A Sunny Drive to Surrey

This weekend has been a little like a preview for summer. Today, for example, is presently 27C (80F) and completely sunny. It's like someone accidently flipped a big switch a little early. Jay and I took it as a gift to get out of the apartment. We headed over the stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge into Surrey. The brand-new, wide, freshly-paved lanes make crossing the Fraser River a simple joy. 

We turned onto Scott Road just to see the Garden Centre at the Home Depot. We bought nothing but seeing happy people carrying out plants and flowers is never a chore. Rather than just going up King George Blvd, we drove further up Scott Road. From our balcony we can see a startlingly tall new residential tower under construction on the hill opposite the Fraser River from us. We now know the exact location of its base. We took roads that brought us towards Surrey Central. 

A bit of exercise was our plan. We parked at the lot by Green Timbers Urban Forest Park. We occasionally stop for a little walk to the lake.  The park sits around 13 kilometers (8 miles) from our apartment.  

 

Let me include some unusual facts about this land:  This is the place that practically invented the concept of a second chance for BC's nature. Known as the "Birthplace of Reforestation" in British Columbia, this 226-hectare (560-acre) sanctuary, in the heart of Surrey, was once a massive 5,000-acre stand of old-growth giants. It was a legendary tourist stop in the early 1900s as the only virgin forest visible from the Pacific Highway.  However, the land was tragically logged to the ground by 1930. 

What makes it truly special is the "cultural shift" that followed that destruction: in March 1930, the province's first major replanting project began right here with 121 seedlings, marking a milestone that has since grown into 10 billion trees planted province-wide as of 2024. Today, you can still find 27 surviving trees from that original inaugural plantation. Beyond its forestry history, the park is a literal island of calm featuring over 10 kilometres of nature trails, a glacial erratic rock, and Green Timbers Lake, which is stocked with rainbow trout for local anglers.

On the way home we bought a few things at the T&T Supermarket chain that sells all kinds of foods from Asia.

Visiting Tim in Golden Ears Provincial Park

As planned, Jiwan came here by SkyTrain from downtown Vancouver after his doctor's appointment.  We all got in the car and headed to the Golden Ears Provincial Park.  Let me give you a few facts.  

Golden Ears Provincial Park is a sprawling natural playground that consistently ranks as one of British Columbia’s most heavily frequented outdoor sanctuaries, drawing well over 600,000 visitors annually. Encompassing a staggering 62,539 hectares of rugged coastal mountain terrain, it serves as a massive reserve of thick hemlock and cedar forests anchored by the vast waters of Alouette Lake. Its immense popularity is largely due to its brilliant accessibility; sitting roughly 50 to 60 kilometers northeast of New Westminster, it requires only about an hour of driving time to completely trade the urban sprawl of the Lower Mainland for pristine wilderness.

As planned it took just about an hour to get there.  For the first time, I crossed the new bridge and travelled east on Highway 17.  That took us to the Golden Ears Bridge and right into the huge park to the campground and recreational areas around Alouette Lake.

We found Tim in campsite A78. He went on Monday and will go back to the West End either tomorrow as originally planned, or perhaps take an extra night.  We'd brought along lunch but decided to walk a couple of kilometers down to the lake.  Most of this type of lake runs north-south and was created by retreating glaciers.  Things were pretty empty at the campground.  As it is close to urban areas, it gets a whole lot of campers and will be constantly packed come summer.

Jiwan brought along lunch for he and Tim.  Jay made bagel-omelet sandwiches for us.  We picked up a few things at the Walmart earlier today, just chips and strawberries really.  It was nice to tuck into the food because we didn't get back from the lake until 2:00 pm.

By 3:30 Jay, Jiwan, and I started back.  Rush hour had already begun but we were travelling in the direction against most of the flow.  We returned via Highway 17 and I'm sure it would've taken much longer either on Highway 7 or Highway 1.  By the way, Highway 1 is the BC name for the Trans-Canada Highway.  We arrived home at 4:40 and Jiwan immediately went back home by SkyTrain.

