Sunday. We had about 4 hours of driving (or so we thought) to get to the hotel near Seattle, and I found a cool train museum in Squamish, which was right on our way. We got there right as it opened and had the place mostly to ourselves. It was a cross between Green Bay’s National RR Museum and Heritage Hill. Lots of restored train cars with the history of the men who worked there weaved in with a restored house of the conductor (included a summer kitchen and extensive kitchen garden). There was also an adorable little train to ride around the park and the conductor (who looked like Colonel Sanders from KFC according to Spencer) stopped and explained a few things along the way. A very enjoyable morning!
Then we proceeded southward looking at beautiful views the whole way until we got to the port of entry where we crawled towards the border. We spent an hour in that line! Note to self that next time, don’t take a main highway while crossing the border.
Lots of traffic all the way to Monroe, but we finally made it to the hotel. Ate at a delicious Mexican just past the parking lot and then relaxed in real beds.
A restored business car for railway executives.
Inside the roundhouse building there is the engine I am attempting to photograph as the boys photobombed. Carson woke up with a mysterious mark that doesn’t hurt on his forehead and we don’t know how he got it. Maybe he slept against the support bar in the camper last night? Or maybe since he turns 11 on Tuesday, he is turning into Harry Potter and will be going to Hogwarts? Who knows?
This part wasn’t really open (see the things piled on the seats in the background) but it wasn’t locked so we peeked in. Restored seating with overhead storage. They must use this for events and bring them into the roundhouse for display if they aren’t using the building for weddings.
There were a whole bunch of hydrangea bushes that had huge bright flowers on them. I just love them!
The “Wig Wag” signal. Restored buildings in the background.
They had great signage throughout the place, both explaining what we were looking at and also giving a history of the actual artifact.
The queen stood out on this when she traveled on this train back in the day.
Jeff is in heaven at this museum!
“Colonel Sanders” was the conductor. We each sat on top of the rail and put a foot on each side.
Train selfie while on the cute little train.
There is a little tiny station on the other side of the park that they are restoring as a one room school house. Spencer and Carson immediately started role playing of course. ❤️❤️❤️
On old Singer sewing machine is set up in the living room of the conductor’s house.
(Inserting my former Heritage Hill job knowledge here). Women would heat the irons on the wood stove and switch the handle to a new iron as one cooled off. I’m so glad they made no-iron clothes these days!
Spencer exclaimed. Mom! Those are old time cameras!
This room is set up as a tea room in a train station like building (it also has modern bathrooms so I don’t think it’s original). You can rent it out for luncheons and wedding/baby showers. Great idea!
Communications. The workers had to communicate with the upcoming stations so the train system worked smoothly and so the conductor would know the conditions of the track, especially in winter when avalanches and snow covered tracks were so common.
They have restored this mail car that was used in the first half of the 20th century. I think it’s a little newer than the one in Green Bay if I remember correctly.
Sorting the mail by town. There was another setup just like this on the other side of the train.
Very cool little train museum. I’m so glad I found this gem!
We need a Tim Horton’s in Green Bay! Bacon, egg, and cheese on waffles! Brilliant!
Carson love’s going to Tim Horton’s. And asked if we could stop every time we saw a sign for one (and that is all the time, they are everywhere). So he was excited to get this apron and can’t wait to make donuts with Jeff when we get home.
I look a little crazy here, but this margarita was delicious as was our meal. We ate the chips and salsa and all of our meals like we had never eaten before. Yummy!
This is a scale. It was used to weigh the train cars.
The conductors office located in the caboose.
There was a trunk display of old toys in the bedroom of the restored house. We had a copy of this book and read it to the boys when they were little. Jeff remembers it too from when he was little.
The dispatcher’s terminal. They could turn on the signals along the track.
Funny tourist pic of Carson.
As we continued south, we took a quick detour to find the filming location of Once Upon A Time. This is the library/clock tower from the show. The clock tower was added later through CGI.
Granny’s in the show.
