Janet Brien's photos

(+10 insets) (bigger is better for lovely details!) Trip Talk: Macro photography at Butchart Gardens: you can't see it all through your macro lens! Anyone who loves macro photography knows how long it takes to photograph a small area. If you're photographing really small stuff like tiny mushrooms, lichen or itty-bitty bugs, a few feet can take an hour. Flowers in a compact, colorful garden will keep a person busy for many hours. Now, just imagine the idea of trying to get pictures of all the various flowers, plants, art, architecture and people in an immaculately kept garden that sprawls across 55 acres. In other words, there is no way, no how, that a macro photographer is going to get images of even a small fraction of that real estate. It ain't gonna happen. What's a person to do? Well, you just do your best. It was a good thing that Steve kept pulling me along by my ear or I would have never left the parking lot to enter the actual Garden! Seriously, everywhere I turned there were 100 more things yelling for my attention! No, I didn't get a close look at everything in the park. But we did visit all of the different areas and I did get to spend many hours taking pictures of hundreds of flowers and countless other cool sights! Today's Pictures My main picture today shows a pair of Fuchsia "dancing ballerinas" and a row of buds, set against a sea of bokeh. Throughout the park were endless enormous pots exploding with color, and wherever there was a place to hang a planter, outrageous displays cascaded to delight the eye..the combinations of flowers and colorful foliage plants was incredible! Like I was saying above, I could have spent an hour just taking pictures of exactly ONE of these huge arrangements. When I saw this hanging planter, I couldn't help making these pretty ladies the star of the show! (By the way, there are over 120 kinds of Fuchsias and there were dozens represented at the park!) Inset 1: This is a group of Calibrachoa flowers, often confused as small petunias. They are related but not the same, yet nearly everything else about them matches. Easy to grow and care for, they churn out blossoms like crazy for an entire summer and come in a billion colors and combinations (There are about 25 species). At the park, these were often parts of lovely, multi-species planter displays, but I found this group celebrating their singular, outrageous beauty! Inset 2: I'm going to guess this is a Camelia, though I don't really know for sure. This was another kind of flower that has about a billion species! Ok, well over 200 anyway, and never in my life had I see so many kinds! This one was glowing at me and I was only too happy to give it some love! Inset 3: The lovely Japanese Garden was such a delight to stroll through, and I really loved this fabulous Sturgeon Fountain, sculpted by Sirio Tofanari , an Italian artist known for his animal sculpture. Inset 4: When Steve and I entered Butchart Gardens, one of the first things we saw were planters filled with Hibiscus plants, all of which were covered with huge blossoms in several colors. Because the red was really vibrating against the green behind, I chose to desaturate the background and add a strong vignette! Inset 5: As the evening began to make itself known with the sun getting lower in the sky, I looked up and saw this tree glowing at me and stopped to gawk. I got Steve's attention and together we did our best to immortalize this lovely tree. Inset 6: Camas leaves just kill me…they are so incredibly beautiful when the leaves are open, and yet, just look at how amazing the unfurling leaf looks! Be still my beating heart! Inset 7: I used to think Hydrangeas were boring, ugly plants. That's because the two that grew in my family's front yard weren't given proper nutrients…one had flowers which were a sort of grey-green and the other was dirty off-white blechy pink. But here at Butchart, the flowers were electrifyingly bright and beautiful! In fact, this picture was bright to the point of being a bit blown-out. So I decided to play with my Topaz Labs' Black and White Effects filter suite. The effect I ended up with really makes me happy! Inset 8: Oh, don't you just LOVE Lantanas? I had a lot of fun playing with focal depth and bokeh with this image! :) Inset 9: This is another Camelia but this time in white with lemon! So pretty…there were countless bushes in many colors and I stumbled around like a zombie doing my best to get nice pictures of what I saw. Inset 10: After we got pictures of the glowing tree, I made my way out to a main path way and saw this jaw-dropping sight. It's too bad there isn't any way to totally do justice to the warm translucence of the flowers but at least you get an idea! Pam, I don't know what your favorite flowers are but I am confident we'd find them here for you, as long as they were in bloom! :D The insects…holy cow they were EVERYWHERE! It was quite the happy convention for a zillion happy critters and you'll see some of my attempts to get pictures when I get to posting them! I hope that you are getting some good results with your photography experiments! Sending *BIG HUGS* your way! Explored on 10/01/19; highest placement #2.

