Sea to Sky Highway

Driving across the Lions Gate Bridge

 We had a reasonably leisurely departure from Vancouver which, to our delight, meant the tidal flow across the Lions Gate Bridge had finished. We were headed for Lynn Canyon, the lesser known, but cheaper (well, free actually) and less crowded option to enjoy a suspension bridge experience. The weather was still clear and we had a lovely hour or so walking across the suspension bridge and following one of the many trails along the river.

Lynn Canyon PP

Beside the river in Lynn Canyon

Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge

 After leaving Lynn Canyon, where we had coffee among the trees, we made our way back to the Trans-Canada Highway for our drive to Whistler. The sights along the way were laid out in a "Driving the Sea to Sky Highway" sheet downloaded from the web and really helped with what to see and do. First stop, Shannon Falls.

Shannon Falls

Already busy, but still loads of parking indicated the importance of this sight. We could hear the falls from the car park, but it was a little way to walk before they came into view. What a sight, the photo doesn't do it justice.

Another attraction close by is the famous climbing rock face known as Stawamus Chief. This vertical rock face is as impressive as it was made out to be. When we left the falls and pulled into the car park for the climbers, we were able to pick out a group making their way up the rock face.

You may be able to pick them out if you click the pic. There is a red speck in the centre of the photo. Then I have panned back so you can get some sense of the scale. Awesome sight.

Climbers on Stawamus Chief (centre)

Rock face being climbed

View at our lunch stop - Tantalus Mountain

 We were very luck to be able to time a lunch stop with a view. And what a view it was. There was even a bench seat free for us to sit and gaze at the panorama laid out before us. Despite it being summer, there are still lots of snow-capped mountains to be admired.

Brandywine Falls

Along the river towards Brandywine Falls

After a leisurely lunch it was only a short distance before we arrived in Whistler. So we still had plenty of time to make one last stop at Brandywine Falls. On our tour sheet it was suggested as worthwhile because the falls were so different to Shannon Falls. It's easy to say, we shall be seeing lots of falls, so we don't need to stop, but we were glad we did. It makes us eager to see what's in store further along on our road trip.

Whistler Village

We arrived in Whistler and checked into our centrally located hotel. Plenty of time to settle in then go out to check out the village and confirm our activities for tomorrow - bear viewing and a zipline tour. Mmmmmmm, but  this is Whistler, the Thredbo of BC, time for shopping too!!!!


Sadly the forecast looks like it will be against us tomorrow. Oh well, out with the wet weather gear. Until then....

Sunset Dinner cruise

Splashed out this evening. We took a taxi to the waterfront to join a boat to take us and a couple of dozen other patrons on a 3 hour cruise out into English Bay and down False Creek.


Another view of Stanley Park - this time from the waterfront - was upstaged by the beautiful city skylines in the fading light. The dinner was good too!!!!

Vancouver Rowing Club

Mt Baker, Washington State

Lions Gate Bridge

Science Centre

Stadium built for 2010 Winter Olympics

Colourful house boats

The setting sun

The best on offer this evening

Just a quick sample of my pics.


A lovely way to round off our short but sweet visit to Vancouver.


Whistler here we come.

Vancouver - day 2

Vancouver day 2

A more leisurely start to the day which had started fine and sunny. So the weather has really been  on our side as today we were off on a drive out to the University of BC and the Museum of Anthropology, via some of the well known (well to Vancouverites) beaches.

We negotiated our way out of our accommodation and across the Burrard Street Bridge which is one of two bridges spanning False Creek. First stop was Vanier Park near the Maritime Museum. This stop afforded us the opportunity to see Stanley Park from across the water.

We cruised through the suburb of Kitsilano and stopped at the beach which, being so close to the city is very popular with families. This suburb is one of the sought after areas in Vancouver and it was very interesting passing through and seeing the different architectural style of the homes.

Looking towards Stanley Park

Totem pole near Vanier Park

Kitsilano Beach

Vancouver

Tuesday 26^th June

Arriving into Vancouver

Our first full day in Vancouver and we have made the most of it. After a quick breakfast we headed out on our bike tour of Stanley Park. Dan, our tour guide, met us promptly at 9am and we headed into the Park. This is a really beautiful protected green space in Vancouver which is very well used by both locals and visitors.

Dan was so knowledgeable about the history of Vancouver, the First Nations people, the biodiversity throughout the park especially the wonderful Western Red Cedar trees. We spent three hours, just the three of us cycling the important parts of the sea wall and criss-crossing the park, learning as we went. The weather was cloudy but cool, really perfect conditions for cycling.

Lions Gate Bridge

Our guide, Dan

Beaver Lake

Beaver activity and the remedy

700 year old red cedar

Blue Heron colony with chicks

One method of traffic calming in the suburbs

When we finished this tour we walked along the sea wall towards Canada Place admiring the views across Burrard Inlet to North Vancouver and the cloud-shrouded mountains behind.

Olympic cauldron

House boats in Coal Harbour

From Canada Place we took a bus to Granville Island where we spent a pleasant couple of hours wandering. We were also able to pick up some fresh food to have for lunch for the next couple of days in the fresh food market as well as stopping for a snack. Toonie Tuesday was my choice!! A beautiful crepe made to order for $2 (toonie) - yum. Ian had a buttered blueberry scone-type treat.

Making a Toonie Tuesday crepe

The finished product

When we’d had our fill of wandering, we hopped on a ferry for a short trip up False Creek to see more of the Vancouver skyline from a different perspective. Then it was back to our accommodation just a short walk from one of the ferry stops.

ferrying down False Creek

More house boats

After dinner we took a bus downtown to visit Gastown and see the famous steam clock. This area seems to be rather similar to The Rocks in Sydney, historic, well decorated and lots of tourist shops!!!!

Gastown
 

Gastown steam clock