April 15, 2010 by Rae

Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse

Forts and Lighthouses are high on my interest list, so these two unconnected sites, Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse at the same location were a perfect combination for me. We were able to stop here after going to French Beach since it was literally on the way home from there.

From the websites:

Fort Rodd Hill – a National Historic Site – is a coast artillery fort built in the late 1890s to defend Victoria and the Esquimalt Naval Base. The Fort includes three gun batteries, underground magazines, command posts, guardhouses, barracks and searchlight emplacements.

and

The first lighthouse on Canada’s west coast is still in operation! There hasn’t been a keeper here since the light was automated in 1929, but every year many thousands of visitors step inside a real 19th century light, and capture some of the feeling of ships wrecked and lives saved.

Built by the British in 1860, when Vancouver Island was not yet part of Canada, Fisgard’s red brick house and white tower has stood faithfully at the entrance to Esquimalt harbour. Once a beacon for the British Royal Navy’s Pacific Squadron, today Fisgard still marks home base for the Royal Canadian Navy.

The fort has two batteries and several outbuildings to explore, and Parks Canada was generous with accessibility to all the nooks and crannies. One building had me climbing a metal staircase to a widow’s walk to another staircase that descends to a room where there is a small exhibit. It was quite fun to get there and I was pretty impressed that I got up and down that staircase.

The lighthouse is one of the prettiest I have ever seen. They are working on making the inside a museum. There are a few exhibits and they are promising. I especially liked the stacks of ‘crates’ that had doors and drawers you can open to see what’s inside.

a beautiful map of the site

married officer quarters

these crates have doors and drawers that open to reveal exhibits

a good view of the causeway built in the 1950’s

I was about five feet from these geese

this ‘man’ startled me and I let out a very embarassing shriek!

this is the structure I climbed on the metal staircase (to the top of the short part!)

this building disguised as a boat house held a searchlight

Both locations were excellent and could provide at least a full half-day of entertainment if you bring a picnic. We were there for several hours.

January 9, 2010 by Rae

Campbell River to Nanaimo

There are two ways to get from Campbell River to Nanaimo. The first is the way I came after the ferry, highway 19, a new thoroughfare deemed the ‘inland highway.’ It is a speedway, pure and simple, with the highest speed limit I’ve ever seen in Canada (110kph) and nothing to see except a blur of trees. The second option is the older ‘ocean route’, highway 19A, which meanders its way quietly through sleepy hamlets. This is the route I picked to go to Nanaimo today.

It rained all day and most businesses were shut tight, so there wasn’t really much exploring to do. I simply savoured the coastal drive, occasionally stopping for photographs or to stretch my legs.

My longest stop before Nanaimo was in Qualicum Beach, a picturesque retirement community with the oldest average population in Canada. ‘Qualicum’ is from the Pentlach language and means ‘chum salmon.’ I took a small detour into downtown so I could see some of the murals. The town has a museum, but it is only open on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the winter.

I’ve known about Nanaimo since I was a girl because my childhood best friend moved there when were were about ten. I looked him up before coming to the Island, but have thus far been unable to find him and imagine that he’s probably no longer in town. Nanaimo is also famous because of the delicious dessert named after it, the Nanaimo Bar, a decadent confection featuring chocolate, custard, and coconut.

The weather made wandering around the pedestrian-friendly downtown unappealing, so I decided to visit the Nanaimo Museum and take a quick glimpse at the harbour, then call it a day.

Coming into downtown Nanaimo was frustrating. There were two signs for the city and then signs for Victoria, more than a hundred kilometres away. I assumed that I missed downtown and got off the highway, then spent some time trying to find the museum before my GPS was able to help me. As it turns out, Nanaimo is a long, narrow city, and there were more than ten kilometres left to drive before hitting the downtown exit. Nanaimo definitely needs a ‘exit at *** for downtown’ sign at the city limits. Once downtown the museum is easy to find, just follow the big blue M signs. I was happy to find free parking at the corner of Museum Way and Terminal Avenue, literally in front of the museum entrance.

The Nanaimo Museum is brand new. The $2 entrance fee was easily explained by the museum’s size; tiny. This is a fine museum that makes full use of its small footprint. Within a few minutes of arrival I knew what Nanaimo was all about, from its coal mining origins to its bathtub races and Native heritage. It was one of the best museums I have ever visited.

