Author: Michelle

I cannot believe it has been over 3 months since I last published a post! Things have definitely been busy on my end, but I assure you, the adventures have not stopped ツ. In the last few months of this year, we enjoyed trips to Revelstoke, Palm Springs and Leavenworth. While I intend to write separate posts for each of these trips in the New Year, I thought it would be fun to recap the hikes we did locally in 2023. Reminder that “local” for these purposes is defined as being within 2-hours from home!

Make sure to also check out my Local Hikes of 2022 post!

Varley Trail Loop, North Vancouver (Lynn Canyon Park) – January 2023

We had some surprisingly nice weather in early January and decided to take advantage of it by doing the Varley Loop Trail out in Lynn Canyon. I would consider this to be more of a walk than a hike, as the Trail has very little elevation gain, and takes around 1-hour to complete. This is a great option to consider if you are looking to get outside but want to do something less strenuous.

Dog Mountain Trail, Vancouver (Mt Seymour) – March 2023

While we have done the Dog Mountain Trail before, this was our first time completing it in the winter, which made for a completely different experience!

When we did this trail in the summer of 2022, we found it to be a bit technical, as there are many exposed tree roots to navigate – apparently this is from erosion due to the popularity of the trail. But, in the winter, the entire trail is covered in snow (obviously), which actually makes the trail easier, as you do not need to watch where you are going with every step. If there has been a recent snowfall, you will need snow shoes for Dog Mountain, but if the snow is quite packed, consider ice cleats or crampons, as well as hiking poles. One last thing to consider are the bugs – although we did not have any issues with bugs in the summer, apparently they can be very problematic. But in the winter, there are no bugs, leading me to think that winter is a better choice for this trail overall!

Regardless of when you choose to do the trail, you will still get to experience the same beautiful views of Vancouver at the end!

Gold Creek Lookout, Maple Ridge (Golden Ears Provincial Park) – April 2023

There are so many different trails to choose from at Golden Ears Provincial Park that it can be difficult to pick which one to do! This year, we explored two different trails, starting with Gold Creek Lookout in April.

Overall, this was a very peaceful hike – we enjoyed the sounds of rushing water as we walked next to Gold Creek, and only encountered a couple of other people on the trail. The hike is around 8km and took us roughly 2-hours to complete. While I would not consider this to be a difficult hike (only 250m of elevation gain), there are a lot of rocks along the trail – make sure to watch your step! I learned this the hard way while stepping across a couple larger rocks, and one of them happened to be loose – down I went! Fortunately, I only ended up with a couple of small scratches ツ.

Capilano River Regional Park (North Vancouver) – June 2023

Earlier this summer, we had the opportunity to explore the network of various trails within Capilano River Regional Park. I am not sure where exactly we ended up, as our friends who live in North Vancouver took us on a tour of their backyard – they knew how all the trails connected like the back of their hand! Most of the trails were fairly easy and provided for a very peaceful walk amongst the trees. While exploring the area you will walk along the Capilano River, you can see the Cleveland Dam, and you will also stumble upon Capilano Lake – definitely worth a visit!

McKee Peak, Abbotsford – June 2023

This was my first hike ever in the Abbotsford area. Overall, the hike was fairly short, but I would rate it as “moderate,” as it had a steady incline all the way to the end. We picked a rather warm day for this hike (it was around 25°C), but fortunately, the trees provided enough shade to keep everyone cool. While the views of the Fraser Valley were quite spectacular, the best part was the swing at the top!

After our hike, we enjoyed some food and drinks at Field House Brewing!

Mt. Gardner, Bowen Island – July 2023

Mt. Gardner it located on Bowen Island, which is accessible from North Vancouver via a short ferry ride. The Island itself is fairly small – you can drive from one side of the Island to the other in under 20-minutes. But despite being small in size, there are several trails to explore, as well as cute shops and beaches to visit! During our short visit (it was a day trip), we only had time for the hike, and to grab some food and drinks at the Bowen Island Pub before heading back to the mainland.

In trying to reconcile all the hikes we did this year, I am now unable to find the actual trail we did to get to the top of Mt. Gardner. I think it was called Mt. Gardner via North Summit, Handlogger, Skid Trail but this trail no longer exists on the AllTrails app – it now appears to be called Handloggers Trail – North Summit Trail – Skid Trail.

There are two main viewpoints along this trail, both of which offer views of another small island – Keats Island.

I would rate the route we chose to reach the top of Mt. Gardner as “hard.” According to my watch, the entire trail was around 11.5kms, and there were a lot of fallen trees to navigate, rocks, and areas with steep incline – there were even chains and ropes near to end to assist with the climb! But overall, I found this trail to be very peaceful, and our group had a lot of fun!

Mystery Lake & Mystery Peak Loop, Vancouver (Mt. Seymour) – August 2023

Mystery Lake & Mystery Peak Loop is a short but popular trail located on Mt. Seymour. The hike is fairly short – only 4.3km – and not too difficult. The hardest part is the climb to get to the top of Mystery Peak, but this can be easily skipped if you want to avoid any incline. Make sure to bring your bug spray if you are hiking this trail during the summer, and also your bathing suit to take a quick dip in the Lake!

Stawamus Chief First, Second and Third Peak Loop, Squamish – October 2023

Justin and I did the first two peaks of the Chief back in 2016, and for years we have been saying we need to go back and complete the last peak. Well, that time finally came in early October – we had such a beautiful start to the fall season that we were able to fit in a couple of more hikes from our Summer 2023 Bucket List this year… even though it was no longer technically summer ツ.

We had a pretty early start to our day, as we had planned to meet a couple of our friends in the parking lot near the start of the trail head at 7:30am. While the Chief is a very well-known hike, it is definitely one of the harder hikes we completed this year. However, because of its popularity, the Chief gets many tourists, some of which show up to attempt the hike in Converse and sandals – personally, I would not recommend this, even if you are only doing one of the three peaks! The route we completed to do all three peaks (which does not appear to match AllTrails) was around 8.5km with 850m of elevation gain, and it took around 4-hours. There are many stairs to climb, rocks and ladders – there are even chains along the hike to help you climb up steeper rock faces.

If you are looking for a challenge, definitely consider completing all three peaks. But, if you are a less experienced hiker who just wants to see the views, consider doing only the first or maybe a combination of the first and second peak – I think the second peak has the best views ツ.

Lower Gold Creek Falls Trail, Maple Ridge (Golden Ears Provincial Park) – October 2023

We finished up our local outdoor adventures this year by doing another hike at Golden Ears Provincial Park. We had a truly beautiful October in the Vancouver area, and while it got a bit colder than usual for this time of year, we were just happy to see sunshine and avoid the rain!

The Lower Gold Creek Falls Trail is a very popular trail within this park, and just like the Gold Creek Lookout, we were able to enjoy the peacefulness this hike has to offer as it was not very busy the day we were there. It took us around 1.5-hours to complete the hike, as we took our time along the trail – taking lots of photos and taking in the beauty of the area.

Well, I think that covers all the local trails we explored this year! Let me know if you decide to try any of these and how you enjoy them! And on that note, I am hoping everyone had a great holiday season, and wishing you many safe and incredible adventures for 2024!

Always grateful,

Michelle

I thought it would be appropriate to start this blog post with a riddle: What do you get when you cross a long weekend with an Annual National Park Pass? A trip to Glacier National Park! That was a good one, right ツ?

Justin and I used the Labour Day long weekend as an opportunity to visit Glacier National Park (GNP) in Montana, US. We have now been to 8 National Parks, but we both agree that this one is our favourite thus far – if you do not have this beautiful park on your travel bucket list, make sure to add it!

