Grinding at Grouse

I proudly completed the Grouse Grind today. It's a challenging walk up the side of Grouse Mountain; every Vancouverite has tackled it at least once. It's practically an initiation for living here.

Here are the facts:

• It's 2.9 km (although it felt like a lot more)
• It climbs 2,800 ft
• It has 2830 stairs (I felt every one of them)
• It has a 56 % slope. E.g. very steep
• Each year over 100,000 people do the grind - that's a lot 

And to give you a taste, this is what it's like:

I'm delighted to have read that on average it takes people 1.5 hours. I thought I was slow (well, I was compared to some) as I reached the summit in 1 hour 5 minutes.

David completed this challenge last week - and his time was a staggering 47 minutes.

While on top of Grouse Mountain, I visited Grinder and Coola, the two grizzly bears that live at the top (they are in a cage...I was safe...). Seeing huge grizzlies close up was great. I had a 'special moment' with the smaller bear who pulled faces/snarled at me (properly wishing he could eat me - very cute). Here is a photo from Grouse's blog of the bears playing:

 

CS

If you go down to the woods today...

Headline fact: we saw a Mummy Bear and two baby bears today.

We also saw six sea otters, but these are much more common.

Where you may ask? Indian Arm, a fjord near Deep Cove.

We had an incredible overnight canoe adventure along Indian Arms. We begun the journey with our friends Alyssa and Drew, before heading further down the river to find our bed for the night:

We found a beautiful spot. It was flat and sheltered - and genuinely 'in the wild'. There wasn't a person or campsite in sight. We quickly whipped up pasta and sauce for dinner using our new cooking gear:

We also set up camp while we still had light. There were major bear markings (scratches) on a big tree behind our tent so we were definitely in bear territory.

See those funny stick constructions in the photo below? These are David's rather clever 'bear warning' contraptions. If a bear came close, we'd hopefully hear...although not sure what we'd have done after that...

We also hid all food, contained in a fully sealed bag, up in a tree - again, to prevent us becoming a magnet for our furry friends:

Thankfully we survived the night without interruption. I'm pleased to say that our 'bear sightings' happened when we were safely in a canoe. Unfortunately we failed to get photo evidence this time.

However, we did get some good photos of the river...beautiful...

This is the view from our camp spot....

And this is 'Silver Falls', the waterfall near our camping spot. We had breakfast here, while admiring the view...

All-in-all an excellent adventure - I'm still reeling from our bear sighting. Many more wilderness adventures required over the summer months...

CS

Too good a tale not to share...!

Very funny evening from my perspective...

We had dinner planned tonight with two friends of ours - Alyssa & Drew. We were due to meet at 7pm near our apartment.

At 5.22pm I got a text from David saying, 'Just reached Mount Seymour. Cycled from home - so will be an hour or two. What time are we heading out?'


Naturally I was puzzled by this. Mount Seymour is the opposite side of Vancouver - across the sea & up a mountain. I politely reminded David that we were meeting at 7pm and that 'he better get pedaling!'


Six thirty rolls around and still no sign of David. I then get a reassuring call essentially saying his:

Yep - David - my personal/reliable 'sat nav' got lost. He was still near Mount Seymour and had been cycling in circles for over an hour.

Amazingly he did eventually make it to the restaurant and was only an hour late. He could barely walk up the stairs & cycled 60-70 miles in total.

Lesson learnt: take a map.


CS

Tourist bonanza: Bloedel Conservatory

We finished off our day at Bloedel Conservatory, a tropical paradise of birds and trees hidden inside a 'crystal dome'.

It is quite small but full of life - lots of pretty birdies. We were both impressed with the talking parrot: he liked the word 'hello':

Exhausted, we then chilled out in Queen Elizabeth Park. It was much more landscaped than anticipated, but still stunning none-the-less:

Sleeping in the sun is always a good way to end the day.

CS

Tourist bonanza: Van Dusan Botanical Gardens

Next stop...the Van Dusan Botantical Gardens - a gorgeous space full of every kind of flower and tree. Reminded us of England:

There were lots of willows too. I had my Pocahontas moment underneath 'Grandmother Willow' (with a waterfall in the background that isn't really visible):

After our picnic (yum!), we challenged ourselves in the Monkey puzzle maze...competing with the kids obviously...

