Whistler 2015 - Part 2

Back home in 'Merica now. Starting to get that "Spring Break's Almost Over" Feeling but I thought I'd put down a few notes on the second half of the trip up north. 

Tuesday went well; though more by accident than plan. Once we all rolled out of bed and had breakfast- brunch, really, our morning was getting close to being over. We had two more items left to do. There was the Britannia Mine Tour and the snow mobiling. The first we could do whenever and the second was scheduled for late afternoon. The mine tour took a bit of driving south so we had originally planned to stop there on our way home on Wednesday. That would have been the logical, time efficient thing to do but that would have left us with an unscheduled afternoon.

(The horror, the horror...)

So it was off to a tour of what was once the British Empire's largest copper mine. It closed in the early 70s and then has been a museum/guided tour since the 80s. And it was pretty cool. 

Okay, the mine part wasn't nearly long enough. We were underground for all of 40 minutes and didn't descend far enough for my taste. (Like Balrog-level.) 

However, we did get to see a bit of what the mining life was like decades ago. Don't let Hollywood fool you folks; it wasn't all glamor. 

There were the loud, dangerous drilling machines.

And the other machines.

Note: The two things Miner Brian would have brought in overabundance: matches and toilet paper. Actually, I doubt I would have survived the first month of being in charge of the porta-crapper above. Seriously, I prefer the port and starboard urinals to be unoccupied before........

Okay, that may be too much information.

So, after that, we rushed back to Whistler for our snow mobile adventure. Despite the lack of snow at the lower elevation, we had a great time once we got into the high country. 

And once got up to the high point of the ride, we took a break and had some time for hot chocolate and hiijinx. 

Well, after that, it was a "Whatever's Left in The Fridge" dinner and then head home the next (late) morning. 

And yes, we did buy a "map" that showed all of wonderful British Columbia and T was able to navigate our way to the border. Granted, I have never heard Google Maps say anything like, 

"So I was watching a documentary on bridges and it said- Oh, shit was that our exit? Uh...no, I think we're okay. Just keep heading that [vague wave of hand] way."

So score another point to humanity!

Our one last hiccup came, you guessed it, at the border crossing. As we approached The Border, I noticed a sign saying "Nexus Border Crossing." Is this the one we want? It specifically says border crossing and the other two lanes don't. Maybe we should stay in this lane?....

We seem to be moving a lot faster than the other two lanes... 

I don't think we're in the right lane. What do we do? 

Some national security agency is probably watching us right now. 

We've got our own drone. 

Well, with fingers crossed and doors locked I whipped us over, though the plastic barriers (which were the self-righting kind, Thank God) into the mundanes' lane. 

And then spent the next very long 20 minutes A) Looking up what the %#¥€! Nexus is (Shock- not us!) B. Silently apologizing to the long line of people we'd cut in front of and finally C) Trying to look/sound very innocent to the 94 cameras, drones, satellites, and sharp shooters focused upon us at that moment.

Guess it worked. We made it. When asked if there was anything to declare, I nonchalantly held up a half-finish bottle of Coke; not mentioning the two Top Ramens we brought back with us. 

Oh yeah, just call me Ice Man! 

Well, that is our Great Northern Adventure. We all had a good time. Lots of new experiences: Skiing. Snowmobiling. Beaver Tails. Mining. Outwitting the border security forces of two great countries.... Xander hasn't called his grandmother yet so I don't know exactly what he found most memorable but he had fun and made lots of memories. 

If they let me back into Canada, I am thinking the Alaska-Canada Highway next. If they let me return to America, I'll tell you all about it.

As we say in this country: 

Yo! 

The Great Explorer Brian.

Sent from The Good Old US of A.