The fun continued on our last day in Whistler. In the morning, the group got to go on the longest zipline in North America. It was both an exhilarating and scenic experience, as we got to see beautiful mountains on our descent. After ziplining, the group went on the Peak 2 Peak Gondola which is a very popular Whistler attraction. This gondola links the top of Whistler mountain to the top of Blackcomb mountain and offers beautiful views! It is actually in the Guinness World Records book for being the longest unsupported lift and the highest lift in the world.

The next morning, we departed Whistler and began our short and scenic drive to Vancouver. On our first day there, we went tandem biking in Stanley Park. This was a very fun and challenging experience as most of us had never gone on a tandem bike before. Our trip had a great time biking around the park and were constantly in awe at how beautiful it was. We spent a large portion of the next day at Kitsalano Beach where trip members had free time to either swim, play sports, or explore the restaurants and shops nearby.

From Vancouver, we traveled to the Okanagan Valley. Once we arrived at our beautiful hotel, we spent the day enjoying the pool and beach. That evening, the trip members competed in a lip sync battle and the group performing “Breaking Free” from High School Musical stole the show! All of the groups choreographed excellent dances and did a great job performing. The following day was spent at a beach near our hotel. We went tubing, water skiing, wakeboarding and banana boating. After the beach, we went to 7-Eleven to enjoy free slushies in honour of 7/11 day, July 11th. We were all excited to have cold refreshing slushies after a hot day in the sun.

Onwards to Banff! Our first full day in Banff, was spent visiting Lake Louise. We took tons of photos and selfies in front of the lake before proceeding to hike up to the LakeAgnes Teahouse. Everyone had a blast hiking up the mountain and once we reached the top, many of us got snacks from the teahouse. After our hike, our trip had the pleasure of canoeing on Lake Louise. It was some of the trip members first time canoeing and Lake Louise was certainly a great place to start! We were all amazed by the mountains and at just how blue the water was. The following day, we went to the Athabasca Glacier where we got to see amazing views and drink fresh glacier water! Following the glacier adventure, we went to swim at a hot spring and enjoyed some a bit of relaxation time.

The next day, we traveled to Calgary where we enjoyed an exciting day at the world famous Calgary Stampede! Before the stampede started, we had lots of time to play games, go on rides and eat delicious foods at the stadium park. Once the stampede started, we entered the arena and watched the events. What a cool experience! The following morning, we went to the Calgary Olympic Park to go bobsledding. Everyone found it to be an exhilarating and thrilling experience! We then went to volunteer at the Women in Need Society warehouse where we sorted through donated clothes. The trip members were excited to support a meaningful cause and were happy to help out.

Today we are heading for Glacier and cannot wait for what is to come!

The Westcoast Blogger

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