On the first day of our drive to Calgary, we stopped in the town of Chilliwack. This British Columbia city has a population just shy of 90,000 residents, but you'd never know it from how vibrant and colorful it is. There are two big and exciting festivals in Chilliwack - the Chilliwack Tulip Festival is in April, and the Chilliwack Sunflower Festival is in August.
We missed both, but I wanted to find something to do in Chilliwack anyway. I found out about the Art Trail, and I was thrilled. I love street art and murals, and Chilliwack has more than 35, most of which are close together in the downtown area. Despite broiling temperatures, we wandered the streets looking for murals in alleyways and on the backs of buildings. (We clocked over 4 miles without really meaning to.) Here are my favorites:
The city's downtown area also had some charming streets under construction with hipster stores and nice outdoor dining. The architecture was pretty unique, and I'll have to add Chilliwack back to my list in five years to see what everything looks like completed!
Bridal Veil Falls Provincial Parks is a short drive east of Chilliwack, and it was a great stop on our drive. The waterfall is 400 feet tall, and the 10-minute hike to it was beautiful. With huge trees and thriving ferns, it's no surprise I loved this damp forest walk. You could hear the falls from a while away, and it didn't disappoint.
There are quite a few gorgeous waterfalls on the drive from Seattle to Calgary, and I still love the way this one tumbles down the rock and truly looks like a bridal veil. I mean, these photos were taken on my phone - they almost look like long exposures! The whole day was great, and I definitely recommend both these stops on a Trans-Canada Highway road trip.
We stayed in a campground at Lac Le Jeune and got to people-watch fishing kayakers. There was a baby chipmunk running around, and some beetle creating really interesting patterns in the birch leaves.