Instead of directly driving to GNP (which would take around 12-hours, not including any stops), we opted to fly to Calgary and drive across the border through Alberta. In the end, when you consider the time we spent at the airport, waiting for our luggage and in the rental car line-up, it still took us almost 12-hours to get to Montana, but we were able to reduce our actual driving time to 5-hours.

I should note, though, that our decision to fly and rent a car did require some additional planning. For instance, we had to find a car rental company that would allow us to cross the border (we went with Avis), and we had to research the border crossing options between Alberta and Montana, and further, their hours of operation. Well, our plan was to enter Montana through the Piegan Port of Entry, and according to the internet, it was open until 11pm. However, at 7:05pm when we were about 5-minutes away from the border crossing, we passed a sign that said the border was open from 8am to 6pm. Our heart’s sank – we did not think we were going to make it tonight. We decided to keep driving to confirm the border was indeed closed, and to our surprise, it was open! We asked the border guard about the sign we saw, and he laughed and said to never trust the signage – to anyone reading this, make sure to call the Port of Entry to confirm its hours and to avoid giving yourself a panic attack!

After getting through the border, it was another 2.5-hours to our Airbnb in Columbia Falls, and one of the ways to get there was to actually drive through GNP. We entered the park through the East Entrance, and this ended up being our only opportunity to see this side of the Park, as it takes well over 2-hours to drive across GNP. We felt grateful to be driving through in the evening, as we were able to catch the sun setting over St. Mary Lake.

Glacier National Park – Day 1

Because this was a quick weekend trip, we only had 2 full days to spend at GNP, and I will say this was no where near enough time – we only scratched the surface of what this amazing Park has to offer.

Similar to our experience at Arches National Park in Utah, visitors need to obtain a Vehicle Reservation in order to access GNP during certain times of the year. There are four main areas of the Park, and each requires its own reservation: North Fork, Two Medicine, Many Glacier and Going-to-the-Sun. Because our trip was rather short, we only ended up getting a pass for Going-to-the-Sun, as this is the main/biggest part of GNP. The reservation for Going-to-the-Sun is $2USD and is valid for 3-consecutive days – in other words, we obtained a pass starting on September 1st, and we could also use it to enter the park on September 2nd and 3rd.

All the research we did leading up to our trip said the same thing: parking within GNP is very limited – arrive early! For this reason, we planned to be at the trailhead of the first hike we wanted to complete, Avalanche Lake, before 8am. We lucked out and got the last parking spot by the start of the trailhead (but there were other parking lots near by with spaces still available).

The Avalanche Lake hike is a 10km out-and-back trail to a beautiful lake nestled between the mountains. The hike is not particularly challenging, and because of its rewarding views, it is very busy and popular amongst visitors. My biggest recommendation would be to ensure you actually go to the end of the trail (there will be a sign identifying the end) and turning left towards the lake. You have to walk through some bushes, but this small sandy beach provides the best views of the lake. I would assume, based on the size of the crowds, that many people stop at the start of the lake and do not continue until the end.

In terms of wildlife on the trail, we only encountered some birds, along with some very hungry chipmunks who were curious about everyone’s snacks!

After completing the Avalanche Lake trail, we got back to our vehicle and started driving towards the summit – Logan Pass (6646 ft elevation). The trailhead of the hike we wanted to do next, Hidden Lake, was accessible from the parking lot at Logan Pass. However, we read several reviews advising to arrive at Logan Pass early, and the reviews were not wrong – when we pulled up at 12:30pm, it was insanely busy!

The Logan Pass parking lot is small, and for this reason, you will find many people walking around (even by the Visitor’s Centre entrance doors) talking to others, trying to figure out who is leaving and where they are parked. We got very lucky with finding parking – a family flagged us down as we were driving around and said to follow them. We noticed their license plates were from Alberta, which is where our rental vehicle was from – Albertan folks just looking out for each other ツ.

After checking out the Visitor Centre, and picking up our GNP swag, we started on the Hidden Lake Trail. While the hike towards the lookout only had a bit of an incline, I found myself experiencing shortness of breath – I believe the higher elevation made it a bit difficult for me to breathe. However, it only took about 30-minutes to arrive at the overlook, which was probably one of my favourite views from the entire trip.

After you reach the overlook you have the option to go back, or you can hike down to lake-level. Of course, we decided to keep going! The hike down involves a series of switchbacks, and you likely know by now that I am a big proponent for hiking poles – they were incredibly helpful during this hike. While downhill hiking might be easier on your lungs, it requires a lot of physical strength, as your muscles lengthen and your body needs to actively prevent itself from tumbling forward!

What I enjoyed most about the hike down was watching the views of the lake change as we got closer, and also making a new little friend along the way ツ.

Once we got to the lake, we spent some time enjoying the views and Justin also dipped his feet in the water. He had considered going for a swim, but the water was incredibly cold!

After a short break, it was time to walk up the switch backs – what goes down must come up… that is how the saying goes, right? Anyway, I was quickly reminded about the shortness of breath I experienced earlier on the trail, and even made a bad joke to a couple of happy hikers who we passed (they were heading towards the lake) that they will eventually need to head back up, too! By the time we made it back to our vehicle, we had hiked over 18km that day – it was time to head back to Columbia Falls to eat and rest in preparation for another long day!

Glacier National Park – Day 2

For our second, and final, day at GNP, we made our way back to Logan Pass, as the trailhead for the Highline Trail is across the street from this parking lot. We had two different options for doing this trail. The first option was to do the out-and-back: walk 12km from Logan Pass to the ending point of the trail (which is actually the Granite Park Chalet and cabins in the mountains) and back, for a total of 24km. The second option was to walk 12km from Logan Pass to the Chalet, then 6km down the mountain to to a bus stop, and take the shuttle back to the Logan Pass parking lot. The Park Ranger who went through our options with us even suggested hitchhiking back to our vehicle!

Given that I was feeling pretty “broken” from the 18km we did the day before, we discussed just doing a little bit of the trail and then reassessing our options. Well, a little bit ended up turning into a lot, as we ended up completing option 2! The AllTrails app rates the Highline Trail as hard, although I would personally classify it as easy or moderate. While the trail does involve some elevation gain, it is very gradual, as it is spread out over several kilometres. If you take your time and bring hiking poles, it is very manageable! The hardest part was the 6km down from the Chalet – if you struggle with downhill, it might be best to do the full 24km!

All the reviews we read indicated sights of wildlife along the Highline Trail – I was really hoping to see a mountain goat or a moose (from a safe distance, of course), but it was not our lucky day. However, we did see a couple does and one very big buck, and way off in the distance we could see three white dots (mountain goats) moving on one of the mountains – note to self to bring binoculars on the next trip!

While we did not see the wildlife we had hoped for, the views were spectacular – I felt like I was looking at a postcard during the entire hike. A majority of the trail is situated along the side of the mountains, and for the first part, you can actually see the road and cars below you – it was a bit scary, but very cool at the same time!

We actually ended up making friends with a couple from North Carolina during the hike – Austin and Sarah. We hiked part of the way to the Chalet with them, and then down the mountain. We later learned that Austin and Sarah got engaged the night before – congratulations to them!

Once we reached the shuttle stop at the bottom of the mountain (which is on the Going-to-the-Sun road), we realized there were several groups of people waiting for the shuttle, and the shuttles are not very big. To our surprise, we decided to follow the Park Ranger’s advice and hitchhike back to our vehicle at Logan Pass! Apparently our trip to GNP included two types of hiking ツ.

But I will say, if there is anywhere to take a chance on hitchhiking, it is in GNP. The park is very busy and filled with tourists – all we had to do was ask someone who was parked on the side of the road taking photos if they were heading in the direction of Logan Pass, and if they would willing to give us a ride to our vehicle!

