A Walk Around Lake Lafarge

 Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

How are you all doing today?

I spent much of the day at Lafarge Lake with a dear friend of mine. We spent the time walking around the lake and sitting and admiring the ducks.  I was so busy catching up with her that I didn't do a very good job of taking photos but I did manage a few.

It was a fabulous day for an outing. The sun was shining brightly even though some of my photos look like we were expecting rain.  We weren't but it's still a bit windy and chilly in the shade.

The remaining days of the week are expected to get progressively warmer.

Lafarge Lake is a 5 hectare man made lake located in Town Center Park in Coquitlam. It is very easily accessed via the Skytrain and adjacent to the Douglas College campus.  In winter there is a fabulous light display which you can partake of for free. I meant to go with dear hubby this past Christmas but he got busy with work and I didn't wish to go alone. Perhaps it will work out for Christmas 2024. 

I've read that it's a very popular and crowded event. I suppose because it's a free event and there is plenty of parking. There is also a fabulous Evergreen Cultural Centre nearby and a brand new community centre will open in a few days. This is a great place for one but I think families with children would especially appreciate the convenience factor.

Recent Outings Near Vancouver in Beautiful British Columbia

I have a photo dump today. I spent a bit of time travelling further out than usual to enjoy some sunny days and some picturesque scenes. I hope you enjoy.

I went to Porteau Cove just over a week ago and shared a few photos here. But we also stopped at a place called Cypress Bowl Lookout which is on the way to Cypress Provincial Park.

The first photos are taken on the Lion's Gate Bridge on the way to West Vancouver and North Vancouver.

These next photos are the lookout point and some information about Cypress Park.

When you get to the top of the mountain you can see for miles. But often there is haze. On that day you can see a bit of haze over the Vancouver Skyline.

We didn't carry on further into the park itself as we were going up to the small town of Squamish. 

On the drive up there you will see some spectacular scenery but there are hardly any places to stop and actually take photos. It's one of those times you should just forget about the camera and enjoy the scenery. I did try to get a few photos but it isn't very easy due to the forest lining the highway.

You can see the town of Squamish in the valley below.

There isn't much to do in the actual town. We mainly went to catch some sun rays and see the scenery. We stopped at what appears to be a new McDonald's nestled into a nice spot on the outskirts of the town. We also took a drive through the town but I didn't take any photos since there isn't much to see. The surrounding mountains are the main attraction though not far away there are two popular attractions.  One is a very popular hiking spot for serious hikers, called The Stawamus Chief.  Click here for more information. Also close by is a newer tourist attraction called the Sea to Sky Gondola which I've yet to experience. The truth is I'm a little afraid because this popular attraction has been the subject of sabotage on 3 separate occasions over the past several years. Someone or several someone's, keep cutting the cables on the gondola cars This has cost the company a lot of money to repair and escalate more security features over time.

On the return journey.  We stopped off at for fish and chips near the site of the Britannia Mine Museum, an award winning tourist attraction.

I hope you enjoyed the scenery. Thanks for stopping by!

A Flying and Cruising Kind of Day

The other day I met a friend down by the Waterfront.  

I took the SkyTrain as I was running late.

On the platform catching the train to Waterfront Station.

 

On the ride to town I saw a few interesting sights for locals and tourists alike.

Science World (the globe).

  Click on Science World link above for more information if interested.

As we head northwest, I am looking westward towards False Creek

The building with "spikes" out the top is the stadium called BC Place. Smaller dome on right is "Rogers"

The BC Place is where big concerts are held and also sports like hockey, football or soccer.  It seats 54, 320 people.

It opened in June 1983 and has been the main venue for world events such as Pope John Paul IIs visit to Vancouver (1984) and the Winter Olympics of 2010.   The stadium underwent massive renovations which included the installation of a retractable roof.

 Rogers Arena is just to the right of BC Place in the above photo and is another key venue for major concerts and sporting events.  It opened in 1995 under the name, General Motors Place. In 2010, General Motors naming rights ended and sponsorship assumed by Rogers Communications. The arena is the home of the major league hockey team, the Vancouver Canucks and formerly to the National Basketball Association team, the Vancouver Grizzlies from 1995 to 2001.

