Hoidy-Toidy in Victoria

With Christmas just over and our African expedition on the horizon I'm going to be posting some of our favorite undocumented adventures of 2009 for the next little while (since we got into blogging late and unless you were there when we went its all new to you anyways).

Being the capital city of BC and a history several hundred years old, Victoria is home to several fancy and elaborate buildings, a few of which we were able to tour in our visit in May. The Empress Hotel was built in the early 1900s and has played host to all manner of royalty, celebrities and whatnot.
And how could you be fancy and semi-british-hoidy-toidy without having afternoon tea? Kathryn and I found the time to feel posh for a few hours while munching on scones and biscuits. Since the tea is bottomless and the tab is big we probably had about 7 pots and got some tea bags to take with us afterwards.
Designed by the same man as the Empress Hotel, the Victoria Parliament buildings are very nice but not radically different from the rest of the parliament buildings in Canada. One nice addition is the lights on the exterior which are turned on at night (as shown below). We took a tour of the interior and saw all manner of fancy carvings and stained glass, but if you've seen one legislative interior you have likely seen the same general things.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Every now and then we meet locals or long-time imports that will claim that Vancouver is just as cold as anywhere else in Canada because its a wet cold. These people are also delusional, wimps or bold faced liars. We took a walk on Christmas morning through Stanley Park and while there was indeed a light coating of frost on the grass, it quickly gave way as the sun rose and there were many little woodland creatures to be seen (as previously detailed).
On Christmas Eve we took our annual bike ride (because as Winnipegers we derive a sick delight from the notion of being able to bike ride in December) to look at Christmas Lights. The largest and fanciest concentration of these lights was found in Stanley Park where the firefighters have an annual display.
And rounding out our white-ish Christmas, we had incredibly thick fog on Christmas Eve that filled up most of downtown for the entire day and obscured vision more than a few blocks. The shot below is from our balcony and anyone who has visited and knows how far we can typically see will recognize the nearly obscured building a block or two over.

Bird is (Apparently) the Word

Despite the festive season and all the cold that most of us associate with this time of year, our neighborhood has been very active with birds in the last week. Kathryn spotted with pair of eagles courting for several hours on the roof of one of the nearby apartment towers and was able to get a number of excellent photos. They had a lengthy and vocal bit of time together both in the air far above and on the ledge at the top of the building.
With all these predators around, the ducks in Stanley Park are as friendly as ever. On a Christmas Eve walk through the park we were surrounded on all sides by a flock of birds looking for a handout. Unfortunately for them we didn't have any bread on us and they left empty-bellied.
We had set out originally with a pocket of sunflower seeds and the intention of feeding some chickadees. Kathryn and I were both very lucky to have a number of them eat out of our hands. Vancouver seems to have both the black-capped variety we were used to at home as well as a local Chestnut-Backed variety that were new to us. Kathryn fed chickadees with my parents in the Whiteshell at Christmas a few years back and I was glad to see we can carry on the tradition out here :)

Weird Vancouver Artwork

Every city in the world has a selection of truly bizarre sculptures scattered throughout them, and Vancouver is no different. As either art grants or company tax write offs or commemorations, this town is littered with artwork; some of it original, some of it pretentious and some of it just weird and unexpected.

Like this 1/2 scale cast of a supply shack that used to be on the banks on Burrard Inlet. Its made out of aluminum right down to replica barnacles and clams. And of course its on stilts to keep it out of the water like the original was... and then also on the sidewalk.
And how could a city commemorate anything if they didn't celebrate the turn of the century bartenders that made it all possible? Gastown is home to this somewhat vandalized statue of 'Gassy Jack' who is famous for starting a pub there and marrying his 12 year old niece after his wife died.And this bit of Buck Rogers weirdness is a replica of one displayed in 1936 to celebrate the 50th birthday of Vancouver as envisioned by the Sheet Metal Workers union. Because Vancouver is nothing if not a 50s style sci-fi rocket.

Aquarium Exhibits

Normally I wouldn't have two posts on the aquarium back to back, but we went there on Saturday and got some nice new pictures, so it seems like a sensible time to use them. Aside from its set displays of jellyfish and the like, the aquarium always has a rotating selection of animal shows and different displays from day to day. They also opened up a new display on the arctic which we hadn't seen before. But I'll start it off with a dolphin picture that should show why I love our new camera with a fast shutter.
Since 2009 was the Year of the Frog, there has been a huge amphibians display in the lower level all year which I always enjoy poking around when we visit. I've been able to get a surprisingly good number of pictures out of the exhibit... the low light being offset by the typically slow moving animals on display. Below is an axolotl which is a strange Mexican salamander.. apparently they taste like chicken.
And as proof of the ever changing displays, here's Kathryn holding a Vietnamese Stick Insect. We've passed through the tropical section a dozen times or more and never seen insect handlings before. Kathryn was very brave and had fun getting to meet this beastie up close.