The one problem with quick trips is you never get the chance to complete everything on the list. GNP is located near Whitefish, Montana, which is a well-known ski town. We were hoping to do a bit of exploring in Whitefish, and also Columbia Falls, but we just did not have enough time. We did, however, get the chance to check out the local Brewery in Columbia Falls (Backslope Brewing), as well as the Bulldog Saloon in Whitefish. Hopefully we can spend more time exploring the local shops during our next trip!

Before I wrap up this post, I want to give a shoutout to our Airbnb in Columbia Falls. We loved our cute loft accommodation and would definitely recommend staying here to anyone who plans to visit GNP in the future.

And finally, unrelated to GNP, I want to celebrate that the Exploring With Gratitude blog has now been around for 1 full year! Thanks to everyone who has been reading my posts over the last year, and an extra special thank you to all my subscribers ツ!

Always grateful,

Michelle

Back in June, Justin and I made a Summer 2023 Bucket List, and one of the items on the list was to do the Joffre Lakes hike outside of Pemberton. Well, I am happy to report that on July 16th, we crossed Joffre Lakes off the list!

Because the hike is around a 3-hour drive from where we live (one way), we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to also spend a night in Whistler.

Before I get into discussing the actual hike, I should note that visitors are required to reserve a Day Pass in order to visit Joffre Lakes – this is a fairly new system (introduced during COVID-19) to help with crowd management. Passes are released 2 days in advance at 7am – this means that if we wanted to do the hike on July 16th, we would be able to reserve the pass starting on July 14th. According to the park rangers (who we spoke to at the Joffre Lakes entrance), between 100 and 200 people show up to do the hike everyday without a pass! Consider yourself warned ツ.

Anyway, due to the booking system, we decided to do a “practice” attempt to ensure we knew all the steps we would need to go through to receive a pass. We did the practice attempt on Thursday to try and receive a pass for Saturday, and to our surprise, all passes were reserved by 7:01am! This made us a bit nervous, as the hike is clearly very busy and popular on weekends.

For this reason, we recruited a couple of friends who were available on Friday morning at 7:00am to help us with securing a pass. We had the webpage loaded, our emails copied and ready to paste, and the world clock counting us down. Fortunately, we were successful in reserving multiple passes – we ended up cancelling all the ones we did not need for anyone else attempting to make a reservation ツ.

We left our place at 7:00am on Sunday morning, with the intention of arriving at the Joffre Lakes parking lot by 10am. We were a bit worried that the lot might be full by this time; however, while the parking lot closest to the entrance was mostly full (a couple spots remaining), the overflow parking was basically empty and we had no trouble finding a spot to park. And, the walk to the start of the trail from the overflow parking is only a couple of minutes long.

Right before the start of the trail head, there is a tent setup with multiple park rangers who ask to verify your pass before allowing you to proceed to the trail. We read several reviews of visitors being turned away without a pass, and having to drive 10-minutes back down the road where there is cell service to try and see if any more passes are available for the day. But, we had our pass ready to go, and after having it scanned, we were off!

If you are not familiar with the Joffre Lakes hike, it is a difficult (as per AllTrails) out-and-back trail, and visitors can expect the hike to take anywhere from 4 to 6 hours. Joffre Lakes is comprised of 3 lakes (lower, middle and upper lakes), and after only a couple of minutes on the trail, you will be greeted by the turquoise blue waters of the lower lake, surrounded by picturesque mountains. Believe it or not, these stunning views are only a “sneak peek” of what is to come!

The real work begins after the first lake – your next 3.7km will be a steady incline (aka nature’s stair master) all the way to the middle lake. If you struggle with going uphill, my recommendation would be to take your time and enjoy your surroundings – the views are definitely worth it.

You will likely spend quite a bit of time at the middle lake. This is where you can get in line for the infamous log photo (search #joffrelakes on Instagram) and you will see many visitors swimming in the glacier waters. On our way back, Justin actually went for a quick dip in the middle lake and swam out to the tip of the log. While he claimed it was refreshing, he also said it was very cold!

After you have enjoyed the middle lake, continue walking for another 20-minutes and you will reach the upper lake. Many visitors will stop here to enjoy their lunch while taking in the views. But, be careful not to make your lunch too obvious – a bird literally flew into me and tried to steal my sandwich! I will neither confirm nor deny this, but there might have been some screaming on my part.

At this point, you are probably thinking you have “seen it all” and it is time to head back, but you can actually keep hiking for another kilometre towards the Upper Lakes Campground. While many visitors opt for a day hike, you can also make overnight reservations at Joffre Lakes. I would definitely encourage you to keep going towards the campground (even if you are not camping), as it provides another perspective of the upper lake that you will not get from the main viewing area.

After taking in the views at the upper lake from multiple angles, it was finally time to start making our way out of Joffre Lakes. While the hike down is not that steep, it does extend for a few kilometres – if you struggle with going down hill, I would definitely recommend bringing hiking poles (something I did not bring with me). One other recommendation I will make, which should seem pretty obvious, is to wear proper clothing and footwear. I was amazed at how many visitors I saw in denim shorts, converse and sandals – I even saw a woman wearing flip-flops, and she was carrying a baby!

In the end, we spent around 4-hours completing this hike – 3-hours of hiking and a little over an hour for photo opportunities and lunch. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience at Joffre Lakes!

One thing I was really looking forward to following our hike was stopping at The Hwy Cafe in Pemberton for lunch. This plant-based food establishment serves the best Buffalo Chick’n Wrap. Not only is it absolutely delicious, but the portion size is huge!

Whistler

Following our Joffre Lakes hike, and very satisfying wraps, we made our way to Whistler Village. Because we have been making annual visits to Whistler for four years now, I am reminiscing on all the different activities we have done over the years and the restaurants we have tried:

Activities:

• Hike to the Whistler Train Wreck: As the name suggests, the Whistler Train Wreck is a short hike that includes views of the Cheakamus River and the remains of a derailed freight train from 1956. There are a couple different ways to access the Train Wreck – we opted to park in a pull-off on the Sea to Sky Highway and walk for around 1km. The box cars are covered in colourful graffiti (which make for a fun photo opportunity) and you will also be able to cross a small suspension bridge that extends across the Cheakamus River.

• Hike at Rainbow Falls Loop: This is a relatively easy and short hike (2km), and it provides some nice views of the mountains in addition to the Rainbow Waterfall.
• Walk or bike around the Whistler Valley Trail: The Whistler Valley Trail is the perfect way to see all of Whistler – it will connect you to various different lakes such as Lost Lake and Alta Lake, and take you through different Whistler neighbourhoods like Blueberry and Creekside. On multiple occasions, we have taken our bikes with us to Whistler and enjoyed biking along the Valley Trail for several hours. If you find yourself on the trail near Lost Lake in July or August, please be careful of the Tiny Toads migrating from the lake to the forest!
• Hike the Brandywine Meadows: This trail (which is different from Brandywine Falls) is a stunning 11km hike through the valley/meadow, which is surrounded by wild flowers, streams and mountains. You will need a heavy duty vehicle (4×4) to get to the start of the trail, but be prepared for a very bumpy and rocky ride! Also, bring bug spray – the black flies are out of control.