Happy to say that we got in and and out rather smoothly. We were pretty proud of ourselves when we reached the center:

CS

Tourist bonanza: Beaty Biodiversity Museum

After the Museum of Anthropology, we moved onto Beaty Biodiversity Museum - which is also on UBC's campus.

It's Vancouver version of London's Natural History Museum (but on a smaller scale & minus the dinosaur exhibition).

Best thing? The enormous whale in the lobby:

Our visit also solved a major discussion point among our friendship group (Dan, Cathy, I'm looking at you): if a whale ate you, what would kill you?

For the record, we were all wrong.

The answer: it's dependent on the type of whale but if it was the blue whale (in the picture above), its tongue would crush you. Not a happy ending for Pinocchio:

CS

Tourist bonanza: Museum of Anthropology

Another weekend...another frantic day of tourist activity using our 'free' tourist passes.

We started at the Museum of Anthropology, which is based at UBC, the local university.

It is a huge museum and includes thousands of artifacts from all over the world...totem poles...masks...artwork...cedar baskets...jewelry...

Undoubtedly our favourite was the local native art. Here are some pictures:

We spent a couple of hours here, but really we could have stayed longer. There is a huge amount on display but inside & outside the museum. Definitely worth a visit.

CS

Tourist bonanza: Museum of Vancouver

Our latest mid-week date night focused on a visit to the Museum of Vancouver.

It is five minutes from our apartment and broadly focuses on the history of Vancouver (over the last century).

However my favourite part was a temporary segment on 'Ugly Vancouver' - showcasing the crazy neon lights from the 1970s - when the streets in Downtown Vancouver were covered in signs like this:

Yep, pretty ugly: remind me of Las Vegas.

Afterwards we went to local sushi restaurant that we've been meaning to go to for a while. There is so much sushi here - and we cannot get enough!

CS

Goodbye snow, hello sunshine!

My final day skiing in Whistler - and what a season it has been!

I was on the slopes for almost three weeks throughout the winter months; this is as much skiing as I've done in my lifetime before moving to Vancouver.

We've tried Mount Baker, Grouse & Cypress...but ultimately, Whistler remains my favourite spot.

On our final ski day there was not a cloud in the sky - glorious. Look how much fun I was having!

I spent the day with Cathy & Dan, our good friends here. Cathy & I were trying 'synchronized skiing' with little success, while Dan played photographer.

All in all, an excellent day. Looking forward to sunshine now - and hiking!

CS

Tourist bonanza: Capilano Suspension Bridge

We finished our day of adventure by visiting the Capilano Suspension Bridge - one of the biggest tourist attractions in Vancouver.

It well-exceeded our expectations. Obviously the main feature was the suspension bridge itself:

However it had a lot more to offer. This included 'tree walks' that allow you to walk through tree tops via bridges, along with a spectacular walk-way built into the rock itself:

Well worth a visit - especially when the weather is good.

CS

Tourist bonanza: Railway Museum

We continued our quest by visiting the Railway Museum in Squamish.

The railway played a massive role in Canada's history: without it, Canada as an entity would not have been united.

The museum is set within train carriages; so we meandered through the carriages reading about the history of the railway. Photo evidence below:

The only disappointment? Thomas the Tank arrives in a couple of weeks - so we missed the big man himself....

CS

Tourist bonanza: Mining Museum

Our tourist extravaganza continued this weekend - beginning at the Britannia Mining Museum.

It was a fun place; not like a typical museum (where you read and look at things). Instead we donned on hard hats and jumped abroad a train into the heart of an old mine:

Our guide then demonstrated tools miners used in the 1920s. They were deafening!

David also had a go at making his fortune - by gold panning:

Alas our fortune was not made; we'll need to try other tactics!

CS

Visiting the Victorians

A nice way to end the working week...with a trip to Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, on Vancouver Island.

Lucky for me, my workmate (Jenn) is from Victoria and she came along as well - so I got an excellent tour. It's a stunning place; it has a relaxed vibe, the people are friendly and a beach is nearby. That's rather unusual for a capital city.

What was also exciting (for me at least) was my first 'waffle' experience - a Canadian delicacy if you will:

Good for breakfast, lunch and dinner...and something I'll certainly be tucking into more often!

CS