During the summer, the museum also operates the Nanaimo Bastion, a fort built by the Hudson’s Bay Company between 1853 and 1855 to defend its coal mining operations. I had a chance to view the exterior of the Bastion after taking a quick tour of the harbour, which was cut short by the start of a downpour that did not let up until I got home. The harbour was just a couple of blocks from the museum and my raincoat was soaked through by the time I made it back to the car!

Nanaimo has a reputation for being a working, charmless, city, but I found downtown to be quite beautiful and I would very much like to spend more time exploring it on a slightly drier day. Being just 150km from Campbell River, it is the perfect destination for a day trip; far enough away to shake off cabin fever, but still near enough to be easily doable as a round trip.

the first rest area outside of Campbell River

Oyster Bay Rest Area

next rest area

Baynes Sound Rest Area

Oysters underfoot at Baynes Sound Rest Area

Baynes Sound Rest Area

trawlers off of Baynes Sound Rest Area

Baynes Sound Rest Area

farm across from Baynes Sound Rest Area

Qualicum Beach

mural in downtown Qualicum Beach

details about the mural

mural in downtown Qualicum Beach

downtown Qualicum Beach

bathtub racing, what an idea!

Nanaimo bars

the first black teacher in BC

Nanaimo’s mines are notorious for their death and injury rates, hence the ironic messages.

Native dress

this trunk belonged to Joseph McKay, founder of Nanaimo

model of Nanaimo’s Bastion

world famous singer Diana Krall is from Nanaimo

arrowheads

these beautiful combs caught my eye

drum

Victrola

book of Victrola records

Victrola

historic building

close-up

downtown Nanaimo

🙂

Nanaimo Harbour

what a great staircase!

Nanaimo Harbour

I don’t know if I will ever be able to see a palm tree in the wild and not feel a tingle.

the Bastion

November 30, 2009 by Rae

Travels Without Miranda, #2: Alcatraz Island, California

Alcatraz Island is breathtakingly beautiful in a barren and desolate sort of way, architecturally graceful ruins blending in perfectly with scrub grasses, trees, and various flowers. Birds abound and, in fact, most of the island is white with guano. It is a stark, foreboding place, but truly beautiful. Some might think me crazy to find that place so pretty, but it is if you like ruins that blend in so thoroughly with their natural surroundings that you could not possibly imagine one without the other, then Alcatraz is the place for you.

I spent a sunny day touring the ill-famed Rock. Even though it houses one of the most notorious US jails and was the site of native protests, today the island is a peaceful bird sanctuary that belies the supposed horrors that went on between the crumbling walls of the prison.

chapel

mint green on the exterior

interior sampling of the mint green and baby pink colour scheme

those marks on the floor are bullet spray from a shooting during a hostage crisis

inmates had a lot of time on their hand (the knitting alone provides an interesting image, but the hot pink yarn is too much)

sample menu

The architectural details of the place are striking, showing an aesthetic that belies the purpose of the building. Add the surprising mint green and baby pink colour scheme and Alcatraz does not even remotely look as you would expect it would.

As it turns out, the prison’s reputation was not entirely warranted. I learned there that inmates actually tried to get transferred to Alcatraz as it was a more comfortable prison with some of the best food in the penal system. This is not to say that some of the stories that have come out of Alcatraz are not true; it was a brutal place housing hardened criminals, but there was a softer side to the Rock.

I had expected that I would return from my day on Alcatraz completed drained rather than refreshed, and instead learned that I should never assume anything, a lesson I applied during a humbling visit of the town of Banff.

October 16, 2009 by Rae

Plans Undone and a Chasm Respite

I had a pretty good night at the turnout even though I practically woke to a gale, with Miranda rocking back and forth. I had coffee and the rest of the bannock, then set off under a clear a sky at about 10.

My first stop of the day was Kitwanga where there is a side road that goes through ‘town’ and loops back to the Cassiar. I took this loop road because it announced a nearby Parks Canada site of a First Nations battleground. I enjoyed the walk down to and up the hill.

Lunch was had at a pull-out just before Smithers and then I headed to my destination for the night, an RV park just east of Houston, 300km shy of Prince George. I followed the signs for the park, all of which proclaimed it was open… except for the one after the last turn that ended in a shut gate.