• Ice Skate in the Village (Winter only, obviously ツ): Back in January 2022, we set out on a mission to find an ODR (outdoor rink), with our sights set on Green Lake. However, there was so much fresh snow in Whistler at the time that all the lakes were covered by several feet of snow, even though they were frozen underneath! As a result, we had to settle for the ice rink in the Village, which was still a fun experience – the music provided for a great atmosphere, and with the snow continuing to fall, it felt like we were skating in a winter wonderland.
• Relax at the Scandinave Spa: Last year for my birthday, Justin surprised me by taking me to Whistler for a day of relaxation. We spent hours in the hot and cold baths, saunas, sleeping in hammocks and even enjoyed a much needed deep tissue massage. If you enjoy Nordic-style spas, you must put this on your to-do list!

Food:

• Earls Kitchen + Bar: While this restaurant is not a local Whistler find, I find myself gravitating to Earls Kitchen + Bar every time we are Whistler. It has a great plant-based menu and a great atmosphere. This is where we had dinner during our last visit – I was surprised we were even hungry after our wraps from The Hwy Cafe!
• Pure Bread: Similarly to Earls, even though there are a couple Pure Bread locations in Vancouver, we only find ourselves enjoying Pure Bread while in Whistler, as the Vancouver locations are not easily accessible for Justin and I. Pure Bread has the most amazing display of pastries and bread, several plant-based options, and they also offer hand-crafted coffee beverages.
• Moguls Coffee House: Moguls is our go-to breakfast spot in Whistler. Their overnight oats and vegan breakfast burrito are both delicious! They also serve a variety of plant-based pastries and their coffee is also very good.
• 21 Steps: After our Scandinave experience last year, Justin took me for a birthday dinner to 21 Steps. And yes, there are actually 21 stairs you need to climb to reach the hostess stand! But, you have to climb more stairs to get to their second level. They used to have a cashew-based pasta on their menu, but it looks to have been replaced by a roasted tomato and garlic option – I look forward to trying this during our next visit!
• Naked Sprout Cafe: This is another great breakfast and lunch spot – Naked Cafe offers several different sandwich and smoothie options, many of which are plant-based.
• La Cantina Tacos: Another favourite go-to while in Whistler. La Cantina offers plant-based taco options, fresh chips and guac, and delicious margaritas!

I hope this blog helps you in planning your future Joffre Lakes hike, as well as provides some ideas on what to do when you visit Whistler!

Always grateful,

Michelle

I cannot believe it has been 6 weeks since my last blog post – time flies! While I work on documenting the details of our trip to Europe from May and June, I thought I would quickly update you on our trip to West Kelowna during the Canada Day long weekend.

A couple weekends ago, Justin and I (and the dogs) had the opportunity to visit our old neighbour’s who moved to West Kelowna last year. Fortunately for us, our neighbour’s home has a beautiful guest suite that we were able to stay in during our visit, that is in very close proximity to Rose Valley Regional Park.

While Justin and I are typically always “on the go” when we are away, this weekend getaway was the perfect combination of exploration and relaxation. We very much enjoyed visiting with our neighbours and also getting the chance to explore West Kelowna!

Outdoor Activities:

We started our first morning in West Kelowna by doing the Rooster Tree Lake Loop hike. This is a beautiful trail in Rose Valley Regional Park, providing views of both Rose Valley Lake on one side, and then Kelowna and Okanagan Lake on the other. Because this is a loop trail, you can choose your starting direction. We went counter clockwise, as some reviews we read indicated it would be a “better workout” this way, as it involves more uphill climbs. While this was true, and we had some hills to overcome, I believe this was ultimately the safer option as I often find it difficult to go down hill, especially if there is loose gravel and I do not have my hiking poles. We very much enjoyed this hike, which took us approximately 1.5-hours; however, we took our time taking pictures and taking in the views. Our one dog, Bruno, especially enjoyed himself, as he accidentally ended up doing a belly flop into Rose Valley Lake while chasing a bird!

The other hike we did in the area was the Boucherie Rush Trail. This trail is a series of switchbacks up Mount Boucherie, which provides stunning views of West Kelowna, Okanagan Lake and the wineries in the area (more on this below) once you reach the top. We started this trail at 9am, and it is a good thing we did, as there is no shade on this trail – it is definitely not a hike you want to be doing in the heat of the day. Overall, we enjoyed this hike and would recommend it to others. A fun fact for you – Mount Boucherie is actually a dormant volcano!

While not a hike, we also decided to check out Gellatly Dog Beach, as we thought it would be fun to give the dogs a chance to cool off. It was a successful visit as Bruno did some swimming, Bella dipped her paws in the lake, and both dogs enjoyed chasing each other in the sand!

Finally, our neighbours offered to take us on a boat ride on Okanagan Lake during our final morning in West Kelowna. While I screamed a little bit when the boat went fast, I thoroughly enjoyed being out on the lake ツ.

Wineries:

For those who may not be familiar with the area, British Columbia’s Okanagan region is very well known for its wine. According to WineBC, there are over 200 licensed wineries in the area.

Fortunately for us, West Kelowna is home to several of these wineries and we chose to visit two: Frind Estate Beach Winery and Quail’s Gate Estate Winery. Our decision making process ultimately came down to both of these wineries being dog friendly (thank you!) ツ. I should also note that we booked reservations in advance, as we anticipated it would be busy during the long weekend!

Our first tasting was at Frind Estate Beach Winery. Since we had our dogs with us, we did our tasting outside while enjoying views of Okanagan Lake. Apparently this winery is the only beach front winery in all of North America (apparently I am full of the fun facts in this blog post)!

Our tasting consisted of four wines: a Chardonnay, Viognier, Rose and Merlot. While we enjoyed all the wines, we ended up purchasing a bottle of the Viognier to bring home, and we appreciated that the cost of the wine tasting could be used as a credit towards our purchase – apparently this is no longer standard practice at all wineries!

Following the tasting, we were able to order a single glass of wine (amongst other drink options) to enjoy at the property’s picnic tables from Annie’s Beach Cafe. The Cafe offers other drink options such as sangrias and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as food. We had intended on trying one of the pizza options (with plant-based cheese), but we were short on time as we had to make it to our next reservation at Quail’s Gate.

Quail’s Gate is one of the more popular and better well known wineries in West Kelowna. We opted for the Estate/Collector Tasting and, again, we were able to enjoy the tasting outside with the dogs. Bella and Bruno reached celebrity status while we were at Quail’s Gate – an employee asked to take a photo of them, and a guest asked for photos with them!

While not a beach front property, Quail’s Gate does have vineyards on its property, as well as views of the Lake. However, what made the wine tasting a particularly mind blowing experience was the unprecedented wind storm we experienced – see what I did there? We had to put menus on the bases of our wine glasses to keep them in place, and I gave up on my hat after it blew off my head for the third time ツ.

Food Establishments:

And finally, here is a list of food and drink establishments we checked out in West Kelowna and Kelowna. Again, our decisions on where to eat during this trip really came down to whether the establishments had dog friendly patios!

• Naked Cafe: This was our second time at Naked Cafe, an all plant-based food establishment, which is actually in Kelowna (not West Kelowna). Our first visit was last year when we drove through Kelowna during our BC Road Trip in May 2022. I ordered the Sweet Chili Seitan Bowl, while Justin tried the Pad Thai. We then treated ourselves to a slice of carrot cake for dessert – everything was delicious!
• Lakesider Brewing: This brewery had several great plant-based options that we were excited to try – the Warm Pretzel, Loaded (Tater) Tots and Margherita Pizza. We managed to order everything during the happy hour, which was an added bonus. In terms of drinks, Justin had a flight (with our favourite being the Blueberry Vanilla Nitro Sour) and I tried the Endless Summer Patio Heff, and was able to add peach slushy to it – so refreshing!
• Central Kitchen + Bar: Like Naked Cafe, Central Kitchen + Bar is located in downtown Kelowna. Justin and I shared (if you know us, you will know this is a rare occurrence) The Herbivore burger and Central’s Pad Thai. While we enjoyed our dinner and the service was great, we went to Central Kitchen + Bar the same day we visited the wineries – the wind definitely made it difficult to enjoy our meal, and my menu even went flying 50 feet in the air at one point!
• Parlour Ice Cream: We were very excited that Parlour Ice Cream offered plant-based ice cream options. They had two flavours available during our visit – Sea Salt Caramel and Mud Pie, and while both were good, the Mud Pie was a clear winner for us.

