Vancouver Day One!

Capilano Suspension Bridge

This place was amazing! There were tall trees that blocked us from the rain, beautiful ponds on the Eco-Walk trail, shockingly high cliffs, and tons of fun! The best way to do this post is just to post the best pics and then comment on them. After all a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

The Visitor's Log

Capilano Canyon was called so because of the Capilano Indian tribe that lived in the area. They were not known for their totem pole making, but for their trapping and hunting skills. When "White Man" came and started foresting the trees in the canyon, the Capilano's helped them out. I am not sure how exactly, but anyway, they ended up doing totem poles. They are huge, beautiful creations.

Crossing the Bridge!!!

Crossing the bridge was exciting and played with your sense of balance! It was so much fun. All you had to do was match your steps with the person in front of you and the bridge would begin to sway. Needless to say, it takes a while to find your . . . uh . . . "Bridge Legs" and then once you get off the bridge on to solid ground it takes a while to stop feeling like you are still swaying up on the bridge. Also, the closer you got to the ends the harder you had to work because someone walking across would be stealing your "bounce" like on a tramp, so all of the energy put forth to make it up the slope is lost and more energy is needed. Erika and I had fun with this concept on the Eco-Walk trail, which I will talk about a little later. Lol.

The river was so far down! Good thing I'm not afraid of heights! :) Well, as long as there is something there to keep me from falling I guess I'm not afraid of heights. Lol. Without the "railings" I'm sure I would have had a problem!

So far down! In the shadows on the left we could see young Salmon swimming near the bank. It was pretty and acrobatical! One would be swimming and then all of a sudden it would flip upside down and we could get a glimpse of it's beautiful silver looking belly. It was amazing to be so high up and still be able to see that.

The Eco-Walk!!

On the other side of the bridge there was a plank trail made for tourists to explore the forest. It was awesome! It went down and under the bridge, then further up the mountain to where a few ponds lay, and then it goes up into the trees! Like the Ewoks in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. There were suspended bridges going back and forth between huge, thick trees. There was a sign that said that the suspension bridges gave the trees exercise. I am not for sure how, but Erika got a picture of the sign. I'll post it in this post later. Anyway, up in the Ewok part of the Eco-Walk is where Erika and I had fun. If you ran across the bridge and someone chased you, you ran out of steam trying to get to the other side and sometimes the bounces from their steps gave you more bounce while you were in the middle of the bridge, launching you forward! Yes I was able to run a bit. More of a jog really. :o It was like I was a kid again. Nothing mattered. I even played in the water and with the fish in one of the ponds! It was hilariously funny, I'm sure, to see a 24 year old girl having fun like a three year old! :) I didn't care. Like I said last night, I'm going to have fun, even if it kills me. Well, I guess I'm willing to put that to the test. :)

Looking up into the protecting treetops!

Trout Lake

It was full of fish. While Erika was taking a picture of me I got distracted by some of the fish jumping out trying to catch water skeeters. :) That was something I hadn't seen for years. The last time was at my Grandpa's Ranch. It gave me a thrill to see it again. I took this picture lying on my tummy on the boardwalk. I stayed like that for a while and swirled my fingers around in the cool water. It was great fun. :D

Part of the Eco-Walk Trail

I loved being in the trees! It was beautiful with greens, browns, yellows, ponds, streams, and a protective covering of the treetops from the rain that started to fall. It was peaceful. I could have stayed there for a long time, just relaxing, taking in all the sounds of birds, squirrels, and bugs. I can not describe how much I loved it. I am so thankful that I chose to come to Canada. It is so breathtakingly beautiful that has resonating shouts that there is a God and that he created all that I see. Everything lives in harmony. The old fallen trees becoming nurseries for new fronds and trees. Feeling the pull of the bridges on the trees and the trees pulling back causing you to sway with the trees. Feeling the soft textures of the bark of all the old trees and the old planks of wood that made the boardwalk, worn down by thousands of shoes. Feeling the hard bark of the new saplings. Seeing the moss growing on new trees and old alike. Listening to the little streams putter their way past you to eventually plummet over the edge of the coming precipice. It was marvelous and I felt rejuvenated, uplifted, and blessed to be a part of it.

Everything seems to grow big in British Columbia. Even their spiders! Nikki almost walked right into this spider's web. I'm sure that would not have gone over well. :) Lol. I was very impressed by it's size, although, I am sure they are bigger somewhere out there. :)

As we neared the end of the Eco-Walk it started to sprinkle. After we got back across the bridge and done purchasing some Capilano souvenirs, it wasn't sprinkling anymore. As I was walking out I caught this out of the corner of my eye and I am so pleased so see that the picture turned out like I saw it. It was a beautiful, blessed day.