Vancouver in 24 hours

Our drive to Vancouver was scenic and uneventful except for the 90 minute wait to cross the border. We entered the beautiful city of Vancouver just in time for dinner and found a lovely spot on the waterfront. The city is surrounded by waterways as it is the "Gateway to the Pacific" and it was bustling with friendly people as we made our way through the streets.  Needing to secure a spot for the night we climbed back in the RV and began to search on the Garmin (Navigation System)  This particular device has been in my possession for awhile and certainly had seen better days.  It had been working off and on the entire trip and this particular night, it was not cooperating and I had had it! I proceeded to release my frustration by slamming it against the sidewalk as Guy "egged" me on.

 The "event" lasted less than 5 minutes and we laughed about it for another 15.  One must understand that living in an approximately 300 square foot "abode" can take it's toll on your serentity.  I choose to put this in the blog, because we still laugh about it when mentioned!  Anyway, we found a great spot right in the outskirts of the city.  The campground was nothing more than a parking lot, but we had full hook up and as they say in real estate....Location, Location Location.  We were up early the next day for a full day planned.  We hopped on our bikes and road about 2.5 km to Suspension Bridge Park.  Not a far jaunt....but all up hill!  Great way to wake up the muscles!  This park was "Au Natural" and was really nothing more than a walk through the woods on a series of suspension bridges.

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  The walk extended through rainforest which, as expected, was lush and green and damp.  Wonderful for a summer day!  Some of the bridges were higher than others and the "grand" bridge was quite harrowing as we walked across.  Feeling secure...I began to run and jump only to have it announced over the loud speaker to "walk only".  So much for living on the edge.

We spent about two hours wandering through the woods and then hopped on the public transit system which accomodates bikes and headed up to Grouse Mountain for a ride up the gondola.  The ride took us up to an elevation of 7000 feet where we immersed ourselves in the gorgeous views.

The air was cool and crisp and invigerating!  We strolled through the woods where we visited a grizzly bear sanctuary where two orphaned cubs have been living for the past 11 years.  It was nice to have a view of these amazing creatures from behind an electric fence!  There was also a bird sanctuary and we enjoyed learning about the local birds.

Still not reaching the summit of this mountain, we boarded a chair lift to bring us another 1300 feet up.  The ride was s-l-o-w....and a bit painful for me as we were way above treeline and it seemed to stop every 5 minutes of the 13 minute ride. 

 Heights and I are not buddies....but I continue to face my fears!  And a prime example of that is the next adventure up.  At the summit we hopped on an elevator that took us another 200 feet up a wind turbine for panaramic views of the valley and surrounding mountains nearby.  It was certainly not for the faint of heart!  To top it off, part of the floor was plexi glass so you could see right through to confirm how high up you stood.

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Needless to say....the views were amazing!  It was an amazing way to view Vancouver and its vicinity too!  Ready for lunch, we headed back down the mountain...but this time, hiked a portion instead of taking the s-l-o-w chair lift.  We had a snack at the summit restaurant continuing to soak up the sun and beautiful views.  After a 6 minute ride down the mountain in the gondola and continuing to pressurize my ears from the quick descent, we hopped back on our bikes and rode about 15 minutes at 28 mph.....Fast and furious!  Back at the RV site, we fed and walked the pups and proceeded to hop back on our bikes and over the LionGate Bridge to beautiful vancouver city.  We rode about 35 miles around the city and the seawall trail which engulfs the seaside areas.

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Heading back over the bridge and watching the sunset on the city was a beautiful site and one I shall remember for a long time.  It was a great day for us....a long day....a 15 hour day, but worth every minute for in the morning we had to move on to Alberta!