Well – I think that covers everything we got up to in West Kelowna a couple weekends ago! We are off to Pemberton and Whistler tomorrow – I will be sure to provide an update on this visit very soon ツ.

Always grateful,

Michelle

The last part of our road trip through Utah consisted of visiting Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park and Monument Valley (which is actually in Arizona). I will start with Arches!

Arches National Park

In my last post, I mentioned that our next Airbnb, after leaving Bryce Canyon, was in Monticello. Monticello is a small town about an hour outside of Moab (Arches is right in Moab), and we decided to stay here because it was the most cost effective. We discovered once we arrived in the area that the reason accommodation was so expensive in Moab during our visit was due to the annual week-long Moab Jeep Festival that was taking place – there were definitely a lot of Jeeps around!

While staying in Monticello provided some cost savings, the additional driving time definitely made for some long days. But that is enough about our accommodation.

One feature that is different about Arches compared to the other parks is a timed entry ticket. At 6pm the day before you intend to visit Arches, you are required to reserve your entry time into the park. I believe that Arches also releases tickets at the start of the calendar year, but we had not planned our trip that far in advance and had to get our timed entry ticket the night before.

Anyway, as Iwona was selecting our preferred start time (which was 10am to 11am), she learned that she had to be signed into her account in order to reserve a time. However, Iwona did not have an account and had to create one on the spot, and by the time she finished, the 10am to 11am entry was gone – the Arches visitors mean business! So, if you are reading this and heading to Arches in the future, make sure to have your account created and ready to go (you are welcome)!

Fortunately, we managed to reserve the 9am to 10am entry time, and arrived at Arches the next day with little time to spare – 9:55am to be exact.

Our first stop within the park was to see the Delicate Arch. This was an incredibly busy trail, as the Delicate Arch is stated to be the most famous natural arch worldwide – it is even on the Utah license plate! The trail is approximately 5km long, and includes a couple other viewing points. You will initially pass the Wolfe Ranch, an old wooden cabin from the late 1800s, and also petroglyphs of what appear to be horses and/or big-horned sheep.

While the hike towards the Delicate Arch was not the most scenic (relatively speaking, compared to other hikes during our trip), the Arch itself was magnificent. Most of the other arches we saw within the park are supported by rock formations on either side of it, but the Delicate Arch is “free standing” (sophisticated geological description ツ). It is not surprising that this is the top-rated view in the Park!

The second hike we did within Arches National Park was the Devil’s Garden Trail. There are multiple different ways you can complete this trail (“choose your own adventure,” they call it), and the arches you will be able to see will depend on the route you take. We decided to go out-and-back to the Double O Arch, which allowed us to also see the Landscape Arch on our way.

The walk to Landscape Arch only took about 15 minutes, but it took at least another 40-minutes to reach the Double O Arch. Once you pass the Landscape Arch, you have to climb up a rock scramble in order to continue along the trail, and there is also one stretch where the pathway is just a long narrow rock. These elements made for an exciting hike – it was a lot different from the others on our trip. But, the trail itself has absolutely no shade – you definitely do not want to be out here in the middle of a hot day.

I know it might not sound like a lot, but between these two trails (Delicate Arch and Devil’s Garden), we had walked almost 12kms, and we were ready for a break! We finished our visit in Arches by driving by another one of its iconic landmarks, Balanced Rock (unfortunately, I did not get any good photos), then went to 98 Center Moab (a plant-based Vietnamese restaurant) for a very late lunch – the banh mi sandwiches we ordered were delicious.

While I am on the topic of food, my favourite food establishment for the entire trip was Proper Brewing in Moab. I ordered the Da Vinci Vegan Burger (it was incredibly messy but very flavourful) and Watermelon-Strawberry Kolsch beer. But, the real star at Proper Brewing was their oat-based soft serve ice cream and shakes – I would go back to Moab just for another one of these! We tried vanilla and Oreo, and the goal was to make it last as long as possible because it was so creamy and delicious!

I also need to give a shoutout to Singha Thai Cuisine – I really liked their Tofu Pad Thai dish, and the service was quick, which was really helpful when we were in a rush.

Lastly, the town of Moab itself is very cute – there are several small shops you can visit, many of which sell locally made art, jewelry, stickers, fudge and other items. They are definitely worth a visit, even just to browse.

Well – I think that covers everything I wanted to say about Arches and Moab – moving onto Canyonlands now!

Canyonlands National Park

I will start by stating that Canyonlands Park is huge – it is the biggest of the five national parks in Utah. There are two entrances to Canyonlands (North and South), and the park itself is split into four sections: Island in the Sky, The Needles, The Maze and The Rivers. We split-up our visit over two days, starting with a drive through Island in the Sky (from the North entrance) on the first day.

It takes about one hour to drive into the Park, after turning off the main highway in Moab. It was getting quite late in the day at this point, as we had spent the majority of our day at Arches, and we were looking for a spot to watch the sunset. We started by heading to the Grand View Point Overlook, which provided spectacular views into the canyons we were surrounded by – apparently the Colorado River runs through Canyonlands, but cannot be seen from the Viewpoint. As per the information board: “The river is cut so deeply into the landscape that it is not visible from here.”

After taking in the views, we made our way over to the Mesa Arch. The Arch is located a very short walk from the parking lot, and overlooks another canyon (I guess this is why they call it Canyonlands ツ). While this probably would have been a better spot for a sun rise, we were still happy to experience the golden light setting on the canyon.

For our second visit to Canyonlands, we entered through the South to head towards The Needles. Similar to the North entrance, it takes about an hour to reach the Visitor Centre. We started our visit with a quick stop at Newspaper Rock to see the petroglyphs. It was interesting to learn that archaeologists do not actually know what the petroglyphs mean – they could be telling a story, or possibly even graffiti. What do you think they mean?

We then proceeded to do a hike for sunset at Slickrock. As the name suggests, this trail consisted of walking along a smooth rock surface for almost 5kms. In order to complete the trail, you need to follow all the inukshuks – otherwise, it is very easy to get lost!

Views of the surrounding canyons and landscapes can be observed from four main viewpoints along the trail, and as we hoped, we were able to experience a beautiful sunset with golden light reflecting off the rock formations. While I was a little bit worried about what kind of wildlife we might run into (it was a very quiet trail), it ended up being my favourite hike during our trip!

Monument Valley, Arizona

While a visit to Monument Valley was not in our original itinerary, we saw several “signs” prior and during our trip that indicated we had to make time to visit this iconic Park. The first sign was a picture of Monument Valley on a Microsoft screensaver that came up on my work computer prior to our trip, and the other was a picture of the Park on a motorhome that we encountered while we were in Capitol Reef. These were clearly signs, right?

Anyway, while staying in Monticello proved to be somewhat inconvenient for visiting Arches and Canyonlands, it actually provided us with easier access to Monument Valley, as it was only 1.5-hours away, whereas if we stayed in Moab, we would have been 2.5-hours away.

As you approach Monument Valley, you drive down a stretch of highway (163) that is apparently a famous scene from the movie Forrest Gump. I am embarrassed to say that I have not seen this classic; however, I know there is a point in the movie where Forrest (Tom Hanks) has been running for over three years and decides he is tired and ready to go home, and the landscape behind Forrest at this point is Monument Valley.