It was a nice outing.

Our SkyTrain Morning Outing to Lafarge Lake

It was a gorgeous Sunday morning, cool but clear. I didn't feel like driving anywhere, so Jay and I hopped onto a SkyTrain heading east. We often travel towards downtown Vancouver but seldom take trains to Surrey or Coquitlam.

Today our goal was to travel to the end of the Evergreen extension of the Millennium Line. We needed to change trains at Lougheed Station but the total time was around a half hour. We had probably only visited the end station of Lafarge Lake / Douglas three or four times since that line opened in 2016. The distance around the lake is only about two kilometers and makes for a quick, enjoyable bit of exercise.

 

The history of Coquitlam's premier water feature is a rather charming tale of turning an industrial scar into civic gold.

• 1950s – 1965: Long before the paddleboats and manicured pathways arrived, the site was a thoroughly unglamorous hole in the earth. It operated as a busy sand and gravel extraction pit owned by the Lafarge Cement company.

• Mid-1980s: In a welcome display of corporate benevolence, Mel Earl, the local Lafarge plant manager, persuaded the company to donate the exhausted pit and the surrounding land to the City of Coquitlam. With the digging finished, natural springs were allowed to flood the crater, inadvertently creating the five-hectare body of water.

• 1986 – 1991: The area underwent a massive reclamation project. It was initially developed as a legacy project tied to both Expo 86 and Coquitlam’s 75th anniversary. By 1989, the surrounding Town Centre Park officially opened, subsequently serving as the primary venue for the 1991 BC Summer Games.

• 2016: Urban connectivity finally caught up with the park. The Evergreen Extension of the Millennium Line SkyTrain opened, placing the Lafarge Lake/ Douglas terminus right at the water's edge. Additionally, a new community plaza was unveiled on the eastern shore to celebrate the city's 125th anniversary.

• Present Day: The former quarry is now a heavily photographed urban oasis. It is routinely stocked with trout for local anglers and is widely famous for hosting the decidedly luminous 'Lights at Lafarge' winter festival.

Two Parks and Blue Sky

I switched to having iced coffee this afternoon. It is that type of day.  

 

In Canada, we're in the middle of an extra-long, long weekend. Canada Day isn't until Tuesday, so I get the feeling a lot of people started on Friday and are taking off Monday too.

   

I don't have a problem relating to that.  I haven't put in a full day's work since October of 2014. I'm having an especially-extra-long, long weekend for like ... forever!  You'll find no apologizes given here.

Jay and I still have a little jet lag from our recent month away.  We find ourselves waking up far too early in the mornings.  Our schedule was a tad better as we slept all the way until 5:45 today!  That meant around 9:30 am we were thinking of how to spend a little time in the fantastic weather we would later enjoy.

We ended up just taking a short drive to visit several New Westminster parks. First, we looked at the Brunette River from Hume Park. It forms part of the city's border with Coquitlam.  As it's not on a path for our usual errands, we seldom stop.  Interestingly, we saw that the city has set aside some of the former grassy front area for reforesting.  There should be some more focus on access to the river.  Only one small path lined with scratchy blackberries brambles led to it.

We drove home via Cariboo Drive, by the new Aquatic Center, and stopped at Queen's Park just up the hill from us.  It's been the city's premier park since 1859.  Lots of people got the same idea.  I could hardly find a place to park Kimchi, my little Hyundai EV.

I thought I'd found a small niche until I got out and saw the 'No Parking' sign on a 3-meter high pole, half hidden in the branches.  We drove to another area and a proper space.  It may have been free because of the sign indicating that 'fly balls' may land there and therefore the city assumes no responsibilities.  However, no softball game was on near the field.

We did notice the wee Salmonbellies tots playing Lacrosse in the arena. 

Summer is the best time of year to enjoy living in this part of British Columbia in Canada.  And we do.

