Fall 2023: Vancouver, Canada!

Tuesday 9/26 to Saturday, 9/30 and parked at Peach Arch RV Park

The Fraser River Valley was a far different view than the Fraser Canyon.  The valley is broad and flat with a lot of farmland.  The Fraser River splits off into many branches as it flows through the City and the outlying suburbs of Vancouver.

The Fraser River Valley broadens to Vancouver.
 

The RV park is surrounded by commercial blueberry fields.  Although the Greater Vancouver Metropolitan area has a population of over 2.6 million, we saw a surprising amount of farming in the surrounding area.  Berries and commercial greenhouses were numerous, although we did see 2 large dairy/crop farms.

Blueberry fields next to the RV Park.

Morning fog over the blueberry fields.

Our 4 day 5 night stay in Vancouver was just what we needed.  The first 2 days were dreary and rainy, so we got caught up on our "house" chores, email, etc.  "Glamping" isn't all glamour.  :-)  The last 2 days were sunny, although a bit on the cool side. 

The planet Venus shining over the camper.

Jupiter and the full moon.

Full Moon.

On Friday we drove to the VanDusen Botanical Gardens where we spent several hours, including a wonderful lunch at Shaughnessy Restaurant.  The Fall foliage was just beginning to show its colors.

On Saturday, we took in Stanley Park on wonderful horse drawn trolley ride.  Our driver, Molly, was chatty and friendly.  She mentioned how many Hallmark Christmas movies are filmed in Vancouver, and how many of their horses have appeared in the films, perhaps even the team pulling our ride.  At one point we mentioned that we lived near the Adirondack Mountains and she commented that another couple from there, perhaps Lake Saranac, rode with her this past summer.  Of course she meant Saranac Lake.  

Our past month in Canada has been amazing.  Area wise, Canada is 1.6% larger than the US.  Population wise, Canada is about 39 million whereas the population of the US is over 330 million.  Just a few observations we have.  No facts to prove it, just observations:  Canada recycles much more than most of the US.  At every Canadian RV Park, there were recycling facilities.  Many US campgrounds don't.  Single use plastic shopping bags are almost nonexistent in Canada.  Highway litter was almost nonexistent as well. Not so in most areas of the US.  We saw no bombastic roadside political signs.  No "F so and so," etc.  And finally, once converted to US dollars, most prices were very similar to those in the US.  And on top of everything else, we met some very nice people.  So to sum it up, we really really enjoyed our time in Canada.

Tomorrow we cross the border to Centralia, Washington for one night and then to be followed by a week in Eugene, Oregon.