Monument Valley itself is experienced by driving in a loop that is surrounded by several rock formations that are all in different stages of erosion. The entire drive takes about 1.5-hours and I would definitely recommend doing it in your own vehicle with the windows rolled-up if that is an option, rather than as part of a jeep tour, as the road is incredibly dusty! But either way, it is a specular drive and it is hard for me to fully understand how these massive sculptures exist amongst the rest of the desert landscape!

Trip Recap

Well, I think that covers everything about our trip through Utah in April 2023. I thought I would finish off this three-part blog series with a recap of a couple of our favourite experiences from the trip ツ:

Topic	Craig	Iwona	Justin	Michelle
Favourite hike	Scout’s Lookout (Zion)	Scout’s Lookout (Zion)	Devil’s Garden (Arches)	Devil’s Garden (Arches)
Best views	Delicate Arch (Arches)	Emerald Pools (Zion)	Emerald Pools (Zion)	Slick Rock (Canyonlands)
Favourite overall moment	Top of Scout’s Lookout (Zion)	Walking through the hoodoos (Bryce Canyon)	Vegas Knights hockey game	Walking through the hoodoos (Bryce Canyon)
Best road trip snack	Haribo watermelon gummies	Trader Joe’s oat-based ice cream sandwiches	Haribo gummy bears	Trader Joe’s corn chips (I was devastated when I accidentally spilled the entire bag onto the car floor)
Best road trip song	Iris – Goo Goo Dolls	Country Roads – John Denver	Nothing Else Matters – Metallica	Go Your Own Way – Fleetwood Mac

Always grateful,

Michelle

In my last post, I thought I was going to be able to cover Las Vegas, and two National Parks (Zion and Bryce Canyon), but I overpromised. This time, I will just see where my writing takes me, starting with my take on Bryce Canyon ツ.

Bryce Canyon National Park

The drive from Zion to Bryce Canyon is about 2.5-hours long, and we actually managed to stay on track with this timeline, unlike our drive from Las Vegas to Zion. The trick was not to make too many stops between the two destinations (super obvious, I know) – we managed to restrain ourselves and only made one stop at Red Canyon.

Our stop at Red Canyon was very short – it was mostly an opportunity for us to get acquainted with the “hoodoos,” which we would see in abundance once we arrived in Bryce Canyon.

We arrived at our accommodation, which was actually in a small town called Tropic, by late afternoon. Because we were only in the area for one night, we were not particularly picky about where we stayed. However, we were very pleased with our accommodation at Bryce Country Cabins – these log cabins made for an authentic small-town experience, and they were very spacious and clean.

After getting settled, we made our way into the Park to have dinner at Bryce Canyon Lodge before heading to Sunset Point for – you guessed it – the sunset that evening.

Our first evening at Bryce Canyon was incredibly cold, it was around -10°C, and there was also a wind chill. I took a couple pictures of the sun setting on the hoodoos and then quickly made my way back to the vehicle to warm up my hands – my fingers felt like icicles! What made the situation worse was that the next day was going to be even colder – the Weather Network indicated it would be -25°C. For someone who does not tolerate cold very well, I was definitely a bit worried about staying warm during our hike the next morning, so our group started searching for somewhere to buy hand warmers, scarves etc. While the general store in the Park did not have scarves and was sold out of hand warmers (apparently we were not the only ones with this idea), we struck “gold” at a gas station in Tropic near our accommodation. I should have gone back to Bryce Canyon and sold my hand warmers for twice the price!

The next morning, we packed our stuff and I bundled-up in as many layers as I could in preparation for what was expected to be a very cold hike. This actually made packing easier, as I appeared to be wearing most of the clothes I brought! I attempted to wear three pairs of pants… but I could barely move… and opted for two pairs instead.

Our initial plan was to do the Navajo Loop and Queens Garden Trail; however, the Navajo Loop portion was closed during out visit, as the trail had been damaged from the snow and ice. But, we were still able to walk down into the hoodoos via the Queens Garden Trail.

The start of Queens Garden was quite icy, but fortunately, we came prepared with crampons and hiking poles, which made the experience much more pleasant. Our entire group was in awe as we descended into the canyon, surrounded by spire rock formations. I found myself pulling out my camera every few minutes to take photos, and had to be reminded several times that we did not have all day!

Also – it was a lot warmer than we anticipated. While I had activated my hand warmers on the drive into the Park, I did not actually need them. The sun was shining, and there was no wind chill, which made for a perfect hiking experience. Overall, we left Bryce Canyon feeling very grateful for an incredible outdoor experience.

Capitol Reef National Park

We left Bryce Canyon around lunch time to start driving towards our next Airbnb in Monticello, which was about five hours away. On the way to Monticello, we would be passing through Capitol Reef National Park, and wanted to ensure we completed the top-rated trail in the park: Hickman Bridge.

While Justin and I were on our Yukon trip, I made a comment about wanting to get a mountain photo from the middle of the highway while we were driving from Skagway to Whitehorse. However, the road was not straight, and we did not feel that there were any safe opportunities to capture this moment.

But, we were able to make this vision come to life while approaching Capitol Reef National Park. As we were driving down the (straight) highway, we could see the rock formations in the distance, and there was even a pull-off on the side of the road. Justin, Iwona and myself all got out to take photos, while Craig kept an eye out for cars. Iwona and I even attempted to get some photos of us jumping on the road, which was quite the adrenaline rush – this took several attempts, and we had to run off the road a couple of times as vehicles started to approach!

The Hickman Bridge Trail is quite short (a little over 2.5km) and was very busy when we arrived. We very much enjoyed our walk towards the bridge, as we encountered beautiful landscape scenery along the way and were also able to admire a primary Capitol Reef landmark – Pectols Pyramid.

I came up with a theory on our walk that the Park must be named “Capitol Reef” as many of the rock formations had holes that made it look like coral reef… but a quick Google search has proven my assumption to be incorrect. According to the USA National Park Service, the name was chosen as the rock formations in the Park look similar to the Capitol building in Washington, DC. I was close… ツ.

While we barely scratched the surface of what this beautiful park has to offer, I am thankful we were at least able to sneak a preview during our trip, and look forward to doing more exploring here in the future!

Always grateful,

Michelle

Justin and I just got back from a week long road trip through Utah with our friends Iwona and Craig – no better time to write this blog than now, while everything is still fresh in my head ツ.

We started our trip with two nights in Las Vegas (I had never been before), followed by visits to each of the five National Parks in Utah: Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands. In this blog, I will focus on the first two parks, and then cover the other three in Part 2.

Las Vegas

I think we can all agree that my first time in Las Vegas was well overdue – many people go for their 21st birthday, but that was a “few” years ago for me ツ. While we were flying over Las Vegas, Justin pointed out the Strip from the plane, and it appeared small and underwhelming, but I guess everything looks small when you are that high up – the Strip is actually huge!

After making a quick stop at Trader Joe’s and checking into our Airbnb, we got changed and were ready to hit the Strip. The first hotel we checked out was Caesar’s Palace, and I could not believe how big this single hotel was – within the first 30 seconds, I knew that I had made the wrong shoe choice for the evening (but thankfully, I brought backup sneakers). Over the next two days, we also walked through the Bellagio, the Venetian, New York-New York, Excalibur and the Luxor.

In terms of activities, our crew kept it pretty light on gambling – a bit of Blackjack and Buffalo Gold slots. Justin and I had no luck on slots, but fortunately, Craig had better luck at the Black Jack table.

