The Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Center

While we were in Whistler we decided to visit the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Center.  We all had a lot of fun.

I already posted pictures of the boys admiring the bear skin and cougar skin that were there.  We did a lot of other things there too!

We started by watching one of the employees perform a traditional song.  Ephram was completely entranced.  Afterward we watched a movie about the Squamish and Lil'wat people.  It was really interesting to learn some of the stories about the land that we were visiting.

One of the boys' favorite parts was the interactive section... where they had traditional outfits that the kids could wear and lots of drums to try.  Both Ephram and Charlie are relatively musical and particularly enjoy making noise.  So we were here for quite awhile.

After looking at some of the exhibits we moved to the outside area, where a totem pole was drying after recently being carved.  Ephram and Charlie were really excited about this as well.

Then, after Charlie and I made cedar bracelets, we took a little nature walk in the wooded area behind the cultural center.

We spent some time exploring the other buildings outside of the cultural center and then headed on the trail back to our condo.

We had such a great time in Whistler, and knew that we would miss it once we were gone.  We will definitely go back... soon!

The Long and Winding Trail

Speaking of our hike to Alta Lake, it was beautiful.
This was our last hike of the trip and it took us a couple of hours.
It was a beautiful day and a great way to spend our last afternoon in Whistler!

A Bear Tale

Whistler is known for many things, among them a large population of black bears.
We saw a couple sitting by the highway as we drove into town.
And saw them in the distance during most of our trips.

The village is also littered with cute bear statues.
The boys had a ton of fun with them.

Then there was the bear skin in the cultural center.
More realistic, yet still very appealing to the boys.

None of this prepared the boys for an actual bear encounter.
Which did happen, on a beautiful hike to Alta Lake.

Alta Lake was a long hike, but it didn't take long for us to see the bear.
It was about 20 feet past the trail head.
And only about 10 feet off the trail.
It was sitting there eating grass and flowers from the ground.
Andy was wearing Ephram in a pack, Charlie was in the middle, and I was in the back.
Andy quietly called back "Bear on the trail."
And before I could register what he'd said, he'd taken off.
Then I saw Charlie.
So curious about the cute bear picking flowers on the side of the trail.
A potential new friend to Charlie.

He started to step towards it and was attempting to make eye contact.
I didn't quite know what to do.
I knew that I didn't want my son to go closer to any bear, no matter how small or cute he was.
I also knew that I couldn't exactly stop and have a conversation about this at that moment.
And, I certainly wanted to be as quiet and calm as possible.
So I gently pulled his hand and led him as calmly as I could away from that bear.

When I felt we'd gone far enough, (and caught up to Andy,) I stopped to explain that bears are powerful animals.
This was good because it was not the last bear we saw that day.
But it was the last one that Charlie tried to make friends with.

Good thing we didn't see a mountain lion.

In The Village

Whistler's Village is such a nice place.  On top of having a ton of great places to eat (Cows, Crepe Montagne and Splitz were our favorites) and great places to shop - it is a fun place to just hang out and relax.  We spent time in the village every day - usually two or three times a day.  One day I decided just to take pictures as the kids ran around.  Charlie's face in the last picture gives a pretty good clue about how much the kids enjoyed the Village.

Oh Gondola

Andy already had a lift pass for the day and he was done with his biking around two.
Kids under a certain age - I think 7 - get to ride the gondola free with an adult that has a lift pass.
I have a pretty bad fear of heights and had no interest in repeating the terrifying ride of years ago.
And Ephram, well, he was asleep.

So Andy and Charlie decided to take advantage of the timing, and took a free ride up to the peak.
Andy took the camera along to document their ride.

In the beginning, it was raining.  And Charlie was excited.

And then they were at the top.  It probably went really fast to them.
When I rode it years ago, it seemed like it took hours to get up to the top!

And at the peak, there was no rain.
But there was a lot of snow.

I admit, it looks pretty.  In pictures.  Maybe someday I will brave this again.

Andy said that Charlie had a great time at the top!

The boys returned just minutes after Ephram woke up and we were ready to enjoy some dinner.
Did I mention that the restaurants in Whistler are amazing?