Oh, Canada

Oh Canada, had I only left more time to discover the west of you. My four days there were just enough to wet my appetite for a more lengthy tour of discovery.





Realizing that I would be in Vancouver on Victoria Day Weekend (a long weekend celebrating the 64 year reign of Queen Victoria), I decided to stay in a distant burb of the city, Maple Ridge, hoping for a few cheaper nights of lodging. Maple Ridge was like many other small cities I saw in Canada, relatively clean and orderly compared with most small rural US cities.




My foray into Vancouver started in Stanley Park which is an island park north of the city. I parked the car for the whole day ($7) and biked about the city exploring the park and the Seaside trail which also takes one around False Creek, the little bay into the city around which all downtown life seems to revolve on a beautiful day like the one I had. Further west of the city is a large beach with an impressive tidal flat visited by Bald Eagles and many other birds. Since the temperature was in the 80s, the bike and walk paths were fully packed as was any available grass near the beaches. There were many outdoor eating opportunities and the several, large outdoor pools were open for business. Vancouver seems to be a real livable city with little blight noticeable downtown.

After a beautiful day in Vancouver I filled up with $5/gal gasoline and drove the roller coaster route 3 across many mountain passes to Creston located in the Kootenay region of eastern British Columbia. Here I briefly visited with the Almeritters, acquaintances from my hometown in Germany. It was a day after the wedding of their youngest daughter and I was asked to participate in finishing the left over wedding goodies.

Realizing that I was a little too early for the roads and campgrounds in Banff and Glacier National Parks to be open, I decided to start heading for home via the route of the cheaper fuel – the USA.