VANCOUVER and beautiful British Columbia (ongoing)

[dewE]

Thank you, Paul. I took many of the early photos from our 45th floor apartment in the One Wall Centre skyscraper (pictured below) in Downtown. It was an amazing home with spectacular views of the city.
Kind of funny that since moving to Burnaby, we have lived at the top of both of the tallest towers seen in the Mount Baker panorama that you were referring.


Thanks Klaus! I may be going out in the fall and starting to check out different areas with views of the city before I go. Your pictures have been very helpful already!

[Klazu]

A couple of Halloween photos from yesterday's beautiful Sunday in Kitsilano.













Jericho Beach Park



Downtown bathing under autumn sun.

[Klazu]

Some random shots from this past fall. First off we have the New Westminster skyline as seen from across the water from Queensborough.





Cascade Falls Regional Park near Mission is a beautiful waterfall that not many have visited.







Bridal Veil Falls is another beautiful and very easy to access waterfall in Fraser Valley.



Further east in Hope the Othello Tunnels are another must-see sight with four tunnels punching through steep canyon walls.







Back in Mission, the city is located on the northern banks of the mighty Fraser River.



When in Mission, visit to Westminster Abbey up a nearby mountain is another must as this abbey is beautiful both outside and especially from inside.





Inside, a warm light in all colors of a rainbow fills the church hall. The whole building is something you wouldn't expect finding some 80 kilometres east of Vancouver.











There is a lot to see in the Fraser Valley and it is worth the drive and a day trip out of Vancouver.

[Klazu]

Something went wrong with the above post not getting indexed and shown as an update on this thread, so bumping the thread with another message.

[Murphy de la Sucre]

I wonder how they are gonna restore those skeletons in their house or they are merely just rented.

[Klazu]

Our second Gulf Island visit wasto Salt Spring Island, which is the largest of all the island and by far the most populous with 10,557 full-time residents.

Direct ferry connection from Tsawwassen terminal takes 1.5 hours to reach the island. It was a beautiful day to make the journey across the windy Strait of Georgia.





Beautiful evening in Ganges harbour.





Next day set on foot to explore Ganges which is the main village on the island. It's a sleepy little village in the morning, but gets busier as the day goes on.













You can find all necessary services in Ganges and there are several restaurants and cafes to enjoy.













One of the main sights on Salt Spring Island is the famous Saturday Market which can have over 200 stalls during the busiest summer months. It was way less busy now in October but still a good place to spend a lazy morning.







Almost everything being sold is locally produced and people actually do buy their groceries from there.





The village has gotten its name from HMS Ganges, a British frigate that sailed these seas in the late 1800s.









Float plane traffic between the island and Vancouver is very busy and no wonder, as it is a short 20-minute flight between the two. There are even seasonal flights to Seattle from here.





Most people live outside of the village and around the island. There is a surprisingly extensive road network to explore with some amazing vistas.





Community farm stands like this are a very common sight and there are dozens of them, selling anything from items to vegetables, to baked goods. They all work based on a trust system, with the money box just sitting there.



There are altogether three ferry terminals on the island and Fulford Harbour is the one connecting the island with the City of Victoria.



Ruckle Provincial Park has some nice trails and is worth checking out.





While there, the park is next to Henry Ruckle's old farm which is one of the oldest same family-run farms in British Columbia, since 1872. The old main building is now a museum about life back in those days.











It being Thanksgiving Eve that we were there, it was funny to see the dinner take one last stroll around the farm.





Hastings House is a luxurious boutique hotel and fine dining restaurant worth a visit.







On our voyage back home the weather was again terrific.









This time we had a stopover on Mayne Island, which is another island for us to explore another day! Several other ferries connect at this terminal.





At the end of the day Salt Spring Island may not have that much to see, but one can spend a nice long weekend there enjoying a slow and relaxed pace and some good food. Definitely another highly recommended destination so near to Metro Vancouver!

[Klazu]

Double rainbow from last month.

[Klazu]

Last year our annual Christmas light tour took us to the suburbs of Surrey and Langley to see how things compare to more urban areas, and we were not disappointed.



Many houses in Langley decorate for Christmas and light up the neighborhood.









A house in Willowbrook area had over 40,000 lights on as part of them collecting money for charity.







Also in Surrey's Cloverdale, several houses put up bright and colorful light displays for people near and far to enjoy.









We finished our tour in North Delta, where one single house had over 100 inflatable characters on its yard. This was guaranteed to be the favorite of all children with so much to see.









Interactive Christmas light shows seem to be gaining popularity and this house in Walnut Grove neighborhood always put up a nice show.

• Video Link

[Klazu]

Few nights ago was the coldest in Vancouver since 52 years.



Stanley Park and the world-famous Seawall were rather quiet in this cold weather.





Also Siwash Rock had some snow on it.



Cliffs of Stanley Park become a wall of ice in a weather like this.





North Shore covered in snow.