(+10 insets) (bigger is better for lovely details!) Trip Talk: Marvelous Butchart Gardens When I began to figure out the itinerary of our trip to Vancouver Island, there was one place we were definitely going to visit: Butchart Gardens in Victoria. Listed as one of the top 10 gardens in the world, this 55-acre horticultural masterpiece simply cannot be missed--especially for a person like me who's crazy about macro and flower photography! When I visited their website, the beauty and opulence of the grounds had me so excited that I could barely wait! Another reason we wanted to go was memorial in nature. Steve has often told me how much his mother loved Butchart Gardens. Although we could only take her there in our thoughts and hearts, we would dedicate the day to her. I wished I'd gotten to meet Steve's mom, but it felt nice to know we could go to a place that she loved so dearly. We hoped to avoid a weekend visit but ended up going on a dreaded Saturday. And as predicted, it was totally swamped with thousands of people. However, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that everything about Butchart was set up for huge volumes of people. From their uniquely organized parking lot to masterfully designed paths winding through the gardens, this place handled the enormous crowds easily with plenty of room for everyone! When we arrived, we were directed by a team of helpful attendants to our spot in the vast parking lot. Before walking to the entrance, we used a parking app that saves your location so you can find your way back to your car. We didn't need to bother. Butchart actually has every aisle of parking marked with an enormous brightly colored banner with an animal and a number to make it really easy to remember where your car is. We'd never seen this before and thought it was totally brilliant. (There's nothing like leaving a venue of some sort and realizing that you have absolutely ZERO idea where your car is in the literal acres of cars laughing at you…Steve has a story of wandering around a football stadium parking lot for HOURS before finally discovering where he'd parked the car.) There is nothing about this park which isn't beautifully manicured, elegantly designed, or perfectly landscaped. Both of us were totally blown away from the second we entered the parking lot…and by the time we arrived at the ticket booth we realized that Butchart Gardens was going to be even more incredible than we'd imagined. It turned out to be a totally mind-blowing experience and I would end up taking over 1,000 pictures during our visit! To be honest, I've been working on this folder for days and STILL I haven't taken a close look at most of the pictures! I recognize that I simply won't be able to process all of the "winners" that I captured that day. However, I'll have at least five presentations to share from our day at Butchart Gardens and hopefully you'll get a sense of this incredible place. Today's Pictures My main image is the classic, iconic display of Butchart's most dazzling gem and the heart from which this Eden sprang--The Sunken Garden. If you can believe it, this place was once a limestone quarry! Robert and Jennie Butchart built a cement plant here in 1904, but as the quarry was exhausted, Jennie envisioned a garden to take the quarry's place. Dirt was carried in by horse and wagon for literally YEARS in order to create this lovely place. As decades passed, more and more landscaping was lovingly nestled into the sprawling 55 acres. Eventually the entire estate was turned into different sections which include, among others, the wondrous Japanese, Italian, and Rose Gardens. It is a wonder, just standing there and looking down into that garden. But of course we did more than just look from afar. After all…I had my macro lens with me, heh. Inset 1: Gorgeous Lantana blossoms opening up in lemon and magenta…how incredible these flowers are! Inset 2: Be still my heart, it's Candy-Striped Gazania, *SQUEEEEE*!!!! Too beautiful for words!! Inset 3: This periwinkle blue Clematis stretches elegantly up to the heavens. I'm crazy about vining flowers and some day I would like to have an assortment of these huge favorites of mine! Inset 4: I noticed a large, unassuming succulent growing below a huge flowering bush and the flash of what looked like glowing tendrils immediately caught my eye. Upon a closer inspection I could see that these weren't tendrils at all, but a sort of fraying at the edge of the sturdy leaves. I love finding gems like this, it makes me feel like I won a prize! :D Inset 5: Glowing leaves are magnetic to me and these enormous and colorful canna leaves always blow my mind when I see them. Absolutely breathtaking. I cannot resist taking picture upon picture of these amazing plants! (more pictures coming in other presentations!) Inset 6: Everywhere you looked there were planters filled with