Periwinkle’s Arrival
Stinky is waiting by the teleportation tunnel for Periwinkle when he sees it begin to vibrate. A moment later, Periwinkle tumbles out with the familiar whoosh. Stinky sets her upright, then gives her a big hug and several whisker kisses, which Periwinkle enthusiastically returns.
“I am so happy to see you Stinky. Your kisses are so sweet, but is there any of that cake or noms left over from Calista Jo’s birthday celebration yesterday?”
Stinky giggles in response to Periwinkle saying his kisses are sweet but replies, “I saved you a big piece of cake. I had to hide it, as all of my fursibs over-indulged. They are sprawled around the catio and house in food comas.”
It is Periwinkle’s turn to giggle when she hears that. She then asks Stinky what he has planned for the day?
“I decided to take one of the suggestions from our followers. Dalton and Benji’s mom, Ingrid, suggested we visit Grouse Mountain in Vancouver, British Columbia.”
“I have never heard of it. What can you tell me about Grouse Mountain?” asks Periwinkle.
“I have checked it out on line: Grouse Mountain’s name comes from the sooty grouse bird, which is native to the area. The mountain has been a recreational site since the early 1900s, with the first lodge built in the 1920s. Over the years, it has evolved into a major tourist attraction, with significant investments made to enhance its facilities and accessibility. It looks as if there are several activities. They have a hiking trail with 2,830 steps.”
“Yikes,” relplies Periwinkle. “What else?”
“There is an aerial tramway, a wildlife refuge and zip-lining.”
“Those sound like fun. Are you ready to get going?”
“Yep.” Stinky takes Periwinkle’s paw and leads her back into the teleportation tunnel.
Grouse Mountain
When they arrive at their destination, Stinky informs Periwinkle that in order to get to the wildlife refuge, they must take the Skyride up the mountain. So, they head to the tram station and hop aboard the first available one.
On the way up, the tabbies admire the view below them. Stinky tells Periwinkle that Grouse Mountain is part of the Coast Mountain Range in North Vancouver. He also tells her, “We will be traveling about one mile to the summit. There the altitude is approximately 5,250 feet above sea level. It will take us about six minutes to get there. On the way, we will travel through three different ecological zones: coastal rainforest, subalpine fir and open alpine meadow. We will have a 360 degree panoramic view of Vancouver, the Pacific Ocean and the Coast Mountains. Be prepared for your ears to pop as we travel higher.”
The Grouse Mountain Refuge for Endangered Wildlife
The refuge is the home to two grizzly bears, Grinder and Coola, owls and hummingbirds.
Periwinkle & Stinky immediately seek out Coola and Grinder.
“Stinky, I cannot believe you convinced me to climb up here with you, but I will admit it is a better view from here,” says Periwinkle.
The tabbies find out that both bears were found orphaned in 2001. Coola was found on a highway near Bella Coola, British Columbia. Grinder was found in Invermere, B.C.
Coola’s mom and her two additional cubs were killed by a truck. Coola is a laid-back bear. Her favorite thing is to submerge herself in a large pond to play with her underwater toys: a log, large bone and a rock.
Grinder was discovered alone on a logging road. His mother was never found. He weighed less than 10 pounds and was weak and dehydrated. Of the two bears, he is the smallest but the most out-going and dominant.
Stinky tells Periwinkle, “We can breakfast here if you are hungry. Where you see those green umbrellas is the Grizzly Lookout Cafe.”
“I could eat and definitely watch the bears more,” replies Periwinkle.
The tabbies head to the cafe where they find a nice buffet available.
After a leisurely breakfast, Periwinkle & Stinky head out to the deck to watch Coola and Grinder a bit more. Once again, Stinky convinces Periwinkle to get up on the railing so they can get a better look at the bears.
After a short while, Periwinkle asks Stinky, “What’s next?”
Hiking & Zip-Lining
“I thought we would walk the 1.55 mile Grouse Grind trail, but as I mentioned earlier, there are 2,830 total stairs, and we cannot stop if we get tired and walk down from wherever we are. We have to go to the top at an elevation of over 3,500 feet, and from what I have read it is very daunting.
“I think I’ll pass on that. What else is there?”
“They also have zip-lining, but I know you don’t want to do that. They have dual lines, so we could do it side-by-side. Unfortunately, it takes two hours and the lines reach speeds of almost 50 mph.”
“Yikes. I’m sorry, but like you said, I don’t want to do that!” shrieks Periwinkle.
“I might be willing to, but I would never do it alone.”
“And I wouldn’t let you. That would scare me even more waiting for you for two hours.”
“So, will you be happy with just riding the Skyride, seeing the view, visiting the bears and having breakfast?” asks Stinky.
“You bet, seeing Grinder and Coola were enough for me.”
“So, let’s get the next Skyride down the mountain and head back to our teleportation tunnel,” Stinky proposes and takes Periwinkle’s paw.
“Stinky, the views alone made this trip worth it,” Periwinkle tells Stinky on the way down the mountain.
“I totally agree!”
Heading Home
The tabbies jump into their teleportation tunnel and arrive home moments later. When they arrive, they head to the front porch for a snack and Periwinkle’s promised slice of C.J.’s birthday cake.
“Stinky, would it be okay if I check out the kittens prior to heading home?”
“Of course, let’s see if we can find them.”
“Periwinkle, just as I expected. Here they are on Mom’s lap.”
After a quick visit, it is time for Periwinkle to head home. She and Stinky walk to the teleportation tunnel paw-in-paw. They spend several minutes whisker kissing, paw hugging and whispering, “I love you,” to each other. Then Periwinkle enters the tunnel and with a wave and blown kiss is gone in a whoosh.
Stinky heads to the catio for a nap and dreams of Periwinkle.
The End
Periwinkle and Stinky will be participating in the Happy Tuesday blog hop at Comedy Plus. Should you like to do the same, click on the Happy badge.
Sparks is the creation of Annie from McGuffy’s Reader. It began as a blog hop, created by our friend. Annie stated when she began Sparks, “I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world.”
As it also is National Selfie Day, we decided to include Dad in our selfies. Though, Lisbeth loves attention from both Mom and Dad; she is not a lap cat. So, Lisbeth is alone in her selfie.
