Lower Mainland - Wrapping Up

October 30th was our last day in the Lower Mainland.  We had leads on a couple of sites that we wanted to explore.  Sadly the day was a complete bust, and I never even took my camera out of the truck.  We tried to get access to an abandoned ferry moored in the Fraser River near Mission.  But to get near it we had to cross private property and it was all heavily posted with No Trespassing and Warning signs.  We also spotted some abandoned boats in the Fraser River but they were on Native Land, and once again there was no access.  This seemed to be a common theme through much of our time on the lower mainland, and even on occasion out on Vancouver Island.  Photography in highly populated areas is certainly a challenge.  But, even though we were unable to photograph some of the things we wanted to, we still came away with a lot of great images.

The next day was Halloween and we had to check out of the Condo in Surrey and start making our way home.  We decided to take a couple of days and make it a more leisurely return trip.  So, we headed up the old Trans Canada Highway through the Fraser Canyon.

Our first stop was at the old Alexandra Bridge over the Fraser River.  This was a single lane automobile bridge that has since been replaced by a newer larger one a short distance downstream.  The Provincial Park here was closed and the parking area was barricaded.  We had to park on the shoulder of the highway and then walk down the trail to the river.  I was in a bit of a foul mood on this day.  This was partly due to our inability to shoot anything the day prior, but also because the strap on my camera backpack was broken, making it very difficult to carry.  I was in such a funk that I elected not to try to carry my camera down to the bridge.  Any shots of this magnificent structure that make it into the Apparitions project will have to be Arturo's.

Most of the highway traffic heading to Vancouver now uses the Coquihalla Highway.  This is more direct and faster than the old winding Trans Canada.  But the old highway through the Fraser Canyon is much more interesting and scenic.  Many of the small towns along the way are slowly dying and there were lots of boarded up old businesses.  This area is well worth a return trip at some point to more seriously document these places.  The wind was rather cold and blustery and we simply didn't have time to explore everything that we could have.

We did stop and photograph in a few places along the way.  Chris stopped at a small town convenience store and picked up a lottery ticket for Connie.  Sadly when she scratched it after our return, it was not a winner.

We photographed an old hotel, and an old church on Native property before eventually rolling in to Kamloops in the evening.  We stayed at the same hotel we had stayed at two weeks prior when our journey began.  We had dinner at a nearby pub and then turned in fairly early.