collections of flowers paired with lovely foliage plants, and these rainbow coleus leaves were as pretty as the flowers they were accenting! I couldn't resist having some fun with them and I used a filter which intensified the colors and created a psychedelic glowing blacklight effect. (I have another version of this which shows the normal beauty of this plant but will have it in another presentation.) Inset 7: This ridiculously colorful gold and wine-colored rudbeckia stood by itself in front a wall of short, orange marigolds and screamed for attention, which I gladly gave. After I'd taken pictures and moved on a bit, I heard Steve yell, "OMG Janet, did you see this flower?!! It's incredible!" I looked over and grinned happily, as Steve was now falling all over himself to take pictures of the floral diva! :) Inset 8: After several hours stumbling in flower-filled ecstasy, Steve and I left the main part of the park and walked out to the parking lot to have our lunch. This grand display, just 100 feet from our parked truck, was the Mediterranean Garden, surrounded by a perfectly manicured lawn. How would you like to lay out a picnic blanket, spread out lunch and enjoy this sight as you nibbled goodies?! That's just what we did! Inset 9: As we brought our lunch into the Mediterranean Garden, we found a bunny enjoying the grass and we were delighted to see it hopping around while we arranged our lunch. There were many bun-buns in the Butchart Gardens and they weren't scared of people so they didn't instantly disappear and we could enjoy their cuteness! Inset 10: Throughout the park were many sculptures and tasteful artwork. I really liked this piece but its setting made the birds' pretty details hard to appreciate. So I challenged myself to see if I could create a pretty collage which made the sculpture stand out. I hope I succeeded!! :) Pam, Pam, Pam…how you would love this place. There aren't words grand enough to describe how incredible and vast this garden is. Think about it: 55 acres, totally covered with ornate landscaping! I've got loads of pictures and they might give you a clue but you have to experience this place to understand it! Just as I thought about Steve's mom as we walked around this stupendous place, I also thought about you. *BIG HUGS* Explored on 9/29/19; highest placement #1.

(+11 insets!) (Please view large! You'll enjoy it!) :) Trip Talk: Taking Time to Wander Without a hard agenda, Steve and I strolled along the southern coastline of Victoria, gradually finding ourselves along the southern shore which afforded a cool perspective of Victoria's harbor. We were both happy to get away from the throngs of tourists who frequent the busier parts of the city's waterfront. The lovely southern views were incredible and showed the 25-mile distance to Port Angeles, Washington. There was something really special about staring out at sea and seeing so much activity. Hard not to thinking about the history of this place. Victoria has been an important town since navigators came here in 1770 and befriended the native people who made their home there. Did you know that, with its proximity to Hong Kong, Victoria was once North America's largest importer of opium?! These days Victoria is known as the "Garden City" because it's so beautiful. There should be no surprise that it thrives as an extremely popular tourist destination, but it also makes an important home to the tech sector. One of the things I love about taking the time to walk around a city is that you get a much better sense of what it's truly like. Truthfully, Steve and I didn't get to walk as far as we'd wanted to but we did get to see enough of the town that we were really satisfied. We'll definitely be coming back some day because this city has so much to see! (By the way, this is my last presentation for our day in Victoria!) Today's Pictures My main picture today was captured at Holland Point, along the southern edge of Victoria's waterfront. The view along this pretty path was so nice and though I'm not a big fan of the pollution caused by cruise ships, I just loved the way this picture turned out with the meandering fence, a fringe of golden grass and the pretty clouds in the distance. Inset 1: This extremely wide panorama shows the amazing view from Holland Point. On one side it shows a ship at one of Victoria's two massive cruise line docks and on the other, a trail meanders along the southern end of the city. I love the way the fence stretches across the scene! I would have made it my main image today but I was afraid that it just doesn't look like anything unless you see it larger! Inset 2: This picture was a surprise to me. It's a very tight crop of a much larger image and at first glance looked like a garbage shot. As I was about to toss it I zoomed in. WOAH! There's something super cool about the sparkles on the water, the silhouette and