Hell's Gate Airtram
Today we went on the air-trams. Air-trams are like gondolas. The air-tram goes over the Fraser River. There are humongous rocks on each side of the air-tram. Going across the air-tram was cool because you could see the water crash against each other and you were so high off the ground.
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| This is a little photo booth thingy, where you can have a photo |
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| Logan inside the air-tram over the crashing water |
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| The air-tram and the massively long train. |
The Fraser River is very narrow at Hell's Gate and makes going on a boat nearly impossible as the water is also really rough. The early explorers used ingenious ways to get across.
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| Here is Logan joining the climbers trying to get along the rocks |
From Awesome David
As some of you are aware, prior to our holiday departure I was making good progress through the Booker prizewinning novel The Luminaries. This book is set during the NZ gold rush on the West Coast. Today's adventure, took us to the era of the Canadian gold rush on the Fraser River. Hell's Gate is the site of a railway construction mishap during the 1860's, where some over-enthusiastic blasting caused a massive rockfall that inhibited the flow of the river. The consequence being that the water in this small region is too turbulent for the salmon to get further downstream, and altered the ability of smaller river craft to make it up the river.
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| Hell's Gate (with salmon fishways on either side) |
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| Logan on the suspension bridge looking down Fraser's Canyon |
Gold panning was the rage at the time, so we tried our hand at it today - we're not very good, but we did get a few specks.
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| When there's not much gold there, it's harder than you think. |
Also, the train line, which at the time was just being constructed, now runs on both sides of the canyon, and continues to deliver primary resources right across Canada.
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| A very long train winds through the mountains running along Fraser's River |
We had noticed the long trains from the aeroplane, when flying into Vancouver; meandering their way across the countryside. A couple went by during our visit to Hell's Gate and so we tried counting the carriages. We gave up at 100, and it still continued to run past us. Jane decided to time the second (and shorter) train, and it took just over 3 minutes to get past. The other interesting thing is that they only carry one type of carriage, and so, I guess one type of good.
By:Amazing Logan
Our trip to Bridal Veil Falls
Today we went to bridal veil falls, bridal falls is a place where you need to walk for 15 minutes to get to a waterfall then have to climb fallen down trees and debris to get to the top of a awesome waterfall.
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| us at the bottom of bridal falls |
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| the way up to the top was covered with debris |
Trying to take pictures of chipmunks is not that easy
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| There's a chipmunk. Can you find it? This is a photo I took. |
I tried using the camera and I did not get a good photo. We saw chipmunks and squirrels and they like to eat peanuts. Each time Dad took a photo, I always threw a peanut at the chipmunk and then it ran away. Chipmunks are very small, like a mouse.
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| Comparison: This is a photo from Wikipedia. |
From Astonishing Jane
Goodness do cars drive fast. The highway to Hell's gate was the Trans-Canada Highway.
It's a real highway, at least two lanes in each direction, separated by several metres, complete with off-ramps, clear signs, lots of tunnels and a fast speed limit.
As it's the main highway there are HUGE trucks that zoom past. Try merging with one at 110km/h, when it won't let you in. Not easy, mildly hair raising. No one seems to stick to the speed limit. Keeping right unless passing......and getting passed by trucks and cars alike, even when going 10 km over the speed limit.
On the happy side, navigation is heaps better! We can follow maps (now we have some) and know what the signs mean. It is nice to feel successful and in control for a change. So, with all that success, it seems timely to leave. Off to Whistler as soon as we pack up the car.
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| This photo took about 10 attempts to take, but I got there in the end! |
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| Hell's gate tunnel. With solid granite walls, this is the easy way through. |
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| Trucks! Huge Trucks. |
On the happy side, navigation is heaps better! We can follow maps (now we have some) and know what the signs mean. It is nice to feel successful and in control for a change. So, with all that success, it seems timely to leave. Off to Whistler as soon as we pack up the car.
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