our chilliwack lake provincial park adventure...

Nestled in the majestic Coast Mountains south of Vancouver, Chilliwack Lake Park protects a rare patch of old-growth forest. Besides its main attraction, Chilliwack Lake, this 9,122 hectare park also encompasses several pristine lakes and rugged mountain peaks. 

How does that sound?

Those words are taken from a 'tourism Chilliwack' brochure...

and of course they would make it sound good.

It really is quite a jewel of a park though...

and just a one hour drive from 'my front porch'.

We decided to take a Sunday afternoon drive to the lake...

and brought along chairs and books...

and had visions of finding a quiet spot beside the lake.

The paved road ends at the north end of the lake...

at the public beach and boat launch.

But we noticed a gravel road continued on around the lake...

and thought maybe we should go further.

After all...

we were in the pick-up truck.

We shared the road with horses...

...and it got narrower and more full of potholes as we carried on.

We stopped at a viewpoint half-way down the lake...

...and then carried on down the very bumpy single-lane road.

We decided to turn back at the next opportunity.

There was none...

and I got out to hold up branches that were hanging over the road.

Did I mention that we were in a brand new pick-up truck...

one that we did not want scratched?

Eventually we found a spot where we could turn around and head back. 

We don't actually know what lies at the very end of the road...

though we were almost there...

I'm sure.

Apparently there is a trail that leads to the Canada-US border from the south end of the lake.

We'll never know for sure!

Late in the afternoon...

we finally parked our chairs next to the lake...

at the public beach we had passed by much earlier.

We watched people...

and opened our books for a short read...

and then it was time to head home.

Next time...

we'll go straight to the park at the lake...

and leave the exploring to those who like back-roading or riding a horse!

flying high...

It was just a normal Friday.

I was going about life a usual.

And that involved emptying out the dishwasher.

I glanced out the kitchen window...

and saw a plane landing on the grass immediately behind our house.

What in the world?

The pilot hopped out...

and then it all made sense!

Ernie.

He usually taxis businessmen around the country in executive planes...

and on his days off he occasionally plays close to home with smaller planes.

It was good day for flying...

so he popped by with intentions of taking Jeremy or hubby up for a sightseeing jaunt. 

He came to the door to see if either of them were around.

Hubby was at a meeting...

and Jeremy was not answering his cell phone.

Missed opportunity!

Since they were not about...

Ernie wondered if I might want to go for a short flight around the area?

Of course I would!

I grabbed a jacket...

and my camera (of course)...

and off we went.

I saw my neighbourhood from a whole new perspective!

As you can see...

the field behind our house made for a perfect landing strip.

As for the fields directly behind the barns...

one would need pontoons to land there.

We have several aerial photos of the farm taken over the decades...

always from this angle.

Jeremy and Broni now live in the farmhouse with their family...

...and we live on the 'back forty'.

Hubby drives to work.

The grands run across the fields!

We flew over the subdivisions on the hillsides...

where our other kids live.

Who knew that Cultus Lake was almost in their back yard?

And then we looped back over the city...

...and east to the 'green, green fields of home'.

We were just coming down for a landing...

as hubby pulled into the yard with his truck.

He was quickly trying to call me from his cell phone...

wanting to tell me there was a plane landing in our field.

What a look of surprise when he saw me waving at him from the plane.

Too funny!

It seems he never missed out after all.

Ernie offered to give him the tour from 'up above' as well.

A quick taxi down the 'runway'...

and they were up and away.

I got the dishwasher emptied while they were gone...

and then some.

Who would have thought a plane could land so smoothly on our pasture?

I had to think back to another time when I was in a plane that landed on a grass runway.

It was not so smooth!

The runway was in a remote part of Haiti...

and we weren't so sure the pilot would manage to stop the plane before he ran out of grass.

Next to the runway lay the wreckages of all the planes that hadn't quite made it!

We lived to tell if it...

but it was a scary experience.

That was decades ago.

As for now...

I had no fear whatsoever.

Thanks, Ernie...

for the experience of a lifetime!

Once hubby was safely back on the ground...

Jeremy heard his cell phone message...

and came out to see what he had missed out on.

He was too late for a plane ride...

...but Ernie put on a bit of a show for him as he left.

It seems he has way too much fun at work!

I think I'll be flying high all week.

A few hours after my flying adventure...
it began to snow.

The green fields...
and the brown fields...
and the red fields...
and the wet fields...
all look the same today!

Have a wonderful day.
One never knows what the day will bring!

to hell's gate...and back!

From explorers to fortune seekers...many attempted to traverse the waters of the Fraser River in years gone by...and all met their greatest challenge at a pass within the Fraser Canyon at the place we now call Hell's Gate.

The explorer Simon Fraser mapped this section of the river as his greatest challenge.  'A place where no human being should venture, for surely we have entered the gates of hell'...was what he wrote in his journal.

Despite Simon Fraser's warning...and with the river at peak levels...we decided that it was a good time to take a tour of Hell's Gate.  We did just that on Sunday! 

We discovered there were two ways across...the tram or a hike down into the canyon and a stroll across the bridge.Most of us opted for the tram!

Once the first car was loaded...it plunged out of sight and down across the canyon.  It was rather like a large-group zip-line experience!  Most painless...however.

We also learned a few things while we were there.  Who knew that twice the volume of water flows through Hell's Gate than that which flows over Niagara Falls?  Nor would I have guessed that the water boiling beneath us was 180 feet deep.  And this is the river that is home to the world famous salmon run!  Those fish do not have it easy.

We walked the bridge...checked out the gift shop and museum...

