Christmas in Courtenay

My parents bought a townhouse in Courtenay on Vancouver Island in 2024 and this was our second family Christmas out there. For those of you that have never been to the Island, its a stunning mountainous landscape and in winter there's constantly steam and fog rising out from the forests.

There's only about 45 minutes of daylight where its not raining, but if you can be outside in that window its an excellent opportunity for a hike and some gorgeous landscapes.

Neighbouring Comox as an air force museum and, continuing the theme from our last post, they have an annual contest among the units on the base to see who can decorate the preserved aircraft outside in the best way. There were no wrong answers, but this plane with antlers and a red nose was certainly a strong contender for my vote. Kathryn has also really mastered night photography on her phone and got some incredible flares and streaks to bring some extra energy to this picture.

Of course the real Christmas Miracle was Wesley being the centre of attention and getting all the love he so richly deserves. He remains a pretty nervous traveller so bringing him there takes some effort but once he arrived he took right to it, clearly remembering the layout and the different people from his extended stay last year.

Flying over Garibaldi Provincial Park

After the the flight lesson orientation, Captain Dave lead us on an hour long tour of his happy place, Garibaldi Provincial Park. The literal jewel of this park is Garibaldi Lake, which is fed by mountain runoff and stunningly azure, due to suspended particles in the meltwater known as "glacial flour." 

This massive body of water is 1,500m above sea level with depths of up to 250m and held back by a lava dam known as "The Barrier." Captain Dave explained that, should there ever be an earthquake of sufficient magnitude, there is a good chance the natural dam will rupture and the lake will spill into the valley below.

Equally stunning, Table Mountain was a humbling testament to the passage of time and a reminder of the awesome power of the glaciers that once covered North America. Much like Siwash Rock or Devil's Tower, Table Mountain is the igneous funnel of an extinct volcano left behind after the softer sedimentary rock around it wore away.

The top is naturally so flat because its formative eruption took place when the entire area was covered in ice so thick that not even a volcano could impact it. The ice above stopped liquid rock and then ground it flat.

Towering at a height of 2,678 meters, the peak of Mount Garibaldi is an amazing sight from the air. The Sentinel and Sphinx glaciers feed the lake below as they recede a little more each year. Despite global warming, these ice fields remain massive, which fissures hundreds of feet deep and jagged rocks poking through into the clouds at the top, evoking the Antarctica flight from "At the Mountains of Madness."

 

Learning to Fly

I wanted to do something special for Kathryn's birthday this year, so I bought her a flying lesson with Sea to Sky Air, out of the Squamish Valley. The airport in Brackendale is little more than an airstrip, helipad, assortment of fuel tanks, but the area around it is stunningly pretty and well worth the trip.

Our flight was onboard a small Cesna. Made of fiberglass and aluminum, this little four-seater (which the fish eye makes look bigger than it was) was light enough that our captain could pull it out and position it by hand. We had a very informative orientation session, walking around the entire craft and discussing how all of its pieces fit together and work before getting inside.

Covid continues to make everything a little more complicated, but since there were only 3 of us onboard, we were able to mask up and put Kathryn in charge. The plane has two sets of sticks with the rest of the controls in the middle, so she was able to try her hand at everything and could feel how the plane responded to the takeoff and landing (which she was part of but not in charge of)

Strangely enough, on the ground these planes are steered entirely with foot pedals which brake on the left or right to turn the craft, and the sticks are only used during flight.

Some of Kathryn's sea captain experience with currents and navigation was directly applicable to flight. While air is clearly a different medium than water, the fundamentals are similar and some technical controls, such as trim tabs, are comparable in nature between water and aircraft.

We were quickly in the air and soaring over the highway on our way to Garibaldi Park.

Paradise on the Coast

 On many of our trips to Telegraph Cove we buzzed past the "Paradise Mini Golf and Fun Park" without time to stop. Mount Washington was a far shorter drive and we had an early start, so there was plenty of time to stop in and play a few rounds while taking in all the obligatory mini golf nonsense landmarks. Giant shoe? Check. Castle. Check. Pirate ship? Check. Orca statue with lurid blue water coming out of the blowhole? Double Check.

