Whistler

 I said goodbye to Tim in the parking lot of Whistler Village Center where he caught the last but to Vancouver Airport.  I had intended to drop him off and pick up Joyce the next day but misunderstood his travel day.  Now Joyce will arrive tomorrow and Duncan will pick her up.  Tim, it was a great trip!  Thanks so much for joining me and we will do something akin again!  

And now to another Tim.

Tim and Natalie Johnson are long time friends.  Phil Johnson, Tim's older brother, was a year ahead of me in the A of AZ Family Med residency in 1986.  He was my senior resident in my first rotation and we became fast friends.  He grew up in Pakistan as a 'missionary kid' and attended Murree Christian School in Murree, Pakistan. I was fascinated about his stories of Pakistan and the mission filed and in particular third world medicine. I chose U of AZ for my Family Medicine Residency (3 year training program) in large part because of their focus on medicine in resource-poor countries. 

Phil started a bible study/small group with several of the residents and some other folks he knew. He indicated his brother, Tim, would be coming to Tucson to study for a MS in Exercise physiology and asked if I would be interested in a roommate.  Tim and I agreed and we shared a 2 bedroom apartment my first year of residency.  Another member of the small group was Joyce Minnich.  She know Phil Johnson since first grade and also Tim when he joined MCS  2 years later.  Over the next three years, we got to know each other and Joyce would become my wife!  We met Natalie through Tim.  

Tim and Natalie joined me at Nairn Falls campground in Whistler, BC, CA.  They got a chance to meet Tim Whitney and we all headed over to the Falls.  You could feel the thundering power of the water in the rock as we approached.  These falls are special in that they have holes and pools and other interesting features.  

The next day we hiked the "Train Wreck" trail where several train cars remain and form an artistic outlet where, in 1956, loggers in too much of a hurry sped along a section of railway and cause a wreck.  This is also a mountain bike trail complete with features such as "ladders" (I had to look this up).  It was a beautiful trail even for hiking but we saw no mountain bikers on it!

Art enhanced train wreck on train wreck trail. 

We saw no one else beyond the train wreck.  It would be a gnarly ride on a bike, for sure!

Mountain bike feature on Train Wreck trail crossed by Tim, Tim and Natalie

The next morning with Tim W having gone by bus to catch a red eye to Chicago then on to Detroit, we Tim J and Natalie went to do laundry, shopping and a cafe breakfast in nearby quaint Pemberton.  We stopped at an historic museum where old cabins and houses were brought together with old farming, mining, and household articles.  A nice bike ride and a dinner at a local farmhouse brewery finished up our time in Whistler.  It was too cloudy to make the gondola ride between peaks worth it.  

Biking with Tim and Natalie

Fun trails around Whistler

The Beer Farmers Brewery