While we did not see any shows, we did check out a Vegas Golden Knights hockey game which was a lot of fun – awesome pre-game introduction, high-energy atmosphere, and a Knights win to top it off!

After the hockey game, we made our way over to New York-New York to ride the Big Apple Coaster – I usually love roller coasters, but this one was not my cup of tea! It took absolutely forever to climb the first hill – building a bit too much suspense – and after that, we were upside for what felt like half the ride… my apologies to anyone who suffered hearing damage due to my constant screaming. Everyone else had fun, but it was a bit too wild for me ツ.

Overall, I had a great first experience in Las Vegas. When they say “Vegas doesn’t sleep” – I get it now, because even I got barely any sleep!

Getting to Zion National Park

The drive from Las Vegas to our accommodation in Hurricane (which is about 30-minutes outside of Zion) was supposed to be two hours, but we somehow managed to stretch this into 12-hours, as we made a couple of stops along the way.

Our first stop was the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. As the name suggests, this landscape was filled with red rock formations, and it was incredibly warm! We stopped at the Beehive Rock Formations and Elephant Rock, and also saw some petroglyphs.

After leaving Valley of Fire, we got back on the freeway, only to encounter a one-and-a-half hour delay due to a vehicle collision that resulted in two vehicles catching on fire. We hope everyone in the incident is doing okay and recovering well.

We continued on our way, crossing the state line into Utah, and wanted to make a quick stop in St. George to see the Temple before continuing to Hurricane. However, our quick stop turned into several hours as we ended up watching the most incredible sunset, had dinner and craft beer at Hive 435 Tap House (the Utog Son of a Peach was really good) and stopped for dessert at Pinkbox doughnuts. We made it to Hurricane, eventually ツ.

Zion National Park

Prior to our trip, each of us took on the task of researching one park to ensure we were using our limited time wisely and fitting in top recommend hikes and sights. I was responsible for learning about Zion, and there were three hikes that I had listed on my “must-see” list: The Zion Narrows Riverside Walk, Scout’s Lookout and Emerald Pools Trail.

However, the most popular hike in Zion is called Angel’s Landing. This is considered to be a very difficult trail, as there is a narrow stretch that requires you to pull yourself up using chains. Access to this trail is through a lottery permit system, and unfortunately for us, Angel’s Landing was closed for maintenance during the days we were at the Park.

Before I get into the details of the actual hikes, I want to discuss the “setup” and logistics of Zion. There is one main road that runs between the canyon walls – it is 24kms long and includes nine stops. Between March and November (peak visitor season), shuttle buses starting at the Visitor Centre will take you to each of the stops, as vehicles are not allowed to drive through the Park. I believe during the off season, visitors will rent bikes to get around. Fortunately, the shuttles come by every few minutes, so you are never waiting very long for a ride, and many of the drivers will narrate interesting facts about the Park as they drive ツ.

One other quick tip for anyone who is reading this post – unless you get to the Park very early, you are likely going to be waiting in a slow, long lineup to get to the parking at the Visitor’s Centre. The parking here is free, but depending on what time you arrive, you could be waiting a while. There are other lots you can park in leading up to the Visitor’s centre, as well as street parking, but it will cost around $20-30 USD.

Moving onto the hikes! The Zion Narrows Riverside Walk was the first trail we completed. This is an easy, paved trail that takes you to the start of the Narrows, which is another famous part of Zion. The Narrows is a slot canyon that you can hike through, but it requires walking through the Virgin River. Unfortunately (again), the river was too high during our visit and the hike through the Narrows was closed, but at least we were able to see the beginning of the narrowest part of the Park.

Following the Riverside Walk, we quickly stopped for lunch at the Zion Lodge before heading to our next hike – Scout’s Lookout. In order to get to this viewpoint, you actually walk along the West Rim Trail, which is also mostly paved (similar to Riverside Walk); however, it is a series of uphill switchbacks to get to the top. Our first day in Zion was particularly windy, and when the wind blew, so did the sand. There were a handful of times where we had to stop walking, cover our faces to prevent sand from getting into our eyes and mouths, before we could keep going.

When we made it to the end of Scout’s Lookout, we were pleasantly surprised to see a family of deer grazing amongst the shrub! It is at this point, as well, where the West Rim Trail splits – you can either hike to Angel’s Landing (you can actually see the top of Angel’s Landing from Scout’s Lookout), or you can continue walking along the West Rim Trail. Since Angel’s Landing was closed, we decided to keep going along the West Rim Trail, and it was completely worth it – the views from here were extraordinary. If you ever find yourself at Zion National Park hiking towards Scout’s Lookout, make sure to keep going!

On our way down, the weather started to take a turn, and by the time we reached the bottom it started snowing – our timing could not have been better. At this point, we decided to head back to Hurricane to rest up and get the sand out of our hair!

We checked out of our Airbnb the next day, but wanted to fit in one more hike (Emerald Pools) in Zion before heading to Bryce Canyon. We were surprised to see that a decent amount of snow had covered the Park, but also felt very fortunate to have the opportunity to experience Zion as a winter wonderland.

The Emerald Pools Trail is a series of beautiful waterfalls, and is split into three sections – the lower, middle and upper pools. We stopped to visit each of the waterfalls, but then instead of going back the same way we came, we opted to take the Kayenta Trail to the next shuttle stop to give us the opportunity to see some different views of the park. While the views were worth it, the snow from the previous night turned this trail into a mud pit! Our way back required some careful steps as I was not super keen on getting my new hiking shoes dirty!

I am realizing now that this blog post has gotten quite long – I guess I had more to say about Las Vegas and Zion than I thought! In that case, I will leave my write up about Bryce Canyon for the next post ツ.

Always grateful,

Michelle

Before I start writing about our experiences in Tofino and Uclulet, I am excited to let you know that I am writing this blog post from my brand new MacBook Pro – it is my birthday and Christmas present to myself for the next couple of years ツ.

We decided to go for a quick visit with our dogs to Tofino and Ucluelet in early March. BC Ferries Vacations was running a promotion prior to the holidays where you received a third night free, after paying for two. This seemed like the perfect amount of time to check out the beaches and trails on the north end of Vancouver Island.

Tofino

If you have never been to Tofino, it is definitely a place to put on your bucket list. Beautiful beaches and trails, and many other activities that you can participate in depending on the time of year such as wildlife tours (whale and bear watching), camping, water sports and more.

While I feel that Justin and I barely scratched the surface of the various things to do in Tofino, we definitely packed a lot into our short stay.

Here are the beaches we checked out:

Long Beach: As the name suggests, this beach is very long and actually the biggest beach in Tofino. If you are looking to do a beach walk while in the area, this is definitely a top recommendation. You will also find Incinerator Rock at Long Beach which is a historic land mark from World War II. Depending on the tide, you might have the opportunity to climb onto the Rock.

Chesterman Beach: We ended up at Chesterman Beach a few times during our trip, with our first visit being a quick stop while on our way into town. Our timing could not have been better, as we arrived shortly after 5pm, which was just in time for a stunning sunset. As we were watching the sun go down, it started to hail – our dogs were definitely confused by the small white rocks falling from the sky! The second time we went to Chesterman was on our way back to the ferry. The beautiful weather brought out many surfers, which we were able to watch while doing a quick beach walk.

Tonquin, Middle & Mackenzie Beaches: We were able to visit all three of these beaches by walking along the Tonquin Trail. This Trail is easily accessible by foot from the main area of town – it took us about 20 minutes to walk to Tonquin Beach from Rhino Coffee House (more on this below). These beaches are definitely much smaller than both Long and Chesterman, but they are definitely worth a visit and provide beautiful views of the area.

