and today I was driving over the Lion's Gate Bridge on our way over to North Vancouver
Here is our anemic 3 lane bridge. There is normally one lane for each direction and the middle changes depending upon how backed up it is. Today we have two lanes heading North.
This morning it started out at -5°c and it was only a degree or two above freezing all day. When the sun comes out we are able to see snow on our local mountains
Vancouver is surrounded by mountains on our North and by Water on the West. Our Downtown area is nearly an island attached to land only on the East which means having to drive over a bridge or two which adds to our congestion. In the past I have given you many photos of False Creek, today I will show you our Inner Harbour.
Those Orange cranes are located at our container terminal. It is a working harbour with freighters loading grain and also the location of a couple of Canneries (foreground). At the top right you can see the Vancouver Skyline and perhaps the Lion's Gate Bridge at the other end
The snow capped mountains show our "Lion's" covered in snow. The two rock formations resemble two lions sitting down and our Lion's Gate Bridge is named after them. Those buildings on the north side of the inlet is North Vancouver. It is a separate city with their own Mayor and councilmen, and also a different police force, currently protected by the RCMP. Vancouver has our own Vancouver Police Force. Farther to the West is West Vancouver, which is another separate city with their own Mayor and Council
This is one of the operating canneries on this side of the inlet. For security reasons, normal people are not allowed access to these areas without proper reason or ID.
That is a bulk loading grain elevator on the other side where freighters come to fill up on wheat
Not counting our Seabus (ferry across the harbour) the only way to access North Vancouver is by two bridges. We took the Lion's Gate Bridge North, and the Second Narrows Bridge on our way back.
During our travels today I noticed a car similar to what I used to own. This is an Alfa Romeo, most likely a 1750 DOHC. I used to own a 2000 GTV Veloce with SPICA FI. This older model most likely had the dual webers
I'm glad I don't own it anymore but they are nice to look at. This one looks like it has been restored.
It was a beautiful day to be out and we even managed a bit of exercise walking the trails of Capilano Canyon
Hope you had a chance to get out and enjoy Nature too
Nice catch on the Alfa. Dead sexy little cars yeah? They had some snap off the line, and could outhandle anything the North Americans or Japanese could build back in the day. Beauty as well!
ReplyDeleteChris:
DeleteI used to own two Alphas: a 1973 GTV Veloce 2000, and a Guilia Spyder 1600 DOHC. The Spyder is now a collectors item and highly collectible. I only have one photo of it. Back then I had a camera but didn't use it very much. The GTV would easily go 100 mph, I can't tell you how I know. I also had a BMW 2002 and it was very smooth
I enjoy seeing your pictures and getting a view of other parts of the world!
ReplyDeletePam:
DeleteOur inner harbour is mostly commercial, not many parks or restaurants and all of the vantage points have restricted access, except of course for Stanley Park which is the largest urban park in North America at around 10,000 acres.
It had -11C this morning in our area, warmed up to -5C around 9AM. Went out for a walk at noon when it it zero. The inlet is freezing over, seriously there is a thin layer of ice on the water.
ReplyDeleteSonja:
Deletenearly didn't recoqnize you. I heard that with the wind chill it was like -7°c. Roads were very slippery this morning. It was so icy it was hard to walk. We had a cold snap in the early 1990's and the Fraser River was nearly frozen over near the Surrey-Fraser Docks.
Thank you for the tour of another part of Vancouver that usually isn't in the brochures. That trail looks pretty interesting as well.
ReplyDeleteRichard:
DeleteThere is limited access to our harbour and nothing for tourists. It is hard to gain access to the water as it is all closed off to the normal person. There are signs everywhere which prohibit photography as they are worried about terrorism. Our tourist areas, where all the waterfront restaurants and trinket stores are down on Denman, Robson, Davie, Kitsilano and Granville Island.
Bob, good photos as usual, thanks for sharing them. We've just had our first snowfall, but as usual here in London it melted away by lunchtime. Regards, El D
ReplyDeleteEl D:
DeleteOur snow usually melts by noon too, but not today . . . it's still snowing and our ground is all white. Hope you are feeling better
Bob
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Vancouver-I miss it.
N
Nikos:
Deletetoo bad I missed you when you were in Vancouver, but it may have been a long time ago before blogging. It's nearly time to visit again.
It's hard to imagine that Vancouver is nestled in the mountains. You can ski and see the city below.
