It may look like a daffodil pin but it’s actually a badge of courage. The Canadian Cancer Society is distributing daffodil pins as well as live flowers in 2010 in association with the inaugural Daffodil Day.
The entire month of April in BC and Vancouver is Daffodil Month but on the 9th people are encouraged to wear daffodil pins to show their support. Pins can be purchased by donation at the following locations across the province:
Events across BC and the Yukon can be found listed online. You can follow @DaffodilDayCCS on Twitter or Facebook for news and updates leading up to April 9th, 2010.
How to Get There: About 150 km outside of Vancouver, the lake is about a 30 minute drive off the main road in Chilliwack, winding along the river. You’ll pass fisherman every few minutes parked or camped along the side of the road, fixing fishing line or cooking up a catch on an open campfire.
Features: The beach stretches out on the North end covered in fine white sand as an old-growth forest covers the mountains that flank the sides of the crystal-clear lake. The campground has a playground and several open spaces while the lake is fit for swimming, canoeing, kayaking, or boating.
Notes: The setting is absolutely gorgeous and although Cultus Lake has its merits as a summertime playground, this destination about 40km away is far more secluded and pristine.
Reservations for the season at BC Parks open up April 1st with most Provincial Parks beginning their camping season during the May long weekend.
On this day in Metro Vancouver history the SkyBridge, connecting New Westminster and Surrey (Columbia and Scott Road SkyTrain stations), opened to the public.
The $28 million transit-only structure was built by Kerkhoff Bridge and Industrial Division Ltd., of Chilliwack, and Hyundai Engineering and Construction Division Co. Ltd. of Korea. Construction had started October 28, 1987.
The 616-metre- (2,020 feet) long structure was part of a $179 million, 3.1 kilometre SkyTrain extension. It is set aslant the Fraser River to ease the curve coming from New Westminster. The bridge, which carries trains 50 metres above the Fraser, is the world’s longest cable-stayed bridge designed solely for rapid transit. There are two tracks, enabling SkyTrains to pass on the bridge. The 104 deck sections were built in Richmond, barged up the Fraser and then lifted into place by heavy equipment. Thirty-five thousand cubic metres of concrete (4,000 truckloads), 13.5 kilometres of stay cables and 13 kilometres of steel pilings were used in the construction. The bridge’s two towers are each 123 metres (404 feet) high. [Source: VancouverHistory.ca]
When I was a little girl we would drive over the Pattullo Bridge every Sunday. Along the way I would spot the progress of the giant columns that would come to hold up the SkyBridge, bringing the SkyTrain out our way. Every weekend they grew taller and without knowing what the final span would look like, it was always a treat to see how far it had come along. All finished up on March 19th 1990, it is still the longest cable-supported transit-only bridge in the world today.
The SkyTrain has come a long way since Expo 86, with two more lines and millions of riders each year. It has hosted everything from Dance Parties and No Pants Flash Mobs, to car load of Canucks fans, and the SkyBridge has played an integral part of getting people from A to B.
Happy Birthday SkyBridge! Here’s to increases in transit ridership and hopefully one day, SkyTrain or light rail expansion further through Surrey and the Fraser Valley.
This morning I woke up in Whistler Creekside and headed up to the Para-Alpine venue for Day 7 of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. The morning’s events included Para-Alpine downhill in the sitting, standing, and visually-impaired categories.
As a photo of a hockey puck sitting in Toronto’s Hockey Hall of Fame got more face time than Lauren Woolstencroft on the front cover of the Globe and Mail today, as she raced her way to her third gold medal of the Games. With three prosthetic limbs, she won gold in the giant slalom (standing) yesterday with a remarkable 7 second lead over the next competitor.
It was a great day for Canada on the slopes, even if it wasn’t on the ice as our men’s hockey team got bumped to the bronze medal round. Viviane Forest won gold in the downhill (visually impaired) while Josh Dueck placed fifth in downhill (sitting). Both Forest and Dueck each won silver medals earlier this week in the slalom.
The strength of these athletes is astounding, not only were they blazing down the mountain but they were doing it without use of either limbs or sight. The crowd in the grandstand blasted out several rounds of “O! Canada” while cowbells rung out in celebration. Japan, Germany, Russia, Slovakia, America and Canada were just a few of the nations I saw represented with flags, face-paint, jackets and cheers.
Over in the Callaghan Valley Brian McKeever also picked up his second gold today in 10-kilometre classic cross-country, giving him 9 Paralympic medals in his career. I was told that as McKeever and his guide skied down the final stretch, the announcer proclaimed to the enthusiastic crowd at Whistler Paralympic Park that they were witnessing the greatest cross-country skier of all time.
Canada currently has 4 gold medals, 3 silver and 3 bronze as we head into the last few days of the Paralympics. You may view a full schedule of upcoming events over on the official website and you still have a few more days to check out some of the pavilions and attractions around town.
We had lunch at the Lighthouse Pub then walked over to WestCoast Air for a scenic flight of the peninsula.
It was really neat to fly right over the parts of the area we explored by boat just the day before. It was John’s first time in a float plane, which in itself is also an experience.
WestCoast Air offers scheduled flights from Sechelt to Nanaimo, Jervis Inlet, and Richmond/YVR. I’ve also done a scenic tour above Vancouver with them before. Our flight was complimentary but you can book a one-way ticket from Sechelt to Nanaimo for about $67.
You may view the rest of the posts in the Sunshine Coast series here or browse all of my photos or John’s on Flickr.
I know I’ve said it in the other posts as well but it’s amazing to think we did all of this in just a weekend and not once did we feel rushed. As Wendy from Libre Tea once told me, the Sunshine Coast is the “lost corner of the 604” but hopefully after this profile series it won’t be so lost anymore.
