Vancouver Geocaching On A Dreary Day

Bowser98, MrTJ, and myself, tjguy98 (Brother Al, Brother Ken, Brother Ed, loosely known as the Jeep Brothers) decided to shake off the winter blahs with our first day of geocaching in 2014. We picked Vancouver as our destination as the finds are closer together and you can roll through 20 or so caches in a few hours.

We met up in Central Park in Burnaby mid-morning and picked up the lone cache in Central Park that we had not done yet; well, at least 2 of us had not done yet. With 3 active cachers in the group this would be a day where one or two of us had occasionally already found a cache we would be looking for..ah well...

PSSSST...click on any picture to make it full size.....

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Skytrain runs along the old railway line providing easy access for Skytrain, pedestrians and bicyclists alike. Here's a fun fact about this 100 year old park that even I didn't know - originally it was part of a government reserve set aside for military use by the Royal Engineers in the 1860's!

 After Central Park we found caches in a few small urban parks in Burnaby that highlighted how wonderful it is to have small neighbourhood parks for the locals to enjoy. Whether it was a developed park complete with playground or.........

....a small greenbelt protecting a small creek that is perfect for kids to chase frogs and tadpoles, each one had their own charm.

  Heading over to the Vancouver side of Boundary Road (the boundary between Burnaby and Vancouver) we did a few more small parks sandwiched between Victoria Drive, Cambie Street and as far over as Oak St.

We were treated to mountain vistas from the ridge line of Vancouver which supplied timeless views of nature.

We also received glimpses of life being lived fast and furious down at the level of us humans.

Eventually we all become part of the history of our cities.....we just hope "not too soon"!

And who says it doesn't snow in Vancouver? !! Well, OK...ya got me...it's really ice dumped by the Zamboni outside of Sunset Rink, a place where MrTJ and Bowser98 use to play hockey oh so many years ago...when they were just 'utes........

What really defined for me the differences between urban and suburban was the vast space and parks that are available in suburban areas vs the downsized, friendly parkettes  that are reserved by the city for local use. Above is the definitive example of this...where once was a house on the end of the block, the city purchased the land and made a small parkette for the residents, this one quaintly called "Windsor Castle".

  Windsor Castle Park is located on Windsor Street and the city has whimsically added a crown shaped retaining wall around the kid's sandbox.

 Across the alley from the parkette, they have created another parkette and even provided a patio area for the locals to come and sit and just enjoy the day. If you look in the distance, you will see that across the street is another parkette which provides a long linear green space for the immediate residents to stroll through with the little ones in hand.

 Geocaching in the city means cars, lots of traffic, little privacy compared to the suburbs, and small parks scattered around neighbourhoods; you don't get the spacious feel and the sense of relaxation that the less crowded suburbs provide. However, if you pay attention, you will find a sense of community; whether its at the local community rec centre or the small kiddie park at the end of the block, the city does do a good job of providing you a feeling of home.

All pictures from this day's trip can be found here