August 27…. BC again

We’re taking advantage of being so close to Canada, and went up again today. Their license plates all say “Beautiful British Columbia” and that’s absolutely true. BC is a beautiful place. Mountains, valleys filled with farms and crops, Vancouver and her suburbs are all so clean. A very diverse population here, I’ve heard different languages all around. Fun fact: Vancouver has the second largest Chinatown in North America, after San Francisco.

We drove up the coast north of Vancouver on the Sea to Sky Highway. The road hugs the cliff side, similar to back in Oregon, but overlooking huge but protected waters rather than the wide open Pacific. Looking out, we could see ships and islands just peppering the views, ferries going from place to place.

We stopped at what was once the largest copper mine in North America at Britannia Beach BC. The Britannia mine operated from 1904 to 1974, drilling into the hillside for over 150 miles of tunnels. Ore was processed onsite 24×7, and crews lived below the mine. A true company town, Britannia Beach owed its existence to the mine. When the mine closed, the town almost died completely, but has turned more to tourism in recent years. The mine has turned into a tourist attraction now, offering a museum and tours of the old plant and tunnels. Not so fun fact: the Britannia mine was once the largest polluter in North America as well, and the bay below the mine was completely devoid of life. Life recovers, and wildlife has returned to the waters in the last 50 years, but more to go.

We visited Shannon Falls in Squamish BC, the third largest waterfall in BC at just over 1100 feet! Third largest! Crazy. 1100 feet is almost twice as tall as any of the “big” falls we saw in Oregon, and still not their biggest fall.

Once back in Vancouver, we went to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. The bridge was built in 1889 as a tourist attraction, and crosses a gorge at 230 feet above the bottom and 460 feet in length, and just 3 feet wide! Just enough room for people to pass in each direction.

Crossing this thing was a real experience, it bounces and sways with every step. Tipping and wiggling, there’s no way to walk without holding on. And then multiply all that movement by 50 people and it turns into a wild ride.

Once across, they’ve built an entire forest nature park, clinging to the cliffs and edge of the gorge. The Pacific coast here is a true rain forest, receiving up to 300 inches of rain per year in some places! The trees grow huge and thick and the forest is wonderful.

There is a Treewalk there, zig zagging over several hundred yards, and up to 110 feet above the ground. Seven suspension bridges connect platforms high up in the trees, we enjoyed that so much we walked it twice.

All I could think of was “this looks like Endor”. 😉

Crossing back over the wild bucking bridge again, we found what they call the Cliffwalk, a walkway suspended right along a sheer cliff face, supports drilled into the rock and just sticking out over the gorge.

I even got another picture taken with my spirit animal, The Majestic Moose. Still looking for a live one though.

Returning to the US, passing through the border checkpoint, it reminded me of a Walmart… 10 lanes wide and only one of them open. We waited in a line of traffic for over an hour. 😳