July 26 – 29, 2025
We left Jasper and headed west on AB 16 Yellowhead Highway. Then we drove south on BC 5 to Barriere, British Columbia where we spent the night. The next morning we continued driving on BC 5 until we turned off onto Trans Canada Highway BC-1. We turned off on Cariboo Road and navigated our way through some very tight turns to our campground.
Burnaby Cariboo RV Park
We had limited choices for RV parks in the Vancouver area. One was Capilano River RV Park in North Vancouver and the other Burnaby Cariboo RV Park. We had selected the latter. This park was located about 30 minutes south east of Vancouver. They advertised a nearby bus stop. Knowing that Vancouver has a good public transportation system, we thought this the best choice.
The sites were tight with hedges for privacy – a good idea until you attempt to park a big rig. We had a lot of difficulty getting into our assigned back-in site with no space to park the truck. It took several attempts to wrangle the RV into the site. One fellow a few sites down took one look and just said “good luck” before disappearing. We were finally successful, we thought. We positioned the RV as far back into the site as possible without being completely in the rear hedge. As soon as we unhooked the truck, a couple of campground employees came by and said the front of the rig was sticking out too far into the street. After some discussion, they offered us a larger site that was somewhat easier to back into and had space for the truck. So, we hooked up and moved. The site was better but we still had very little room. Rather than brave the brambles at the rear of the site, Bill set the StarLink on the truck.
Overall, we found this campground very dated. They did have an indoor pool/hot tub/fitness center but the facilities looked old. There were also a lot of rundown permanent RVs throughout the park and active train tracks running behind the park.
Vancouver
We had been to Vancouver once before for a few days prior to an Alaska Cruise. That time we had stayed in a delightful B&B centrally located in downtown Vancouver. From there we could easily walk to where we wanted to go. We had thoroughly enjoyed that visit and had planned to return at some point. This was our first opportunity and we looked forward to revisiting a couple of the places that we had enjoyed last time.
Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House dinner
The first place we wanted to go was Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House for dinner our first night in town. We had planned to use the bus/subway system to get there but when we checked the route, it involved a 3 minute walk to the bus stop near the campground, 6 minutes or so on the bus, a 3 minute walk to the Expo Line, 38 minutes on the subway, and an 8 minute walk to the restaurant. Total time – a bit over an hour. Alternatively we could take a 30 minute Uber ride. Needless to say, Uber won.
We arrived at the restaurant a bit early so we walked down the block and watched a film crew at work. Then we returned to the restaurant for a pre-dinner drink at the bar. Bill almost immediately noticed the star of the series Tracker (Justin Harley), his wife, and costar (Jensen Ackles) sitting on the other side of the bar. No we didn’t take photos or get autographs.
Soon the hostess came to collect us and showed us to our table just steps from the bar. We asked if they could find a table on a higher floor and they graciously accommodated. So, we had a nice table looking down over the main floors and great food – steak tartare, caesar salad, and beef tenderloin.
Following dinner, we scheduled an Uber for the ride back to the campground.
Granville Island Market
The following day, we took an Uber to Granville Island Public Market, the other location that we wanted to revisit. This is an indoor market filled with assortments of colorful food, produce stores and farmers stalls, all fresh from the ocean, the oven or the field.
Of course we had to get some charcuterie fixings to enjoy that evening – Parma Ham, Jamón Serrano, Manchego Cheese, French Bread, and a bottle of wine.
Naturally there was stop at one of the food kiosks for lunch. We chose Sen Pad Thai but afterwards wished we would have gone to the nearby crepe place. Oh well.
North Vancouver Food Tour
On our previous visit we had taken the Gastown Food Tour with Taste Vancouver Food Tours and loved it. Since then they’ve added a North Vancouver Food Tour.
A scenic 12-minute Sea Bus ride from Vancouver’s downtown Waterfront Station will bring you to Vancouver’s North Shore & the buzzing Lonsdale Quay Market and the vibrant waterfront Shipyards District.
On this walking food tour, you will learn about the early settlers to the area as you savour a delicious culinary experience. With many local vendors and restaurants, this tour will introduce you to a wide range of cuisines.
Enjoy great tasting food and magnificent scenery, all while our fun and engaging storytelling tour guides will captivate you with their great stories and make sure you will have a fun and entertaining afternoon!
We thought it sounded interesting and made reservations for the next day.
Another Uber ride took us to Waterfront Station near Canada Place. Since we had a few minutes before meeting time, we decided to walk around the Waterfront Station area. There was a Princess Cruise ship in port at the time.
Then we wandered back to the station to meet our guide. She handed us tickets for the Sea Bus and we all proceeded to board the boat for the brief ride to North Vancouver.
Upon arrival at the Lonsdale Quay, our guide gave us a brief history of North Vancouver.
The city lies along the north shore of Burrard Inlet of the Strait of Georgia opposite the city of Vancouver. The first community there, founded shortly after a sawmill was built on the site in 1863, was for years the largest settlement on Burrard Inlet. In 1872 it was named Moodyville (for Sewell Moody, who owned the sawmill). The district of North Vancouver was established in 1891 and included all of the territory along the northern shore of the inlet except Moodyville. In 1907 the city of North Vancouver was incorporated as an enclave within the district, and in 1915 the city annexed Moodyville. The western portion of North Vancouver district established itself separately as West Vancouver in 1912.
The region’s diversified economy is based on shipping (grain, lumber, and ore), on shipbuilding and sawmilling, and on some light manufacturing. Services have grown in importance, including tourism and filmmaking. The north shore area of Burrard Inlet is connected to the south side by two bridges: the Lions Gate in the west to Vancouver and the Second Narrows in the east to Burnaby (on the east side of Vancouver). In addition, a passenger ferry operates across the inlet between North Vancouver city and downtown Vancouver.
Brittanica
After giving us some time to enjoy the view of downtown Vancouver across the harbor, our guide retrieved our first taste, a Chicken Doner Roll from Seaside Doner Kebab.
Then we went to Strathcona North, a craft beer company, for some liquid refreshment. Bill tried one of their beers while I had a strawberry kombucha which was very good.
Next, we went inside the Food Hall at the Quay for some soup at the Soup Meister’s Nephew. We had our choice of Boston Clam Chowder, Lemongrass Chicken, Steak with Mushrooms, or Hearty Vegetable.
The next stop was at Pier 7 for a Prawn Cocktail (which I gave to Bill) and a sparkling wine.
We stopped next at the Honey Shoppe, a company dedicated to bring healthy honey products from the honey farm to the city, for a honey stick. We had choices of caramel, cinnamon, ginger, and chocolate among others. Naturally I chose chocolate.
Next up was a delicious beef taco and a glass of wine at Gringo’s.
We weren’t done yet. Have you ever had fried chicken on a donut? Me neither until now at the Cream Pony. It was awesome!
Then it was time for dessert at Earnest Ice Cream.
Wow, that was a lot of good food!! From here we returned to the Quay and rode the Sea Bus back to Vancouver.
Our return visit here went by quickly. On this visit, we experienced another aspect of Vancouver – the amount of urban sprawl – that we avoided when we stayed in central Vancouver. Commuting from our campground to the downtown area was a pain and often involved traveling through areas of homeless. Still, we love the city and hope to return someday to the B&B we used on our first visit.
Tomorrow we get to experience taking our rig on a ferry.
