After 14 hours in the air and landing in Vancouver, we had decided to get straight out of the big city and head instead to the Squamish Adventure Inn Hostel for four nights of jet lag recovery. An hours drive from the airport this was a good decision. The time difference is 7 hours from Sydney but we were tired enough from the flight to get to sleep by midnight or so and the kids slept until 1pm the next day. A glimpse of teenage years to come?
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The outdoor space at the hostel next to the river and with the 3rd peak of Stawamus in the background
 | Squamish is climbing central so slack line comes as standard at the hostel
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| Dinner al fresco at the hostel |
We took a jet lag busting hike up the Stawamus Chief 1st peak, a short trail but one that gains more than 500m elevation over its 2.5k length, much of it up wooden stair cases and rock steps, as well as a couple of iron ladders and chains. The views from the top are really great, down to the Howe Sound, our hostel and across to the still snow laden peaks on the other side of the valley. It has been unusually cool here but today was sunny and warm enough with a cool breeze on the top.
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The lower slopes of Stawamus
 | Close to the summit of Stawamus Chief, 1st peak
 | Extreme adventure
 | Lunch vs squirrel at the summit
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Heading back down with Howe Sound below us
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The hostel is comfortable and cozy and fun, mainly hosting people in their 20s ("young people" we must finally acknowledge). We have a family room overlooking the river and there is outdoor space. It's nice feeling a little more socially connected and seems to be good for our family dynamics.
Day 2 back in Canada we did a family rock climbing course with Crosby Johnston, a fully certified mountain guide who makes most of his living guiding heli-skiers near Jasper. He was great with the kids and we had a good afternoon despite the on and off rain.
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The kids' first experience of outdoor rock climbing, Smoke Bluffs, Squamish
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Museums are not what they were. They are much better! The Britannia Mine museum in Squamish is based around the decommissioned copper mine and includes a short train ride through one of the tunnels, demonstrations of a few of the drills, and a cool audiovisual show explaining how the multi-story sorting and crushing building did its sorting and crushing thing.
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Undeniably orange
 | The Muck Machine
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 | Inside the incredible sorting building
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I continued my latest return-to-run campaign, this time post-covid, finding a nice little loop trail through the Smoke Bluffs climbing area. Other than that, we enjoyed the hostel, recovered from jet lag and got ready for the next journey.
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Perfect running surface, Smoke Bluffs, Squamish
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Us, on the way out of Squamish
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On Thursday, June 17th we took the ferry from Horseshoe Bay which is north of Vancouver to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Ferry crossings are great. Such a good way to see the sea and the coast. And a sunny day helps. Louis, Laura, Lilly-Anne, Leo and Linnea live in Victoria and we were to intercept them in Parksville where they were staying for a camping weekend. We had a nice big Airbnb house and it was good to spread out and catch up on laundry after the hostel.
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Setting sail from Horseshoe Bay on the way to Nanaimo
 | It was really windy once we were out in the main channel
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Looking inland from the Little Mountain Lookout above Parksville
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The gigantic Parksville Beach at mid-tide
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A highlight of this part of the trip was the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre, an extraordinary place that has evolved into a sprawling complex that now includes beautiful gardens and picnic spots. We spent a lot of time here with Louis and Laura's family and I even got to pick out a father's day present: the book called "What Bears Teach Us".
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Louis and Leo at the wildlife rescue centre
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Rae the bear, a probable road collision victim whose seizures mean he cannot be released. Sadly he lost his long time companion Knut in 2021
 | Studying at the wildlife rescue centre
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Afterwards we visited the redwoods in Cathedral Grove before heading to the campsite for a big S'mores party.
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A horizontal tree, Cathedral Grove
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This year we have visited both
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On the way to catch the ferry back to the mainland we checked out the petroglyphs as well as the Abyss, a surface crack in the rock, reputedly the result of an earthquake. A cool thing to put our hands on after all the geological learnings of the past year.
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Petroglyph
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The Abyss
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We had an overnight stop in Chilliwack where we stayed with Dave (pm while Crystal was at work in the ER) and Crystal (am after Dave had headed off to work). These working folk. And on to Vernon where Susie, Greg, Anna and Tejay live. They have a beautiful house with lovely views of the hills and mountains, lots of outdoor space, and plenty of room for us. This has been nice. I got out with Greg for a ride, Crystal did with Susie, the kids have loved having abundant toys for the first time in a while. We spent a great day messing about with paddle boards and kayaks at the beach on the lake and generally soaking up Vernon's outdoor pleasant-ness.
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Kentucky Lake, a pleasant 4k walk around which we enjoyed on the drive from Chilliwack to Vernon
 | A fun stop in Vernon to feed the animals and browse the farm shops
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Greg, on his mountain bike
 | No one says the paddle board needs a paddle, do they?
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Crystal and Toby enjoying the paddle boards at Juniper Bay Beach on Lake Kalamalka
 | Reading spot, Middleton Close, Vernon
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This is something of a honeymoon period or a victory lap depending on which way you look at it. Believe it or not, a year of not working does come with some stress and apprehension. Having a big gaping hole of time and with no fixed abode can be something of a looming monster, especially with the uncertainty of covid. Liberating, exciting, full of possibility of course but nevertheless intimidating. Now we are close to home, more or less free of the work of planning, and not yet caught up in the busy-ness of being back in our "real" lives. It's relaxing, We can still enjoy the simplicity of our living out of a bag lifestyle and cruise the wave of our last few accommodation bookings.
Of course not everything goes smoothly. We seem to be a bit of a bad covid omen. Two days after arriving Greg came down with it, and Susie followed a couple of days later. Greg's pretty sure he knows the exact moment he got it at work in the ER. Seems like we have immunity from our recent infection in NZ but sucks for them. They managed to get that day at the beach in at least. And as I said, their place is great for just general relaxing.
We had a quick look at Silverstar to check out the trail races, browse the shops and see the mountain. Nice and cool up there as the heat descends in the valley. Tomorrow we head to Golden via Revelstoke.
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