Know Before You Go:
Winter Park hours are 8am - 10pm. Check City of Delta web page for seasonal changes.
To Log this Virtual, you must complete the following tasks (failure to do so may result in your log being removed).
At the posted coords (or very close by) is an information board which includes a map of the interpretive signs in the park.
1: At location #4, find the concrete circular object in the ground (SE of intersection).
a) Post a photo of a hand drawn picture of Signal the Frog, with the object clearly in the background
b) Post a photo of yourself or something with your caching name with the same object clearly in the background
(bonus points if you can combine a and b into the same photo)
2: Include in your log - your best guess or fact (if you discover the answer) what this object was used for. If you aren't sure, entertain us with your imagination
3: At any one of the interpretive locations 5, 6 or 7, email / message the CO with a unique piece of info you learned from the sign.
4: At the additional waypoint (Virtual Stage 2), which is a few mins drive (1.5km) from the park is Boundary Park Airport (the original runways for the station). You will find a cenotaph and plaque. Email / message the CO with the latin phrase found on it. Bonus points for the translation (don't post in your log though).
Vancouver Wireless Station
(Royal Canadian Air Force Station Boundary Bay)
Opened on 10 April 1941 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan as Royal Canadian Air Force Station Boundary Bay. Stationed here were Home Defense Units fighter squadrons to defend the Greater Vancouver Area.
RCAF closed the aerodrome in 1946 after the end of WW2.
In 1949 the site was then opened as the Vancouver Wireless Station, run by the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals and utilizing the old RCAF buildings. The station acted as a radio station in Canada’s National Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) organization during the cold war era, closing in 1971.
The Vancouver Wireless Station had facilities much like other post-war bases, including singles quarters, 150 permanent married quarters, dining halls and messes, a Medical Inspection Room, administration building, gymnasium with a sport field with 2 ball diamonds and tennis courts, a chapel, woodworking and automotive shops, a grocery store, engineering & transport sections and a firehall. Most of these facilities were located directly north of the airfield on the property known today as North 40 Lands.
On 6 May 2005, 828 “Hurricane” Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron dedicated a plaque and Cenotaph honouring the men & women who served at RCAF Station Boundary Bay during World War II.
Today, the station, which at one point housed approximately 500 residents, has long since been torn down, with some buildings being relocated, many foundations, walls and roads can still be found there. The location is now a reserve with lots of wildlife including many bald eagles. It is also an off-leash dog park, and a popular location for film sets.
Enjoy your walk around one of the few remaining examples of purpose built Canadian post WW2 communities which signifies the importance of intelligence gathering during the cold war era.
(Images courtesty of Delta Archives)
Sources:
Delta Archives / Civicweb
Heritage Assessment 2009
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.