Victoria to Whistler – 4 October 2022
We left Fort Victoria on the 4th and caught the ferry to Vancouver. Our plan was to overnight in Capilano RV park and then to take our RV to Fraserway on the 5th to finally get our fridge fixed. This had been scheduled with them about 3 weeks prior.
When Derek phoned Fraserway on the 3rd he was told that they were expecting us to bring the parts with us, and so the whole saga with Grand Design started again. It was backwards and forwards trying to get the fridge parts shipped. Eventually Grand Design confirmed the parts were on the way but Fraserway would not commit to a new date to install the parts until they arrived and so the waiting game began again. This was causing a lot of grief as we couldnt finalize any of our reservations and we were not sure when the parts would arrive and when Fraserway would fit us in again.
Fraserway (probably feeling guilty?) allowed us to park the RV on their site the following day while Derek and I went to Mr Pets to fix a dog wash, and then we fetched it afterwards on our way to Whistler.
Weather in Whistler was fantastic during our stay. Unusual, considering Whistler is usually cold in October. It seems that the weather is making up for a delayed start to summer. We stayed at the Whistler RV Park with fantastic views across the mountainous valley. The RV Park had several back country trails which were used by dirt bikers and ATV’ers. As there were many bears in the area, evident from scat around the campsite, I was a little wary about venturing on those trails.
We did go however on several nice hikes in other areas of Whistler and Pemberton. We hiked the train wreck trail which was very interesting. A train was derailed when it was travelling from Whistler to Vancouver in 1956 and several of the train carriages ended up being moved to the forest. These carriages have become a tourist attraction for Graffiti artists who have painted them in bright colours, mountain bikers and hikers. We also visited Brandywine falls, Mile One lake in Pemberton, Green Lake and Lost Lake.
Jolene was based in Pemberton which is about 48 km away and as that ended up being a 100 km round trip from the park, we ended up fetching her to stay with us at the RV. She was doing a lot better and we were able to help her with work in her warehouse, store and at her home. Thanksgiving was quite busy at the RV park with lots of families with young kids driving dirt bikes and ATVs around and around the park. We had our own small Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey breast, ham and veggies.
We did take the time to sample some of the local fare. While in Pemberton we went to Beer Farmers and sat outside on benches in the sun, sipping craft beer and listening to music. We also visited North Arm Farm for some gelato and picked up some lovely Lavender Rooibos tea. Jax saw pigs and sheep for the first time and wasn’t quite sure how to react. We also had a bite at a couple of different restaurants in Pemberton, namely Mile One and the Pony restaurant.
The last day we were in Whistler Jolene took us out to eat at La Cantina, an upmarket Mexican restaurant. Food was amazing.
The only downside during our trip was that the component that opens our toilet bowl broke which meant number 1’s only. We just hoped that we didn’t need to go at night as it was pitch black outside and we didn’t want to bump into a bear on our way to the outside washroom. We ordered a new part from the States – $26 but $69 to ship. By the time we left Whistler RV the part had still not arrived. Goodness knows when we can get that fixed!
