Figures in the Mist

Exploring in the fog...

It's a typical Vancouver Island West Coast scene... tendrils of heavy fog drift ashore from the ocean, slipping between the trees like wraiths and reducing fellow beachcombers in the distance to barely visible silhouettes.

Nice... art

"Raven Lady" by Mike Camp

Ucluelet is just down the road from the town of Tofino on the outer coast of Vancouver Island. Tofino gets all the love though for its proximity to Canada's best surf beaches.

Nonetheless, Ucluelet is deserving of its own respect. Not as close to the major surf spots, but it has more of a home town feel compared to Tofino which feels increasingly commercialized.

These roadside sculptures from artist Mike Camp grab your attention as you drive into town.

"Surfer Girl" by Mike Camp

Sunset over Parksville Bay

The setting sun sets the bay on fire

 The setting sun lights up the windows of a resort as well as tidal pools of Parksville's main bay.

Pacific Paradise... in Canada?!

Bali High... or Ucluelet, BC?

Now that tropical destinations are off the table for many Canadians due to the continuing pandemic, these hearty palm trees and BCs stunning scenery near Ucluelet will have to substitute.

Life on Mars

COVID protocols... dining in domes at a local restaurant

 I'm always bemused by the race between billionaires to spend their fortunes trying to get humans into space. Elon Musk has his eyes particularly on Mars.

Are millions of people... even thousands... clamouring to live out their lives underground or behind protective domes never again to see a blue sky, or dip their toes in a lake or river? Never again to hear bird song, or the sound of wind rustling through corn fields? Feel the breeze of a warm sunset caress their face?

I'm not one of them. I've no desire to boldly go anywhere in space.

With the multitude of problems we face on our own planet, I wish the ultra rich  would check their egos and spend the money down here helping humanity.

Here be monsters...

A sun-bleached sea serpent on Quadra Island...

Attack of the Giant Cephalopod

Cthulhu emerges...

On the beach at Port Renfrew sits this piece of driftwood looking vaguely like a giant octopus with its tentacle-like roots.

You might be thinking: "Well that's ridiculous. Octopuses live in sea water. They can't crawl around on land."

Guess again... and try not to think of one of these critters crawling out of the deep looking for a meal.

Momento mori

Dust to dust

"Momento mori" is Latin for "remember that you must die". Legend says that slaves accompanying generals on victory parades in ancient Rome would whisper these words in their ears along the way. It was meant to remind them that their lives would have little significance in history after they had passed away. It served to keep the commanders from being consumed by their own hubris.

In another context the phrase is a reminder that each passing year brings us closer to our end. 

The start of a new year is an ideal time to consider whether we will make the best of life in each day, or waste it on the mundane and the inconsequential. Will we embrace life with gusto, or merely pass through it?

Choose your fate...

Ski season

A bright spot in an otherwise dark year...

 Our local mountain has opened for a new season of skiing. It was crowded the day we were there, probably from a combination of holidays and people weary of being housebound by COVID.

The resort had COVID protocols in place that everyone seemed to be respecting. The day was warm with a blanket of recent snow on the slopes... a near-perfect start to the season.

Race Rocks

Pinniped heaven...

 Race Rocks Ecological Reserve is an ecological reserve located at the southern tip of Vancouver Island.

Because of its location in a high tidal current area, there is an exceptional variety of marine life that inhabit the island on a periodic basis. It is a haulout area for California and Northern sealions and a birthing rookery for Harbour seals. It is also the most northerly birthing colony on the Pacific Coast of North America for the elephant seal.

River runnin'

Whitewater paddling on the Cowichan River...

Standup paddling is an ideal sport for social distancing. One person per board. Your fellow paddlers are yards and yards away from you. You are all outside.

The arrival of fall means local river levels and flow increase which means river paddling season is here again.

A side benefit is getting to see wildlife and fall colours along the way.

A funner way to social distance...

Indiana Jones and the Lost Gods of Rapa Nui

Easter Island relic at Central Saanich's Butterfly World...

 

For awhile it seemed that Harrison Ford was going to reprise his signature character, Indiana Jones, in one last screen adventure.

