We camped  in one of our membership campgrounds in Birch Bay WA,   to recuperate after our cruise (yeah, we actually recuperate from cruises… life is tough!) ;)  Actually, we needed some time there to plan our trip into British Columbia and Alberta, because we hadn’t made any plans for after the cruise.  We also thought it was a good idea to stay put and wait until the July 1st and July 4th madness was over.  (For those of you who don’t know, July 1st is Canada day and July 4th is Independance day in the US).  Both events were celebrated loudly, actually it sounded like we were in a war zone on July the 4th, fireworks and firecrackers are big business in this part of the country.

Birch Bay is a pretty “beach town”, the beaches are not extraordinary, no white sand here , just lots of pebbles but they say that it has the warmest sea waters North of San Diego.  The tide goes out about a mile and the sun heats the pebbles, which in turn warm the water as it comes back in.  We are not really “beach bunnies” but the beaches were popular and many people were swimming.

Hard to go boating when the tide is out!

We did manage to go on two short excursion, one to Vancouver BC, which is  about 45 minutes from where we were camping.  Bear was so thrilled 😉 to go over the beautiful “Lions Gate Bridge”, between Vancouver and Vancouver North.

This bridge features two sculpted lions at the entrance. (not in the picture)

That was after the excitement of driving right through downtown Vancouver, with its high rise buildings, shops and traffic.  I thought it was so cool, Bear didn’t particularly agree, of course, I was not the one driving….   life is good with a chauffeur….  😉

We finally made it to our destination for the day, the Capilano Suspension Bridge.

Chicken and Bear arriving at the Capilano Suspension Bridge

The old-style suspension bridge hangs 230 feet above the canyon floor and spans 450 feet.

In 1889, George Grant Mackay, with the help of August Jack Khahtsahlano built the first suspension bridge across the Capilano River.  It was made of hemp rope and cedar planks.  The ropes were dragged down the canyon and a team of horses swam the ropes across the river.  Then the ropes were pulled up the other side and anchored to huge buried cedar logs.  August Jack was only 12 when he helped build the bridge.

Nowadays, the hemp ropes have been replaced by steel cables, but that did not improve the stability.  Crossing the bridge still remains a thrilling very shaky experience.

So, I crossed the bridge and Bear stayed back on firm land.

Capilano Suspension Bridge

Once you cross the bridge, another adventure awaits you.  The treetop boardwalk takes you high above the forest floor and gives you a squirrel’s eye view of a Pacific rainforest.  The 650 foot long walk is made of a series of cable bridges suspended in between platforms, some as high as 10 stories.

View of part of the Tree Top Adventure

The Douglas Fir trees found here were about 250 high but they can grow as high as 400 feet, and were there before Columbus discovered America.

Chicken is getting ambitious... two at a time? 😉

Another day, we decided to got to a small place called Point Roberts. (Click on link to see a map).   What is so special about this place is that, it is part of the State of Washington, but the only way to get to it is by going through Canada.  This 4.9 square miles area was cut from the mainland in 1846 when the treaty of Washington drew the international boundary between Canada and the US at the 49th parallel.   From then on, Point Roberts was separated from the rest of Washington State by 23 miles of driving through British Columbia.

Border Marker no. 1

This obelisk was made in Scotland and placed on this spot in 1865 to mark the start of the longest undefended border in the world.

We really did get a kick out of taking this next picture.  The house you see in the picture is actually in Canada, and this Canadian construction worker was a good sport and accepted to pose for a picture with Bear, who was on the US side of the cedar tree edge separating the two countries.

In this picture, Bear stands in the USA while his new Canadian buddy stands across the border, in Canada

Last but not least, I just have to post a picture of the cutest cow I have ever seen. She was minding her own business and happily grazing on some succulent Point Roberts’grass when I happened to see it.  The poor cow sensing my excitement, had to stop eating and pose for this picture.  Bear then, had to track down the farmer and ask what breed of cow she was… as you can see, I am easily amazed and very easy to entertain, because that was the highlight of my day at Point Roberts…  A Scottish Highland cow.  Enjoy!

No but, really, isn't she the cutest cow ever?

Only in Canada...