It’s the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. We meet at sunrise at Shipwreck’s Beach parking lot with Adrian Burke, an ARC Seabird Technician (Archipelago Research & Conservation). He’s from the Big Apple with a BS in biology and two-and-a-half-years experience on Kauai. Jenn Rothe, Field Crew Lead with ARC who we did the Christmas Bird […]
We’re an hour’s drive from our North Vancouver home. We’ve brought bicycles to ride a portion of the Trans Canada Trail (TCT). It’s a ‘Two for Tulip’ day. ‘Tu’ and ‘Two’ are the syllable sound-surround of this flower of the day. In addition, we’re on a two-fold purpose because we’re doing a bicycle ride paired […]
I’m in a desert of sorts. Deserts are lands of sparsity where evaporation exceeds rainfall. Harsh habitats for a writer. Coming from a temperate rainforest, I feel it from day one in my skin, my eyes, and my not-naturally-straight hair. With every breath, I’m parching. On a bicycle tour of Palm Springs, our guide says, […]
To be steady on my feet…steady in my thoughts, I need balance. First off, when balance is disturbed, my writing Muse muffles. Shooting from a 26-year-old hip replacement, my decrepit spoke to me. At first, in quiet tones. Then, louder and more persistently. As a result, I became aware it was time to regain […]
**’Ribbon of Snow’ follows six days of Nordic skiing with 47 Vancouver Skiers in British Columbia’s West Kootenays. After consecutive ski days in Nature on a ribbon of classic track, we ponder the power of gliding on snow crystals. The outing to B.C.’s snowy interior fills us with awe: to China Ridge near Princeton, to […]
The Ghosts of Allerton Garden were there, in the: Spooky Setting: T’was a full moonlit eve on the Garden Isle of Kauai 2016. Garden volunteers gathered at dusk. The lunar globe arose. The flora began to glow in white and pale pastel, wafting cotton-candy fragrance. Spider lilies, mock orange, pua kenikeni, and a favorite of Chanel perfumeries, […]
West Coast Wilderness Lodge (WCWL) on the Sechelt Peninsula, part of British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast… is a sea star. This star of the sea has won The Georgia Straight’s ‘Best of Vancouver’ award for the last seven years. Open arms welcome you, from a central body. Getting To West Coast Wilderness Lodge Take the one-hour […]
Leaving Horseshoe Bay on a crack-of-dawn ferry gets us kayaking on Wallace Island Marine Provincial Park by noon. Since my last blog-post from Thetis Island, we’ve wanted to kayak-camp on Wallace. From Nanaimo, it’s an hour’s drive south to Crofton where a group of Cowichan kayakers are headed our way on a daytrip. They lead us […]
Kayaking Thetis Island is made easy from Cedar Beach Ocean Resort , two ferries away from the British Columbia mainland. We arrive at 120 Clam Bay Road on Thetis Island via Departure Bay ferry terminus. We drive south less than an hour to Chemainus for the 33-car-load crossing. A world away. 1. Accessibility Owners, Andy and Virginia […]
Next golf trip, tag along on the East Shore of Kootenay Lake. Not a golfer? Need a day off? “Fore-mi-da-ble,” say French golfeurs. “Par-fait!” Go beyond the greens at Kokanee Springs, a Golf-Advisor top-ten destination resort in British Columbia’s West Kootenays. Director of Sales and Marketing, Ian Wiber says, “In 2015, we introduced the Adventures in […]