Date: 14 July 2001 (Saturday)

Start:

End: Capilano RV Park, North Vancouver BC (0 miles)

The temperature was 57f when we arose. The max/min thermometer says it got to 81f, but I don’t believe that. It’s 71f now at 5:00pm. The skies were a little hazy with some high clouds.

We didn’t do much today. We drove over the Lion’s Gate Bridge to Stanley Park, right on the other end of the bridge, and went totally through their excellent aquarium. Prime attractions are the beluga whales, seals, sea lions, and sea otters. We watched a "program" at several of these and the beluga one twice (we happened to eat a bite on the terrace that overlooks the beluga tank for the second one). A trainer had a disabled eagle out of cage and demonstrated its wingspan.

Of course, the aquarium has the normal tanks full of strange and exotic fish, and sharks, and all that. But it also has a tropical area with lizards, birds, sloths, and butterflies, to show the things that depend on a jungle/marine environment.

Then we did the driving tour of Stanley Park to see the extent of it. The circumference is about 10km (6+ miles). There were thousands of people out enjoying it. There was even a cricket match in progress as we passed that area.

In getting to Stanley Park this morning, we missed the exit and wound up in downtown Vancouver, which is no big problem with just the truck and on a Saturday morning. We discovered, however, that the road we’ll have to take out of here Tuesday goes right through downtown Vancouver. I think we’ll start after everyone’s at work.

After I complete this note, I’ll put some of them together and prepare the e-mail. We’ll send that, then grill steaks and take it easy tonight. I may also send some more pictures from the early part of the trip – we haven’t had any film developed since we left Fairbanks.