Vancouver: Thursday July 2

Thursday we went to Grouse Mountain and rode another gondola up a mountain for some fun! There was a Lumberjack Show, a Birds of Prey show, a chairlift to the top of the peak, hiking tours, nature movies, and if you were really wanting to drop tons of moola there were helicopter tours and zip line adventures. When we left Grouse Mt. we went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge.








Grouse Mountain.





View from the chairlift on Grouse Mountain.

Richard and Jonathan on Grouse Mt.

Jonathan on the Grouse Mt. chairlift.

The Lumberjack Show on Grouse Mt.

During the lumberjack show there is this comic sketch where the lumberjacks are competing in chainsaw sculpting. One screws up really bad, the other tries to fix it, but bumbles as well. It appears he has bumbled so bad that he chopped the ears off the bunny they were working on, but it is soon revealed that he has made a tiny chair with the ears having been little legs for the chair. It was really cool. The coolest of all though is that they give the chair away to the youngest audience member. Well, we had seen the show as a family and the baby that won the chair was 5 months old. They bring the little one down and have him sit in the chair for the audience while the lumberjack that made it holds him in it. SUPER CUTE!! Jonathan and Richard wanted to ride the chairlift to the peak, but Jansen couldn't go on it so we went back to see the Lumberjack Show again because it was really entertaining and it would keep us busy while they did their thing up on the peak. Jansen happened to be the youngest audience member that time and got the chair, complete with the sitting on it for the audience and everything. Do you think I had the camera (either one) with me... NO!! I figured that there were lots of little babies around and so I sent them both up the peak with Richard. When he got back he said there wasn't even all that much to see that they found picture worthy! UGH!!! We did get them to pose for us afterwards though.

Me, Jansen, and Jonathan with the MC, Lumberjacks, and "Canadian Tourist" character. The Lumberjack closest to us is holding the chair.

Closer shot of the chair.

The back of his chair.

The front. Imagine it upside down on top of a log with a face on it with whiskers and big front teeth. That was the silly bunny they had made before hacking off the ears to reveal the chair.


When we were leaving we looked down in this gully and there was a bunch of snow still melting there (we weren't very high up so there wasn't a lot on this mountain). There on top of the snow was a deer resting. She looks pretty small in the picture, but it's all actually good sized in real life!

When we left Grouse Mountain it was on to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. The bridge is the longest suspension bridge for it's height and the highest one for it's length. The tour guide said there are higher bridges that aren't as long or longer bridges that aren't as high, but none that combine as this one does. It was really impressive. The log flume was also first developed and used here. It actually only lasted 9 months because logs kept jamming and then the following logs would shoot out and over the jam. It made it really impractical when so much waste was occuring, despite the danger to the workers unjamming the stuck ones. Sometimes they'd get caught in the path of the ones shooting out and over or fall into the flume and get washed away with the logs when the jam was unstuck. The tourists would come to get pictures by the flume and some of the young boys would jump on the logs and ride them down. That is where the log rides at places like Great America or Six Flags come from. It only lasted a short time, but seems to have made quite an impact! The bridge itself was quite an experience and a little wiggly. Mom, you'd have HATED it! We thought it was awesome! When we got across the bridge there were guided eco-walks and 650 feet of suspension bridges up in the trees. They call it a squirrel's eye view of the forest, going tree to tree. There was also a boardwalk type of path that went under the bridge and around a bit. It was all very beautiful and we closed them down for the night!

Jonathan dressing up in the story tour area at Capilano.

All of us on the bridge.

With the story tour guide at Capilano.

Jonathan in the story pole.

The Capilano Suspension Bridge.

Looking off the bridge.

Another view off the bridge.

My treehuggers while we were on the boardwalk.

The boys and I on the bridge.

Richard and Jonathan on the bridge. People kept walking while I was trying to take the picture. This was the least blurry of them since the bridge was swaying while the people were walking. The bridge was too long to wait for everyone to pass since people kept coming from both sides as soon as it would stop swaying from one group leaving!