Giants of Vancouver Aquarium

Being a couple of prairie folk that saw maybe one fish a year, the Vancouver Aquarium quickly became one of our favorite spots. We've had memberships since moving here and now that we're downtown and 15 minutes away we get there even more often. Since there's so much to photograph I'll likely do a few segments on the park starting with this selection of some of the larger animals.

The belugas have been doing very well lately, having a new baby born both of the summers we have been out here. Kathryn volunteered this summer as an observer to monitor the baby's behavior and help gather data on the early months of their lives.
The arapaima is a massive (8ft long or so) Brazillian fish which ranks among the most primeval creatures I've ever seen. In their natural habitat they live in the rivers of the rainforest and are one of the few fish out there that actually go to the surface to breathe.
The aquarium is so full and busy these days that the sea lions aren't always even out on display, but they are consistently among my favorites, being so agile and playful. The tank here has an underwater viewing window where I never tire of watching these swim around with the seals.

Much Ado About Kodiak

Kodiak has been a member of our family for a little over 2 years now and he's certainly mellowed out a lot since we got him. He's still pretty bad about having his feet touched, but he's much better about his belly and general temper. That said, he and I still have our scraps but thats just how we both are. Here's an excellent picture Kathryn got of him recently doing his best impression of a Robert Bateman painting.
And just to show that he occassionally does things other than resemble a meatloaf, here's a picture of him hypnotized by the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas DVD menu. While he's generally not much of a movie buff he was particularly captivated by this disc and has shown a regular interest in James Bond movies in general.

The Lava Cast Forest

While we were in the Newberry Volcanic Monument this fall we also took a rough gravel road through 11 miles of forest to see the Lava Cast Forest.
While the other area of the monument we had a look at had been one of eruption and subsequent destruction, the lava cast forest was a spot where an ancient forest had been standing in the path of a lava flow.
As the lava had flowed through the forest, it built up at the bases of many of the larger trees. Although they were killed and burned away in the process, they survived long enough to leave their imprints in the lava as it cooled, creating a sort of arboreal Pompeii

Nk'Mip Reservation

Passing through the Okanagan Valley this fall we stopped by at the Nk'Mip Indian Reserve which features all manner of things to draw in tourists. While we passed on the golf and massages, there was undeniable appeal in the desert museum section.
This section featured a nice walking trail through regional plants and several areas showing the traditional native ways of life. We were there very early in the morning since we had lots of ground to cover in the afternoon so we were also there before anyone had scared off the wildlife. There were a few mule deer to be found and it was very nice having the place entirely to ourselves.Though the desert is more scrubland and less sahara it was interesting to see just how close to Lake Okanagan it was, with the town of Osoyoos huddled on either side. This area is very agriculturally developed with vineyards and orchards everywhere, but a little way from the water and its interesting to see what the area was like before irrigation.

Oregon Dunes

Rewinding time slightly to our adventures on the east coast earlier this summer, we spent an afternoon in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area which runs along perhaps a quarter of the coast of Oregon and is entirely a State Park.Besides people such as ourselves that were out for a walk there were a ridiculous number of people with ATVs or tricked out pickups that were driving around as fast as they could on parts of these dunes. Fortunately the areas for driving like a crazy and walking were separated but I still don't get the appeal of going very fast through something that you could be walking through and enjoying instead.

There were also a great number of little blobby shapes washed up on the beach. We asked around and were told they were a kind of jellyfish, but poking them with sticks we were unable to see any resemblance between them and the other jellyfish we've seen. Very neat.

A Space Odyssey

One of the great things about guests is they give you an excuse to visit all the neat tourist places that you never get around to otherwise. With my parents providing a handy excuse we finally got to check out the McMillan Space Centre which shares a building with the Vancouver Museum and knows how to start things off right.
Thats right, a giant statue of a crab shooting water... perhaps the most awesome thing ever. They even have a plaque explaining it so that anyone that doesn't buy the notion of "Giant metal crabs are fantastic" can have an artsy rationalization.
Once inside it was imperative that I expand my collection of pictures of "Kathryn In Big Hats." There were also some neat displays about space, rockets, shuttle tiles and the like as well as a ride where you get to deliver science fiction madness to Mars, very much like the Star Tours ride at Disneyland.
The price of admission also includes planetarium shows which run every hour or so and are pretty fantastic. I also think that everyone can agree that in the robot uprising, the battle between the crab out front and the projector will be epic.

The Theatre

First off, an apology to any of my 5 readers for being so slow to update lately, 2 of you were visiting and then we've had a bit of a cold in the apartment lately so everythings been a little sedate and behind pace, but I'll try and get things regular again.
So being patrons of the arts, Kathryn and I went to see the Evil Dead Musical around Halloween which combines the best of 'Evil Dead 1 + 2' and 'Army of Darkness' into a campy two act musical.
Anyone familiar with the material should understand exactly whats going on when a zombie moose head starts driving a one armed man insane... in song. The songs are all uniformly hilarious and the acting is campy and winking-at-the-audience enough that its thoroughly enjoyable throughout and I would recommend it to any fan of the movies.
Like all great artforms, this musical also incorporates a 'splash zone' in which the first 5 rows cost extra but result in you being doused constantly in fake blood. We sat one row behind this area so we could enjoy watching other people get it but not quite have to go through it ourselves.