that mirage-like background. I couldn't have planned for it, but this turned out to be one of my personal favorites! Inset 3: This sailboat in its festive red and white colors, zipped across the bay with its happy crew…you could almost hear them laughing as they flew by! Inset 4: This is the official start of the Trans-Canada Highway , a marker that sits at the edge of Beacon Hill Park. The Trans-Canada is the longest highway in the world, stretching all the way across Canada for 4,862 miles (7,821 km)! ! I specifically wanted to come and see this because I find places like this to be extremely thought-provoking. I stood there, vsualizing the line that begins where I stood, and crosses thousands of miles to a place I've never even seen. And then there's the giggle about this highway. In order to follow the highway, you actually have to take a ferry across from Vancouver Island to the mainland. On the far side, another ferry is required to get you to the edge of Newfoundland! Finally, thinking about the Trans-Canada Highway is exciting because both Steve and I would really love to make this trip sometime, taking months to explore as we go. (I have included another inset below this inset which shows the path across Canada.) Inset 5: This pano features a pair of oil tankers on the horizon. The industry here in Victoria and Vancouver Island are almost always visible just by looking out to sea. Tankers, fishing boats, ferries, personal craft, charters of all kinds…they are ever-present and make for a wonderful time sitting and watching the ongoing show! Inset 6: Here a powerful yacht flies by, what a beauty! The stuff of dreams, Steve once entertained the idea of maybe getting a boat to travel in. But the bigger the boat, the more money they cost and absolutely everything that goes along with that…they are notorious money pits and there are more economical ways to see the world. They sure are fun to see though! :D Inset 7: This is a detail shot of "The World's Tallest Totem Pole"! What do you know about that?! While we were walking through Beacon Hill Park we saw this totem pole in the distance and had to get a picture. Then we read the sign and discovered its claim to fame. Now that I'm home, I've done a search for "World's Tallest Totem Pole" and you'll be amused if you click on the link, to discover there are a bunch of candidates…and some of them cheat by using more than one tree to come up with it's final height…lol, that's not fair! :D Inset 8: Here's a picture of the whole totem pole, with me at the base to show just how tall 127 feet is! (Click on this link for more information about the pole's carving team and its history) Inset 9: Continuing our walk up through Beacon Hill Park, we began to head back into the heart Victoria's downtown. Parked at the side of the road, I couldn't help taking a picture of this enormous Caterpillar excavator . These monstrous earth-movers never fail to get my attention, and like a little kid, I would happily watch one of these guys for hours as it moved dirt from point a to point b! Inset 10: "What the heck is that?!" Next to the Cat was this group of wrapped things and Steve was happy to amaze me by saying, "You know the garbage cans you see on the street? This is what they look like before they're put into place. YES…the "can" is set incredibly deep below the sidewalk so it holds more trash! Isn't that just AMAZING? I stood and stared and stared. I had no idea that city garbage cans were made this way! Inset 11: By the end of our long day and many hours of urban hiking, Steve and I were absolutely ravenous for dinner. Because we have a ketogenic lifestyle, the easiest meal--as well as one of the tastiest--that we enjoy are burgers. We had hoped to return to the wonderful sushi restaurant we'd visited the last time we were here but sadly the doors were closed when we arrived…we almost cried to see they were closed on Mondays! But I'd remembered passing by a hamburger joint at some point during the day and discovered we weren't too far away. About 15 minutes later we walked into Fatburger and discovered a whole new Nirvana! Not only did they serve their burgers in lettuce wraps, they did an AWESOME JOB making them easy to handle and eat (if badly made, lettuce wraps fall apart or can't even be picked up at all)! The restaurant was super cool with bebop music, fun décor and wonderful staff. Did I mention the part about blazingly fast, free wifi?! We considered moving in! :D Pam, I think you would have had a fantastic time if you'd been our stroll through the area of Victoria. we visited. I totally understand why this place is on your bucket list. We loved it so much that we hope to return and spend some WEEKS just exploring this area of Vancouver Island! I sure do hope that you've had a good day, you are certainly in my thoughts! :) *HUGS* Explored on 9/27/19; highest placement #3.

