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Days 1-2
after tucking into a decent hot breakfast we headed north out of Vancouver on Highway 99 (Sea to
Sky). Upon leaving suburbia, this very scenic route quickly gave us a good foretaste of what the state of British Columbia had to offer in the way of snow capped
mountains and dense forests as we made our way to our first stopping off point at Shannon Falls.
The 476 km route, which passed through Squamish, Whistler, Lilloet and
Cache Creek on the way to our first overnight stop on the eastern side of Kamloops, took 8½ hours at a leisurely drive. This included a good number of photo opportunity
stops and a one hour lunch break in Whistler.
Much of the route was varied, interesting and provided yet more stunning views after reaching the next bend or peak in the
road. The undemanding driving made this first day a real pleasure as there was little traffic, thereby enabling me to take in the sights whilst keeping one eye on the road!
During the early afternoon around Lilloet, we encountered our first sighting of forest fires covering an extensive area.
After spending an excellent night at a
hotel alongside the South Thompson river, we left Kamloops on Day 2 and headed to Jasper. The 525 km journey, allowing for a short lunch break, took 7½ hours to
complete, although it has to be said that it was not at same leisurely pace as the previous day. This in part was due to a somewhat late start. Also, a lot of the
journey did not have the same degree of scenic value as Day 1, which resulted in less car stops to take photographs.
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