 Lighthouse? Check. We have a lot of fun playing mini golf together because neither of us is particularly better than the other or super invested in the score (both factors I believe are the key draw of the sport in general) so we have a goofy time with generous opportunities for do-overs and the occasional fluke hole in one.

 Another key draw to the area were the bumper boats. Kathryn hadn't been whale watching at all in 2020 yet and the ferries were JUUUUUST getting started back up, so she was raring to go out on any kind of watercraft. So keen that she even brought her captains hat for a special photo op to sit and sulk in a tiny putput boat. The actual bumper boats are pretty fun and also feature a water gun which I was not expecting and which shot higher on mine than some, so I got pretty soaked and had trouble returning fire. But, being a glorious summer day, we dried out and warmed up pretty quickly as we got back on our way to the mountains.

Vancouver Island Marmots

The main reason behind our Canada Day long weekend getaway (besides to escape Vancouver after 5 months of quarantine) was to spot and photograph the Vancouver Island Marmot. A large ground squirrel, this particular subspecies has a distinctive chocolatey coat and measures about 65cm or so in length.

Living high up in alpine meadows, they hibernate from mid-September to early May in burrows below the frost line. In the few months a year they are awake, they graze on sedges and grasses for a few hours daily and then rest in the sun the rest of the time.

We took several hikes searching for them and eventually managed to spot the one below:

With a little patient creeping forward and a telephoto lens, we were able to get several nice photographs of this individual (#150 judging from the ear tag). Of the 15 species of marmots in the world, these are among the most endangered mammals in the world, due to their concentration entirely on Vancouver Island and several years of over predation (on the one hand, this is a species that we didn't actually hunt or directly wipe out for once, on the other hand, the over predation was doubtless a result of habitat destruction and/or impact on primary prey stocks that WAS a result of human activity.)

The recorded population plunged to as few as 30 animals in 2004 but they are currently a success story, with annual counts of 190-250 in the last few years, due to increased conservation efforts and breeding programs.

Mount Washington is not only one of the primary colonies to these animals, it is also a safe haven where young animals are given a "training year" of living in the wild before potentially being captured and relocated to a more remote area.

The popularity of Mount Washington as a downhill biking destination means that traditional marmot predators such as cougars, wolves, and golden eagles are driven away by steady human presence. This gives fresh releases an opportunity to get the hang of living in the wild without undue risk but still makes it possible to spread the population over several colonies to prevent unexpected problems from wiping the species out.

A higher concentration meant we were able to see a second marmot from the chair lift on the way down on a subsequent hike. This one was a less poised individual, huddle at the side of a bike trail and sitting on his own tail.

Droning on about perspective

DJI have been making increasingly impressive consumer drones for years, and I have been promising myself one ever since I finished my degree a few years back. I finally got one this spring with the announcement of the Mavic Mini, which weighs a ridiculous 249g including the battery and memory card. Once unfolded and configured, this little drone can fly for up to 30 minutes and easily reach the legal Canadian recreational airspace ceiling of 100m (the app automatically caps altitude, so its easy to safely stay within the limit).

While this little marvel can shoot video and race around at ludicrous speeds, my primary interest in getting one has been to expand the possible results of stereographic photography.

For those of you that aren't as nerdy on the terminology as me, stereographic photography is the end result of shooting 360° panoramas and then re-projecting the image to make a "little planet." I've been shooting these for nearly a decade and think they are really cool, but find that sometimes they over-emphasize the immediate foreground to the detriment of the horizon.

This is entirely understandable since my camera is usually 5.5 feet up and, therefore, there is quite a bit of immediate ground in that perspective. The image below is from the Langdale Ferry Terminal and was shot with my usual fisheye technique.

In contrast, the image below was shot in the exact same spot but from the Mavic Mini at a height of around 80 meters. Not only are the beach and tide line a much smaller proportion of the overall composition, but you can see the islands behind the ferry and terminal as well as the mountains beyond the trees.

