120 Surfers and big trees

Canada
Québec & New Brunswick
Nova Scotia & Newfoundland
Québec & Ontario
Manitoba to the Pacific

91 To Winnipeg
92 Winnipeg
93 Wasagaming
94 On to Yorkton
95 Manitoba Beach
96 Wanuskewin
97 To Edmonton
98 Edmonton
99 To Hinton
100 To Jasper
101 The Rockies
102 Snowy roads
103 To Drumheller
104 Dinosaurs
105 To Banff
106 Banff
107 Banff
108 Lake Louise
109 Farewell Rockies
110 To Vancouver
111 Go Canucks
112 Morty & Harry
113 Where next?
114 Visas and Picasso
115 Downtown
116 Catch up
117 Vancouver Island
118 To Tofino
119 Pacific Rim
120 Surfers and big trees
121 Last Legislature
122 Farewell to Morty
123 Mile zero, again

Canada: British Columbia

Thursday 1 December 2005

Magnificent tree (our canopy)

Surf dads

Future nursery logs

So that's where Ken's shipping them!

Before we left Stef headed for the beach to try and get the perfect shot of some of the trees on the shore. They are well and truly wind beaten, with branches and leaves only on one side where they have been blown over the years. Unfortunately, the tide was in and whilst he has some good shots they are not the one he was after.

We took a quick detour into Tofino and then stopped again at Long Beach for a last look at the Pacific. When we were here yesterday there were two surfers in the ocean, today there were many more. Next to us in the car park an SUV was parked up and three chaps were struggling into their wetsuits. They claim that at this time of year it is warmer in the water than it is standing on land. They chatted while they got ready to go and then skipped across the sand and into the waves.

It was a warm and clear day when we left the coast and turned inland to head back over the mountains and down to Victoria, the provincial capital of British Columbia. Before long the warm dry landscape had given way to colder temperatures and snow covered grounds and we were back in winter as we drove along the shore of Lake Kennedy and up into the hills. We have been lucky enough to see some really stunning parts of Canada on our trip and for me this drive rates highly as one of our best for views.

We stopped at Cathedral Grove, named for the church like experience you get walking through a grove of enormous Douglas fir and cedar trees. This area of forest is relatively new at three hundred years old and it has a serene aura about it, probably helped by a lack of people due to the cold temperatures. In height, these trees match the giant redwoods we have seen in California but whilst their trunks are broad, they are not a patch on the redwoods.

In 1997 a high wind storm swept through the area. It came after a period of rain and the ground was damp underfoot. Many trees were uprooted and simply flattened, others had their trunks snapped in two. As with the trees we had seen in the rainforest at Tofino, the fallen trees were now nurseries providing a source of food and lodging for a variety of insects, birds and plants including new tree saplings.

From here we carried on stopping again at Coombs. This is a small village renowned for its local market. It’s a typical log cabin style building with a turfed roof. On the roof is a small hut and in the summer goats graze on top of the roof. The goats are on holiday for the winter while their turf is white and snowy. They would probably slide down and over the edge if they did try to graze. With one more stop to snap a collection of old London buses we finally made it back onto route 17, the main highway stretching down the east coast of the island.

Before long the skies had turned a dark grey and we were back driving through a snow fall. On our way up this road it had been night so I had hoped for a clear view this time around. Ah well. Arriving in Vancouver we made our way to the Esquimalt area and to the West Bay RV park. Here there is a small marina with a few floating houses built on the pontoons. The RV park is part of the marina complex and was small and very full of what looked like people who stay here year round.

We headed to the Post Canada office at the local mall, bought a couple of boxes and then started the process of sorting out our stuff. Living in the same place for four months we have acquired some extra bits and pieces and we need to send them home before we get back to living out of our packs. We had a great meal at the little restaurant on the harbour and then headed for bed.

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