Update 7-18-10

I had a very interesting day, particularly the first part.  I was at the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort just above Golden, B.C. where I took one of the chairlifts to their Grizzly Bear Refuge. This habitat is where resident orphaned grizzly bear Boo lives and plays. Visitors are given the opportunity to view a grizzly bear interacting much as they do in the wild; foraging, hunting, playing, swimming and exploring. Tours are held multiple times a day throughout the summer.  This opportunity is both educational and interactive, allowing visitors a unique opportunity to view this incredible animal. While I was there I learned the reason why bears are much smaller in this part of the country verses their Alaskan counterpart…it’s mainly due to their high vegetarian diet, while the bears in Alaska eat a lot of salmon.

After the bear exhibit I took the gondola ride to the very top of the Kicking Horse Mountain, the base elevation change is nearly 4000 feet, so it’s quite a steep climb and takes about 20 min. to get to the top.  Once at the top you are taken-aback by the amazing scenery…360 degrees of awe-inspiring vistas.  Just beyond where the gondola lets you off is the Eagle’s Eye restaurant, which is a spectacular setting and would make a great place for a romantic meal or even a wedding, which I’m told they do about 40-50 per year.

After a day playing in the mountains of Kicking Horse I headed down the hill to Golden, where I checked out the area, had a nice lunch in downtown and then found a spot to sit by the Columbia River for a bit to take-in the surrounding beauty.

Later that evening I was enjoying one of the common areas here at the Vagabond Lodge and stuck up a conversation with a lovely German couple who is spending three weeks in Canada. So fun and interesting to get views of the U.S. from an outsiders’ perspective.