Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Park was a tourist magnet with as many as six million visitors annually, but it was about time for another visit starting with the rose garden. The park was established back in the 1930s after a mountain had been quarried for rocks for road building. To cover the eye sore left from quarrying, two sunken gardens were established.
Also within the park was the highest point in Vancouver at over one hundred and fifty metres above sea level. From the stone wall was a view of the city spread out below. Lines of straight roads stretched towards downtown while North Vancouver lay off in the hazy distance.
Nearby was the steamy atmosphere of Bloedel Observatory located on Queen Elizabeth Park’s highest point. It was packed with tropical plants and birds fluttering within the geodesic dome. Plants filled the dome from floor to ceiling. Colourful parrots sat on perches while smaller birds fluttered throughout the dome.
Behind Bloedel Observatory was a fountain. Below the fountain was Little Mountain Reservoir—Vancouver’s main drinking water supply. In the 1920s it had originally been an open air reservoir. In the mid 1960s a roof was added. Then in the 2000s the reservoir was upgraded with two separate earthquake proof cells.
The park was probably one of the best city locations for a hike. Not only were there plenty of trails to choose from, but many were up hill. The park’s arboretum made excellent cover from the midday sun with more than one thousand five hundred trees planted. Originally, it was intended to plant every Canadian species, but the planners hadn’t considered that northern varieties wouldn’t survive in Vancouver’s milder climate.