We flew into Seattle and drove up the next morning to Vancouver stopping along the way at 3 WA LH's- Mukilteo, Bush Pt and
Admiralty Head. We got to climb the tower at Admiralty Head but the
Keeper's house was closed. We used a Ferry to get from Mukilteo to
Whidbey Island for the other two lighthouses.

I thought we had lucked out at Mukilteo LH but it was not to be. When
we got there the LH was officially closed but the gate was open and
we could see people walking around in there. I went in and talked to
the person who looked like she was in charge. I had contacted someone
on the Harbour lights Collectors Forum that is a volunteer at
Mukilteo and she had indicated that she might be able to setup a
private tour. Unfortunately our e-mails had crossed and missed each
other. I was hoping this was actually her but it wasn't. I explained
that I "knew" this other woman and explained what she had told me and
the lady there asked that we leave the area ASAP. That's life.

Here's some photos of those three lights.















Mukilteo from the Ferry




Our Ferry Escort

We continued on whidbey island after taking the ferry from Mukilteo and our first stop was Bush PT LH.

I did not know I was in a "gated" community as I saw no gates but this LH has more signs prohibiting things per square inch than any other I've been to.

We left Bush Point and made our way to Admiralty Head LH. We passed the ferry landing which takes you across to Port wilson LH and at that point I intended to return that way on our trip back from Vancouver- more about that later, though.

We lucked out a bit at Admiralty Head LH. The tower was open for climbing but the Keeper's house was not. It looked like some type of meeting was going on at the time we were there possibly the volunteers for the LH. We did not see anybody outside of the house, though.

Hers' some various shots of Admiralty Head and the view from the lantern room. The lens has been removed- it may be on display in the house but I'm not sure about that.













Esther in front of Admiralty Head LH



Stairs Leading Up To The Lantern Room



View From The Lantern Room



We left here and continued on our way to Vancouver, BC for our appointment with a float Plane to Whistler, BC

We got to Vancouver about 4 PM parked our car at Canada Place (from the world's Fair in Vancouver in 1986) and walked over to the Float Plane Terminal in the Vancouver Harbour.

We got on the plane for Whistler, BC and we lucked out- we were the only passengers so we had plenty of room. the plane could hold a pilot, co-pilot and 6 passengers. we had a pilot and 2 passengers.

We got a very quick glimpse of the 3 lighthouses in the Vancouver area on the way to Whistler. I apologize for the quality of these photos- actually thes were the best of those I was able to get "on the fly", so to speak.

The first one we passed over almost immediately after taking off- Brockton Point which is located in Stanley Park (Vancouver, BC)




We then almost immediately flew over Prospect Point which is also in Stanley Park.



We had a short time until we saw the last of the three LH's- Atkinson Point which is located in Lighthouse Park in North Vancouver, BC.



We then continued on our way to Whistler, BC. This is where the skiing, bobsled and luge will be held in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games.

Here are three shots I took of the scenery on the way to Whistler.







I like the daytime moonview in this last shot.

We spent the night in Whistler and took the Whistler Mountaineer back to Vancouver the next afternoon.

We spent the morning up on Whistler MT taking the gondola to the summit. We did not take the chairlift all the way up, though. It was a bit of a hike- up and down hill to the chairlift so I skipped it and Esther didn't want to go alone.

The Whistler Mountaineer is a train that takes a scenic route back to Vancouver. I had booked us on the upscale seating which included drinks (soft and alchoholic) and a High Tea Service that included finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam and fancy deserts. It was a bit pricey but very nice.

We spent the next evening in the Vancouver area and got up the next morning and took the ferry over to Vancouver Island to visit Victoria and some lighthouses as well.

We got to see a couple of LH's on the way over on the ferry. I thought possibly that we had seen a third one but after checking out things online I found it was not the LH I thought it was (Saturna Island LH) but probably just some type of communications towers.

Here's a couple of photos of Georgina Point LH in Access Pass on Mayne Island.






