Nairn Falls

My alcohol-induced slumber was deep but short. Emily and I both rose early in anticipation of the day ahead. The complimentary continental-plus breakfast on the 25th floor of the hotel turned out to be informative as well as delicious and hearty as we talked about local beer and Vancouver real estate with the friendly hostess. The 2010 Winter Olympics are coming to the area and housing prices continue to rise. The hotel desk clerk awarded us with a free night of parking. I totally recommend the Marriott Pinnacle to anyone.

We set off for a nice long warm-up jaunt through Stanley Park again. We walked along the beaches and waterfront and then turned inland through the lush interior of the park. I have come to love Vancouver. The city is warm, welcoming, and very clean. The people-friendly waterfront is wonderful. I would love to live in Vancouver.

On our way out of town, we witnessed a traffic accident as a car turned left in front of two oncoming cars. I immediately dialed 911 to report the accident, because it initially looked like there would be injuries. A fire truck with medics was on the scene within minutes. We gawked for a minute, saw that everyone seemed to be ok, although fazed, and then pushed on.

We drove north out of Vancouver on Highway 99 towards Squamish and Whistler. The scenery was beautiful with the water on the left (and mountains beyond that) and mountains on the right. We stopped for supplies and a picnic in Horseshoe Bay. There was a lot of construction along the single-lane highway, so we traveled slowly. We again for a short hike up to a scenic view of the tumbling Shannon Falls and then pushed on towards Pemberton. We found a wonderful campsite at Nairn Falls, a couple of miles south of Pemberton. By this time, the rain was falling sporadically. We set up camp above a large river flowing through the area. For dinner, we combined Kraft Mac and Cheese with frozen mixed vegetable and tuna.

After dinner and While Emily guarded our camp, I popped back into Pemberton for some marshmallows to toast by the campfire. The fire was warm and bright and helped push back a little bit of the dampness around us. The rain picked up as we slid into our sleeping bags.