Squamish
While I headed to Ottawa for a few days for work, Adam drove to the Paradise Valley Campground in Squamish. It’s located in the coastal rain-forest and is quite a beautiful spot. The trees were all covered in beard moss making everything feel soft, and dream-like.
The facilities at the campground are quite impressive, with a General Store and lovely, spacious, shower and washrooms that smell fantastic because of their cedar paneling and doors.
On the way to the campground we were somewhat surprised to see Sasquatch Crossing signs,
There were also starting to get into the Halloween spirit while we were there:
The town of Squamish is pretty interesting. There are parts that definitely have a laid-back vibe to them, but its proximity to Vancouver (it’s an hour drive away) means that there are also a lot of people with Vancouver salaries that are driving the gentrification of the town. We met up with an old friend of Adam’s who lives there. He took us on a very short walk, The Malamute, which has a lovely view of Howe Sound and the Squamish River.
Looking in the other direction, back towards the Stawamus Chief, we had a great view of the “Grand Wall”.
We stood and stared, and eventually could make out small movements of the various rock climbers that were scaling the sheer granite cliff wall. It was quite amazing to see. Entire books have been written about the different paths you can take to climb up its various rock faces.
We also wandered around the area known as the Grand Wall Boulders at the foot of The Chief. At the foot of every boulder was a cluster of 6-8 people, all of whom had carried their crashpads on their backs through the trees.
We could see people chalking their hands, trying to climb on various parts of the boulders while working against gravity. Others sat and watched, thinking about the path they were going to try and take when it was their next turn.
On the Friday, I was excited to have a couple of friends do the drive from Vancouver to visit us in the campground. They came bearing various treats including fresh arugula from their garden, donuts from Fox and Oak, and an adorable Corgi pizza cutter. We fired up the Ooni to make pizzas, everyone got to pick their own toppings, and Adam masterfully cooked them.
While the washroom/shower facilities at the campground were lovely, they did not have laundry facilities, so one of the days we took our things into The Spot in Squamish. We were amused to see that they had named all their washers and dryers:
We had a lovely time in Squamish, with both of us getting to see old friends. Some of the places we frequented while we were there: Fox and Oak (we went there for coffee, and our guests indulged us with donuts from there); Flipside Burgers (a food truck on the patio of A-FRAME Brewing Co); 1914 Coffee Company (an amazing place to get a coffee, coffee beans, and to have an in depth conversation with the owner about anything related to coffee); and Stongs Market (for groceries).
From Squamish we headed to Salmon Arm for a night, and then onto Canmore.