Capturing the Art of Nature
Lynn Valley and Elizabeth
Elizabeth had never been on a suspension bridge so we decided it was time to visit Lynn Valley
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2018
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Wen my kids were young we visited the suspension on several occasions. Each time the boys had fun crossing the bridge though some had more challenges with it than others. My youngest son Ethan, Elizabeth’s father, was one who had no issues crossing the bridge as a teen. So we planned for the week-end adventure and when the day arrived the two came to my house and together we ventured for the park in the electric Bolt. It was an easy drive up and we made good time with the light traffic on the highway.
When we arrived at the park the first parking area was a bit over half full but I drove past and looped past the small café and there I spotted a nice open space to park. I think it is the closest one to the bridge! Not bad for a casual time start. We parked and then made a pit stop before heading for the bridge. At first sight Elizabeth was a bit unsure but Ethan stepped out onto the bridge and helped her get started. She was fine after that though she moved each step very carefully while holding tightly onto the railing. The bridge was vibrating a bit with the traffic but nothing serious. We slowly made our way across while gathering a few photos.
Once across we headed upstream to the 30 foot pool. The trail was very nicely maintained with many wooden walks and stairs. Once we got down to the creek level the trail branched out into many smaller ones and we followed one to the creek. There we wandered over the rocks in the creek bed. Elizabeth slipped at one point and banged her leg but she was soon fine and back on the move. We finally arrived at the pool and there we clambered over the rocks to get a view of the small waterfall at the far end of the narrow gorge. We spent some more time climbing rocks to get to the middle of the creek and a better view of the waterfall. Once we had our fill of the area we started back towards the bridge.
Along the trail we stopped to explore the mossy trees and nurse logs that made up the floor of the valley. We found a shallow cave in the rock face and explored it. Then it was climbing a huge rock for some photos. We slowly made our way up to the bridge and then continued past down the creek to the Twin Falls Bridge. It was getting much busier as the day progressed so we didn’t stop too long at the lower bridge. Now we had a long series of stairs to climb to get back to the car level. It was a bit of a work out but we got there. We looked over the offerings of the café but found nothing that would work for all of us so we decided to visit the ecology centre and then head out for lunch.
The ecology centre had a number of interesting exhibits that caught Elizabeth’s eye, many I remembered from many years earlier! It was an interesting display and we learned a few new things about the local wildlife. Once we had completed a circuit of the centre we returned to the car and started out. A car was waiting to take our spot before we even got into the car! It had gotten that crowded and the parking areas were all full.
We left the park and looked for a restaurant for lunch. Fortunately it wasn’t very far before we found a suitable location and there we enjoyed some cool air while we enjoyed a quick meal before heading home. A short day but a worthwhile experience for Elizabeth. I had wanted to revisit the area for a while, so it was a good outing for each of us.