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Published: August 24th 2021
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Road Trip to Vancouver
Part 1 - Squamish.
Squamish calls itself the “Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada”, today Finn joined his dad as we strolled around this pretty town.
They town had recently been the location for a Christmas movie which is why we saw snow and Christmas trees laying around.
The community garden looked well looked after.
The Stawamus Chief, officially Stawamus Chief Mountain (often referred to as simply The Chief, is a granite dome located adjacent to the town. It towers over 700 m above the waters of Howe Sound nearby. It is often claimed to be the “second largest granite monolith in the world”.
The indigenous people from this area, consider the Chief to be a place of spiritual significance. The great cleft in the mountain’s cliff-face in Squamish legend is a mark of corrosion left by the skin of a giant two-headed sea serpent.
All beautifully explained by Finn.
As always Patrick explained with his hand gestures how the tectonic plates & mountains are created.
The street art in Squamish was so colourful.
WELCOME TO SQUAMISH - Artist: Alex Fowkes
Written in both English and Squamish
Nation it features colours and symbolism of our local Indigenous heritage.
THE BLUE HERON -Artist: Leisel Peterson
One of the first pieces of street art commissioned for this area, it added the bright hues of Howe Sound to otherwise bland wall.
Squamish was a stopover for Patrick’s next leg of his road trip to Whistler.
Part 2 - Whistler
The Coast Salish First Nations people inhabited the land around Whistler for many thousands of years.
The Whistler area was often a waypoint for First Nation trading routes between the Squamish and Lil'wat Nations, as it was rich with wildlife and resources. At one time, tens of thousands of Coast Salish First Nations people lived, traded and thrived in the areas between Vancouver, Howe Sound and Lillooet.
Alta Lake was the original name of Whistler but the settlers started calling the area "Whistler" because of the shrill whistle sound made by the marmots who lived among the rocks.
From its humble beginnings as a fishing lodge in 1914, to being centre stage for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games — Whistler was always considered a special place and outstanding destination
for adventurous spirits.
During the 1960s a group of Vancouver Businessmen formed the Garibaldi Olympic Development Association (GODA) to develop a site to host the 1968 Winter Olympic Games and selected Whistler Mountain as the preferred venue but it was not until 2003 that Vancouver/Whistler win the bid to host the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
During the winter months ski-ing is the main source of income but in the summer months it is the Mountain Bike Park that attracts the visitors. This gravity-fed downhill biking experience, draws mountain bikers from across the world.
Part 3 - Vancouver North Shore
Lonsdale Quay was opened back in 1977 as the Seabus began connecting North Vancouver to downtown Vancouver through Burrard Inlet and Waterfront Station. Since then the area has developed over time.
Lonsdale Quay Public Market has been an attraction since Expo ’86 – Vancouver’s 1986 World’s Fair.
Along one of the walls was a 100 foot long mural titled Coastal Energy, designed by local students.
The Wallace Shipyard opened in 1906 and grew into one of the most impressive industrial operations in western Canada. Alfred Wallace was the original shipyard
owner/operator.
The Shipyard’s productivity peaked during World War II when it became the largest employer of shipyard labour in B.C. During the war, it produced 109 of the 312 "Victory Ships" produced in Canada. The Shipyard’s contribution to the war effort was so significant that at the end of World War II, Clarence Wallace was decorated as "Commander of the British Empire". The Wallace family sold the Shipyard in 1971.
The Big Drawer is a sculpture of a large concrete drawer, containing concrete replicas of workers time cards, placed at the point where Burrard Shipyard workers once entered the huge facility. The thousands who worked there are honored with a mural on the side of the building.
Waterfront Park is an ideal place for taking in the North Shore mountains & the Vancouver skyline even with an ugly container ship right in Patrick’s photo shot (LOL)
As our tour came to an end we watched two seals as they caught fish for their supper.
This area is just a few minutes away by sea us from Vancouver downtown and certainly had a lovely vibe.
Part 4 - Grouse Mountain
It took
Patrick almost an hour to hike up the mountain. At 2.5 km, the Grouse Grind Trail is not long, but because it is so steep it makes for a difficult and strenuous outing.
Not looking at all fatigued Patrick was ready to start the tour with two very special guests, Grinder and Coola
These two male grizzly bears were orphaned in 2001 & live happily In a 5.5 acre habitat on top of Grouse Mountain at the Refuge for Endangered Wildlife.
As the crowds gathered we were hopeful of seeing them and it wasn’t long before they emerged from their shelter.
The last time I did this tour the bears stayed quite a distance away but today they were so close and also quite oblivious to all the onlookers.
Intricate wood carvings created by chainsaw were dotted along the pathways.
The views from Grouse Mountain, even on a cloudy day, of downtown Vancouver, Stanley Park and the surrounding mountains were wonderful.
My second time on this tour and just as enjoyable as the first.
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