Here we are on day 2 of our trip to Vancouver. On the first day, we explored the Granville Island Market and Stanley Park. On the second day, we had plans to explore the area just north of the city. It was only a 20 minute drive, but felt like it was a world away!
If you know any Canadians, you might have heard about a slight national obsession with the coffee shop Tim Horton's. We had to go check it out...spoiler alert, we went back several more times on our trip. The coffee was ok, but the donuts and other food was super yummy!
Our first stop for the day was Grouse Mountain. This is a popular hike/trail run called "the Grind," but we opted for the gondola ride.
The ride up was so pretty!
Once we arrived, we saw some wood carved statues.
...and heard about an owl.
Next up, we got ready to watch a lumberjack show. The show featured two guys demonstrating some of the skills and games of the old lumberjack logging days. It was so entertaining, filled with both jokes and interesting information.
Ax throwing
Sawing
The most impressive skill was the pole climbing. You would believe how fast these guys climbed up using spikes on their boots.
We saw two grizzly bears. They were just waking from hibernation season, so they weren't very active. It was still amazing to see how huge these animals are.
We rode a ski lift up to a higher elevation. This area is a ski resort during the winter.
Michael got over his fear of heights to ride the ski lift!
Even though it was sunny, there were many low clouds covering our view.
The area still had snow piled up.
We had lunch at the cafe and then headed back to the car. Coming back down, the clouds had cleared a little for a better view. It's hard to believe this is just on the edge of the city.
Our next stop was Lynn Canyon. You have probably seen pictures of the famous Capilano Suspension Bridge that is in this area. I thought about going there, but adding up a $50 admission fee for four people was a little overwhelming. I heard about a free park area called Lynn Canyon that crosses the same river with a suspension bridge. The bridge is about 2/3 the length of the famous one, but that was ok with us. So Lynn Canyon it was!
Lynn Canyon had beautiful falls, a suspension bridge, good trails, and a swimming area.
After exploring the trails at Lynn Canyon, we headed back to town for a break at the hotel and then dinner at a restaurant called Joey Burrard. It was delicious and so nice to sit outside on the patio!
Coming up tomorrow - the Sea to Sky Highway and Whistler!
This looks really cool!
ReplyDeleteWow Tanya, what a nice family vacation. I enjoyed hearing about your trip.
ReplyDeleteSo crazy to still see so much snowpack on top of the mountain like that. We're always surprised when some of our hiking trails are still closed due to snow in the spring when it felt so warm hiking up to the mountain top.
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