Beautiful BC

There are just two weeks left to win a three-day getaway to Ocean Village in Tofino, BC.

Surf. Golf. Explore. The ocean is your front yard.

Enter the Vancouver Observer's Ocean Village Resort Contest for your last chance to win a three-night stay for two in a studio cottage, which includes free rentals and a surf lesson for two in the stunning Ocean Village.

Spectacular views of the coast. Gorgeous natural landscapes.

Cleanse your mind in a quiet cottage.

Just two weeks left to enter.

Sign up here.

Heading up Sea-to-Sky Highway 99 north past Squamish, the first major intersection and left turnoff leads to Squamish River Valley and then, farther beyond, to Elaho River Valley.

Elaho is the right tributary of Squamish and both rivers join their forces after making their way through their own valleys, both quite spectacular. The pictures show an off-road experience from that ride.

"I remember the first time I went through the Jaws of Death. There were humongous waves. A big, beautiful green wave smothered the raft. I was overwhelmed by its power, its spell. And then I saw the late afternoon sun shining through it. There was a great charge of adrenaline," reflects Bernie Fandrich, retired owner and founder of Kumsheen Rafting Resort in Lytton, BC.

Often heralded as the rafting capital of Canada, the rushing rapids of the Frasher and Thompson Rivers, running through the town of Lytton, continue to seduce visitors to its mighty and mysterious thralls.  

Whether splashing through the heart-pumping Hells Gate rapid on the Fraser, or facing the thrill of the 18 rapids in the Devil's Gorge on the Thompson, Kumsheen provides an entertaining vacation the whole family can enjoy.

I'm on my way to Cortes Island, skimming in the water taxi over the surface of a placid Georgia Straight, rounding Quadra Island and soaking in the sight of the mountains and the ocean and the big open view.  What a relief from the city.

Regent, the owner of Discovery Launch water taxi,  names the variety of drop dead gorgeous locations he loves on the island. He's explaining why Cortes is so special and unique, and he's talking about his love of the area, as he guides the boat over the shimmering water.