[destroycreate]

Vancouver is so beautiful under a blanket of snow! I miss the PNW right now...if only those clear days in the middle of winter were more common hehe.

[Klazu]

Burnaby views after a recent snowfall blanketed Metro Vancouver.

[Klazu]

North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale not being very car-friendly to visit, so we don't visit the area very often. However few weeks ago the weather was being nice so we made the to check out all the recent development in the area.

One nice part of North Shore is how the municipalities have been building a really ice Spirit Trail walking/cycling path close to the shoreline.







For years the trail had a gap in it as the city was negotiating building the trail through indigenous lands. This is the newest section of the trail and it even has a small tunnel underneath the boat launch facility at this small harbour.







Lonsdale Quay is a small shopping center at the heart of Lower Lonsdale area and is the place where the SeaBus ferries from Downtown Vancouver dock. The area is always lively with people coming out to enjoy the sun.





East from the quay used to be a ship building site for decades, but in the last few years this area has been transforming into a new entertainment area called The Shipyards.





There are several new buildings including a gallery, several restaurants and expensive condos.





During summer there are live music performances. In the winter the skating rink is very popular with families and I have to say that it is all really nicely made!





Downtown Vancouver can be seen rising across water. It's an unique view in Lower Mainland with no mountains in sight.





There is still a drydock operating next door, so the area has an opportunity to keep growing more to the east in the future.



New condos in the area are really expensive btu their waterfront is really nice.









All in all, the new Shipyards area is an excellent extension to what was already a nice area and people seem to have found it. Based on my experience, I would rank it nicer place to hangout than even Vancouver's famous Seawall, which while having beautiful views, hasn't been able to become very lively with restaurants and such. I highly recommend checking out the new Lower Lonsdale.

[Evo5Boise]

Keep up the great work!! This thread has been fantastic to follow.

[Murphy de la Sucre]

I am buying a white 2022 BMW X1, it's almost like an X3 sizewise and in appearance.

[Klazu]

Some construction around Burnaby's Lougheed town centre. City of Lougheed is a very dense cluster of 4 tall residential towers, up to 56 floors tall.

















Recently completed 49-floor tall 567 Clarke is one of the tallest towers in Burnaby.









Hensley is another recently completed 33-floor residential tower in the area. 25-floor tall Sydney under construction in the background.

[Klazu]

It took me a full decade of living in Vancouver before recently visiting the Vancouver Lookout revolving restaurant on top of Harbour Centre. it's the last remaining publicly accessible revolving restaurant in the city with an amazing view.





Elevators to the top run on the side of the 28-floor office tower below the observation deck.







The restaurant offers a very nice (and expensive) Sunday buffet.











View facing east extends over Gastown neighborhood with two Burnaby skylines in the horizon.





Sun Tower was the tallest building in Canada upon completion in 1912.



Victory Square is a small patch of green.



Beautiful Dominion Building stands next to the square.



Woodward's Building is the only high-rise building in Gastown.



BC Place stadium



New office buildings next to the stadium.





View towards Yaletown.





Downtown towers make the view towards southwest.









Tallest buildings of Downtown in the middle.



The Stack will be the tallest office tower in town.









Marine Building was once the tallest building in British Imperium.



Coal Harbour rises in the west.





The small air control tower on top of Granville Square tower is the tallest control tower in the world.





I feel bad not visiting the observation deck before, as the view is certainly worth seeing at least once. Also the restaurant was definitely worth the price, especially the Sunday buffet.

[pwright1]

Awesome set of photos of one of my favorite cities. And one of the most beautiful areas of North America. Fantastic photography.

[Murphy de la Sucre]

I've been following this thread for a while maybe a year and got crush on that clear blue BMW X3 appearing and I finally decide to purchase a BMW X3 (before was on X1).

I'll picture the picture when I have it.

[Klazu]

Thanks guys!

Few weeks ago a nice weather provided for a fun walk around Downtown Vancouver.





Cruise season is finally back after a two-year hiatus.



It was surprisingly quiet on the Seawall.





Sun was out in English Bay.





Vancouver's latest "attraction" is a runaway barge that washed on shore back in November and got stuck there.





City is currently paying a hefty sum for 24/7 security to keep people and vandals away.



Attempts to pull the barge failed and now the plan is to demolish the barge on the spot.









Nice summer weather in Yaletown.











It's a long walk around Downtown, but in a great weather definitely worth the effort.

[Klazu]

Most people have probably missed the news about a new walk that has opened in West Vancouver.



In past years dozens of luxury mansions have gone up with fantastic views.





The new walk is quiet yet a fun little stroll through the forest.









Highlight of the walk is a 200-metre wooden Trestle Bridge.









View towards Vancouver is nice from most of West Vancouver.







At the bottom there is a pop-up village which has a nice pizzeria that is very busy on weekends.







Cypress Village will be a new neighborhood going up in coming years and will be home to 7,000 new people.