Lafarge Lake in Coquitlam

 

It's the middle of the long weekend and the weather is completely cooperating. We were thinking of something to do and I suggested we get on the SkyTrain and head east. We generally use the transit system that tunnels beside our building to go to downtown Vancouver as it's so much easier than driving. We occasionally cross the river into Surrey for errands. However, we seldom travel to Coquitlam on the SkyTrain. Today, we did.

We changed trains at Lougheed Station and got on the Evergreen Line that runs through Port Moody and Coquitlam. We went straight to the end of the line at Lafarge Lake / Douglas.

 

It was a pleasant day to walk around the lake. Interestingly, it is a five-hectare man-made lake that was reclaimed and created in a former quarry. Some areas of the park were nicely landscaped. 

And wouldn't you know, Jay managed to find a small grove of bananas! There are a great number of places in our area where the plants are grown as garden ornamentals. The season isn't long enough to support the maturation of actual fruit.

Happy BC Long Weekend!

Many Canadian provinces have set aside this as a long weekend.  In British Columbia, today is called 'BC Day'.  Of course there are a lot of events, such as the Vancouver Pride Parade yesterday.  Many folks use the opportunity to travel and local ferry traffic is the busiest of the year.  Parks too get a fair share of increased use.

BURNABY FRASER FORESHORE PARK

Recently, Jay read a notice that included a Burnaby park with picnic areas along the river.  We wondered where it is.  We didn't bring along any food, but drove to see it this morning.  I'd never known about any picnic tables in that area.  When I asked Google Maps in the car to navigate to it, the software showed it was just 8.1 kms and would take 13 minutes.   

I love living in the Lower Mainland. There are so many nearby facilities that we seldom use and some we don't even know about.  I'm thankful there are so many interesting places that are so darned close to us!

A Patch of Woods New to Us

The thing that many outsiders don't realize about Vancouver, BC is that it sits on the very edge of wilderness. Most everybody in the Lower Mainland lives within the area constrained by the mountains to the north. The growth must head eastward out the Fraser River valley.  Access to the edge of the wilderness is primarily through national, provincial, district, or municipal parks only.  One is seldom ever more than 25 kilometers from unspoiled and undeveloped forest land.

 

Furthermore, even within the surrounding communities, patches of forest remain as parkland. Today, we looked at Google Maps and drove to a spot only 20 minutes from our apartment where we'd never set foot.

Today's river is protected from development on either side.  As we'd not gone before, I set the GPS for Coquitlam River Park parking.  We didn't do much of a hike but only walked from the road to the river and back.  Some folks were out either riding bicycles, jogging, or walking dogs.

 

This area is in what is called a Heat Warning at present.  It is rather nice seeing the weather get up to 30°C (86°F) in the afternoon.  As is always the case, evenings cool down substantially.  In fact, tonight will hit 16°C (61°F) and the lows will be even cooler later in the week.  My hope though is that this dry spell doesn't continue for too long without some rain.  Our area is prone to forest wild fires without fairly frequent rain.

I love living near a big city, but especially this one because it's next to wilderness.

A Drive to Newton in Surrey, BC

 

We saw no bears in Bear Creek Park but we did spy the creek.  it was nice to walk around the gardens on a beautiful day in Newton today.

 

 

Generally when we're in search of a little walk on that side of the Fraser, we stop at Green Timbers Urban Forest Park. Yet just beyond was today's stop. Apparently the small kiddie train opened for the season on Mother's Day.

 

We seldom have need to visit the Newton area, but Jay noticed that a little store carrying Sri Lankan food products had moved from its former location nearer to the Surrey end of the SkyTrain.  It was a nice day for a little drive.  That area is growing so quickly.  A few years ago the almost rural roads are now home to residential streets and even a multitude of high-rise buildings.  

We found the new location of the Colombo Store. Jay only bought a couple of things today.  It does seem as though everything had markedly higher prices than previously. The shop is not terribly far from the Newton Bus Exchange and fairly close to a Costco.  We no longer bother with membership at it anymore anyway.  It took around 25 minutes to return home on a pleasant, cloudless day.