Buntzen Lake

It was a beautiful Saturday today - sunny and crisp - and I felt like going for a local scoot. The temperature was pretty good for a day in February - around 12° C. - but I didn't feel like a long trek.

After coffee at a relative's house in Port Coquitlam, I headed towards my destination, Buntzen Lake. Buntzen lake holds many warm summer memories with my side of the family as we often meet there near the end of summer and catch up on vacation highlights.

I turned off the Lougheed Highway and went up Ioco Road and then towards the community of Anmore. It was quite a steep climb up the hill and a fairly twisty road. On the map above, it's the red route. Parts of the road in Anmore were very rough and bumpy and I had to slow down considerably.

I went through Anmore (basically a residential area) and continued onto Buntzen Lake. At the entrance of the park was a sign that read "Caution - Extremely Slippery Road". At this point I thought, hmm, maybe the fact that I'm on a scooter means I'm a bit of risk taker in the first place so perhaps I will carefully try this road. Also, the temperature was warmish and the sun was out so I carefully went down the road.

I did notice a fair bit of snow on the sides of the road but there were no near death experiences on the road or, for that matter, during the entire ride.

I arrived at the lake to a beautiful vista. I snapped a few photos, noticing that the people that were there to have a picnic had the whole beach for themselves! I would have stayed longer but I smelled hot dogs cooking over a over a barbecue and realized I had missed lunch.

I went a different way back, through Belcarra and Ioco. The road was much better as were the opportunities for photos.

I first stopped in Ioco and took this picture looking at Burrard Inlet. It was very bright out at this point which is why the photo is a bit washed out. Still, I liked the sparkling water from this viewpoint.

On my way down the hill, I also saw this church/religious centre. I liked the look of this old house and how it was being used.

I ended up in Newport Village (where Ioco Road meets the Lougheed Highway) and had a latté and a prosciutto and bocconcini sandwich at an Italian café before heading home - feeling warm and content despite the crispness in the air.