KO and the Turk: Rings, Trains and Mushrooms

Olympic rings at Whistler Village

The drive to Whistler on the Sea to Sky Highway was beautiful, despite the rain and clouds. We traveled through the mountains that were spilling numerous waterfalls due to the rain that had been continuous for the past month. The road followed the coastline for the first half of the trip. The coast was lush, mountainous and squiggly with inlets and coves overlooking islands and peninsulas. It looked like you could never cruise in a straight line to get from one town to another. The town of Squamish looked particularly interesting and the hub of rock climbers and hikers. But Whistler was still a bit farther down the road.

We found our condo, a small but well appointed one bedroom in Whistler Village. We could walk anywhere for dinner, groceries, bars, shops, or hikes in the woods from our place. Whistler installed a comprehensive network of walkways for the Olympics to help keep road traffic manageable.

Our first excursion was a hike to the train wreck! In 1956, a speeding train loaded with timber derailed near the Cheakamus River in a section of the track that was under repair just south of Whistler. The wrecked train cars that blocked the tracks were dragged into the woods and left to rust because the cost of removing them was prohibitive. Since then, these mangled steel box cars have been painted by local artists, hikers, mountain bikers. The local government just built a wooden suspension bridge to help hikers reach the wreck without climbing the rocks to get across the river - which was raging when we were there due to the rains.

Turk on suspension bridge

Water was FAST and LOUD

brightly painted train cars everywhere

I found a bunch of spray paint cans, so...

When in Rome....

Turk was mostly interested in the mushrooms

Gigantic mushrooms!

We visited the architecturally beautiful Audain Art Museum in Whistler. It houses the private collection of British Colombian First People's masks, and art by BC artists.

There was a visiting exhibit of luscious kimonos of a geisha and recording artist named Ichimaru. She lived through the 20th century and had an international following. And she had amazing kimonos!

We spent one afternoon at the Scandinave Spa. A Scandinavian style spa where you could get heat treatments: hot tub, steam room, wood fired sauna; cold treatments: cold plunge pools with waterfalls; and relaxation spots with amazing mountain views. The treatments locations were spread along several outdoor walkways. Note that it was raining and in the 40's. We were wearing bathing suits and bathrobes, until we got into the outdoor hot or cold tubs. We had no shoes, so walked barefoot. That's when I noticed the sidewalks were heated! there is a no talking policy, so it is very quiet and relaxing. After several rounds of treatments, we had a massage. It was all a wonderful experience - even with the cold rain.