All of our port entries the last couple years have been fairly quick, usually less than 10 minutes. Not here. The line crawled for an hour.
Saturday. We had a leisurely morning (needed after the long drive yesterday) and then went into Whistler to explore the Olympic Village. Whistler was where many of the Olympians lived during the 2010 Winter Olympics and in summer these days, the town caters to the mountain biking crowd, among other outdoor sports like white water rafting. What a hoot! The Village is like a very upscale outdoor mall (lots of high end sportswear brand stores), with lots of delicious looking restaurants, and tons of very fit people. It was very pet friendly so we saw lots of “cute doggies” everywhere and had to watch out for mountain bikers who were on the way to take the gondola up to the top of the mountain. We ate at a Mongolian grill restaurant that was delicious, and then watched the guys at the nearby skateboard park for a bit before heading back to the campsite.
It was like Endor. You could almost spot Ewoks in the trees! (Star Wars reference for anyone who doesn’t know)
The boys and I took a walk around the campground. We had a great site with shade, and the sunny sites had a great view.
A very nice dishes station so it was quick and easy to do the few dishes we used each day at the campsite.
Huge pinecones from these trees.
A welcome Totem pole that was up during the Olympics.
Everyone here was really in shape. I mean really fit and active. To the point that when I saw a hula hoop class and a yoga class going on at the same time in the common area, it almost felt like a Saturday Night Live skit!
A gorgeous hotel with some of the Nordic ski slopes (and mountain bike trails during summer) in the background.
This place is awesome. So much to look at and so many activities to partake in. So fun!
One chair was for up to 4 bikes, and the next was for up to 4 people.
Lots of BMX enthusiasts were waiting in line to try this track.
Mongolian entrees. When we have exploring days like this, we tend to eat a morning meal like eggs, and then one bigger late lunch meal, then just cheese and crackers for a snack back at the campsite later.
Carson even ate some! He had shrimp and corn. The cook in the back was fun to talk to also. He loved the Packers and camping.
You are welcome!
Extreme Carson closeup
Carson went to skateboard camp a few years ago and though he didn’t really take to the sport after that summer, he was definitely entranced watching the cool tricks the skateboarders were attempting.
Back at the campsite for some dinner for the boys (they are always hungry).
Friday. An 11.5 hour driving day with a time change to Pacific Time. No issues at all with the truck or camper, only a few crazy passing vehicles. But it was the scariest, most exhilarating, and breathtaking drive ever. Super twisty especially the last couple hours. We clung to the sides of mountains with sheer drop offs and no road shoulder. The photos can’t show the craziness of it or quite capture the beauty. Jeff was an amazing driver, pulling the camper and keeping us on the road the whole time. Whew! Later we found out that Hwy 99 has a name, the Sun-to-Sky Highway and it’s one of the most scenic highways in Canada. Yes, yes it is.
The view from our campground as we were leaving. If I would have taken a photo out the back window, another snow capped mountain would be in view.
British Columbia, here we come!
Always trains everywhere out here.
Suddenly it wasn’t alpine plants anymore. Suddenly it looked like Southwest USA!
The land went from green to tan.
And the roads got scarier. There hasn’t been much construction but this segment of it made things especially precarious. Jeff’s knuckles were white at this point.
Not many places to get gas and snacks in this rural area so when we do stop, we make sure to check out the store. And these were very yummy!
One lane bridges with no warning and sometimes a blind curve right before it. They need more signage in these parts!
Later in the day, the road began to take on a more coastal feel. Still tons of pine trees But I think more dense.
13% grade? Jeff put the truck in a lower gear to keep us going slow enough so he didn’t have to brake as much. Despite that, we were smelling hot brakes by the end of this stretch, which went on forever cuz we would go down, and then up again and then down again and so on.
Most of the time there weren’t cages to keep falling rocks close to the cliffs, just a watch for rocks sign every few miles. We never saw any rocks fall though.
Runaway truck paths. We didn’t need it, thankfully.
We finally got to Whistler and the driveway included a couple switchbacks with mirrors to see the other side.