Mt. Baker

Mt. Baker is an active volcano, second only to Mt. Helens in activity and unrivaled in its beauty! We took a trip up hoping the fog would clear and we would see the top. Again, we were rewarded with a spectacular day!

See the face of snow in the middle?

Part of the road was still closed but only a small part.

All the skiing operations were shut down for the season-it's a shame 'cause there were plenty of people willing to take a chair ride! Lots of folks were there to play in the snow....

We called these micro-moguls

And of course, the inevitable waterfalls. Nature provides us with quite a show-these waterfalls are the result of the melting snow-they won't be there in a month or two...We liked this one because of the basalt..

Still learning from my trip down the Colombia Gorge...this is a veil-type fall

And the reliable cascade....

Our little shack in the mountains....

And our "car"

Goodbye Mt. Baker...

On the way back we stopped at the Nootsack Falls...a very dangerous place for walkers...The rocks are slippery and too many people ignore the signs....

Try to blow this up and read the info.....

#18 Victoria/Butchart Gardens

After some research and discussion, Jack and I decided to go to Victoria, BC, by ferry from Bellingham. The ship (Victoria Star) took 2 1/2 hours, giving us lots of info along the way. Unfortunately, it was so foggy we couldn't even see the San Juan Islands!

Fortunately for us the clouds disappeared and the sun shone the rest of the day!

So, we were very excited getting ready to visit Victoria. We had arranged for a tour bus to take us to the Butchart Gardens, about a half hour from the city.

There were several iron art instruments at the Garden entrance-naturally, we had to play them!

I always wanted to play an instrument.....

The Gardens are celebrating their 100th anniversary. This beautiful pace is really several themed gardens, about 55 acres. It's privately owned, still run by the Butchart family (great, great grandchildren).

These are the sunken gardens. They were planted in the field that was mined for lime-the Bucharts owned a Concrete Co.

This totem was made and erected to celebrate the 100th anniversary..and now, the flowers!

Oriental Poppy

Daisy

The rose garden

The Ingrid Bergman

The Princess of Whales....and so many more! Everywhere we went the flowers were perfection...

So I finally got a chance to sit on Santa's lap -right in front of the sturgeon pool. Somehow, I thought it was fitting.

There was a hothouse showing off a variety of flowers...

Before I knew it, it was time to depart and return to Victoria. The Empress Hotel is a landmark...The popular activity is high tea. Then, it was time to return to the Victoria Star. Dinner was included on the return trip but the real bonus....

Whales! We saw a grey, several Orcas, a porpoise and a dolphin!

This guy comes out every day to ski-doo on the wake of whatever boat goes by...

It's been a wonderful day-full of surprises and...WOW!

#17-Whistler

The road to Whistler is another beautiful trip! The Canadians put a great highway in from Vancouver to Whistler to make traveling to the Olympics safer and easier...and they did a great job! This park is one of the many stops on the way...

Provincial Park is a campground, too. Very pretty-and VERY busy in the summer, especially the weekends..

The road to Whistler just whets your appetite for what's coming up...

Yep, this is the Gondola ride..the first portion is about 25 minutes of breathtaking beauty.

But this portion is Awesome! Peak 2 Peak is the longest independent span in the world....

Again, too much to see!

Here's what a gondola looks like...during peak season they put 10 people in one gondola comfortably. The grey ones have a glass bottom! Of course, we rode both.

It looks like somebody drew these ribbons of white through the mountains...

But there's a dam right in the middle-it powers all the gondola and other lift operations!

Truly 360 degree scenics....

This is a shot of the river through the glass bottom gondola

As we leave one station...

And right on the peak of Blackcomb-Whistler himself!

I don't know if it's the snow or the red shirt, but people were coming up to Jack shouting Santa! He was very gracious and even gave some of the girls his business card....But then they told us a storm was coming and we had to be evacuated-now!

Our now traditional "coming"

And "going" shot

I bet it was wonderful during the Olympics!

Stanley Park

Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia reminds me a little of Golden Gate park in San Francisco with an added element of a beautiful Aquarium within. We took a day trip with our friends Scott and Debby-a long day and worth every minute!

It's still a little early for many of the flowers to bloom but the roses were spectactular!

The fushias were very petty, too.

And, in the center of the Park there's an aquarium...Well laid out with many indoor and outdoor exhibits...

The Beluga whales were such fun to watch! There's two moms and two pups. It's the first time the aquarium housed two babies at a time...And where's dad? He's confined to another holding pool so the moms can form a strong bond with their pups...

She's a natural actress....

And here's Sam the sea otter-Sam the Ham! He looks right at you and poses.....

These are moon jellies and if you all didn't know before-Next to sea horses, jellies are my favorite species in an aquarium..

Scott and Debby are taking in the rain forest..can you see the blue parrots holding feet?

This is a show not to be missed!!! I can't tell you details but this show is worth he price of admission alone!!!!

And then it was time to come home-Isn't this a nice welcome sign?