DJI has done an incredible job of making a powerful and compact flying camera that I can carry with me on any trip. As an added bonus, its an ideal hobby to take up during times of physical distancing as you're not permitted to fly within 30m horizontally of other people, or over crowds at all, so it's a great excuse to get away from everyone around you. You're also required to keep the aircraft in line of sight at all times, so having a hawk-eyed wife/spotter is highly recommended when you need to focus on getting all your shots right.

The Langdale Skipper

 As many of you know, Kathryn recently had an interesting opportunity fall into her lap out of nowhere. She is currently spending 2 and 2 half days captaining a foot ferry which connects the Sunshine Coast terminal with Gambier and Keats islands. Since this service starts early and finishes late, she is spending 3 nights a week in the town of Langdale. The downside is a little time apart for both of us, the upside is a new job experience and a little bit of rural living.

I made a short visit one day over the Christmas break and, as you can see, the scenery is pretty darn picturesque out there. The terminal is in the lower left corner of the picture, and she is staying with a nice couple just a few minutes walk away.

 The dock for her commuter service is right alongside the BC Ferries docks. All pedestrian traffic exits at the front of the ship's car deck and it's just a few dozen meters to the side. The majority of customers are locals who live on remote islands with limited services and therefore need frequent access to a larger community for food and various other goods. It sounds like there are more out-of-towners in the summer months, but the winter is predominantly regulars.

The company (Kona Winds) owns several boats, but Stormaway IV is the workhorse for these runs. Kathryn handles the driving and navigation in all sorts of weather, but has a deck hand available to take fares and assist with docking and tying up the vessel. All in all, a good opportunity to put her 60-ton ticket to use and get more experience in the waters of BC!

Grizzly Bears

 This fall we took an excellent outing from Campbell River with our friends at Discovery Marine Safaris with the intent of seeing some grizzly bears. Given that grizzly bears are not found on Vancouver Island, this may sound counter-intuitive. However, Campbell River is only a few hours by boat from Bute Inlet, home of the Homalco people, who run excellent land-based bear tours. Small buses move groups of people between several viewing spots and towers in the area, offering safety from/for wildlife and a number of chances to see animals.

There was a pink salmon run in progress during our visit, so there were a goodly number of bears working the Orford River in anticipation of their coming winter hibernation. While there have been some scares in the news about emaciated bears in nearby Knight Inlet, the seven or so individuals that we saw all appeared to be healthy and decently fat. While people are undeniably having an impact on salmon stocks, the pinks were in good numbers and I am confident the bears will find their share.

 Evidence of this hypothesis was shown by this sleeping bear who was relaxing in what our guide rightfully called a "salmon-coma." It was perhaps 25 feet away from our stop but frustratingly concealed by some tall plants. However, once he had fully evaluated its state of lethargy, our guide offered Kathryn the chance to climb up on a fallen log nearby to get a handful of less obstructed photos for us and some other people on the tour. Although it briefly woke to survey this change in its surroundings, the bear was nonplussed and quickly went back to sleep.

The whole experience was exceptional but not cheap, so while we certainly plan to return to the Bears of Bute again in the future, its a trip that we'll have to ration out and savor every few years.

Swarms of Dolphins

One last blog post for 2016 as Kathryn and I head off on our first big adventure in far too long.
This summer we made our annual visit to Telegraph Cove and had a delightful encounter with a HUGE pod of pacific white-sided dolphins. Long-time readers may recall (with some prompting) that we have had pretty amazing sightings of these animals in the past, but this time put all others to shame.

 There were an estimated 500 or so individuals (common rule of thumb is there are 4-5 animals underwater for every one you can see at the surface at a given time) and they were VERY interested in our boat and playing in our wake. Large groups of them were playing at the front and back and a few Dahl's porpoises even joined in the fun to race past them and shame everyone with their speed.

 Not only were they following along and playing, but they were constantly leaping out of the water so close to our boat that I actually had to switch cameras because my telephoto lens was too tight to capture the whole animal. They followed along with us for a good 10-15 minutes before flocking off to their next point of interest.

Big thanks again to our dear friend Roger for taking us out and sharing the incredible beauty of his part of the island with us. If you're ever in the Telegraph Cove area, we strongly recommend an outing with his company Stubb's Island Whale Watching.