Here are some shots of Portlock Point LH on Prevost Island a bit further on towards Vancouver Island.









Here's a shot of what I initially thought might be Saturna Island LH.




We landed in on Vancouver Island and our first stop was Butchart Gardens. We had lunch and spent several hours there exploring the gardens.

We left there and bypassed Victoria to get to Fort Rodd Natioanl Park where Fisgard LH is located.

We pulled into the parking lot and we were greeted by a doe and her two fawns just roaming around looking for food- probably. We were the only people there at that point and I had nothing to give them.

We walked down to the LH and took a detour into the Batteries of the Fort along the way.

The LH was open to go into- at least the Keeper's part but not the Tower or Lantern Room. there is a interesting set of displays giving the history of Fisgard LH and of wrecks in the area over the years, etc.

Here are some photos of Fisgard.

We left fisgard and continued on our way along the coast road towards Sooke, BC. I had hoped to get to the Sooke Area Museum before it closed but that was not to be (the Triangle Island LH is located there) so we continued on about 10 miles to Sheringham Point LH.

We did what we have done many times in the past and used the Lighthouse Friends and Lighthouse digest websites to direct us to the LH's in conjunction with my mapping progam on the computer and my gps in the car.

Things were a bit off with this one- it seems that there is some type of building project going on at the end of Lighthouse Rd and we had to walk around a bit to find the right path to the LH. It looks like either a campsite place or an exclusive housing site is being developed.

It's a bit of a steep walk down to where the LH is.

Here are some photos of the LH. It was difficult to get to the non-sunny siide of the LH as it was getting near to sunset so some of them are not that good.










We left there and drove back to the Sooke Museum and I was able to get these photos of the Triangle LH which originally was on Triangle Island off the Northwest coast of Vancouver Island.











I wish we had gotten there while the museum was open but you just can't do everything in a week.

We spent the evening in Victoria at the Marriott overlooking the harbour- well at least that's what we were told. I used points so I got a city view room.

We got up the next morning and took one of those hop on hop off buses that are in many major cities these days.

We rode around a bit and took in the sights of Victoria and got off at the Craigdarroch Castle which isn't really a castle but it is an enourmous house built by one of the society pioneers of BC. Here's a link to it's website

http://www.craigdarrochcastle.com/

We spent sometime there and then continued on the tour which took us past other tourist spots and gave us some fleeting views of the Trial Island LH.

Esther and I got off at the totem Polls near where we got on and I took the car and retraced my route backwards to get some shots of Trial Island LH. It's out in victotia Harbour and not that close to land so the photos are not that good even with a 12X zoom on my camera(about 340 mm equivilant).

We took the Ferry back to Vancouver that afternnon and the next day we got up close and personal with the 3 LH's we saw from the Float Plane.

We drove out to Lighthouse Park in North Vancouver first and took the hike down to the Atkinson Point LH. It's about 3/4 mile to the LH and it's not very level most of the way.

We lucked out hers just a bit. We got to the locked gate that leads down into the LH station area itself just as a lady was escorting two people out.

I struck up a conversation with her and because of my Sandy hook t-shirt and my stating that Esther and I were volunteers with various lighthouse organizations she let us in so we could get a closer view of the LH and a clearer shot for our photos.

Unfortunately she did not have time to let us tour the area- she and here group of volunteers were there on a work detail but at least the reception was a bit nicer than we got at Mukilteo a few days prior.

I made a donation to the Atkinson Pt LH but will not be doing the same for Mukilteo. I'm sorry if that seems petty but it's how I feel.

Here are some photos of the LH.















Unfortunately the idiots are everywhere- we saw grafitti like this much more than I would have expected in Canada.

We saw quite a bit of it on the rails of the bridges we walked over at our next stop the Capilano Suspension Bridge site.

http://www.capbridge.com/

It's a simple suspension bridge that spans the gorge of the Capilano river in north vancouver, BC. The span is about 450 feet long and sits about 230 feet above the river.