I found myself in a situation not unlike that back in Manitoba, caught in a turn where I couldn’t unhook. This time, backing up with the toad and doing a million point turn wasn’t even an option seeing as the road was very narrow and bordered by ditches. The only possibility I could see was to cross a culvert and turn around in a big field. I got out and checked the culvert, finding it sturdy. The field was pot holey and definitely not a place I would have voluntarily taken Miranada and the toad into, but I felt confident that I could get turned around without doing any damage or having to unhook. I was right. Whew!!!

With all of that, I forgot that I was low on fuel and left civilization without gassing up. 50km from Houston, I woke up in that regard and realised that I was staring at a bunch of long uphill stretches with no gas in sight and a gas gauge needle dipping deeply into the red. This was the first time I have ever come close to running out of gas and I figured I’d used up all my luck for the day. Both the GPS and the Milepost were in agreement that the nearest gas station in either direction was too far away.

So, you can imagine that when I saw a sign in the distance announcing gas, I thought it was a mirage. 😀

As it turns out, it was a pump on a native reserve, not a proper gas station. But there was a sign announcing prices for status and non-status folks, so I figured I could gas up there. The pump was in the middle of a perfectly-sized roundabout, full-serviced, and offered the cheapest gas I’d seen since Whitehorse (1.03).

I wound up being there almost an hour seeing as my credit card would not go through after several attempts. I called the company to see if there was a security hold on the card, but no. The very helpful person I spoke to suggested that the problem might be with the POS terminal, not my card. The attendant was a young gal fairly new on the job and I coached her on how to call for POS support. Sure enough, there was a glitch with their system and she was walked through the process of resetting the terminal. My card went through fine after. Had the problem been on my end, I would have used an alternate method of payment, but since the problem was theirs and it was more convenient to pay with my credit card than with another method I had no problem with the time the transaction took. Moreover, I think I did the girl a favour showing her what I knew about POS machines.

Like the day before, I pushed on in search of a non-advertised RV park or other legal overnighting option, but found none. I reached the end of the Cassiar and turned east onto Yellowhead highway 16, which also does not permit boondocking. Here, the reason is obvious with frequent billboards reminding people, especially women, that the road is nicknamed ‘The Highway of Tears’ because many young women have disappeared on it. There is a strong possibility that a serial killer is stalking this desolate stretch of highway.

The sun was very low in the sky by the time I passed Vanderhoof, so I decided to just take the plunge and limped all the way to the Walmart in Prince George, covering in total that day more than seven hundred kilometres!

There were signs at the Walmart that overnight parking is not permitted, but there were so many RVs parked that I just ignored the signs. I’m such a rebel!!!

It was COLD in Prince George and I turned on the furnace for the first time. It would have been nice the other nights, but this night it was no luxury.

I didn’t sleep at all; it was just too light, noisy, and COLD. I was cranky and just wanted to get out of civilization. Last time I was in Prince George I stayed for a few days at Les Doll’s place, but that detour didn’t fit in with my itinerary this time around. I instead decided to go back to the Chasm and spend two nights there.

The morning was spent running errands, including a quick run into Canadian Tire where I actually ran into Les. What are the odds?!

It was sooo good to be back on the road, even with the construction coming out of Prince George. It was nice in a way to be back in familiar territory, especially since I was out of fresh water and driving with full black and grey tanks. My first stop of the day was going to be Quesnel, which has some of the best RV facilities in the west; a large day parking area, dump station, and potable water pump, all free. Taking on water was fine, but my holding tanks were frozen solid!

From Quesnel, I drove straight back to the Chasm, knowing I was racing the light. I pulled into the turnoff at bang on six. The turnoff was in worse shape than it was in the spring, very muddy and without a single level spot. I unhooked and drove Miranda into an area below the turnoff with a couple of fairly level places to park if you don’t mind doing a bit of a dance with your RV to get into the right position. I didn’t mind the work, finding this spot more suitable for a long stay than is the turnoff.

I spent a quiet evening reading and watching a movie. I had a rare good night’s sleep.

The next morning was bright and cold… and my fresh water tank was frozen solid. I had to laugh. I grabbed a bucket and made a couple of trips down to the creek to get some slush to melt for washing purposes and as well as some drinking water from the spring to boil for drinking. Life without amenities suits me, I’ve discovered. Had I not needed to haul water I would have probably not had any exercise that morning.

