Leader: Carol

Twenty-two of us met on a cool but sunny morning on East Fifth and Victoria, next to McSpadden Park.  Our first stop, at East Sixth and Semlin Drive, was at the house formerly owned by Doug Bennett of Doug and the Slugs. Here, Fred regaled us with stories of his connection with them back in the day. 

Check out Love Shines and see if you recognize anyone.

We continued south on Semlin and crossed East Broadway to a viewpoint where we could see the giant metal spider installation, Phobia, on the wall of the train tunnel. Junko, a Montreal artist, created it from recycled materials.

We walked along a section of the Central Valley Greenway, pausing to admire Stump Worsley, and then continued along the greenway to Clark Drive.

At the intersection of East Sixth and Clark, we viewed the East Van Cross and the Clark Drive Plaza where a Christopher Columbus statue once stood. Here, we had a great view of the north shore mountains (blue and majestic in the distance but, sadly, with a lot less snow than usual).

Dropping down off Clark to a parallel road, we entered the highly atmospheric world of the industrial area. The highlight of this was the back of the huge building of art studios at 1000 Parker Street. Weird and wonderful graffiti made this a magnet for photographers.

Emerging onto Malkin Avenue, we walked along the edge of Strathcona Park, filed through a wetlands area undergoing renewal, viewed (and photographed) an eagle posed next to an enormous nest,  and wended our way through the impressive Strathcona Community Garden (espaliered fruit trees! a herb garden! a goldfish pond! (sans goldfish, sadly)). Lunch break was on benches next to the East Van Mosaic.

Crossing Prior Street and skirting the Wilder Snail coffee shop and grocery, we took Hawks Avenue past the Russian Hall and thence to the Militant Mothers of Raymur Overpass, where Carol reviewed the history of the building of the overpass. It was built in response to mothers from the Raymur housing area who had protested on the tracks to pursue a safer option for their children crossing the railway on their way to Admiral Seymour School.

After we viewed (and photographed) Mosaic Park, a long stretch of Woodland Drive brought us to the parting of the ways, where the coffee crowd departed for Café Calabria and the rest of us walked down Commercial to St. Augustine’s.

Photos by: Angela, Dave, Jon, Jean, Michael