There are a number of other bridges in the treetops and a walkway that takes you through the old growth forest.

We left there and drove over to Stanley Park in Vancouver. We stopped at the Prospect Point LH Overlook.

I had done some research and found that you could walk on the seawall from Brockton Pt to Prospect Pt- it is about 3 miles round trip.

You get to Prospect Pt first the way I entered the park and did not think it made much difference which light you started at. It does, it most certainly does.

The seawall at Brockton Pt is a bout 15 steps down from the LH. the seawall at Prospect Point is about 300-400 ft down and can only be reached by taking a long and winding patth down to it from the overlook. This path takes you to the seawall at a point about 1/2 mile from Prospect Pt LH so this adds a very steep climb down and about 1 mile to your trip.

I suggest anybody visiting these two LH's park at Brockton Pt and walk along the seawall to Prospect Pt and then walk back to Brockton Pt.

The only saving grace for us was the fsact that there is a shuttle that goes all around Stanley Park and stops at both LH's so we used that to both see the rest of Stanley Park and get back to our car at Prospect Point Outlook.

We first walked out onto Lion's Gate Bridge which is located almost directly above Prospect Point LH. We got some shots of Prospect Point LH as well as the replacement beacon for the Capilano River (First Narrows) LH. Here are some photos from that vantage point.


Capilano Beacon

Here is Prospect Point LH from the lion's Gate Bridge (which is a replica of the golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco).





Here are some shots of Prospect Point from the seawall.

Here are some shots of Brockton Point from our walk along the seawall.







Here's one with a float plane similar to the one we took to Whistler.




Here's one with one of the many cruise ships that leave from Vancouver.













We finished our day in Vancouver here and started out again in the morning.

We spent the next day driving around Vancouver and visiting different places.

We made our first stop the Anthropologhy Museum of the University of British Columbia. Unfortunately it had closed on 9-2 for renovations for 6 months. Nobody cleared this with me, though

http://www.moa.ubc.ca/

Undaunted we walked over to the Nitobe Memorial Gardens just across the street from the Museum. It's a tradional Japenese garden. It was open but was operating on the honour system- drop your entry fee in the locked box and enjoy your visit.

http://www.nitobe.org/


We left there and made our way to the Vancouver Maritime Museum which has as it's centerpiece the RCMP St Roch which patrolled the Canadian Arctic for decades and made two transits of the Northwest Passage.

The museum also has some lighthouse related exhibits including a fresnel lens -







It also has on exhibit a lighthouse beacon-









http://www.vancouvermaritimemuseum.com/

We finished up that day by going to the observation deck on the Vancouver lookout at Harbour Centre. It's very similar in design to the Seattle space Needle.

http://www.vancouverlookout.com/

The next day was our day to take a Whale Watch Cruise out of Steveston Village, BC.

I again apologize for the quality of some of these photos. the whale watch boat was usually going at a pretty good clip. we were out for almost 5 hours and got to see two types of killer whales- 3 pods of Resident Killer whales and one pod of Transient Killer Whales.

We were on a semicovered boat similar to this one- except ours was completely open in the rear of the boat.



We went out the mouth of the Fraser river and came across this lighthouse- Sand Heads LH



We passed by Georgina Pt LH and Portlock Pt LH on our way to viewing the whales.

Georgina Pt LH




Portlock Pt LH



We also passed a WA LH on our way to the whales. You can enter US waters and leave without going through customs if you do not land on any US soil.

Here are some photos of Turn Point LH in WA.










We spent about an 3/4 of an hour near Turn Pt watching the 3 pods of Resident Killer whales.

We got a report of a pod of Transient Killer whales in Access Pass near Georgina Pt LH so we left and hightailed it at top speed there.

I thought Esther had gotten some photos of the Killer whales with Georgina Pt LH in the background but she apparently did not.

Here are several shots of the Transient Killer Whales near Georgina Pt.









