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Do you care about our shoreline? Have you always wanted to volunteer for something but you just couldn’t find the right cause? Are you simply looking for something to do tomorrow? Well look no further. Tomorrow is the last day of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup and they are looking for volunteers so head on over to their website and join up with a group.

h/t to reader Kyla Trethewey whose locally owned boutique real estate brokerage will be participating and cleaning up Stearman Beach in West Van.

There are certain words in the English language that are reserved for special situations. These are terms we use carefully because to do otherwise would diminish their value. Some examples include love, family, beliefs, values and partners. You wouldn’t tell someone you loved them unless you really meant it right? Ok, well the majority of us wouldn’t. We take the use of these terms seriously because they represent something special, something we are proud of, often times something that defines us. So it is with a significant level of pride and unimaginable thanks to the hard work of our Managing Editor / Executive Director Bob Kronbauer that went into making this happen that I get to announce that Vancouver is Awesome has engaged in a new partnership.

Location – Mundy Park, Coquitlam, B.C.

If you live in the urban/suburban density that is Vancouver and the surrounding cities you might be forgiven for thinking that any any remnant of the forests that used to blanket this area can only be found in Stanley Park or on the North Shore. Fortunately, you would be wrong. There are numerous sanctuaries dotting the area and one of those nature havens happens to be located right in my back yard, Mundy Park. Located at the corner of Como Lake Road and Mariner Way, Mundy is a massive treasure chest containing more than it’s share of gems.

I decided to focus on this park for today’s UNPLUGGED feature as an opportunity to show my daughter, who has a burgeoning photography bug like here dad, that we don’t have to go much farther than our backyard to escape into the outdoors.

LOCATION: Vancouver, B.C.
Flash back to the summer of 1997. A 28 year old me, living in Atlanta, Georgia, was just hired to work in the States for an up and coming start-up out of Burnaby named Creo Products, Inc. Until this time I had never traveled farther West than Salt Lake City, Utah but now I was being asked to fly out to YVR and spend three weeks in training. While the work days were long the weekends were my own and along with a rental car and a few other bright eyes newbies I set out to explore the lower-mainland.

When I asked some of my local co-workers where I could pick up some hiking gear what do you think was the first place everyone said? If you guessed MEC you would be correct. I purchased my five dollar share with a crisp U.S. five spot, worth something like $7.50 at time (those were the days) and geared up for what was one of the best times of my young adult life.

Now flash forward 11 years. Creo is purchased by Kodak and one of the guys who was responsible for hiring me in 1997 (thanks Karim) decides to offer me a role here in what was the original Creo building on Gilmore in Burnaby. Thoughts of my lower mainland adventures spin in my head and the decision is a quick one. I drag my wife, daughter and two dogs across the continent and resettle in beautiful British Columbia. Once again, exploring is the primary directive only this time with my family, we need tents, hiking and camping gear and wouldn’t you know it I had saved that little paper card with my MEC membership which was still good. I yanked that sucker out of a file and have not looked back since.

LOCATION: North of Bralorne, Squamish-Lillooet, B.C.

Finally.

It is officially the time of year when all the camping gear comes out of storage, the search begins for that magic trout-slaying fly at my favorite local tackle shop and I hope that a late spring didn’t prevent the ice from coming off whatever remote lake has been chosen as the spot for this year’s Father’s Day fishing trip. You may recall that last year we headed into the Thompson-Nicola area to a nice quiet place called Thalia Lake for our annual excursion. It was a great trip but the fishing, well, not so much.

So this year we decided to forgo Black Bear country in favor of heading into gold and Grizzly land. Our chosen location was Mead Lake, nestled between Bralorne and Gold Bridge about two hours north of Pemberton. In order to access to this lake we had to cross the Hurley Pass, a 6000 foot mountain pass accessible via the Hurley River Forest Service Road. A phone call to the local watering hole, The Mineshaft Pub in Bralorne, confirmed that the pass was clear of snow so we off we went.

So, without further adieu please allow me to introduce to you the new VIA UNPLUGGED Crew:

First off, this is a volunteer position and as with any volunteer role the reward comes from loving what you do. In late 2007 my family and I were relocated by my employer to Vancouver from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. No dig on Pittsburgh but the opportunity to live in a place as beautiful and full of unlimited outdoor adventure was enough to make this move a no-brainer.

Upon arriving in Van my family and I took to taking small excursions around the lower mainland exploring all the area has to offer. Being a photographer, I naturally brought my camera along for each of these outings and found myself presented with a ridiculous amount of subject matter to capture. As you can imagine, when the opportunity arose to document these excursions for the good readers of VIA I could not pass it up.

My hope is to find someone with a similar love for the beauty of the Lower Mainland and a knack for a shutter button to join me in both producing this feature on a weekly basis and expanding it’s scope to something akin to THE destination site for outdoor adventure in Vancouver. If you are interested discussing this opportunity and any ideas for making it better feel free to reach out to me directly, I can be reached in the comments section below, via email at michael@vancouverisawesome.com or on Twitter @VIAUnplugged.