Happy New Year and we'll have lots of new photos and stories to share in 2017!

Beachfront in Kelowna

 On our drive to Vernon this summer, we took a break from driving to stretch our legs and enjoy the scenery in Kelowna. The downtown core beside Lake Okanagan is very popular and built up, with all manner of fancy boats and hotels, but they have done a good job of keeping the waterfront itself open to the public in large areas. This allows for some nice paths, food vendors, beach access, open-air piano spaces, public art, and a general feeling of community.

 The interior of the province also gets hotter than we are used to on the coast, but Kathryn was prepared (as always) and took the opportunity to go frolic and splash in the water.

 Jared and myself declined to get in the water, but had a nice wander along the lakefront and took a moment to pose for a picture with Ogopogo, the famous (however unlikely) lake monster of the Okanagan.

Hiking in Vernon

 We had a spare afternoon before the wedding in Vernon, and luckily Kathryn had booked a nice room at the Silver Star Resort. They cater to both the mountain biking and the snowboarding crowds (though clearly not at the same time) and have a rather vibrant colour scheme which Jared (as an art director) took a little while to comes to terms with. Kathryn and I expect that while its a little jarring in the summer, in the winter it must stand out for miles around in a sea of white and grey.

 The mountain bikers had lots of clearly marked trails to enjoy, but there were also some nice hiking trails from the resort up to the peak and back. After months of schooling and life in Vancouver, it was really nice to get away to somewhere wide and open for a few hours.

 There were several warnings about black bears and plenty of scat on the trails, but none to be found. Funnily enough, Jared carried a few rocks that he clacked together which he thought might keep the bears away and Kathryn and I worried would scare them before we could spot them. Then when we got back, people at reception told us that's a bad idea because territorial males will gnash their teeth and make a similar sound to show dominance. So we took a walk in bear country and worried we'd scare them off while simultaneously sending out a challenge call. City people, am I right?

A Few More Animal Encounters

 The Kangaroo Creek Farm had quite a few non-marsupial animals which you could spend time with depending on your comfort levels. Being a very tactile person who wants to experience everything, Kathryn waded through a scrum of children in order to be covered in birds for a few minutes. The grey parrot in the left of frame was particularly friendly and started nuzzling up to her right after this picture.

 A slightly more confusing encounter occurred shortly thereafter when this juvenile emu took a fancy to our friend Jared and began assuming a mating position. Apparently many emus go through a curiosity phase where they are more attracted to people that other emus. While its a pretty funny situation in hindsight, being pursued by an amorous 4 foot bird is a bit alarming at the time. Maybe its for the best that the dinosaurs are all extinct...

 Rounding out or visit with the most relaxed animal you could ask for, I was able to check an item off my bucket list and spent a bit of time patting a capybara. For those of you who are unfamiliar, they are the largest rodent in the world, hail from Patagonia, and feel quite a bit like a bristly inner tube.

Hands-on with Marsupials

 On our way through the Okanagan on our way back from the wedding, we stopped in Lake Country at the Kangaroo Creek Farm for some one-on-one time with a variety of marsupials and other oddities. Based on advice from both my boss and the people at the gate, we started immediately with the line to hold baby kangaroos. There were about 6 which ranged from 3 to 5 months of age since first coming out of their mothers pouch. They come wrapped in little blankets as shown, and are just about the cutest things you can imagine.

 Kathryn also had the chance to hold a sugar glider, which is another tiny marsupial similar to a flying squirrel. We learned quite a bit about them, the good pets they make, the long lives they have, and the trouble they can have at the vet (since their veins are too small to treat in any way). They are also ridiculously soft and very patient with the number of people holding and cooing over them.

 This albino wallaby was a little strung out from being followed around by small children most of the day and was quite happy to relax with me and have its ears scratched for a few minutes. It actually leaned against me and had a little snuggle before the next batch of jam-covered urchins started chasing it around again.

 Fun fact: kangaroos often have a life-long obsession with pouches, such that grown adults will try to get into baby carriages and juvenile animals will eat my ratty pants at the knee trying to make room to climb in.

