A photo tour through New Westminster, BC - Royal City - 49°12′25″N 122°54′40″W

Monday, May 30, 2011

Natural

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Layers of colour make the cannon at New Westminster City Hall seem less ominous.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Semiahmoo

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This rock monument at Bear Creek park in Surrey marks the location of the first road linking the town of New Westminster to the International Boundary, crossing what is now the city of Surrey. According to the city of Surrey website, the Semiahmoo Wagon Trail was begun in 1873, and had become known as the Semiahmoo Trail by 1890.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Mish Mash

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Chaotic condominium architecture to match the chaos in flowerbeds down at the Quay.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Watershed

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The Fraser River figures prominently in this blog. This map shows the watershed of the river, some 1100km long, and just how much of the province it covers. Seen on one of the information boards along the Quay boardwalk.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Jagged

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New pedestrian overpass above McBride Blvd, connecting Queen's Park to housing developments on the other side.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Lilac

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Heritage House near Queen's Park demonstrating the beauty of such homes: a verandah covered with lilacs opening onto a well-planted garden.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Gunpowder Plot Success

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Step 1: Set up anvils with gunpowder in between.

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Step 2: Light gunpowder with a red-hot poker. BOOM!

In honour of every queen or king for the past 140 years, there has been a 21-anvil salute. It is now traditionally done on Victoria Day, the May holiday in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Arriba

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The annual Hyack Festival started yesterday with a Multicultural Festival down at the Quay. There were groups singing and dancing all day, and much delicious food being eaten.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Monday, May 16, 2011

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Disappointing

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The weather lately has not been very summery. Despite being days from the May long weekend, I was out walking this weekend with umbrella, two sweaters and a rain jacket. Hopefully the warmer weather is on its way, or more patios will remain as empty as this one.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Creepy Tree

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This tree, and many others along this street, grow in a way that truly demonstrates the effect of power lines on their surroundings. Cool effect, though I fear the picture doesn't truly do it justice.f

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Historic

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Cities around here are big on distinguishing neighbourhoods. Queen's Park is one of them.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Still

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Matthew Baillie Begbie, first Chief Justice of the Crown Colony of British Columbia (1858). There are very few monuments in New Westminster, actually. Pity.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Red Barn

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A lot of this area lies on a river delta, which was historically important for farming. Now it's mostly built up, but at times when driving between New Westminster and Richmond you can wonder, "Where has the city gone?"

This is the view from a bus on Westminster Hwy, heading west but looking north (the mountains indicate where Vancouver and North Vancouver are located).

Friday, May 6, 2011

Suspended

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Sitting in the front seat of the SkyTrain is like riding on a roller coaster. The trains are driver-less, so there's no obstruction of view. This is what you can see when crossing the Fraser River from Surrey to New Westminster over the SkyTrain's suspension bridge. The weather has been decidedly un-spring-like for days now. This is not summer rain!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Stre-e-e-tch!

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Just a couple of months ago, those kale were little pipsqueaks. One day I noticed they'd shot up and now stretch well over my head. Crazy plants.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Halt

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At the top of the Downtown Parkade. Don't go over that green fence; it's a long way down to Front Street (which runs underneath the parkade)!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Whizz

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Zipping past on the SkyTrain from 22nd Street Station towards New Westminster Station...industrial park, rail yard, Fraser River behind. The first truly beautiful afternoon of t-shirt weather so far 2011.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Letters

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This is taken just inside the main post office in Downtown Vancouver. Put your letters in here and they are taken directly to step one in the sorting process. Fast and efficient, as long as it's not Sunday...like today. Just out the window is the main library, with design influences from the Roman Colosseum.

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