A Lagoon, Fortification and Lighthouse



Esquimalt Lagoon (from Fisgard Lighthouse)



Last Thursday was one of those lovely clear sunny days that I look forward to during the winter months when grey skies seem to be the norm.  Admittedly, it was cold but I was ready for some more exploring.  Esquimalt Lagoon was the choice of the day as I had made a brief visit there in the summer and was intrigued by the land formation (barrier spit) that has created a shallow ocean fed lagoon between the land and the spit.  The lagoon has become a migratory bird sanctuary and a place for bird watchers to go.  For geocachers, there are two earth caches as well as some traditional caches (whichI have yet to do.)   Added attractions in the area (and yet to explore) are:   Hatley Castle (part of Royal Roads University) and giant Douglas fir trees that are amongst the largest on the island (http://www.esquimaltlagoon.com/).  

Nearby (and I did explore) are: Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse.


Lower Battery, Fort Rodd Hill

 



Fort Rodd Hill astonished me.  I didn’t realize that from 1878 to 1956 Victoria was guarded by a series of coastal artillery fortifications and Fort Rodd Hill is one of the world’s most complete and best preserved.  The historical site is worth a visit anytime of the year.  The Lower Battery includes a fortress plotting room with (it seemed to me) steel door and windows.  The room was used during the Second World War for a short period and used in the 1950s for anti-aircraft plotting.(http://www.fortroddhill.com/index.html).  
Canada Geese now dot the landscape and on occasion deer can be seen grazing on the site.

Fisgard Lighthouse has the official title of being the first permanent lighthouse on the Pacific Coast of Canada.  It was erected in 1859-60.  The lantern came from England along with its first lighthouse keeper. The lighthouse was automated in 1929 and is still operational today (http://www.fisgardlighthouse.com/). 



Fisgard Lighthouse

 

Lighthouse stairs (closed to public)

I will be back – in warmer weather!!!

Snow, Ice and Santa



Frozen fountain in front of Parliament Buildings


Victoria had snow and very cold weather this week.  The balcony pansies shrivelled with the cold but bounced back when I brought them inside.  I grumbled at first and then enjoyed both the snow and the cold.  Tuesday was a gorgeous day and I was treated to seeing two fountains frozen.   As I wandered around I realized how attached I have become to Victoria - it is now home.  I didn't have my camera with me that day so took  the picture in this blog with my cellphone.  I have to fess up that I didn't know how to get the picture off the camera until shown 'how to' by a cellphone techie!! 



 

Snow and holly

By Friday all the snow had gone and the weather was back to normal but during the snow squall I couldn't resist going out and capturing a picture of the snow falling on a holly tree.













We live within walking distance of downtown so I decided to go to the lighted Santa Clause parade Saturday evening.  Most enjoyable.


Santa's sleigh in front of the Parliament Buildings



A virtual geocache leads to a potpourri of history and culture

This week I decided to find a virtual geocache.   A virtual geocache asks the seeker to find a location and answer questions or take on a task.  The coordinates for this virtual cache took me to St. Ann’s Schoolhouse to find the answers to several questions posted on the website where I go to find caches.  The structure, built in 1844, was purchased in 1853 for the Sisters of St. Ann’s to be run as a schoolhouse.  It is said to be one of the oldest buildings in Western Canada (but not on its original site and it is not open to the public.)   What a great way to learn about the history of this area.

After I found the answers to the virtual questions I looked around and was struck by the history and culture surrounding me.   On one side is the Royal BC Museum with its Woolly Mammoth and Imax, and on the other the Helmcken House built by Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken.  This house also has a claim for being the oldest house in British Columbia (this time on its original site and it is open to the public.)

Close to the Helmcken House is Thunderbird Park with its hand carved totem poles and the Mungo Martin Kwakwaka'wakw house. 

In front of the museum is the Netherlands Carillon Tower which boasts being Canada’s largest carillon with 65 bells.  The bells are played by a musician who climbs to the top of the tower several times a day.  I was intrigued to learn that some of the bell pitches actually commemorate specific historical events.