Bob - in a little twist of nature we were +10 all weekend with rain on and off. A great day for walking, but not off road as the melt was leaving rubber boot high puddles (hidden under snow).
ReplyDeleteHave almost made it to Vancouver - but not quite so love seeing the photos. Wait til you get to the Atlantic.
Karen:
DeleteYou were so close "two years in a row" but not quite. Our southern TCH is very scenic but slow going as you go through many small towns and have to slow down. One full day of riding will not even get close to hitting Alberta. Then if you go northward you can ride up to Jasper and ride down the Icefields Parkway down to Banff. We have been there in July and it was snowing.
Oh, you should get higher boots, something like Hipwaders. Go to a fishing supply store
Hey Bob, I don't think I've ever seen you pose your ride with those mountains in the background....am I mistaken?
ReplyDeleteDom:
DeleteI don't think I've ever shown you our Mountains which tower over our City. Many times our mountains get snow but nothing in the city, except for some rain. When you see photos of Vancouver at the base of the snow capped mountains, it just looks . . . spectacular. There is basically only one road up and not very scenic to snap shots.
There are several mountains on the North of the city; Mount Hollyburn, Cypress Mountain, Mount Seymour and Grouse Mountain. So you notice we are surrounded . . . and it would take less than an hour to get to any of them from home. The Sea to Sky highway to Whistler is a road through the mountains with Howe Sound on your left as you head north.
So when are you coming up here ?
You never know Bob, might be later on this Spring, but in the meantime why don't you get us some shots of the mountains? :)
DeleteDom:
DeleteI know you were planning the Icefields Parkway a couple of years ago but anytime before June is Iffy in our interior. Many roads are impassable until then from too much snow. We are a bit isolated here on the Coast and into our Fraser Valley where we get moderate winters.
So far I have only shown you "tourist" type photos. Now I know you want the "insider" views
Wow on the Alfa. Boy, do I ever miss mine. Riding the scooter is great fun, but snaping into 3rd, then 4th and then 5th with the engine screaming at 7-grand, the top down and some BMW owner wondering what the *&%@# was that, is a rush that can't be topped.
ReplyDeleteLove your view… and the waterfront…. too bad it's all curtailed..
Oh well.
Hey. How many weeks until you get here?
Ciao. Mike,
Mike:
DeleteThe car I liked the best was my Alfa Guilia Spyder 1600 DOHC. I only have one photo of it. There was one on Barrett Jackson Auction I noticed on TV last week. I've had lots of convertibles; MGB's, '67 Mustang convertible & still have my C5 corvette roadster. There is a caravan going to Bowling Green Kentucky in 2014 and a few from here were going to drive their Corvettes there to the National Corvette Museum, so we shall see.
Not yet sure on ETA but something around July 18th ish. I thought you were coming halfway ? how about that 250cc you were eyeing ?
Majestic mountain views! I could almost smell the salt air...
ReplyDeleteHey, I enjoyed reading about your journey into SF and the fun you guys had together!
Glad it happened for you!
Deb:
DeletePeople that have never been here don't realize how close our mountains are. The city is basically at the base of those mountains plus we are surrounded by water on 3 sides. Our Downtown area is nearly an island with water on 3 sides and accessed by many bridges.
Whenever bloggers get together, we are like old friends . . .
Bob, I will say it again, these photos are treasure to me. I've made Edmonton, Kamloops but didn't quite make Vancouver....it was just another big city back then. Now I know better and yet with your photos, I allllmost don't need to actually visit.
ReplyDeleteCoop:
DeleteKamloops was only about 4 hours away ! You were so close. Nothing there except for the big hill. Too hot in the summer and too cold in the Winter. The best roads are East of Kelowna. Or some local backroads such as the Duffey Lake Road through Lillooet or Spences Bridge to Merritt. One of my favourites is Lillooet to Pavillion where you are within the Fraser Canyon. I used to travel on network of gravel roads when we had our Jeep
Coop:
DeleteI found an old video which shows us riding from the Lion's Gate Bridge to Horseshoe Bay along the water
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwMOoIbZsro
Those pics are great. I have GOT to visit Vancouver one of these days.
ReplyDeleteKathy:
Deletehopefully we will have a room available soon. Ride or don't ride, we can show you around. Try to plan for summer as the weather is better. It usually rains from October to April