(+6 insets) Trip Talk: Animals Along the Way! Steve and I saw plenty of wildlife on our trip to Vancouver Island. Off the top of my head I remember seeing many species of birds, deer, insects, snakes, lizards, seals, crabs, snails, slugs, fish, various rodents…we even saw a Black Bear! However, we didn't spend a lot of time just chilling out, which meant that we didn't get to see as many animals as we'd have liked to. (I hoped to see elk, whales, more bears, otters, beavers, etc.) It would have been nice to quietly make my way around the edge of an estuary so I could see more of the birds (how I wanted to see a kingfisher!) but it wasn't in the cards."Sitting still" made us feel guilty because we couldn't escape the urge to get the very most out of every day. We weren't frantic about this so we did relax plenty, but we didn't have occasions where we sat and allowed nature to come out of hiding around us. I'm so happy that we got to see at least a few animals and so I thought today I'd share some pictures of critters we've seen up to this point in our trip. (Some of these are reposts from days before.) Today's Pictures While Steve and I wandered up through Beacon Hill's beautiful park, I spotted a black squirrel on a tree! I was so happy that it wasn't afraid of us and came down to see if we had anything to eat. The main picture shows our fluffy friend pausing on its tree before leaping onto the lush lawn below. (By the way, I was surprised to learn that this squirrel is a variant of grey tree squirrel, which can be pure black or a sooty color like this one. I also learned that Grey squirrels were introduced to the city of Vancouver's Stanley Park in 1909 and then to Vancouver Island in 1966. They were considered to be invasive until it was learned that these squirrels are more visible because they adapt to cities better. Local species prefer the forest and move away from civilization, whereas Grey squirrels establish themselves where there are people.) Insets 1 and 2: We almost always have a bag of mixed nuts with us for a snack, so Steve tossed some into the grass for our little buddy. Inset 3: I noticed a pair of very noisy crows in a nearby tree and liked the way they looked up there! Inset 4: This Bald Eagle picture was such a highlight for me! These birds actually live within miles of our home here in southern Oregon but until I got this picture, I'd never seen one so close before. Exhilarating! Insets 5 and 6: What a nice treat it was to get these pictures of Canada Geese on our way up to Vancouver Island. My Sony camera made it possible to get some great close-ups! Pam, I can't remember what sort of squirrels live around your place. We get normal grey squirrels, though they don't come around the house and prefer to bark rude comments at me from the trees down in the lower forest! Instead we have ground squirrels, as you know, heh. Did you know that we've actually had to shoo these little stinkers out of the house from time to time?! They'd come in through the dog door looking for treats or water or both. Ridiculous! :D I hope the lovely sunny day we're having is the same for you! *BIG HUGS* Explored on 9/24/19; highest placement #1.

(+ 7 insets) (best at full size!) Trip Talk: Where Would YOU Most Like to Travel? I wonder if you are like me…if asked that question, I simply can't answer with a single destination. How do you prioritize a favorite place to go when the world is simply bursting with incredible locations! Maybe that's an easy question for some of you but I am very interested in so many things that it's really hard to say. So basically, when Steve tossed "Vancouver Island" into the air as a place we should visit in our RV, I immediately said, "LET'S GO!" :) Vancouver Island is such a cool place because it has basically everything I love! Unspoiled nature and wilderness, quaint little towns, fun touristy places, a deep history of indigenous people and also of explorers and settlers. There are simply endless activities to be involved in--basically you name it and you'll be able to find it somewhere on the island! I'm not kidding…think about something you're interested in--I bet it's available! Our walking adventure in Victoria really couldn't have been nicer. The biggest requirement was that we didn't make any hard-fast plans--except for making sure we visited a few places that couldn't be missed. Then we just started to stroll. I didn't get any pictures of the lovely street fair we stumbled upon but we really enjoyed visiting and chatting with the many talented artists there. Walking along the harbor, we found ourselves wandering into Victoria's Fisherman's Wharf. There we discovered another surprise! Along with being a traditional place to dock fishing vessels and sell the catch of the day, this place is also home to dozens of adorable house boats! I'd seen pictures and read about the boats but I wasn't prepared for just exactly how fun it would be to see them in person! Steve and I strolled up and down the docks and enjoyed looking at the quirky, unique, and colorful houses. Both of us agreed that it would be really fun to sleep overnight in one of these homes but thinking about living in a place like this had us shaking our heads…how would you like to live in a place where thousands of tourists are peering into your windows every day? NOPE! But it sure was fun to visit! There was also a regular stream of darling water taxis which picked up and dropped off passengers. We simply couldn't get enough of these little boats and their fun paint jobs. The green taxis were cute but the ones we were crazy about were the yellow ones with the black and white checks! We wanted to OWN one of them! :D