Across the road from the Thunderbird Park, and close to the historic Empress Hotel, is the new statue of Emily Carr.  The statue, like the lady herself and her artwork and writings, is larger than life and shows her with her constant companions: her pet monkey and little dog. 

Last mention is the Parliament Buildings and harbour which is in close proximity to the above square.  No wonder this area is full of visitors!!

Links to the above post:

St. Anne’s Schoolhouse:  http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/RBCM_Cult_Pre/St_Ann_Schlhse.aspx

Helmcken House: http://www.victorialodging.com/attraction/helmcken-house

Thunderbird Park: http://www.emilycarr.org/totems/exhibit/tour3.htm.  

Netherlands Carillon Tower: http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/RBCM_Cult_Pre/Nthrlnd_Crlln_Twr.aspx

Victoria's award winning urinal

Read in the paper about the public urinal on the corner of Government and Pandora that has won an international award for its custom design and innovation. It is the city's answer to nightime bar closings downtown.  It cost $75,000.  For that money, according to the news item, the city has a piece of "public art" with "green" features such as low-flow flushing technology and LED lighting that comes on after dark.

I've been down to the corner of Pandora and Government quite a few times and never noticed the urinal. It really has a subtle design.  There is no door but the green poles that surround the urinal do make it possible to tell if someone is inside.  When I went down to take pictures for the blog there was a maintenance man inside the urinal doing some work.  (At least that is what I assumed he was doing!!)  He can be seen but not seen.  The city is wondering whether it is possible to put a gate on it and make some modifications to allow use by women.   I don't think so!!!

Y walk - November 9 - A Pooh Bear day

Winnie the Pooh, White River, Ontario

Woke up yesterday to a sky full of grey clouds and a very windy and blustery day.  It is what I call a Pooh Bear day.  I almost went back to bed but thought, "Hey, there is snow in Ontario, I can do this!!"  I am glad I did.  There were 20 of us there all bundled up.  The walk was more urban than park but it took us along two ridges where we had stunning views of the water. I love the ocean.  It doesn't matter whether it is shimmering blue or reflecting stormy skies.  Yesterday, because of the high wind, the waves were tossing and tumbling over themselves and cresting with white caps.  Very exhilerating.  We saw three deer in the front gardens: first a stag, then a doe and yearling.  While I do enjoy the ladies and the conversation, I miss walking alone when I can stop and really soak in the ambiance of my surroundings.

Before going on these walks I go online to find out if there are any caches in the area. There is no 'if'.  As I mentioned before, there are caches all over this island!!  I did find one listed for McMinn Park where we started the walk.  This one was an easy find.  The GPS took me to the area and told me to look in a nurse stump.

When doing these walks, I turn on the GPS to record the 'track' and then transfer the track onto the computer using Mapsource.  I'd never be able to find them myself!!

Y Walk Nov. 2 - St. Stephen's Church, Saanich

 

During our walk on Tuesday we stopped for our break at St. Stephen's Anglican Church.   Built in 1862, it is the oldest continuously operating church in British Columbia.  It is a small church with dark wood interior and wooden pews.  There is a lovely stained glass window behind the alter. Outside, the surroundings are very pastoral and calming.













The trees in the graveyard are draped with "goats beard" a type of hanging moss.

The entrance sign into the church 

Geocashing

About a year ago, when doing research for an automobile GPS, I came across information on a relatively new sport: Geocashing using a handheld GPS. I thought, what fun and what a great way to be outside.   After much debating with myself I decided on a Garmin Dakota 20 which I bought in Calgary on my drive out West.  It is small, light and easy to use. 

Victoria, in fact Vancouver Island, is a mecca for geocashes and geocashing is a great way to explore the area.  I particularly enjoy finding the earth (natural environment) caches. The GPS helps the searcher get to the vicinity of the cache but actually finding it is not always easy.  For each cache I have found there are two others that I haven't.  This week's search in the Dallas Road area was fun and successful and since I now always carry a camera with me I made a mini documentary of the event which I am adding to this blog (another first). 

