Geocaching in Queensborough

Anytime you are in the Queensborough area two things will constantly be in your view - bridges, and the Fraser River. Queensborough is a neighbourhood located on the eastern tip of Lulu Island. Lulu Island itself is surrounded by the north and south arm of the Fraser River.

Bowser98 (brother Al), and MrTJ, (brother Ken), and I picked the Queensborough area to geocache in as we would be having a late start to the day and the density of caches in the area allowed us to maximize our finds. As well, a geocacher by the name of mcwilli had done a series of caches highlighting the history of the Queensborough area; always a plus when you can learn some local history while you have fun!

We worked our way through the series, strolling along dikes and nipping into small neighbourhood parks while we picked up caches and picked up some knowledge of the region. Evidently we missed out on doing one of the caches in the series, don't know how we missed one little cache...oh well, next time!

Interspersed in the day's finds were other caches that constantly brought us along the Fraser River or left us with a view of a bridge or an on ramp or an off ramp....after all, it is an island and one of the Lower Mainland's main routes south uses Lulu Island as a jumping point over the Fraser River.

One cache brought us alongside a revamped marina where they had dry docked a boat at the parking lot entrance as a piece of art - it was neat to see the old working boat put on display and it did add a touch of character to the area.

At the far eastern tip of the island is an old industrial area which has been wiped clean, and a housing development with a mix of condos, townhouses, and attached houses now offer new homes to eager buyers. They have done a wonderful landscaping job in the area - from creating a seawall walkway around the point of the island, to designing nice looking homes that suit the area. Greenery has been added and as it grows in offers the senses of privacy that close living quarters usually don't provide.

We spent the afternoon caching in the area, mindful of the time as we were going to attend a geocaching event titled "Watching The Sun Go Down, Again" which was to take place at the top of Burnaby Mountain close to SFU (Simon Fraser University). What could be better, a warm August night, sitting in lawn chairs talking to fellow geocachers about life in general, and of course, picking up hints on those caches that you just can't find. So what happens in the middle of August on that one night we want to meet? It rains of course!
But that didn't stop 30 or 40 fellow geocachers from coming out to chat and see old friends and make new friends as well. The geocaching community is constantly growing, and many of the faces I see now I haven't seen before...I almost feel like the old man in the crowd!  :)

I had along Keelong The Panda Bear TB but didn't dare bring him out of the car for fear of getting him soaked - so we settled for leaving the Panda Bear and the lawn chairs in the Jeep. Instead we took our hats and coats and stood in the rain having a grand time....a good way to cap off a day of geocaching!

Oh, and we did see the sun appear, just as it set for the night.....  

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