Misty Morning in Bandon

By the time we arrived in Bandon, Kathryn was already in a tizzy. It was the furthest south we were going in our adventures and also the town with the petting zoo (you can recap on that HERE). We were so determined to be there right for opening that we ended up being well over an hour too early.
Since waiting at the door would just be taunting her and take forever, we went back into town to explore the coast and kill some time and we were very lucky for it. There was a heavy blanket of mist that morning and the tide was coming in along some gorgeous rock formations which loomed out at us.
As the morning arrived we found a way to scamper down to the beach and shoot some nice video of waves and get lots of nice pictures of rocks and nesting seabirds. It turned into a well lit morning as well which worked nicely for an obligatory arm-out-holding-the-camera-duo-shot.
And below is a panorama of the whole beach as the sun rose. You can click on it to make it quite a bit bigger since its very small here.

Multnomah Falls

The Columbia River snakes along the border between southern Washington and northern Oregon all the way to the sea. We ended up following along this stretch for quite a ways on our adventures this summer to visit a number of spots before heading further south.

One of these places was Multnomah Falls which is a gorgeous spot with a rather steep hike to the top of the falls consisting of a dozen or so switchbacks.
The hike is pretty reasonable except I was perhaps overfussing about the potential cold at the top and as such we were both bundled up in too many layers so the climb was more arduous because of the heat than any lack of physical fitness.

The view from the top was equally impressive, offering a commanding view of the Columbia River and both states.

The top of the falls was also populous enough that we were able to get someone else to take a picture of the pair of us, helping to prove that two people did go on this trip since most of the pictures only have one or the other of us.

Long Beach, Washington

Near the end of our west coast adventures this fall we happened to look through one of our guidebooks about horseback riding spots about 30 minutes before the turnoff to Long Beach in Washington.
We had not originally intended to stop there but Kathryn had been wanting some horseback riding for ages and the town boasted a Cranberry Museum to sweeten the deal, so we made an overnight detour.
Through a bit of last-minute panicking we were able to arrange seaside rides the following day and ended up having a 2 hour private ride along the beach.
We were also set upon on all sides by these young birds, which I will call Common Murres until my father corrects me. Its either harder to be a Murre than you think or they were not very good at it because the beach was littered with dozens and dozens of them that morning and perhaps a third of them had died.
Oddly enough over the course of our ride most of them set out into the water and by the end there were hardly any on the beach, even the dead ones having been carried out by the tide.
There were no oil slicks to have contaminated them and no offshore rocks nearby where they would have roosted, so any theories on what the hell they were doing and dying there about are welcome. (Turns out there is an algae bloom in effect on the West Coast currently. The algea strips the weather proofing like an oil slick and kills them. This phenomenon is very recent possible exacerabated by Climate Change- ed.)
Long Beach is essentially alive because of the tourist trade and is any child's dream. Aside from several kite shops, candy stores, toy shops and the like, there is a Curio Shop (read: kitsch souvenirs and stuffed animal heads) which seem to be more common in Washington than you'd expect.
One of their star attractions is Jake the Alligator Man (shown below) which is some sort of weird mummy from back when they had more dead kids and alligators around than copies of Photoshop.

Newberry Volcanic Monument

This fall as part of our west coast excursion, we just crossed the border between Oregon and Mordor at the Newberry Volcanic Monument. Its a huge lava field created by a group of still-active volcanoes in the area.

This particular flow is thousands of years old and was once inhabited by dwarf black bears until hunters decided they were too cute to live.
Kathryn looks around for a likely place to destroy the One Ring.Panoramic view of the field from the base of the volcano (click to enlarge)

Stretchy Kitty

About 2 years ago we for some reason decided to get a cat. Originally we were going to get one as a joint Christmas present but Kathryn managed to make the date creep forward bit by bit until we wound up getting one in early November.

For some reason she also picked the biggest one in the whole shelter and so we ended up with a little bear cat that weighs 18lbs (actually almost 22lbs- ed). Over time we've found that he will do just about anything for kitty treats and have compiled the video below of his efforts.

And here he is wondering what all the fuss is about.

And you can see it HERE in higher resolution if you like.

Fall Migration

Winter is closing in on the west coast and the fall bird migrations are well under way. Although we're quite used to large flocks of geese and whatnot from Manitoba there have been a few huge flocks of unexpected birds out here worth mentioning.
Recently we had an evening walk through Stanley Park and near Siwash Rock we came upon a huge flock of 700-1000 surf scoters which were chasing after something or other in the water and generally being a swarm for a good few hours. The picture above shows their flock in the water with an gas ship in the background for scale and the picture below shows the birds themselves in a bit more detail.
While we were in the okanagan we saw several huge flocks of coots, which are always a favorite of Kathryns but which we typically see only in groups of 2-3 typically but there were huge stretches of Vaseux Lake that were absolutely covered in them.