Today's Pictures Taking the main picture today was one of those instances where you say, "Quick! Raise your camera, it's perfect!" I'm glad my reaction was fast enough because I got a great angle of a water taxi (and a view of one coming up behind it!) and also a few house boats and their reflections. Lucky me!! How could I resist making this my Picture of the Day?! :D (To be honest, I would have loved to pick most of the insets as main spotlights but I could only choose one! *cry*) Inset 1: This was perfect to turn into a selective color image because otherwise the picture was too busy. I was so happy with the way it turned out that I wish I could have made it my main shot! Inset 2: The green water taxis were really cute too but they really couldn't compare to the yellow ones with checks! Having to ride in a green one would be like going on a carousel and being forced to ride a stationary animal instead of the ones that goes up and down! Inset 3: Would you just LOOK at all of those fabulous boats?! WOW! So pretty! Inset 4: Another boat picture complete with more reflections! Inset 5: This serious fishing boat made me think of the Orca II from Jaws…though these two boats are completely different. Inset 6: This was our first view of the house boats at the wharf…aren't they amazing to see?! Inset 7: I took a picture of this crazy character while Steve and I were visiting the house boats. At the time I didn't realize that there were three others hidden around the area which represented the other Winds. After I got home and looked at my pictures, I noticed this artwork and saw there was a group of pictures under it which showed what the other Winds looked like, along with descriptions of each Wind: The Four Winds: They represent the main four winds and weather conditions around Vancouver Island South West Wind (Pineapple Express): This wind originates from an "atmospheric river" which affects the West Coast of North America. It is a strong and persistent flow of atmospheric moisture and is associated with heavy precipitation from the waters adjacent to the Hawaiin Islands. Atmospheric rivers are typically several thousand kilometers long and only a few hundred kilometers wide, and a single one can carry a greater flux of water than the Earth's largest river, the Amazon. (Artist: lvise Dogloni Major) North West Wind: This wind is considered to be the more violent and dangerous than the rest. It brings frigid air from the continent, which moves over the coastal inlets and fjords. In the fall, it becomes a dense fog, espeically in the inside passage between Vancouver Island and the Mainland. This wind brings fog, that's why he's blowing a horn. North East Wind (Squamish): This most well-know arctic outbreak wind on the British Columbia coast. It bursts out of Howe Sound, past Bowen Island and onto the Strait of Georgia. Locals named it the Squamish after the small town that lies at the head of the sound's inlet. Common conditions associated with arctic outbreaks include gale or storm force winds, moderat to heavy snowfalls and squalls, and, over the waters, severe icing, high waves, rough seas and poor visibility. This wind brings cold weather and fog, that's why he's wearing a fur hat and holding a lantern. South East Gale: Can cause very high seas and severely affect boats. Pam, would you like to live on one of these house boats? They are so darn cute and full of character. I think it would be really fun for a while...but I like my peace and quiet so I think it would get really old after a while. Plus...the wharf smells as it should: like FISH...so *wrinkles nose* ... I wouldn't want to be there for too long! Love to eat the fishy. Don't love to smell the fishy! :D It's raining here today...hopefully you are having nicer weather! *BIG HUGS from southern Oregon! Explored on 9/22/19; highest placement #1.

(+ 9 insets) Trip Talk: No candid people photography this trip! We chose to just enjoy wandering around... When I thought about visiting Victoria, I hoped to work on my skills of candid people pictures. However, I have to be in the right mood for this sort of sneaky photography and as it turned out, I just didn't feel like it. Any time a camera is aimed in the direction of a person (even if the camera is down low and obscured), there's potential to be glared at or even aggressively approached. Steve and I just wanted to walk around without thinking about anything but enjoying the sights. It would turn out that during the entire trip, I never did feel like working on people-oriented street photography. Funny how it works out like that sometimes. A shame because I really do enjoy how these turn out but I'll have plenty of opportunities in the future. We love the modern, clean streets of Victoria and we also appreciated that most of the city's "must-see" destinations are all within a reasonable walking distance—it worked out to be about 5-7 miles to get from downtown to the harbor and then to the far side and back again. You also couldn't have asked for better weather. It was a lovely, sunny and warm day with the perfect breeze. Steve and I were so happy! Today's Pictures My main picture today celebrates Happy Fence Friday! This substantial metal post and rusty chain are doing their job to hold back the throngs of visitors to Victoria's beautiful harbor district. The boat you see is the MS Coho , an enormous passenger and vehicle-carrying ferry which travels back and forth between Victoria and Port Angeles, Washington (the boat we took from Anacortes to Sidney, north Victoria was the 1981 MS Chelan .) Steve and I were surprised to see that when this ferry left dock, it backed up a very long way so that it could