Coastal Temperate Forest Dweller

and head down the mountain in search of breakfast

before very long we left the gravel road and passed beneath the gaze of our recent resting place

We broke our fast at the White Spot restaurant in Duncan, BC

from the parking lot we could see where we'd slept (on the left side of the right peak)

After breakfast we pulled over to explore the Somenos Lake interpretive park.

It's an interesting board-walked area of natural flora and fauna. In this case Karsten is checking out some Nootka Rose blooms

We found some Canadian Geese actually in a marshy environment

and many birds flitting about eating insects

from in the marsh one feels like they could be in the middle of nowhere

then you leave and pass signs that I find amusing.

Other places would say "clean up your garbage" or "don't litter". But here there is this hyper-polite co-dependent/read around the words/implied language sign.

and next to it, this sign.

On the road and off we headed

Then we found a road we'd not driven down and made our way to a boat launch park on Somenos Lake. A pretty place for a morning pause and look around.

the trestle for the little train at the BC Forestry Museum. I remember riding around that track over the water in the train when I was a little kid. It was as awesome as you'd imagine.

Next we make our way towards Nanaimo!

see ya soon!
MM

Saturday, August 20, 2011

A Long Beach Day Trip - revisited

From Victoria BC to Long Beach and back. Approximately 626km and over 16hrs adventuring around Vancouver Island.

This is where we ended up... but how did we get there?

It started in the dark of winter, around 6:44am. In the rain.
We made sure to leave early so we could catch sight of the Saanich Peninsula beneath the sunrise from on top of the Malahat.

Not much of a sunrise. Here's a shot of the Victoria International Airport in the rain around dawn.

A few hundred kilometers down the road we changed course west to cross the spine of the island via the Alberni highway.

We made our way through rainforests

and coastal towns

past where creeks fall

till we arrived

The above is a glimpse at the sights seen on our daytrip photoadventure. Below is the whole series of images from the day for those interested. I hope you enjoy it and it inspires you to get out and see the world around you too :D

You can open the video in HD as well for better quality.

Let me know if you enjoyed the images or have any suggestions :D

May you have a wonderfilled day!
MM

Friday, July 22, 2011

Beacon Hill Park, Victoria BC, Canada

Beacon Hill Park, Victoria, BC
Places I've Wandered

For the 3 years I lived in Victoria I stayed in an apartment a block and a half away from Beacon Hill Park and it's likely what helped me keep my sanity as I ground my way through a very intense 27.5 month college program that was 7 terms with no real breaks between terms.

The 200 acre park goes from practically downtown down to the shore of the Salish Sea across which one can see Washington State and the Olympic Mountain Range.

The Camas bloom and the fields of green turn purple with the occasional white rarity. Cooked in pits or boiled they provided starch to the diet of the indigenous peoples of the area.

Returning to Victoria is also an opportunity to walk with my father as we did when I lived here last.

A time to grow