Sunday, September 21, 2008

Who does this??



We made it!



The drive up to Whistler from Kamloops was crazy! It was just like driving the Baja, except there isn't desert to die of thirst in (excuse me...in which to die of thirst...my grammer goes out the window in times of extreme stress) if the plunge off the side of the steep cliffs doesn't kill you.
It's just raging water in the bottom of the chasms! People who go off the road here aren't burned out shells at the bottom of the cliffs like in Baja...here I'm sure they are just never found!










Perhaps I exaggerate a bit, but not much. Highway (and I use that term loosely) 99 is narrow, twisty, steep, and punctuated with one lane, (yield to oncoming traffic) WOODEN bridges with switchbacks (top speed 20 km/hr) and 15% grades!!!




White knuckle praying all the way people. Daniel thinks Prozac would be a good idea. For me of course. He was fine.

If you plan on driving to Whistler and have a tough constitution and no control issues, then perhaps the scenic route is your cup of tea. (I should never trust that word...scenic. It should be spelled t-e-r-r-i-f-y-i-n-g!)
If that doesn't appeal to you, take the Coquihalla. It's fast and furious, but much tamer.

4 comments:

Vanessa said...

Yikes! Looks scary. And I thought you were trying to relax! I assume you'll take the Coquihalla home? I remember taking that home on our honeymoon. Our car started making funny noises on that road and was never the same!

Kim Mailhot said...

So glad you both (and the car !) made it !!! Tell your hubby to forget Prozac and try Xanax (my tranquilizer of choice !)next time (for you, not him !;-))

Seriously, it looks like you are having a magical time together. So great ! And thanks for sharing the views !

Cheers !
(ps : thanks for the sweet stuff on my recent posts ! Your insightful and caring comments mean so much to me.)

Dawn said...

Silly, silly, prairie girl, you! You know that road that you're saying is scary, white-knuckling-scary? When I was a kid, we used to take that road BEFORE they widened it and paved it. Now THAT was scary my friend :)

arlene said...

Well Dawn, I guess you'd LOVE the Baja. It would be no challenge at all for you!
And yes, I am a prairie girl through and through. I love the mountains, but they do make me feel a bit hemmed in. I like a nice sunset, and not having to wait till 8 or 9 to see the sun come up in the morning.

Vanessa,
The road we came in on had a lot of places with VERY steep grades. 15%..I wasn't kidding. Our van was heating up and we had to put the heat on full blast so we wouldn't heat up too much. And couple that with the imminent danger of plunging to our death....I'll take the Coquihalla.

Hi Kim, *waves*
I'm tempted to try the drugs. But it's so relaxing here I've reached a state of near bliss, and I have days and days before I have to think about leaving. I'll be so Zen it won't bother me.