Vancouver, BC

This is a great city! We've been through here three times and during one of those, spent a few days (prior to an Alaskan cruise) with Lillie and Mom. Always wanted to return. This was the last stop in Canada during our venture north this year.

There's only one campground (that I could find) that was even close to the city. Capilano RV Park is really close to downtown (easy 10 minutes). In the first picture, you see what almost looks like a large, wooded, island. That land is literally connected to downtown Vancouver and is called Stanley Park—a 1,000-acre park—i.e., huge.



Follow the bridge from Stanley Park toward where I am standing and that's where Capilano RV Park is located—under the north end of the bridge. A bit pricey at $44.00 CN per night but definitely saves you tons of driving time around the city. It was worth it.

Vancouver is a great restaurant city—my kind of town. We had Hungarian food (cabbage rolls), Ukranian food (sausages and veal), and Chinese food (Peking duck). Vancouver has the second largest Chinese population in North America.

Just north of the campground was one of the famous sites in the area—the Capilano Suspension Bridge. It's real and it's shaky but worth the effort.



After crossing the bridge, you are in a rainforest that has been (pretty well) preserved. The unusual thing is that they have constructed walkways up in and through the trees. It's a very different perspective from 50-feet up. These did not shake and were very well done. It was an easy climb.




Driving a bit farther north from the Suspension bridge, you end up at Grouse Mountain. This mountain literally drops into this part of North Vancouver, is a ski run, and tourist destination. We took the tram up. You can walk around the top. I was on top Grouse Mountain when I took the picture of the city (the first shot above).

One thing to see was the lumberjack show. With log rolling, axe throwing, and pole climbing, it was a fun show (all included in the one ticket price).




An unusual feature on Grouse Mountain were the woodcarvings. These were huge, excellent, and a lot of them. Here's just one to give you an idea. All of them are about the same size—this one is about 18-feet tall and 4-feet in diameter—just huge. The detail is spectacular.