X-Files Tour in B.C.

I meant to have this up for the weekend, but I was sidelined with a cold and I was really into beating the snot out of Ansem in Kingdom Hearts. I'm happy to report that the cold is in remission, but Ansem remains victorious against my Sora. Next weekend.

I had planned this trip meticulously. Maps of the area, notes of places I wanted to see from X Marks The Spot, numbers on the map, page numbers for quick reference, and my GPS (Mrs. Money Penny).

I must say, of all the cities in the province of B.C. that I visited, North Vancouver is my favorite. I loved the rain, the smell of the cedar and fir trees, the atmosphere, the people. For you Californians, it was a mix of Santa Cruz and Fort Bragg. I totally get why Chris spends so much time up there. Absolutely beautiful.

Even though many of the sites are located in Vancouver, the city itself is still quite large. I knew I wanted to maximize my time up there, especially when I was out exploring on my own, so I rented a car for 3 days. The car, my planned maps, Mrs. Money Penny saying "Recalculating" and "Please Stay On The Highlighted Route" and Mya's help allowed me to see 10-12 X-Files sites per day! No way I would have been able to do that on foot and public transportation, and be back in time to meet Mya for dinner!

I should say that a lot of the places I went to are private residences. And while I was told that saying a combination of the phrase, "'I'm a fan of the X-Files" or "I came from California to see X-Files sites" will get me out of a lot of situations, I was not comfortable walking on people's property, sneaking onto lands, or peeping through windows, especially with a camera in hand! That's not to say I did not s..l...o...w..l..e...y.... walk by windows that looked interesting. But no camera in hand.

You guys have seen the album, so you know what sites I was able to find. Here is a list of places that did make the album for the following reasons:

Could Not Find
- X-Files bench in Cates Park
- Mya made inquires before I came up there; we're pretty sure some so called "fan" stole it.

- MUFON Betsy Hagopian's house in North Vancouver
- the street it is located on is LONG. And I did not recall from memory what the front of the house looked like.
I gave it a shot; but no dice.

Destroyed
- Wisteria Cottage in Demons
- Angie and I went to the address in Surrey I believe, but the old 2 story structure had been torn down to make
way for a field. I guess to grow crops.

- Two Jay's Cafe AKA Kay's Diner in Sleepless
- the whole block was torn down and covered in scaffolding. Even if I was able to find a parking spot in the
middle of the construction zone, there was nothing left hat looked like a store, much less a diner.

- Reverend Hartley's house on Miracle Man
- this was one of those "located on private property" areas, but was so far back, up a hill, behind the trees, and
behind a locked gate, that Angie and I did not even try.

- The Meat Market AKA Dunaway's Pub in Deep Throat
- this was located on a busy corner, and was an empty store front, covered in graphetti. The place was so run
down that the building number was gone or spray painted over. Add in the "no place to park" deal, and I
moved on.

- The Community Pool used in IWTB
- torn down to make way for a new community center in Pemberton. Angie even asked to confirm. It's gone.


Did Not Have Time Too Find and See
- Sewage Treatment Plant from The Host
- You know, as much as I love Flukie, who the hell goes on vacation to see the "Poop Factory"? Considering that
this was the only XF Site I knew of in the area, I did not make a special trip out there for this

- Uncle Herbert's Fish and Chips AKA Clay's BBQ from Red Museum
- This was also way out of the way, isolated, and there was nothing else on my list that was in the area.
I also asked around to see if the place was still there, and no one knew. I would have loved to see the location
of Mulder wiping the BBQ sauce from Scully's cheek, but it was not to be.

- Timberland Motel from Aubrey
- Even though I made it to Surrey, it is a very large, wide spread agricultural area. The motel is located on
King George Hwy which is very long and congested with traffic. Angie and I made a choice not to seek it out.

- Rice Lake where the lake monster from Quagmire lives
- I was in North Vancouver, but did not make it up this far north. One of the entrances was near the cemetery,
but since the road was unpaved, muddy, and I was not in a 4 wheel drive vehicle, I did not want to risk getting
stuck in an area with poor cell phone service. Plus it was getting late and I knew I would need to hike into the
forest. Was not prepared, so I moved on. Next trip - that place was lovely!

- Logging camp used in Darkness Falls
- This is located on West Vancouver. This was also in an isolated area like Rice Lake, and it was the only site in
that area. I had to maximize my time, so I skipped it.

Found But Not Photographed

- The Funeral Home from Irresistible

- Mya said the inside looks the same as it did in the episode. However, there was a service in process when we drove by, both inside and outside. Saying I was Phile would not have saved me from the nasty looks I would have gotten. Mya did the creep factor just fine, since she kept saying "Hey Girly Girl" from the back seat. She can sound like Nick Chinlund when she wants to.

Hope this helps to answer some questions that were asked of me. I'm not feeling motivated to continue; perhaps at a later date.

Until then