Author Archives: Steve Walker

About Steve Walker

Once a tech in-house PR type, now professional photo/videographer and recreational drone pilot. Violinist. Flautist. Occasional conductor. Oenophile.

More Discouvery

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Tuesday and Wednesday 30 and 31 August 2022 – Utter Monster Post Alert! Get yourself a large drink before attempting this one!

Part One of our Canadian odyssey (rugged-north-west-and-wildlife) ended as we arrived in Vancouver on Monday with the prospect of taking it easy and drawing breath after three full-on weeks of Relentless Tourism. So, how did we spend our first day of taking it easy? Of course – an 11-mile walk. With lunch. Obviously.

Actually, one thing first. Having had a late breakfast (our specialist subject if at all possible) we were psyching ourselves up for going out when we were startled by a loud blast of four chords. At first, since we’re by the cruise ship terminal, we thought it was a ship leaving, but eventually rumbled that this is something that happens at midday every day in Vancouver – the Heritage Horns. We had actually heard them on our first visit, but because we were by the Gastown Steam Clock, I had thought it was part of that performance. You can hear the chords as the first notes on the video I recorded at the time:

For our walk, Jane mapped out a route which would see us walking around some or all of False Creek and visiting Granville Island, which are south of downtown Vancouver. Here’s a map of the first 8 miles to give you an idea of the geography:

To get to Granville Island, you can walk down, erm, Granville Street, along which can be found several interesting buildings which hark back to the early 20th century.

We also noticed, in the pavement, some stars.

This turned out to be the British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame. Immediately we started to try to think of famous Canadian entertainers, roughly on a par with famous Belgians. Quick! Name some!

Now I can say I have photos of Michael Bublé and Bryan Adams.

We wondered why Granville Street was the home of this Hall of Fame and eventually spotted a theatre or two, and the Orpheum

originally a vaudeville house and now home to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. I hope today’s audience can spot the difference.

We passed an architecturally fascinating building which revealed a secret that I’ll share with you later.

All of a sudden, we found ourselves committed to walking across the water beside a 4-lane highway, which wasn’t the original plan; we’d fondly believed we could find a way directly on to Granville Island, but now were several hundred feet above it with no way down. We did pass one interesting sight whilst on the bridge, though. All together now, to the tune of “What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor?”:

Again, more on this later.

We (Jane) eventually found a way off the bridge and on to the southern shore of False Creek, hence bypassing Granville Island completely. But since we had a Nice Lunch planned on the island we knew that we’d be back, so we started off on our trek round the eastern edge of False Creek.

Which is lovely, especially on the glorious sunny day we had. It offers great views of the city

and look! there’s that fascinating piece of architecture I mentioned earlier. I shall reveal later the secret of why it doesn’t tip over.

The walk around False Creek is very pleasant; there’s a pedestrian trail and a separate and segregated cycle trail (along which the traffic is occasionally quite dense). As well as great views of the city, it offers

a formally Protected View between buildings to the Two Lions – peaks which give their name to the Lions Gate Bridge north of Stanley Park;

this cute bridge;

some interesting artworks;

and the Science Park. This takes you to the eastern end of False Creek. The route back towards Granville Island along the northern shore is equally pleasant, with many diversion on the way.

The “Time Top”, an installation by Jerry Pethick, which is enlivened by a shoreline cartoon engraved in kerbstones by William Ritt and Clarence Gray

“The Proud Youth“, a new installation from 2021, part of the Vancouver Biennale public art festival;

an installation which presumably moves as the tide changes;

and, bizarrely, under the Granville Street Bridge, a chandelier – again, a newish public art installation from 2019.

So, by this stage we had completed the circuit round the eastern bit of False Creek, but we were now separated from Granville Island – and lunch – by the creek itself. Fortunately, there’s a ferry service to take one across the gap.

Aquabus (Latin) – to, for, by with or from water.

Granville Island is most noted for its Public Market, which is a wonder – sort of like Borough Market (for those who know it), but more so.

The area outside is also a very nice and slightly quirky place to be,

and you get a great view of the Burrard Street Bridge.

There are buskers and entertainers Doing Their Thangs – this chap was Quinn – ex-Cirque du Soleil and as well as being very skillful (spot the knife coming in from the right for him to catch) was very entertaining.

We walked around the perimeter of Granville Island to get back to the ferry point. It was very pleasant in the sunshine, with a kids’ splashpark and play area and some nice waterside dwellings.

There were some shenanigans between a “pirate galleon” (note, though the modern outboard engine)

and a poor sap in a small boat, obviously set up to be a target

and then left to bail his dinghy out as the galleon buggered off.

We passed the Ugly Silos again

and discovered that the faces are, you guessed it, a quirky art installation, this one a spray-painted mural by twin brothers Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo. Even the gates and fences of this place (a cement works) were decorated quirkily.

Nearby was a pavilion of some sort. We never established what it was for, but it has some great carvings on the pillars

and there’s another grizzly bear artwork nearby.