Other than checking out the beaches, we also completed part of the Rainforest Figure Eight Trail. This trail consists of two loops – A and B – but unfortunately, loop B was closed during our visit. This was likely due to all the snow that had fallen in Tofino the weekend prior to our trip.

Loop A is a full board walk that goes through the forest, and the snow made for a very slippery experience, especially while trying to walk two very excited dogs! One of the signs we encountered (if you have read my other blog posts, you will know that Justin is usually the only one who reads the signs) actually indicated that snow in Tofino is incredibly rare, so we definitely got to experience the Rainforest in a less typical way compared to other visitors.

In terms of food and drink establishments, this is where we went:

• Tacofino: While you can get Tacofino in Vancouver, it originated in Tofino, so we made a point of eating at the “OG” food truck location. Both times we came here we ordered the vegan burrito, but added yams. The burrito is a huge portion size (as big as my head), but absolutely delicious!
• Rhino Coffee House: While I do not drink coffee, Justin ordered a couple of oat milk lattes from here, and said they were really good. Fortunately for us, they also had a vegan jelly donut covered in cinnamon and sugar – it is safe to say that I ate a couple of these while in Tofino.
• Tofino Brewing Company: We love our craft beer, and Tofino Brewing did not disappoint. I am definitely a fan of a good dark beer, and the Kelp Stout was excellent!
• Shed: For our final night in Tofino, we went to Shed for dinner, which is located in the main part of town. I ordered the Pachamama bowl (without cheese) and Justin got the Attenburger – we really enjoyed our meals and would definitely come here again!
• Chocolate Tofino: We dropped into Chocolate Tofino while waiting for our burritos (Chocolate Tofino is located in the same parking complex as Tacofino) and were surprised to see that they offer ice cream, including a couple dairy free options. We shared one scoop of the vegan salted caramel (since we did not want to spoil our lunch), and it was incredibly creamy and delicious.

The final activity that we had intended to take part in while in Tofino was whale watching; however, we did not end up going. Our initial sailing was cancelled due to heavy winds, and for our second (rescheduled) sailing, we were told that we would not be able to go into the open ocean and would need to stay in the inner channels. With this condition in place, we opted to cancel our booking as we did not want to be disappointed if we did not see any whales. Hopefully we will have better luck with this activity in the future ツ.

Ucluelet

While we spent most of our time in Tofino, we managed to fit in a couple quick trail walks in Ucluelet. For those who are not familiar with the area, as you are driving down the Pacific Rim Highway 4, you will reach a fork in the road – if you go left, you will go towards Ucluelet; if you go right, you will end up Tofino. The two small towns are about 30-minutes apart, so it is very common to checkout both areas during a single visit ツ.

The first walk we did in Ucluelet was the Lighthouse Loop, which is part of the Wild Pacific Trail. This hike provides stunning views along the coast, as well as of the Amphitrite Lighthouse.

Our second walk was along the Ancient Cedars Loop. In order to access this trail, you need to park along Peninsula Road. However, the first time we tried to access the trail, the road parking was completely blocked by snow. Luckily, when we went back (the day we were leaving), the snow had melted, giving us an opportunity to walk amongst the massive Cedar Trees.

Well, I think that covers everything. Until next time, Tofino and Ucluelet!

Always grateful,

Michelle

I recently went to EC Manning Provincial Park (twice, actually), and thought it would be good to write about my experiences while everything is still fresh in my head!

Visit #1

Back in January, a couple of my friends had asked if I would be interested in going to Manning Park with them to try out cross-country skiing. While the idea made me nervous, as I do not have a lot of experience in winter sports (except for ice skating), I thought it would be fun to try something new!

For those who are not familiar with the area, it takes about 2-hours to get to Manning Park Resort from the lower mainland. Once you reach the Crowsnest Highway, you will drive through a beautiful winter wonderland for about 30-minutes before arriving at the Resort – visualize snow on the trees and picturesque mountains.

Once we reached Manning Park Resort, we got changed, paid for our park passes, and rented boots, skis and poles – we thought we were all set! But, we quickly realized we did not even know how to put the skis on… so back in the rental hut we went to get a few tips before actually getting started (note that we had opted to try figuring things out on our own, rather than paying for lessons).

Our plan was to try skiing on the trail around Lightning Lakes, and also to check out Beaver Pond. Both of these trails are considered “green,” aka easy trails for beginners. First up was Lighting Lakes!

As we started down the trail, I definitely felt out of my element. It took me some time to get into a grove and develop a “feel” for the skis. The hardest part was figuring out how to stop – for those who have never tried cross country skiing, my understanding is that the skis are quite a bit lighter than alpine down-hill skis, making it difficult to “pizza” stop. The other challenge was getting up small hills – again, because the skis are light, you have to apply a lot of pressure, otherwise you will slide backwards! Needless to say, there were a handful of instances where I simply took the skis off, as I did not feel comfortable going up or down the hills.

We made it a little over one kilometer on the Lighting Lakes trail before hitting a large hill, which we took as our sign to turn around – we decided to try our luck on the Beaver Pond trail instead. However, we only made it part way through this trail, as well, before it was time to return our gear and head home.

Overall, I really enjoyed my first experience cross country skiing – Manning Park is incredibly beautiful and peaceful! Since we did not complete either of the trails we started, we definitely felt there was unfinished business at the Resort and started planning our return.

Visit #2

Our second visit to Manning Park Resort was just this past weekend. Our small skiing crew expanded by two people this time – Justin and our friend, Craig, were not able to make it previously.

I am happy to report that my second attempt at cross country skiing got off to a much better start than the first. The staff member who was setting us up with our rental gear was impressed I remembered the drill for getting sized up for my skis and poles. I also managed to impress Justin with how quickly I was able to get my skis on and off – apparently I made it look easy!

We decided to start our skiing adventure at Beaver Pond this time, since we did not get to finish this trail during our first visit. After only a couple of minutes, I got the “feel” for the skis, and we were on our way! We encountered one really big hill – even bigger than the one that scared us away on the Lighting Lakes trail last time – and a couple other smaller obstacles. But in the end, we finished the trail and went back to the lodge for a snack.

A few of us decided we still had some energy left after taking a break, and wanted to try tackling part of the Lighting Lakes trail again. This trail has a handful of small hills along the way, and while I was not able to go up them last time, I had a lot more success this time around. However, for one of the hills, I did not apply enough pressure to the skis and slid backwards… crashing into my friend, Iwona (sorry, Iwona!). I was laughing so hard at what had just happened, that when I got up, I fell again! I wish I could say these were the only “accidents,” but there were many more.

After we turned around to head back, there was one decent sized hill that I had not attempted to go up or down during the first visit, but I decided to attempt both directions this time. However, when going down the hill, I lost my balance right near the end and went crashing down! The even more unfortunate part was that Craig was next in line, and he decided to start heading down the hill once he thought I was in the clear, and he was already part way when I fell. As a result, he decided to purposefully crash to ensure he did not run into me (sorry, Craig!). I know you are probably thinking that Justin must have had a perfect day since I have not yet mentioned him falling down, but do not worry, he had a few mishaps, too ツ.

Overall, I felt a lot more comfortable on the skis the second time around, and I felt we covered a lot more ground – we completed one full trail, and part of a second, whereas the first time, we did not complete any trails. However, I get the feeling we will be back at Manning Park again soon, maybe not this season, but we need to complete the full Lighting Lakes trail next time, and I have a couple of hills that I need to conquer!

Always grateful,

Michelle

PS – on our way home from Manning Park, we stopped by Mountainview Brewery in Hope. This place is awesome – 10/10! Great craft beer and so many plant-based food options!