It was a quiet, homey day, where I got caught up on my sewing (!) and cleaning. Some people walked past Miranda a few times to take in the view of the Chasm, but no one bothered me. I was relaxed and pleased that I was only a day away from the ferry terminal, two days from Croft’s. My journey was practically over and I could relax…

This impressive toadstool was by the side of the Cassiar turnoff

I would not want to run into that guy in the mask in a dark alley…

reaching the end of the Cassiar highway

Moricetown Canyon

lunch stop in Smithers

break at a rest area

in case that’s not clear, the monument to which this plaque is attached features a stone from an English castle reputed to be the birthplace of King Arthur!

Miranda and the toad at the Chasm

the Chasm

truck’s still there from last time…

I love this view…

not a bad spot, really

dawn of one of the worst days of my life

April 7, 2008 by Rae

Day Five

This was the best and most ‘vacationy’ day of my holiday. I’m grinning as a I remember it… and continue to sooth a sunburn even liberal amounts of sunscreen couldn’t prevent.

There were three things I wanted to see and do in the vicinity of Savannah. As it turned out, they were all convenient to one another and stops on the same interstate, one right after the other in order of priority! I thought that I would spend Wednesday driving all over coastal Georgia, but, instead, I was able to enjoy the places I wanted to visit.

First stop:

I spent about an hour in this gorgeous cemetery taking loads of photos. Have y’all been waiting for pics of Spanish moss? Here ’tis!

Next stop was Fort Pulaski, the site of a major turning point in military history. I just went because I hoped to see ‘gators in the moat. No such luck. 🙂 I enjoyed my visit anyway. There was lots to see and the grounds were gorgeous.

Highly reflective glass meant that I accidentally took a photo of myself:

No, I’m not bald in this pic. I decided to fully embrace freedom on Wednesday and wore a scarf all day. With the sunglasses, I looked like a biker chick. 🙂

Next and final stop: Tybee Island, Savannah’s beach playground!

I started by being foolish and climbing the 170+ steps to the top of the lighthouse:

Must. Get. Back. Into. Shape. The climb is worth the view, though!

I enjoyed touring the lighthouse keeper’s cottage and was impressed by this detail in the banister.

Yes, the newel post is shaped like the lighthouse.

Next, I viewed the lighthouse museum which also featured some exhibits about Tybee’s earliest days as a resort destination.

Then came the moment I’d been waiting for. I changed into my bathing suit and went to the beach for an hour. It was HOT out, the sun was shining brightly, and the water was plenty warm enough to swim! I had fun body surfing waves, accidentally ingesting salt water, and then sitting in the sun (even though I’m still paying for this, hee hee).

There was a shack-type restaurant right on the beach called the North Beach Grill and I decided to try it for lunch since it was packed. It was a fantastic experience; a cruddy little restaurant open to sea breezes, salt shakers rusty from the sea air, rum flowing liberally, and Caribbean-style music booming from speakers. I ordered ‘grilled shrimp’ which was nothing like what I expected. I got whole shrimp, still in the shell with the legs on ’em, swimming in a cajunny-style sauce with a helping of freshly cut fries. It was one of the most undignified, delicious, and fun meals of my life. It took forever to peel those suckers using my fingers! It was there that I realised that coastal Georgia is a world unto itself where sweet tea runs freely, huge mountains of sweet shrimp big as a thumb cost less than a burger, and the people know how to take the time to breathe and enjoy a moment. It’s not paradise, but came pretty close to that for a sun and warmth-starved gal who had just fled winter!

I headed ‘home’ after to shower, change, and rest before my ghost tour.

The Sixth Sense ghost tour was absolutely horrible in the best possible sense. It explained to me the vibes that Savannah had been giving off and made me understand my unease at being there. I know that most, if not all, the stories were mostly fiction, but the history itself was fairly solid. I was the only person on the tour and I really enjoyed it even if it made for a restless night. 🙂

It was a great day.

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A Life By Design

"Sometimes in life, we reach to a right place by departing from a wrong port with a wrong ship!" ~ Mehmet Murat Ildan

Forts/Citadels/Prisons

Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse

Campbell River to Nanaimo

Travels Without Miranda, #2: Alcatraz Island, California

Plans Undone and a Chasm Respite

Day Five