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Disappointing…  I went there early in the morning while the light would have been much better in late afternoon for photography and I guess the Sun wasn’t strong enough at that time to compel those tulips to open up to catch some rays.  There were many rows of tulips, but we were not allowed to walk within those rows and yeah, the festival was just rows of tulips…  Nothing special.  Why not be creative and do some nice landscaping with all those flowers?  Given that the festival is located in Agassiz, 90 minutes or so from downtown Vancouver and that my visit was over within 45 minutes, I don’t feel it was worth it.  Nevertheless, I did snap a few pictures – here they are:

 Rows Of Tulips
No walking withing those rows please!

Multi-Colored Tulips
Colorful tulips

Festival Backdrop
Mountains surround parts of the field

Red Tulips
Fiery red tulips

Festival Headquarters
The Festival headquarters

Basketful of tulips
Basketful of tulips

STEVESTON

Steveston lies at the Southern tip of Richmond, roughly 40 minutes from downtown Vancouver, by car.  Watch kites flying at Garry Point Park, walk along the scenic dyke, or just plain relax while you savour some delicious home-made ice cream in the heart of the village.

Cherry Blossoms
Cherry blossoms at Garry Point Park

Parachute #1
Sports kite/parachute (?) at Garry Point Park

Colorful Houses #2
Looking East along the West Dyke trail

Steveston Landscape
Looking West along the West Dyke trail

Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle on the West Dyke trail

Turtle Party
Turtles having a party on the West Dyke trail

Fishermen's Dock
Fresh seafood for sale at the Fisherman’s Wharf in the heart of Steveston Village

Seagull
Seagull enjoying the view at the Fisherman’s Wharf

Harrison Lake #3
Harrison Lake

After a group outing to the Agassiz Tulip Festival was over all too quickly and wondering what to do next on this beautiful sunny day, the guy I carpooled with suggested we go on a road trip.  Although we had no specific destination in mind, our driver suggested we try driving along Harrison Lake on a service road he knew existed but had never tried.  This was my first road trip experience and man, I had a blast!

Leaving Agassiz behind, we entered the city of Harrison close by.  We skipped the famous “Hot Springs” altogether as our goal was to explore the unknown.  Back country map in hand, our driver led us to the East side of the lake, on a rather well maintained road.  Although a truck is more fit to handle that kind of terrain, sedan type cars such as the ones we saw along the way could still navigate through the light bumps, albeit at a slower pace.

Dock
A couple of kilometers into the service road

Waterfall
Waterfall flowing beside a tiny bridge crossing

Harrison Lake #1
After some elevation gain, we came across this nice viewpoint (notice the cross at the bottom of the tree)

Bear Creek Shore #1
14 kilometers or so later, at the Bear Creek Recreational Area

Bear Creek Shore #2
At the Bear Creek Recreational Area

Rural Mailbox
Our Harrison Lake road trip over, we still stopped here and there for some great rural views on the way back

Rural Landscape #2
Heading West along Hwy 7, another spot worth a picture.

Sea Of Sun Runners
It was a record breaking year for the Vancouver Sun Run

As I left around 8:30AM to participate in the 2008 edition of the Vancouver Sun Run — as an avid photographer :p –, the Weather Network’s website mentioned the temperature in Vancouver was 1ºC and with the wind chill factor, it actually felt like -2ºC — Brrrr!  But it could have been worse: just 36 hours prior to the event, I was running for cover as big fat wet snow flakes pounded downtown Vancouver on Friday night.

Needless to say, the record breaking 59,000+ mass of sun runners couldn’t wait to get going this morning, their Sun Run T-shirts needing some extra warmth in the form of a long sleeved shirt for most.

I had a blast witnessing the event from the sidelines, in my double layered ski coat. :)  Believe it or not, I did jog a little bit myself, moving from one vantage point to another.  I particularly enjoyed the view from Burrard Bridge where the view on the sea of people running below along Beach Avenue was amazing; so amazing in fact that I saw a runner actually take a break from the “race” to take a picture too! :)

Sun Runners
Crossing Burrard Bridge

Sun Runners
Long sleeved shirts were the norm for this year’s Vancouver Sun Run

Sun Runners
Don’t be fooled by the palm trees, it was bitterly cold this morning. :s

Guitar Player
Musicians were spread out throughout the course to entertain runners and spectators alike

Irish Clovers Flag
Luck of the Irish?  Those clovers don’t have four leaves! :p

This year’s Saint Paddy’s Day Parade was better than last year’s.  The highlights for me were the energetic Irish dance numbers — more plentyful than last year — and a strong Asian presence in traditional costumes which brought grace and beauty to the parade.  As far as improvements go, adding some music to the sports portion of the parade might make things a little livelier and, I can’t seem to figure out those bagpipes…  They all sound the same to me; I’ll try to listen more closely next year. ;)

The organization of the event was great.  No real delay and a very respectful crowd — thanks to the alert volunteers patrolling the event — made this a very enjoyable 90+ minutes of Celtic inspired fun.

Dance Steps
Celtic Dance

Graceful Asians
Simply divine beauty, elegance, and passion emanating from her

Irish Wolfhound
Irish Wolfhound

Pushing the Ambulance
Helping the one who usually helps others :)

Music Junkies
Celtic music


Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa) practicioners

Beautiful Asian
Pretty in pink

The Peking Acrobats
The Peking Acrobats

Hold On!
Hold on!

Superdogs Dance
Superdogs show

For the Young at Heart...
Parade for the kids

Sea of People
The Fair at the PNE is VERY popular!

35 minutes from downtown (by bus — take the 250 bus) is this little gem of a park which offers amazing views on the Greater Vancouver and Howe Sound regions.  It contains all the ingredients of a hike, minus the pulse-pounding cardio bit.  Its pièce de résistance is of course, the lighthouse from which the park got its name. 

Lighthouse, West Beach Viewpoint
Lighthouse, West Beach viewpoint

Great Heron, Wings Down
Great Heron

Arbutus
Arbutus

Leaky Boat
Leaky boat ;)

Dog Drooling over view
This Pyrenean Mountain dog is positively drooling over the view! :p

Labrador Retrievers?
Labrador Retrievers (?) and their proud owner :)

Canada Day 2007…  Still plenty of snow up there!  Tough one, but with the 360 degree view at the top, it’s totally worth it!

Bowen Island
Bowen Island

Downtown Vancouver
Downtown Vancouver

Howe Sound
Howe Sound

Mount Baker Piercing Through The Clouds
Mount Baker

Seymour Valley
Seymour Valley

The free suspension bridge. :)

Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge
Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge

Old Rusty Bridge
Old Rusty Bridge

Fly Fishing In Action
Fly Fishing In Action

Waiting for the Fish to Bite
Waiting for the Fish to Bite

Seymour River
Seymour River

Tough hike!  Some got swarmed by wasps on this one too.

Beach Along Indian Arm
Some beach along Indian Arm, I think

Bedwell Bay, Deep Cove, and Vancouver
Bedwell Bay (front left), Deep Cove (right), and downtown Vancouver in the distance

Looking East From Eagle Peak's Summit
Coquitlam Lake

Looking North From Eagle Peak's Summit
Garibaldi Mountain

The Swan Falls
Swan Falls

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