We caught the ferry back to the northern shore across a short but busy stretch of water

and walked back to the hotel along pavements occasionally decorated with leaf imprints

passing the final photo of the day, another scene with interesting light caused by low sun and reflections.

Oh – I must reveal the architectural secret of that remarkable building which appears to be about to fall over. Here it is, seen from the city side.

What a brilliant design, eh?

That was it for the day, and we had a relatively early night, disturbed only by a strange pulsing buzzing noise which seemed to be coming from outside the hotel. I went out to check, and there was a huge thumping and rumbling coming from the port as a large container ship was being dealt with; the low frequency and high decibel count of the noise meant that the sound laughed at our double glazing as it passed through into our hotel room. Fortunately it didn’t ruin our sleep too badly.

We had resolved to make the middle day of our time here a real time to relax. No, really relax, and save some energy for tomorrow. So, what did we end up doing? Relaxing in the room? A spa session? Gym workout? Erm – going for a walk. Only a little one, honest. We wanted to see the Marine Building,

which is very close to the hotel. Completed in 1930, at the time of its opening it was the city’s tallest skyscraper – and the tallest in the British Empire – and it is listed among the best Art Deco buildings in the world. Art Deco is catnip to Jane, so off we went.

My word, what a place!

The entrance is a bit of a clue.

and then you step inside….

It’s a treat for the eyes, it really is. Obvs, we have many more photos, but I hope that gives you the general idea.

We did a small but important piece of shopping whilst we were out (see later) and on the way back saw the cathedral that we’d been unable to get to in our earlier visit to Vancouver. (We’d been to the Holy Rosary Church, but not Christ Church Cathedral). But there it was, dwarfed by the tower blocks around it,

so in we went. It’s a delightful interior – calm and quiet, even though the city’s buzz and bustle is only yards away.

It has a fantastic roof

and round the back there’s a cloister garden

upon to which backs the Bill Reid Art Gallery.

As well as this, as we went to do that shopping and walk back to the hotel, Vancouver had, of course, more street art to show:

and other imposing buildings, too.

The small but important piece of shopping?

Now we can relax! See you tomorrow?

End of Part One

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August 29 2022 – Today marked the end of the rugged-north-west-and-wildlife section of our time in North America, as we left Whitehorse for Vancouver. It’s been a full-on three weeks (except for the boring waiting around for things to happen bits, of course) and it will be rather nice to have three days in Vancouver with nothing on the agenda! We can please ourselves as to where we go and what we do. Bet we end up walking a lot, though.

Anyways, we woke to a morning of slightly uncertain-looking weather, with showers forecast. Nonetheless, Jane suggested we go for a walk, so off we went. We headed for the pioneers’ graveyard

at which point it looked like it might come on to rain. I wimped out at this point, not least because I had a blog to write, and Jane carried on with her original plan, to climb the Black Street Steps,

all 250-odd of ’em. The view from the top was recommended, but, frankly, had too many things in the way to make it very rewarding.

The steps feature a side section which allows for pushing e.g. a bike up the steps,

which looks rather like hard work; Jane reports that this chap was suffering somewhat as he laboured up the steps.

The route back to the hotel led past some interesting houses,

some unsuspected lanes running parallel to the surfaced roads,

and some colourful touches.

(Above is a mural outside the Yukon Chamber of Mining.)

Jane joined me in the hotel restaurant, which we discovered sold Empress Gin,

and we had a lunch which featured enormous portions in the hope that it would keep us going for the rest of the day (which it largely did, actually).

Then it was time to get the shuttle to the airport, which sounds straightforward but wasn’t. We thought we’d booked a shuttle at 2.45, which was about right for a 4.45 flight. But the hotel reception told us that there was no shuttle at 2.45, only at 1.15 or 5pm, so we put ourselves down for the 1.15, of course. Came 1.15, but no shuttle. We spoke to the receptionist, who disappeared backstage and the next thing, the driver appeared and said, “I’ll go get the bus”. On the way, he asked us which flight we were on, and when we told him it was at 4.45, he seemed surprised that we weren’t on the 2.45 shuttle – which he was going to drive!

Whitehorse airport is, like Port Hardy, too small to support a café in the departure area, but sophisticated enough to have mains and USB charging by the seating. We had a longish wait, since we’d got there early, so the charging points and the free WiFi were very welcome.

The flight back to Vancouver passed pleasantly enough. We were right at the back, which I don’t normally care for, but there was adequate legroom and it was perfectly comfortable. Conversation with the chap next to us passed the time very nicely – he was a resident of Whitehorse going (with wife and four kids!) to visit family in Vancouver – and Jane took some photos out of the window, as conditions were clear.

Shortly after take off, we passed the hydro dam (bottom left)

and you can see the dam itself (we visited it two days ago, remember?) and the waterfall to the left of it – the barrier forcing returning salmon into the ladder which runs back and then forth past the dam. I think this photo gives a good idea of how long that salmon ladder really is (nearly a quarter of a mile).