I'm pretty sure it's not going to happen. Ford is now 78. COVID has effectively shut down the movie industry for a year or two. It would then take two years for such a movie to be made which means that Ford would be into his early 80s at that point. 

And who really wants to see a decrepit Indy shuffling about? We want to remember him as the whip-cracking, fedora wearing two-fisted adventurer of our youth.

Plus the recent death of Sean Connery -- who plays Indiana Jone's father -- must surely be giving Ford food for thought as to how he wants to spend his remaining years.

Rat rod

It ain't pretty but you can't look away.

What is a rat rod? It's the opposite of a hot rod.

Hot rods are older muscle cars that have been lovingly restored -- with the dollars to match! -- by their owners. At car shows, the chrome gleams, the body is waxed to perfection, the leather interior is buffed to a sheen... Everything is impeccable.

Rat rods are the opposite. Their owners deliberately go for a beaten up grungy look. Frequently they are adorned with elements that would seem more suited to a horror movie than a show room floor. 

While they probably don't spend as much money trying to source original parts, they invest a lot of time in producing DIY parts, welding, painting, etc. And they also take pride in showing off their creations at local car shows.

Seen on the Highway to Hell...

The Banana Boat

It's very yellow!

The Banana Boat is the name that my wife and I have given to our inflatable kayak. We don't bust it out very often, but it's always a fun day when we do.

It's unique for the transparent floor which lets us peek into the water below us as we paddle along.

Heading out into Brentwood Bay...

The answer: Big, noisy and smelly.

 

Sea lions at rest...

The question is: What three words that accurately describe pinnipeds, the class of animals that includes seals, sea lions and elephant seals?

We have two local varieties of sea lions -- California sea lions (seen above) and stellar sea lions. One way to distinguish between them is through their vocals. California sea lions bark whereas stellar sea lions snort and grunt. Also, stellar sea lions grow much bigger than California sea lions... about three times as heavy.

Elephant seals (seen below) grow bigger yet, typically up to twice as heavy as a stellar sea lion. We saw this big guy/gal on a nearby island during our recent whale watching expedition.

An elephant seal takes a break...

Deep diver

Going for depth...

Recently my wife and I treated our nephew to a whale watching trip as a birthday present. It was organized through Eagle Wing Tours. They made it a great experience despite the COVID-19 measures they had to put in place in order to stay operating.

Our tour guide kept up a non-stop commentary about local marine wild life in her pleasant Irish accent. Along the way we saw three separate humpback whales.

As she explained it, typically these whales will surface for three to five big breaths before doing a deep dive to go for food. The deep dive is signified by the flip up of the tail out of the water as they go nearly vertical.

Whales on the move...

The mountain

Mt Baker seen from the Malahat...

Snow-capped Mt Baker is located in the state of Washington, but can be seen from many locations at the south end of Vancouver Island. A scenic lookout at the top of the mountain to the north of Victoria is popular with tourists and locals driving north on Vancouver Island for its awesome views of Baker.

The community of Sidney gets a great view of it too from their waterfront walkway.

Not many locals realize that Mt Baker is an active volcano. The last time it erupted was about 6000 years ago

Birds resting on Sidney's pilings...

The chimney

Not so mysterious...

This Vancouver Island structure rises out of the forest around it very much like Stein's Pillar in Oregon. 

However, this structure is strictly man made... it's the remains of an old chimney that formed part of a cement factory that once stood on the site. 

Today it is the location of a major tourist attraction known as The Butchart Gardens.

A pop of colour

A colourful truck on the road to Port Alberni's waterfront...

The COVID pandemic has effectively crushed our normal travel plans to the U.S. Not gonna lie... we are not happy about it.

We won't even be able to do extensive travel in our own back yard this year. My wife's employer is trying to recover from a three-month shutdown so extended holidays are out for her this year.

We may have to settle for close-by locations such as Port Alberni.

Double patties

Water beats rock...

Another view of the 'double-patties' that were mentioned in my previous post. You can imagine how much higher the river levels are in the winter to have carved out this unusual formation.

The bridge leads to a network of trails that will take you deep into the forests further upstream. Just remember to bring your bear bells with you.