Stanley Park, Vancouver

Whenever we have a chance we head for Vancouver and for Stanley Park.  Few cities are privileged to have such beautiful and extensive green space as Vancouver does.  With sport facilities, family activities, bike and walking paths, a beautiful drive, a long seawall, an aquarium, trails, lakes, streams, birds, waterfowl, small animals, great views of English Bay, the surrounding mountains, the Vancouver skyline and harbor, this park has everything.

These pictures were taken at various times and during different seasons in the park, but give some idea of the many reasons we have for visiting the park as often as possible.  Certainly no visitor to Vancouver should  miss the park.  If possible, one should take bikes and bike along the seawall, a several hour walk otherwise.  The one caveat is that the park can be very busy during the summer with parking at a premium and every sunny bench occupied.

It is an especially good place for bird-watching.  The walking and bike path along the seafront are good places to watch for waterfowl, as are the two lakes, and there are many songbirds to be seen also.

Herring Gull

Common Merganser

Barrow's Goldeneye

Mallard

Blue Heron

Double Crested Cormorant

Wood Duck

Bufflehead

Mute Swan

American Coot

Chestnutbacked Chickadee

Rufous-sided Towhee

Fox Sparrow

Derelict Machinery

On Wednesday, December 29th, my son-in-law who was visiting, my youngest son and I went out to do some photography.  Since our time was limited we went to a place in the foothills of the North Cascades about a half hour away where we had seen and photographed a yard full of old vehicles and machinery.  The place is not a junkyard, but appears to be private land on which a quite a number of these old vehicles are displayed without any attempt being made to protect them from the elements.

The vehicles include old cars and trucks as well as old tractors, and old logging and construction equipment including an old steam shovel, old bulldozers and caterpillars, and old farm equipment.  We would have asked permission but there seemed to be no one about and no one said anything about our being there and taking pictures, so we snapped away, though the day was a bit wet and gray.  These are some of the pictures we took that afternoon.