The dirt in the foreground is being levelled.  I've no idea what will be built.  Probably a condo.

I asked my friend to meet me at Waterfront Station so we could go to Canada Place together.

She wanted to treat me to a 

tourist experience called "Flyover Canada". 

Canada Place which you see in the photo below used to be the main, convention centre for the city but now we have a new one which is located to the west of Canada Place (I didn't get a photo today). 

The tower in the photo houses the Pan Pacific Hotel.  The hotel has housed many famous people such as President Clinton and a host of others. 

There were a lot of tourists out and about on Wednesday.

Flyover Canada is a multi media experience. 

the name suggests that you will experience Canada but both my friend and I were rather disappointed. She is

Tanzanian and I am a Canadian and neither of us felt that the film gives a good overview and insight as to what Canada is.

One would expect at least a brief photo of key cities and important places in Canada.

That was almost entirely missing!

Also there was absolutely no mention or photo of First Nations or Aboriginal peoples.

There was like a 2 second sound bite of First Nations drummers as one "flew over" 2 dug out canoes which could easily be mistaken for something else.

Now it wasn't a total loss. I did enjoy the flyover where we were strapped into seats and treated to a simulated flying experience.  A few times when going over rapids or glacial field we were treated to a fine mist of water as we "flew" over. That was kinda cool.

But over all the images presented did not do justice either in duration of time or in selection of images.

The experience was only about 20 minutes.

Prior to the flight we were treated to a 6 minute film with no narration or explanation of what we were looking at. Much of it was not relevant in my opinion.

Final complaint is that there is absolutely no signage anywhere that tells a person with disabilities or mobility issues,

that they will have to climb 3 long flights of stairs to get to the top.

Neither do you have time to explain to anyone or ask anyone once you get in line and start moving forward. There are no elevators or escalators anywhere and the few staff on hand run ahead and rush everyone along.

I'm lucky I can climb these days but going up so many stairs and then down so many and again more stairs to get out of the back of the convention centre were starting to take their toll on  me.

I was not happy.

I made inquiries on the way out. 

they said yes they do have an elevator and a wheelchair but you must tell them in advance.

It would be nice to know that in advance. Further it would be more important that they let people know that stairs are going to be climbed. I had no idea this was the case until we were rushed inside and the staff ran ahead so I couldn't ask him anything.

Anyway, I'm not complaining too loudly.  My friend was treating me and I really did enjoy it and her company. I noted the deficiencies because my friend asked for my opinion. It turns out she felt the same way.

Also, I was shocked at the number of stairs without any signage. I managed okay but I am more concerned about visitors and locals being caught in the situation of not being able to see the show and then getting caught up in ill feelings as they have to wait for help and so on.

It is a shame in this day and age that companies that do so much business are not better prepared to deal with all the different kinds of tourists that want to participate.  It is also a pity that they couldn't do a better job of representing what Canada looks like in all it's fullness and have a little more meaningful portrayal of the country though I certainly do realize they cannot do it all. Some 'tweaks' would be advisable.

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After the event I suggested to my friend that we catch the sea bus to North Vancouver. 

We did but we didn't get a good window seat going or coming.  I did manage these photos on the return trip.

You will see a cruise ship in the dock and also a helijet on the way to the provincial capital of Victoria, BC.

The sea bus on the way to North Vancouver had much bigger windows that the one on the return trip.

I was famished as by now it was mid afternoon. I had calamari and Greek salad. Delicious!

I end with a few more photos down at Vancouver waterfront. I didn't get photos in North Vancouver other than my lunch as by then my phone was losing juice.

There were 3 big cruise ships docked.

This is the smaller cruise ship.

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I hope you enjoyed the tour. 

Have a great weekend.

Joining in with 

Friday Foto Friends

and 

Skywatch Friday

Seton Lake Skies

Two of my family members took a drive to Seton Lake in early September.

The area is a wonderful wilderness area and an outdoor enthusiast's paradise.

The scenery was spectacular. In these photos the road seems to lead to the sky. 

Seton Lake is located where you see the red X on the map above,  near Lillooet
(indicated by the red dot).
Click here to learn more about tourism in the region.