...and felt a little of what Simon Fraser would have experienced in 1808.  We had salmon chowder and ice-cream...

...or treats from the fudge shop.  We sat next to the roaring river and enjoyed our goodies in the company of friends... 

...and soon the last tram car was heading for the other side.  It seemed no one was too eager to spend the night at Hell's Gate...and soon we were all homeward bound. It's always fun to play tourist close to home!

Had we driven a few miles beyond Hell's Gate...we would have had a chance to visit the town of Vancouver Bar...

 Lloyd Forman photo

...formerly known as Boston Bar.  In the very recent past it underwent an official name change...something to do with the Stanley Cup playoffs...and it makes sense to me! 

Enjoy your day...

Lynn Canyon Park

After disembarking from the ferry following our Bowen Island adventure...we realized that the day was still young...and we may just have time to squeeze in another little adventure.  Not too far from the ferry terminal we arrived at Lynn Canyon Park.  It is one of the oldest parks in the area...having officially opened in 1912.

Within a minute of arriving at the park...we were on a suspension bridge viewing the cascading waterfalls some 166 feet below.  White foaming rapids...and emerald green pools of water make for a beautiful sight on a sunny day.

The steel cables supporting the narrow walkway across the canyon looked sturdy enough to me!  Though we have another famous suspension bridge in the same area...this one is free...and amazing.

A number of marked trails proceed from each end of the bridge.  A short walk found us beside the creek in a spot where the canyon was wider.  From there we took a staircase up to the eastern rim of the canyon...

 

  ...and on through old growth forests.   One can spend an hour or two hiking, as we did...or an entire day. 

Lynn Canyon is featured in the book called 52 Best Day Trips from Vancouver...by Jack Christie.  I think he made a good call!  We've been there before...and we'll likely go again.

Have a wonderful weekend...

Bowen Island ~ an excellent adventure...

Bowen Island is located 12 miles northwest of Vancouver...at the entrance to Howe Sound.  It is just a short, relaxing twenty minute ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver.

We heard that it was a great destination for a day trip...and had been planning for several years to check it out.

The forecast was for sunshine on Wednesday.  We found some friends who were more than willing to join us on our jaunt...and we packed our bikes onto their truck and struck out on our adventure!

We rode the ferry as walk-on passengers...and paid $1.50 extra to bring our bikes...a really good deal for our friends since they manage to share a bike! 

What wasn't entirely clear before our arrival at Bowen Island...was that it would be somewhat like pedaling a bike in San Francisco.  Think hills!

And a map would have been helpful...since we did a few unnecessary hills while we were at it.  We ran out of gears a few times...and did a little pushing on occasion!

Oh...and then there were even a few optional hills...that those on a tandem bike just had to try!

We had a leisurely ride around Killarney Lake...where the leaves were falling as we cycled...and where the hills were few and far between.  Whew! 

Bowen Island contains 13,000 acres of treed land...mostly Cedar, Hemlock, Arbutus, and Douglas Fir.  We found the perfect spot for a picnic...but had somehow failed to pack a picnic lunch.

No worries...a few more hills to climb and we found ourselves at the perfect little place for lunch...a place where the locals suggested we go.  It was a good call.

Quaint shops...another hill or two...an ice-cream cone for the road...and we were back on B.C. Ferries bound for the mainland.

It may be mid-October, but felt like summer out on the top deck.   

We picked the best of days...for our most excellent adventure!  Oh...and the best of company as well. 

 

Have a great day...

south of the border shopping adventure...

Since it was raining...and we both had reasons to go south...yesterday seemed like the perfect day for us to brave the border line-up...and head to Bellingham. I stopped by to pick up my two passengers and we weren't far down the road...when Heidi mentioned she was feeling somewhat car sick.  Oh dear...some things haven't changed over the years.  She was just an infant when we realized that car rides did not make her happy!  Road trips of any length always called for 'gravol' before leaving home.  Maelyn seemed quite happy on her own in the back seat...singing along with the Cedarmont Kids.  The nice man at the border didn't keep us long...and we were soon at our first stop, Ship Happens...where Canadians pick up their parcels without having an American address.  When I returned to the car with parcels in hand...

 

...Maelyn was sitting in her corner enjoying a banana.  Hmmm.  I asked Heidi if she knew that no banana had ever been eaten in our car before.  She seems to have forgotten our 'no food in car' rule since she's left home.  The rule hasn't really changed...but Grammy decided we would bend it...just this once.

Soon we were back on the road...on our way to Joanne's Fabrics.  And this at my daughter's request...the one who doesn't sew!  We didn't get very far before we realized...Maelyn is more like her mommy than we might have thought.  It seems she gets car sick as well!  Uh...oh!  Poor Maelyn.  Her clothes soon lay discarded in a bag...and with no spare set along...

  

...she agreed to wear mommy's sweater and scarf.  She sat and shivered while mommy cleaned up the backseat as well as she was able.  We decided to postpone Joanne's Fabrics...and opted to stop by Target first...where we were sure to find an outfit that would fit Maelyn a little better than the one she was sporting.

 

She looked rather like a seasoned shopper...flipping through racks long after we had her outfitted.

 

I love that she checks the labels!  I'm thinking she has seen it done that way. 

She was not really in a hurry to leave this place.  Just outside the store was a playground...

...where it seems she met up with a friend.

After a little coaxing...we were on our way to the fabric store.  The trip home was uneventful!  Maelyn was happy with her new Carter's outfit...and slept soundly in the back seat...while mommy kept her eyes fixed on a spot straight ahead. 

There are many good reasons to shop at home.  If only we had a Target...and a Joanne's nearby.

    

  Have a wonderful weekend!