Kalene & Blair Pt 2: The fun and games

 Blair and Kalene are both talented artists and know how to host a good party, so there was plenty of style and fun to be found at the wedding. The picture below is of a huge banner they had on the side of the barn as well as on a number of the take-aways from the event. Anyone with goggles on their cat is pretty awesome in my book.

 Speaking of awesome books, they had a little kiosk which would record 7 seconds of video and convert it into a flipbook which was printed and ready within minutes. To add to the fun, there were also silly costumes and accessories available. We did a few as a couple and part of a larger group and have to say that it was a brilliant and memorable little take away :)

 And after every wedding comes the dinner, drinks and dancing with a great mix of familiar friends and new faces. We were seated at a table with other visual effects people and a university friend of Kalene's. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable evening spent with the special new couple :)

Kalene & Blair Pt 1: The couple and the locale

 Our friends Kalene and Blair got married on August 27th and were good enough to invite us. Better yet, they were good enough to give us 10+ months notice, which ensured we had time off, a place to stay, and a car booked since they had their ceremony in Vernon, BC.

 Vernon is just a little north of Kelowna in the Okanagan, and was a new place for us both. They chose a lovely spot with sprawling wheat fields up to gentle mountains under striking skies. The weather was rather variable on the day but they had gorgeous sun for the ceremony and reception, with only a little wind and rain later in the evening.

 The reception and dinner were held inside a barn, which comfortably held the entire group and was very charmingly decorated with family photos and mementos of their adventures together. Just beyond the door was a saloon for refreshing beverages and a wide open field. There was a very nice buffet dinner with pie for dessert and lots of dancing to round out the evening.

Thanks again to the happy couple for including us on their special day, and we wish them years of happiness to come :)

Recreational Winter

 Over the holiday break, Kathryn and I rented a car (after a bit of a fiasco with a less-than-reputable car rental agency) and drove up the sea-to-sky highway to Squamish for a bit of seasonal winter. I'm sure we'll get a lot of sympathy from our Manitoba readers on this one, but living in Vancouver we have to make an effort to see snow, and thought we should fit in a few hours of winter. Below is a picture of Kathryn walking along the riverside dyke in Squamish with Mount Garabaldi in the distance.

 Truth be told, there was more snow and ice than we were actually expecting, and being delicate West Coast flowers, we forgot to dress appropriately for as much white stuff as there turned out to be. We took a little hike up to the base of Shannon Falls which were in the perpetual shadow of the mountains and as such were incredibly slippery and had no direct sun. The frost and snow across the rocks and trees was very nice though.

 We finished off our day with a walk along the river and I took the photo below which has become one of Kathryn's favorites almost instantly. I stopped down the exposure quite a bit and (happy accidentally) left my colour balance compensating for incandescent, so only a little direct light was let in, and it was tinted even more blue than would be expected. All in all a very nice day out and a chance to enjoy a few hours of snow before hurrying back to clear streets and civilization.

Salt Spring Free Range

 Salt Spring Island is dotted with small family-run farms which produce small amounts of dairy, poultry and produce for local consumption. The cows below were at a small dairy we visited and I was very pleased to know that our cheese came from "those cows right over there" as it is easy to have a disconnect between a food source and our plates.

 Our bed and breakfast had several dozen chickens scratching around the grounds and one morning we were treated to free-range eggs laid that very morning. I also got a pretty nice portrait of the rooster, which I think gives an air of majesty which poultry is rarely considered to possess.

 Our bed and breakfast also had a number of sheep, and while these individuals were more for the entertainment of guests as part of the hobby farm, we did pass several fields where quite a few sheep were out grazing, and sheepskin was for sale at the Saturday market.

 

 Not shown here, but worth mentioning, Salt Spring Island has dozens of small produce stands along the roads. Running on an honor system, farmers will leave their surplus eggs, fruits, and vegetables in wooden stands along the roads and passersby can help themselves and leave the appropriate payment.

In Vancouver, such a system would be quickly looted and vandalized, and while I'm sure there are some problems with that on Salt Spring, there was enough of it going on that its clearly a reasonably profitable venture without too much of a cost.