tuck its back end into another wide channel and then turn around. We were both totally fascinated at the speed it went backwards and also how quickly it was able to turn around and head out. The rest of my second Victoria presentation includes more harbor images and some of the fun things I saw as we enjoyed this lovely day! Inset 1: The MS Coho, built and put into service in 1959, is shown here backing up in preparation to turn around and head back to Port Angeles, Washington. This ship typically makes the two-hour trip twice each way every day! Inset 2: As Steve and headed out to the water's edge at the Victoria harbor, I found this wonderful mural that shows a very similar scene to my main image the other day! Inset 3: I saw this mural on the side of a building near the harbor and did my best to get a good picture. I only noticed later that Robert Wyland himself had painted it in 1987, one of dozens of his "Whaling Walls" found around the world. (You can see Wyland's signature on the lower left of the mural) Inset 4: I just loved the awesome design of this artistic, creative bench! Inset 5: At one point we walked through a park where we found a shady bench to have a seat (not the one shown in Inset 5!). There we looked out on the bay and saw this pretty view. Inset 6: Seated at the park bench, we saw a group of Canada Geese floating through colorful reflections on the water. Inset 7: We also saw this huge orange tour boat, complete with tourists adorned in matching life jackets! Inset 8: On our walk we visited Victoria's wharf and I couldn't help taking a picture of the wonderful sign that welcomed everyone passing by. Inset 9: This gentleman was very busy selling his day's catch of crabs. We were surprised at the fair price (going rate: $25 per crab)--we figured they'd be offered at a ripoff for tourists. Pam, have you ever been on a big ferry like the one here? I am in total awe of these monster ships and it was just incredible to have our truck and RV on one, with so much room for dozens of other vehicles. Another thing that's fascinating is that even underway, there is very little motion detectable. Of course this would change if there was a storm but for the most part you hardly knew the boat was moving along at quite a fast clip! Well, I hope you are having a good day...my thoughts are with you! *BIG HUGS* from southern Oregon...oh, and I apologize for not including a note to you in my last post! I was in such a hurry to get the presentation together that it slipped my mind! UGH! :P Explored on 9/21/19; highest placement #8.

(+ 11 insets) (this scene is really best at full size so you can see the whole show! :D) Trip Talk: Our Last Visit to Victoria Wasn't Long Enough! Some years ago, Steve and I went on a group motorcycle ride with a bunch of people including our good friend Andy. The plan would be to ride up into Canada, take a series of ferries to various islands and eventually end up in Victoria, Vancouver Island before heading back down to Washington and then home. The idea seemed reasonable until Steve started doing the math. There was no way we'd be able to make the ferry hops in time. But nobody wanted to think about details, so we went on the trip and lo' and behold, the ferries were missed and our adventures changed substantially. Steve and I didn't even make it onto the first ferry because of navigation issues with our phone. In the end, we decided to make our own adventure and took a ferry to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. From there we took the day cruising slowly south to Victoria. It turned out to be the best day of the whole trip! After exploring several quaint towns on the way down we eventually wound up in Victoria, where we ended our evening at an amazing sushi restaurant, followed by a walk along the harbor and finally tucking ourselves into bed after a glorious day. The only thing we'd wished was to have more time in Victoria, which was so beautiful and full of things to see and do. Therefore, when we discussed going on a trip to Vancouver Island, spending at least a couple of days in Victoria was at the top of our short list. And so, the day after we went to Goldstream Provincial Park, we decided it was time go have a proper day at Victoria. What would we do? Why, walk everywhere, of course! We wanted to see it all…and you know, I think we did a pretty good job if my photos are any indication! In fact, there are so many pictures that I processed that I'm reminded of the day Steve and I spent in Nice, France a couple of years back. A different adventure for sure, but equally full of wonderful sights and lasting memories. That being said, I'll have to take several days post pictures from our day walking in Victoria…either that or force you all to endure 30 insets! :D I didn't think that would be reasonable either, heh! :D Today's Pictures My main picture today shows the beautiful and extremely active harbor of Victoria, capital of British Columbia. There was a constant show going on with dozens of boats and ships of all kinds going by. I'd read that you might get to see pontoon planes in the harbor, but I never imagined we'd get to see them constantly taking off and landing! Steve and I really enjoyed looking out on this harbor! The rest of my presentation today includes more harbor pictures and some of the popular sights and cool things I saw as we enjoyed this gorgeous day! Inset 1: See the plane coming in for a landing on the main image? Here it is coming around to land on the bay! How cool is that?! And we got to see lots and lots of planes landing and taking off here! In fact, I've never seen so many planes land and take off in such a short period