Date: 17 July 2001 (Teusday)

Start:

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

The temperature was 56f when we arose; it reached 68f in the afternoon. There were low clouds over us all day, even though we could see blue skies to the southwest all day.

After breakfast, we took the truck to the University of British Columbia (UBC) Botanical Garden. We wandered all through it for several hours (including the gift shop). Dolores took many pictures with the video camera. At one point, she even went to the fence and took pictures of flowers outside the garden.

The garden is impressive partly for what it exhibits and partly for where it is located. Marine Drive splits the garden into two halves; the eastern one near the football stadium has the topical gardens – the physik garden, the continental gardens, the food garden, and so forth. To the west of the drive, down to the bay, is the more wild, native side. On this western side of the facility and you can (in spots between trees) see off to Vancouver Island. The native firs tower a hundred feet or so into the sky in the corners of the garden and the plants are arranged around and between them. There are paths of wood chips, which are being replaced by cement walks for handicapped access.

We stopped in a neighborhood near the university to buy bread, then returned to the little house to eat it for lunch. Vancouver, like Chicago, is a city of neighborhoods, each with its own slant on life. It’s a very pleasant city.

Before dinner, we hiked to the mall for margarine and wine. Then we cooked our pork chops and had dinner.

We cleaned up the trailer and ourselves in preparation for moving out tomorrow morning, and then spent a quiet evening.