This past weekend is probably one of the busiest in Vancouver's history, because the arrival of the super aurora once in 20 years has made people realize their wish to see the aurora from their own balconies, front and back yards.
But do you think everyone will watch the aurora in their own homes? Most people still choose to go out and see, especially the most popular places in the suburbs of Metro Vancouver:
UBC、UBC周边海滩、Iona Beach、Porteau Cove、Horseshoe Bay、Burnaby Mountain、Pitt Lake。
In fact, in the past, as long as there was an aurora forecast, many people would visit these locations, but when the "Aurora of the Century" came, people's madness was not comparable to that of ordinary auroras:
As everyone expected, Vancouver on the weekend was not only met with unprecedented aurora aurora borealis, but also encountered unprecedented traffic chaos. People have described their "chasing light" experiences on social media and forums, and it is hard to imagine that these things are happening in Vancouver.
The reason for the 10-kilometer super long line is ......
On Friday night at Pitt Lake, there was a 10-kilometer long traffic jam, and many drivers were stuck in a traffic jam for 2 hours without moving, so they could only turn off their cars and even consider spending the night in the car.
There are indeed very, very, very many people watching the aurora, but why can it be blocked for 2 hours? In the end, it turned out that there was a car that simply parked in the middle of the road because it couldn't find a parking space! This made other drivers angry: In order to see the aurora, don't you even have the bottom line of being a human being?
Another driver sighed: "I knew that it would take 2 hours to drive to the Pitt Lake Viewing Area, so I might as well park 10 kilometers away and walk over, it's faster!" "In addition, famous scenic spots, including Lake Pete, are full of garbage left by people watching the Aurora, which makes people sigh.
Someone wields a sharp axe in Stanley Park
On Sunday night, a horrific incident occurred at Prospect Point viewpoint in Vancouver's Stanley Park, where people gathered: A 52-year-old suspect wandered around the night with a steel knife and an axe, and approached a couple who were watching the aurora and threatened to kill him with an axe.
The couple immediately called the police, who soon arrived and arrested the man, who is already in jail and faces multiple charges. Also in the city centre, there was a teenage fight in English Bay, where a 19-year-old man was slashed in the arm with a knife and kicked in the head, and the assailant was only 15 years old.
The Vancouver Police Department said in a press release that there were 19 brawls and threats this weekend alone, and that there have not been so many in previous weekends.
Where can't I park? All are full!
This is my own experience, which happened on Saturday night at Spanish Banks Beach. It is well known that this area is a luxury residential area, and parking requires a permit, but on that night, no one respected the residents here, but parked at the door, and the water was blocked.
What's more, they actually parked their cars at the curved entrances of some large estates, completely ignoring the feelings of the residents inside and whether they wanted to drive out.
This kind of nonsensical behavior has not even been encountered during the city-wide Vancouver fireworks competition, and the result occurred during the weekend "chasing the light". Especially when the aurora erupted at 11 o'clock on Friday night, some drivers who were eager to see and photograph it were eager to stop on the spot, whether they could stop or not.
At two or three o'clock in the morning, there was a traffic jam for two or three hours
Two or three o'clock in the morning is generally the least traffic time in Metro Vancouver throughout the day, but the two or three o'clock in the morning on Saturday is experiencing a large traffic jam, because a large number of light chasers return to Vancouver from Whistler, Squamish, Porteau Cove, and Horseshoe Bend and gather on the Sea-Sky Highway.
Porter Bay, in particular, is known as the best place to chase the light in the 1-hour drive around Metro Vancouver, but it only has hundreds of parking spaces, but thousands of people have poured in. Unsurprisingly, by 5pm, the parking spaces were full! Latecomers can only wait on the Haitian Highway or move elsewhere.
For Porter Cove campers, there have been sleepless nights, as they just wanted to quietly camp and look at the stars, only to attract countless light chasers......
Some people specifically enumerate the "seven deadly sins"
Most people just complain, but there are people who are very serious and not accustomed to random parking behavior, and directly submit articles to major media, listing the "seven deadly sins" of light-chasing drivers, including:
Parking on the side of the road in a narrow lane and the cars behind you can't pass at all; The driver got out of the car and shuttled between the traffic, completely ignoring the dangers of the night; Some cars deliberately overspeed and overtake in the opposite direction in order to be one step ahead.
The netizen named Jessica said frankly: "I don't think this is a grand event, but a disaster scene, like watching a horror movie, Vancouverians seem to have lost their minds!" In the comment area, some netizens agreed with Jessica's statement and said, "When I got home, I felt that I was able to come back alive, so happy!" ”
One of the most uncultured days in Vancouver
Jessica is more polite, and the more complaining netizens are unceremoniously "map cannon": netizen Rachelle scolded angrily after the journey of chasing the light: "This is the craziest, most impolite, and most uneducated day for Chinese people in Vancouver, I am very shocked." ”
"I saw the car in front of me just stop, and then the people just left, completely ignoring the long queue of cars behind." Some people may say: Aren't these people who park indiscriminately afraid of tow trucks? But the reality is: I am afraid that there are thousands of cars parked indiscriminately, how can the trailer be towed?
"When I had enough and wanted to leave early, I found that our car was already surrounded and we couldn't get out, so we had to wait and wait in the car. The aurora is beautiful, but we're not in the mood to see it," Rachelle admits.
RCMP assistance? Only Pete Prairie has done this
If the aurora is so chaotic, don't the RCMP take care of it? At least the police in Vancouver, Richmond, and Burnaby really didn't care, letting the vehicles pile up and turning a blind eye.
The only exception is Pete Prairie, which sent police to help ease traffic in Pite Lake, and some netizens also praised: "The police may not have experienced such madness, but they dare to come to help, which shows that they are responsible and responsible, unlike the police in other cities." ”
Of course, the police have to deal with more than just clearing traffic, sometimes they also have to deal with car accidents, disputes, and "road rage", after all, they are facing light chasers who are easy to lose their minds, and the difficulty can be imagined.
Look at the sub-aurora, as for it? It's so much...
After watching the chaos of Vancouver's weekend, some people must say: is it really enough to see the aurora once? Haven't you been to Yellowknife to see a better aurora? If you understand what the aurora borealis meant last weekend, you'll understand "really really"......
First of all, just from the index point of view (KP is the highest is 9, and it has been to 9 on Friday), it is a once in ten or twenty years in Vancouver, and if you miss it, you don't know when it will be;
Secondly, all the conditions for seeing the aurora were met on Friday night: it was clear and cloudless, the moon was a crescent moon, the moonlight was weak, and the moon set at 0:30; Also: the rare heat so people don't have to get cold, and the next day is the weekend!
It is no exaggeration to say that such a perfect aurora viewing experience is probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience in Vancouver. The light chasers know this, so even if they don't want their own quality, don't miss this century aurora.
For this kind of mentality, those who understand will naturally understand, and those who do not understand will certainly never understand. Crazy Aurora, crazy weekend, crazy Vancouver, are you also a witness?