What else is there to do on a freezing cold New Year’s Eve? Staying indoors would be boring so we decided to head off to North Van and Grouse Mountain. The plan was to go to the top of the mountain and just take in the views. What we didn’t bargain on was the lengthy queues of skiers and boarders clogging up the gondola. So, rather than stand in line for an hour we decided to try our luck at Capilano Suspension Bridge. 
The bridge is one of Vancouver’s most popular tourist attractions, and the great thing about being newcomers is that if we want to be tourists, we can be. Even better, we discovered that BC residents have free entry to the attraction for a year after paying for the first entry. So, visitors be warned, you are highly likely to end up being taken to Capilano, and I hope you have a head for heights.
Built in 1889, the bridge stretches for some 450 feet at a height of 230ft above the Capilano River. The whole park covers around 7 acres and it’s only when you start walking the treetops adventure that you really take in the scale. When one’s downtown, it’s easy to forget that the area is a temperate rainforest, however, Capilano park really brings home the natural habitat of BC.
The views, even in winter are spectacular and the sight of eagles gliding low in the valley, hunting for fish was truly awesome (my first use of a truly overused word around here).
Back to the crossing, and yes, Lesley was that worried.
Here’s a grainy video I took
The bridge itself certainly swayed with the number of people crossing in both directions. I hope the short video captures a little of the experience. I do intend to pick up a compact digital camera soon as I’d like to have taken some better shots than were possible with the trusty Nokia.
Even though we walked the treetop adventure, I’m sure we could have spent more time in the par, but with hypothermia setting in we erred on warmth. We’ll certainly go back to the park when the salmon are returning to spawn, now that should be a pretty special experience as well.
