kayak on the many lakes in the area.

Kayaks lined up at the dock on Alta Lake.

 

Lily pads on Alta Lake in Whistler.

 

More beautiful flowers at the lake.

 

Oh Canada!  Gotta love it when the temps in Arizona are way over 100!

 

 

 

A Few More Northwest Summer Pics!

One of our absolute favorite summer places in the Northwest is Whistler, British Columbia. We haven't been since all the construction started for the 2010 Winter Olympics, but I found a few digital photos from much earlier in this decade. My camera then was way low on pixels, and I'm sure the landscape up there has changed significantly with a lot more construction. I wish I had more photos of the actual mountains. I'll have to look for some of my old photo albums from the time before digital, but here are a few favorites.

Whistler Sunset

Float Plane on Green Lake

My mom and I with one of those glorious Whistler flower baskets!

Beck Extreme

Horseshoe Bay just north of Vancouver.

Alta Lake

That's a bike helmet on my head. We always took our mountain bikes to Whistler in the summer and rode the trails from north of town clear out to the old village. Whistler has a string of lakes. Lost Lake, Green Lake, Alta, Nita -- I can't even remember all of them. But the trails along the lakes are wonderful for riding bikes! And the lakes are great for kayaking! We always stayed up on Blackcomb Mountain and used our bikes to get around town.

After the 2010 Winter Olympics are over, we'll be headed back to Whistler for a summer trip! It's been summer construction hell up there ever since they got the bid for the Olympics. Hopefully, we'll still recognize the area.

By the way, the drive to Whistler (I promise to search my photo albums) is an absolutely beautiful summer road trip! The road north from Vancouver, the Sea to Sky Highway, follows Howe Sound up to Squamish and then climbs through the mountains to Whistler. If you ever get to Vancouver, B.C. in the summer, don't miss the drive to Whistler!