Here are some of the other photos Jane took.

the Yukon River;

an interesting cloudbow;

some lumpy bits;

some lumpy bits with snow on them;

and finally downtown Vancouver, with the cruise terminal and Stanley Park to the left of the picture, the colourful port in the centre and Grouse Mountain to the top right.

When we arrived in the baggage hall, I noticed with some bemusement that the baggage carousel numbering started from 0. I really don’t know why, but there it is.

Our bags turned up eventually, as did a driver to take us the 30-minute journey into town and we found ourselves once again at the Fairmont Waterfront, just three floors higher than last time.

I expect that the next three days will take a toll on our shoe leather, but the weather outlook is very good, so I’m looking forward to exploring the place further. Assuming that happens, I may well take some photos, in which case they may well find their way on to these pages, should you wish to come back and check them out. See you soon, I hope.

Aurora approval

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Sunday 28 August 2022 – Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t stay asleep much beyond 8am, and soon it became clear that the same was true for Jane. Since the weather forecast was for a morning with some sunny intervals and an afternoon with cloud, we decided to go for a walk around Whitehorse to explore it beyond the rather superficial introduction we’d had from Bernie’s city tour.

One can tell, by the way, that it’s summer here from the amount of road construction work that is under way. Bernie explained that Whitehorse has four seasons: nearly winter; winter; still winter; and road construction. So it was nice to be able to stroll stroll around on a summer’s day.

Obviously, Whitehorse has a significant historical, erm, significance, from the part it had to play in the good ol’ days of the gold rush. It is, however, a fairly low-key town; not large, and possible to drive through and dismiss as dull. If you walk around on a quiet, sunny Sunday morning, however, the place has considerable charm. There’s plenty to enjoy and some things to learn, also.

There are plenty of log buildings, some historical, some more modern. One of the tourist attractions which I mentioned yesterday is the Log Skyscraper, built in 1947 by one Martin Berrigan. A massive influx of military personnel and labourers arrived to work on three major construction projects – the Alaska Highway, the North West Staging Route airports, and the Canol Pipeline – during the post-war boom; housing was at a premium (as it still is today). So Berrigan, having started by building one-storey log cabins, decided it would be more effective to build up; and the log skyscraper was born.

There are, as I say, other log buildings: a church and rectory;

a cluster of three relatively modern log buildings now used for businesses;

and many historical ones. One, the original telegraph office, is the oldest building still in its original location, and has been subsumed into the James McBride museum;

and others can be found at Shipyards Park.

There are plenty of historical timber buildings, too, such as the old fire station

and, of course, the railway station marking the end of the White Pass and Yukon route, which linked Whitehorse and Skagway from late in the 19th century. The railway only runs these days to White Pass (you will remember that we rode this route from Skagway, because you have been paying attention, haven’t you?), but the original rails are still largely in place in Whitehorse as a historical and cultural landmark.

There’s a healthy selection of murals

and statues, some quirky

and some more serious, like this memorial to workers who have been killed;

and many First Nation references and installations.

There’s evidence of a burden of guilt about the original treatment by the settlers of the indigenous peoples (which was at times appalling), along with what seems to be a genuine desire to balance this through recognition and inclusion.

In keeping with many places we’ve been to in what counts to us as the far north (Alaska, Iceland), there are many colourful and quirky touches

alongside some attractive buildings

and some evidence of housebuilding to attempt to catch up with demand for housing.

On the southern edge of the downtown area is the S.S. Klondike, the second of two sternwheelers carrying the name and now a National Historic Site. They ran freight between Whitehorse and Dawson City, along the Yukon River, the first from 1929 to 1936 and the second, an almost exact replica of the first, from 1937 to 1950.

Nearby that is a park which has a delightful kids’ splash park.

There are several fountains which operate in a cycle once a button is pressed. I was particularly taken with a bucket fill-and-tip installation

and a “ring of water”.

Whitehorse is a small town, but, alongside its significant role in governing the territory, it has some very charming corners.

In the evening, we went for a repeat visit to yesterday’s aurora viewing site. It was interesting that the lights had already started by the time we got there at about 11pm, in contrast to the day before, when we had to wait 90 minutes for the show to start. This show was better for spectators – it covered large parts of the sky and was brighter than the previous one – but in a way less good for photography, because there was less variety in the colours on display. Nonetheless, we got a few images which we think are pretty pleasing.

This one is Jane’s favourite – a whiskery troll’s howling face in the sky.

Thus ended the second aurora session and, once again, we got our heads down at about 3.30am with a hope for some semblance of sleep before we had to get up and check out. It was our last full day in Whitehorse; we head back to Vancouver tomorrow afternoon for the chance to draw breath before embarking on the next section of this trip. We look forward to exploring Vancouver in some more detail, so please keep checking in to see what we got up to there.