A Curious Pair of Ears

Third and last post about my short trip to Vancouver concerns a trip to a nearby provincial park which goes by the rather odd name of "Golden Ears".

The name derives from the twin peaks of a mountain in the park, which from the south are said to resemble a pair of ears sticking up.  The name has also been borrowed by the toll bridge across the Fraser River to the south.

I went to Golden Ears once before, but on a cold, cloudy fall day when there wasn't much to see.  This time it was a sunny, hazy, hot summer day, and the park was busy even though it was midweek.

You need a lot of patience and persistence to get to Golden Ears Park.  It's reached by way of some narrow country roads on the outskirts of Maple Ridge, and signage isn't great.  Fortunately, a new road called "Golden Ears Way" leads you from the bridge right around most of Maple Ridge and then you only need to make two more turns to get to the destination.

The road into the park makes a steady climb up into the mountains before descending into the Alouette Valley.  It's a well-laid-out parkway without any sharp curves or sudden steep grades -- and without shoulders.  Caution required, as it's popular with cyclists!

The main facilities of the park are concentrated along the west shore of Alouette Lake, which is a large power reservoir.  There's a sizable day-use area with large parking lots, picnic tables, a boat launch, a broad gravelly beach, and a marked swimming area.

Farther north along the shore there are campgrounds with their own waterfront access.  This  valley represents a very small percentage of the total size of the park.  Most of the area of the park has been left as wilderness.  The forests are threaded by hiking trails, including mountain trails for those with the urge to climb!

After paying the sizable day-use fees at national parks, and at provincial parks in my home turf of Ontario, it comes as a positive surprise that there is no charge for use of the day area here!

And as if that isn't enough, there's the spectacular scenery of this alpine valley to add to the impact of this special beauty spot!  Even after the hot summer that British Columbia has had this year, there's still snow on some of the peaks beyond the north end of the lake.

Starting from downtown Vancouver, the drive to Golden Ears will take about 1.5-2 hours depending on the time of day and the traffic, but it's definitely worth the effort!

A Park Like No Other

I know I promised to go off the main tourist track, but there's a time for everything.  Visiting (or writing about) Vancouver without including Stanley Park would be a bit like visiting Switzerland without seeing the Alps -- pointless, and it just isn't done!

The land that we now know as Stanley Park was dedicated to that purpose by the city council of the infant city of Vancouver in 1886, and opened in September of 1888.  It's a 400-hectare tract of giant west coast forest trees, interspersed with some monuments and areas of flower gardens.  It forms a rocky peninsula stretching out from the west end of downtown Vancouver and pointing towards the north shore of Burrard Inlet.  Across the First Narrows at the tip of the park stretches the elegant Lion's Gate Bridge, the first vehicle connection between Vancouver and North Vancouver across the Inlet.  Around the entire perimeter of the Park runs the Seawall, which carries a dual paved roadway with one side reserved for cyclists and rollerbladers, and the other side reserved for pedestrians.

The density of the forests makes Stanley Park seem even bigger than it actually is.  From many places in the Park it is impossible to see any of the major city that sits right next door.  The forests are threaded by numerous walking trails, and using these is a delightful way to get up close and personal with the majestic giants of the west coast rainforest.

The park has two major beaches, and a large outdoor seasonal swimming pool beside Second Beach (and I do mean large).  There is no spot close by from which the pool can be readily photographed, but I'll toss in a picture of the similar big pool at Kitsilano, a few kilometres away, just to give the idea.

Either of these pools is a must-visit in the summer for anyone who loves serious swimming, or just messing about in the water.

Stanley Park also has tennis courts, an aquarium, a tea house, a seafood restaurant, and numerous other attractions.  But for me the biggest attraction is always the scenery.  As you go around the Seawall, you get in succession:

[1] a splendid view of Vancouver's bustling downtown and harbour.

[2] the view of the Lion's Gate Bridge from Prospect Point with, if your timing is right, a huge cruise ship sailing underneath it!  (I did not get lucky this trip!)

[3] the mountain-crowned suburbs of North Vancouver and West Vancouver.

[4] the view from Third Beach of freighters at anchor in English Bay outside the harbour.

and finally the English Bay Beach stretching away along the western waterfront of the city's West End residential district.  As far as I am concerned, Stanley Park sums up Vancouver to perfection!

Lotus Land Revisited

Hello, everyone!

Long time no post.  I have been running around at top speed for most of the last 2 months, travelling hither and yon to all kinds of events and shows, but not really generating any good material for this blog.

But now, I am back on Vancouver for the first time in almost 3 years, and it's time to blog again.  I came here for the first time in 1972 as a teenager, and have been back too many times to count.  It's one of my favourite places in Canada to visit, largely because the mountains are "right there", just on the north side of Burrard Inlet (the harbour).

I've done a lot of the standard tourist things over the years, and will do some again on this visit.  But, with the help and advice of a couple of friends, I'm going to get into some different spots too.

 I flew in two days ago in the morning, and so had a good bit of exploring time the same day.  Around noon I drove down to Steveston historic village on the south channel of the Fraser River.  This is about a 35-40 minute drive from downtown (if the traffic cooperates).  Some people would say that going down to Steveston on a Sunday is a miscalculated risk.  It's a favourite brunching and shopping spot for locals, and the numerous waterfront restaurants are all well-filled.  The real trick is finding a parking spot.  The small lots near the dead centre of the village shopping street are all packed early on.  I wound up somewhat to the west, at the old Cannery musuem and historic site.

Steveston was a major centre of salmon canning back in the day, and is still an active fishing port as well as a sizable marina port for pleasure boat owners.  The Cannery remembers the days when dirty, smelly salmon canneries operated in numerous ports in British Columbia.  A monument outside memorializes the thousands of men, women, and children who flooded into Steveston every year during the canning season.

Nowadays, the "village" includes a sizable number of modern condos and townhouses.  I've been told it's a nice retirement spot.  There are a lot of artsy-craftsy-boutiquey type stores.  I don't go in for that sort of thing much, so can't comment on how reasonable the prices are (or otherwise).

I did enjoy a good stroll along the waterfront boardwalk in the brilliant sunshine, watching fishermen selling their catch directly from their boats.

Also had a delightful lunch at the Blue Canoe on the spacious waterfront patio.  Crab cakes and a romaine-apple-avocado salad seemed to hit the spot perfectly for such a great summer day!

After lunch I drove into town to check into my hotel, the Holiday Inn Downtown on Howe Street.  Word to the wise: there is no such thing as a cheap hotel in Vancouver during the summer.  Even fairly basic accommodations can run to over $150/night during July and August, and the more deluxe choices can easily go in excess of $300!  But this hotel managed a decent rate (by those standards) and has some nicely-renovated rooms, with thoughtful additional touches.  The main lobby elevators are positively tiny (as in 2 people and 2 suitcases at a time), but others in newer  parts of the building are more spacious.  There's a smallish indoor pool, which is not recommended for children or for lounging in the water, as 90 % of it is more than 1.5 metres deep (5 feet).  If you like swimming underwater (I do) it's excellent for that, even if not overly large.

Staff at this hotel are all warm and welcoming, from the front desk to the restaurant and bar.  Housekeeping handled everything thoroughly and in timely fashion.  Breakfast (not included) offered a choice of a fairly basic buffet or menu service.  It's in a good downtown location, if that's what you need.