Geocashing is so popular that visitors to Victoria and people on cruise ships spend  time searching for hidden caches during their time here (and Tourism has started to capitalize on this interest.)  Each geocasher is encouraged to enter the date of their find in the cache logbook, and Granma's cache logbook had an entry by a geocacher from Germany!! 

Y Walkers



Victoria, in fact Vancouver Island, is a walkers mecca and there are numerous walking groups to choose from.  After joining the YMCA-YWCA I decided (for now) on the Tuesday morning women 50+ walking group.  Many of the walkers don't belong to the Y but our $30.00 a year "fee" is a donation to the Y's Thunderbird Camp in Sooke.  I've learned that many of the walkers are retired librarians by and with my arrival it was a toss up whether to call the group the Librarian Walkers or stay with the Y Walkers.  No competition here, we stayed with the Y Walkers!!  The walks average 2 hours each with a snack break.

 

Brentwood Bay



S.V. Duen





On October 5th we walked from Brentwood Bay through Gowland Tod Provincial Park to Tod Inlet which at the foot of Buchart Gardens.  Before starting the walk we went down to the public dock at Brentwood Bay and were delighted to see numerous pink starfish in all shapes and sizes in the water. 

When we arrived at Tod Inlet we were treated to the sight of the S.V. Duen at anchor.  Acccording to their website, The S.V. Duen is one of those lovely sailing ships that offers exploration trips around the West Coast.  We ran into the exuberant young students from Calgary who were preparing to go for their adventure sail. Tod Inlet itself has an interesting history as an early settlement of the Vancouver Portland Cement Co.  Remains of the settlement and the cement company were clearly evident.

On October 17th the walk followed the water along Dallas Road (and we saw a sea otter!!) meandered past the Chinese cemetery (http://www.oldcem.bc.ca/cem_ch.htm), then made our way via a rocky pathway and steps via King George Terrace to get to Dennison Road so we could get to the lookout on Walbran Park.  Walbran Park is a small undeveloped natural area with an historical WWII lookout and marker cairn.   We rested at Waldren Park and enjoyed fabulous views of the ocean, mountains, and urban settings before heading back via Fairfield and Ross Bay Cemetery. This was a longer walk of about 2.5 hours with around 200 steps (my fitness regime at the Y is paying off!). We had ample time to enjoy gardens and nature.   I am getting to know more of the women.  They are a diverese grooup and I am really enjoying hearing their stories of how and when they came to Victoria.  So far only two walkers can claim long-term residency here.



Below are pictures of the WWII cairn from Dennison and the view from the fence around the cairn.

Graves, stories and deer: Ross Bay Cemetery October 17, 2010



Kit Pearson

 

I have walked by the Ross Bay Cemetery many times during my four months of living here in Victoria but Sunday past was the first time that I actually went into the cemetery.  I couldn't resist after coming across a notice in the paper informing the reader that the Sunday tour would be led by Kit Pearson reading from her juvenile award-winning book "Awake and Dreaming".  The story takes place in Victoria and features a ghost and graves at RBC.  This was so close to home that I had to go.



I am a more visual person than auditory but found myself pulled into the story as she read passages describing the cemetery, the graves, and the old house nearby which are featured in the book.  We were also treated to the history of other graves by a member of The Old Cemeteries Society that do guided walking tours every Sunday afternoon including the grave (of course) of Emily Carr.  The headstone of Emily's grave was surrounded by gifts of pencils, pens, pine cones, sayings and even a tiny cushion.  As the tour guide said," Why not rest in comfort as well as in peace" (or something to that effect).

Halfway through the tour we came across a six deer (3 stags and 3 does).  The deer have become so urbanized that they really were not bothered by our presence.  At one point, a stag grazed near the group as Kit was reading.  As one person said, "Only in Victoria!!"(but others on Vancouver Island would say also in Comox and other areas heavily populated by deer).

The Society is looking for volunteers - umm, perhaps.