A Trip to British Columbia and Back.

Carol and I spent a couple of weeks in British Columbia visiting Vancouver, Victoria and Harrison Hotsprings.  We did a lot in two weeks and had some fun adventures, as the pictures and videos show.  Then it was back to So Cal to take care of some errands, although we squeezed in a bit of fun too.

Flying out of Puerto Vallarta, I got to see the thunderheads

that have been bringing all the evening thunderstorms.

I landed in Vancouver at sunset and had great views of

the city and surrounding waterways on the way down.

This is the view from a bench in front of the hotel where

we stayed on Granville Island.

Sunrise from the window in our room.

Looking toward downtown.  Our hotel is the small gray

building to the right of the tree.

  

A very tame heron in the park near the hotel

The market on Granville Island

Granville Island had an interesting mix of restaurants,

shops and workshops.  These are some handmade

brooms displayed in the broom store/workshop.

We took the water taxi across the creek

and walked along sunset beach to

Stanley Park.

The water taxi ride

Looking toward English Bay from Sunset Beach

Balanced rock and a ship in English Bay

Balanced and stacked rocks at Sunset Beach

A large tree perched on top of a building

near Stanley Park

Lots of flowers and busy bees in Stanley Park

Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park.  We got lost

trying to find it.

Lost Lagoon

The Olympic Cauldron near the Seaplane port

The seaplane port

Our flight on a seaplane from Vancouver to

Victoria

Victoria was pretty, but very touristy, so we

didn't stay long.

The famous Empress Hotel where you can have high tea

for $72 per person.

The legislature

We took a bus/ferry combination on the return to Vancouver

later that day.  Here the bus is approaching the ferry.

Driving inside the ferry.  The ferry carries cars, trucks,

buses, bicyclists and pedestrians.

The scenery was beautiful.

The ferry ride and docking in Vancouver

We rented a car and drove a couple of hours to Harrison

Hot Springs on Lake Harrison.  This is the hotel we

stayed in.

Our hotel, Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa is the oldest 

in town and owns the actual hotspring.  It is the only hotel 

featuring pools filled with water from the hotspring. This 

pool is reserved for adults, a good thing since the hotel 

was full and the pools usually crowded.

The walkway between pools

 

Accessible pool for families

The source.  The hotel is the building in the background

on the left.

Harrison Lake from a small park

Harrison Lake from the beach in front of the hotel

Canada goose surveys the swimming area at Lake

Harrison.

The hotel's garden

A lovely path behind the hotel goes through the woods

between a creek and the mountainside.

Our room is in the red circle

The creek behind the hotel

Sasquatch.  This part of British Columbia

is the epicenter of the Sasquatch legend.

Sasquatch makes great stout.

I discovered my eponymous brewery

We took a little side trip to see Bridal Veil Falls.

Scenery along the way

A short walk through deep woods takes

you to the falls.

Notice the lack of respect for the sign.  Many visitors

were foreigners who might not read English.  Still,

the bottom of waterfalls is dangerous due to falling

rocks and other objects coming over the falls.

Easy to see how Bridal Veil got the name.

Carol and I dressed for whitewater rafting:

wetsuits, rain jackets and PFDs.  At the 

Kumsheen River, a couple of hours outside

Harrison Hotsprings.

At the launch point:  everyone dry and smiling

Heading down river:  still dry; still smiling

In the rapids:  not dry; not smiling.

Water sprays up between the boards and the tubes with

the force of a firehose.

Are we having fun yet?

Back in Vancouver:  staying downtown at

the Burard Hotel.  View from the room.

The Museum of Anthropology at the University of B.C.

in Vancouver

Impressive outside and inside.  The building reflects the

post and beam construction of artifacts within.

Bowls and ladles for a potlatch, each about 4 feet long

Bowls and canoe

Kayaks:  narrow for ease and speed on smooth water,

wide for stability in the ocean.

Canoe seat

Canoe

Rare Salish paddle

Canoe, baskets, and other objects in drawers

Masks

The museum houses thousands of amazing objects,

many more than one can appreciate in a single visit.

Ceremonial dance costume

A high-tech section presents historic and explanatory videos.

After the Anthropology Museum, we went to the nearby

Vancouver Maritime Museum.

The museum was literally built around the ship St. Roch,

famous for being the first ship to sail west to east through

the Northwest Passage and first to circumnavigate 

North America.

The bottom of the St. Roch.  It is a round shape to allow it

to be squeezed up and out of the ice should it get caught.

Unfortunately, the round hull caused the ship to be so

rolly that even seasoned sailors got seasick.

A drydock was built at the museum site, the ship towed 

to the drydock and pulled in.  The drydock was emptied,

and the museum building built around the ship.

Looking down on the deck of the St. Roch

from the wheelhouse.  The tent is where

some "first nation" people, who provided

guidance, slept.

This is a simulator that allows visitors to experience what

it had been like to steer the ship through the ice.

This is the actual wheelhouse.

Porthole detail showing guides and

collecting cup for condensation water.

The radio.  (Now an equivalent radio is

smaller than a shoebox.)

The other major holding of the museum is

the Arnold 176 chronometer.  Made by John

Arnold prior to 1787, it was used by

George Vancouver during his exploration

of the Pacific.  An accurate chronometer

was critical for determining longitude.

A working model-maker's shop is part of the museum.

There are also several ship models.

More unusual is the small marina that is affiliated with

the museum.  Here, historic privately owned boats are

allowed to berth with the proviso that the public can view 

them from the dock.

NorthStar of Herschel Island:  last of the arctic

fur trading ships, built in San Francisco in 1935

and in use until 1961.

The Marciano Art Foundation gallery in Los Angeles

While many of the works shown were "interesting," the two

major installation pieces were the most fun.

Seeing spots!

 Yayoi Kusami installation

One of my errands was checking on my car in Filmore.

Other than the tires, which I knew were bad, everything

seemed okay.

Construction of the new condo complex behind the 

Ventura West Marina was well underway.  Things will

be very different once it's occupied.