We motored back to the dock and intended to be on our way to the Seatlle area to spend the night before flying home the next day. Unfortunately we had the only real bad luck of the trip- the car was telling me that the air pressure in the right rear tire was low.

I went to Canada Tire and they said they'd check it out and have an answer in 1-2 hours. I didn't really want to drive to the Seattle area at 6-7 PM so I cancelled our reservation adn stayed another night at the HI Express we had spent the last 3 night at. It turned out to just be a nail in the tire and was fixed in about an hour.

We had a great trip- sunny days, highs in the mid to upper 70's few clouds and no rain. I even got to sit in a row on the plane both ways with the middle seat empty.


We got to see 15 new lighthouses and actually got inside 2 and saw many other things that interested one or both of us over the 8 days we were in that area.

Hope you enjoyed my little travelouge.

Dennis

Gee, Dennis, next time you post a travelogue please add a little more detail . . . .

SOunds like you and Esther had a really cool trip out to the PNW area. Even though you think some of the images aren't that great, I think they are all just fine. Lots of really cool ones in there. The one that really stays with me, for whatever reason, is the one of the steps at Fisgard. Just really an interesting pattern.

Thanks for taking the time to share with all of us. Lots of new territory for many of us.

Definately a quality travelogue!

Many Thanks for posting!

Dave,

Thanks. I'll remember to add more details the next time. I actually held back a bit- i had many more pbhotos and could have expounded much more on parts of the trip.

I'm sorry but some of those photos are not great- but it's understandable given the fact that the plane was not circling the Lh and that the Whale Watch boat ws going about a zillion miles per hour.

Dennis

Asome, just Asome!

Thanks for shareing your trip with all of us.

Dennis, Great photos and narration!! Hope we can get to the "Great NW" someday!! Thanks for sharing!
Rick & Sis

Rick,

I've often said that if I ever moved from NJ it would be to the Pacific Northwest- although it would probably be Northern CA or Oregon maybe even WA.

We spent sometime in the Maritime Provinces of Canada (NS & NB) in 6-07 and I preferred that area to Vancouver. I'm just not a big city person.

Dennis

Thanks for sharing your pictures with us Dennis. I certainly enjoyed them.

Loved the photos and the narrative. Very informative and the pictures are excellent. Thanks for sharing

Thanks for taking the time to post your pictures and commentary Dennis. I think it really helps others going to the same area to read your tips or suggestions.

It looks like a nice time of year to visit that area.

Lorie,

Can't guarantee the same type of weather but we had just perfect weather by most people's standards- sunny, warm (low 70's to low 80's daytime, 60's nighttime) and absolutely no rain. We could have used some cloud cover to make taking photos a bit easier- or I could learn how to use my camera better.

There was also a bit of a haze some days- one gentleman said it was partially due to all the wood burning syoves, etc. I don't know if that's true or not. it semed worse on the US side of the border, though.

Dennis

Dennis,

Great pictures and travelogue (think Dave was pulling your leg with his remark about "more details"--he does that to me, too). Thanks for sharing what appears to have been a great trip.

Sandy

Sandy,

I like to respond to those type of questions in a serious manner- even though I know it's meant tongue in cheek.

It's my way of being a smart-a**

Dennis

Denise,
Great to see someone elses photos of lights we have just visited - spent August in Alaska, ending with two days in Vancouver and two in Victoria. Enjoyed Victoria, did you see Trial Island lens in Bastion Square? Alaska was amazing, we visited lights and even got to climb Eldred Rock and Sentinel Island lights.
HCS

Hilary,

No. I did not get to Bastion Square. We were only on Vancouver Island for about 29 hours so we couldn't hit everything- we had to sleep sometime.

I'd like to get back there sometime. I liked Victoria a bit more than Vancouver- a slower pace and a bit smaller.

I hope to get to Alaska as well one of these days.

Dennis

Thanks, Dennis. Great photos and narration. It's always fun to see pictures of these lights even though they are in my "home territory". Glad you enjoyed the beauty of our great Pacific Northwest.

Larry