of time...such great entertainment! Inset 2: This is the plane from the main image preparing to take off. It's amazing how quickly these planes get off the water and also, how fast they land. They don't need much space which I thought was really interesting. The fact that they don't waste their time also meant a challenge to get pictures! Inset 3: This was a typical docking of sea planes. They were constantly taxiing into dock and then a different one would pull out and was soon zooming up into the sky. Inset 4: Across the bay was the magnificent Delta Hotel, overlooking the busy harbor. That cute little boat is a water taxi and they were constantly buzzing customers to and from water-based destinations. I'll have more pictures in my next set of images! Inset 5: We walked past the circa 1908 Empress Hotel, famous destination for celebrities and royalty through the years. Also known for its very schmancy "High Tea" service offered only with weeks-in-advance reservations and prices high enough they aren't listed on the menu! Inset 6: Built in 1897, the Baroque-style Parliament Building shown here is a construction of four government offices. This place was absolutely crawling with tourists so we didn't bother trying to get closer. Inset 7: I thought this statue might be Vancouver but upon looking closer I discovered that it was Captain James Cook! WOW, has that man been around!!! Here is what the plaque read: Capt. James Cook, R. N. 1728-1779: After two historic voyages to the South Pacific, Cook was cruising the waters of the Pacific Northwest on his third and final voyage. With his two ships Resolution and Discovery he was searching for the western exit to the legendary Northwest Passage. In March, 1778, they put into Nootka Sound for repairs and to trade with the native people. With him on the voyage were Mr. William Bligh as master of the Resolution and midshipman George Vancouver. Inset 8: As Steve and I approached the harbor I saw this sculpture and nearly dropped in my tracks! "The Homecoming" celebrates a father and daughter's joyful reunion as he returns home from sea. I was just stunned by the expressions, body language and perfection of anatomy and every single detail presented. An incredibly touching sculpture that really hit home with me. Inset 9: In daddy's bag we see that he's got a teddy bear for his daughter and a small wrapped box for his wife. Fantastic details! (I also adored the girl's frolicking dog, so darn cute!) Inset 10: I couldn't resist posting a picture of some of the ridiculously colorful planters that were absolutely everywhere around Victoria! Inset 11: Finally, this was a very interesting place to park your bike in inclement weather. :) Explored on 9/19/19; highest placement #5.

(+12 insets!) (this pano shows its magic at full size!) :) (Oh, and yeah...think War and Peace...a cup of coffee is in order! :D) Trip Talk: Are We There Yet? Vancouver Island Isn’t Down the Street! And What’s with All the Truck Problems?!! The ferry from Washington to Vancouver Island is not that far away—just 8.5 hours. But that’s if you’re driving a car—not a truck with a 30-foot trailer behind it. Our speed is close to that of a car, but pulling a trailer is stressful, something which builds up over time even if there haven’t been any problems. Therefore, we try not to drive more than 4 hours at a time if we can help it. We’ve actually increased our driving time a lot since we began our RV travels. The first couple of trips were just an hour away from home. On our third trip, we drove up and down the Oregon Coast and doubled the driving time between camp grounds to a couple of hours. During that trip we gradually increased the drive times to a maximum of three hours. Each trip we’ve been able to deal with longer drives but there’s definitely a limit. As badly as we wanted to get to Vancouver Island to get our trip officially started, we both knew we’d need to stay overnight on the way up (and back again). That being said, we didn’t care about the accommodations and that meant we’d be staying in RV “parking lots”. Many places we’ve seen really are nothing more than gravel parking spots with hookups for sewer, water and electricity. No grass, no plants, no picnic table…NADA! (See Inset 12 for an example!) Oddly enough, many of these places aren’t even cheap because they are located in a city or other important thoroughfare, but we think it’s outrageous to be so overcharged for a crappy site. More amazing is that there are a lot of people who choose to live full-time at these places. Noisy, ugly, bleak, crowded…it seems to me that if I were going to live full-time at an RV park, it would need to be really nice for me to bother. However, perhaps the price is the issue—RV parks have attractive offers to live there full-time, in turn giving the park owners a steady income. On our first night heading towards Canada we stayed at a place called Riverside RV Resort in the forgettable town of Canby. It was nothing special but served its purpose just fine. Truck Problems While we were at Riverside our first vehicle issue happened. When Steve was disconnecting the truck from the trailer, the plug that connects the truck’s electricity to the trailer was ripped out and needed to be replaced. And then, the repair which should have taken only a couple of hours turned out to be six hours of frustration and anxiety. However, in the end Steve was successful and the replacement plug was much better than the original junky one. It’s only too bad it happened in the first place. The next day we left for Fidalgo Bay Resort, located minutes away from the Washington Ferry which would take us to Vancouver Island. It was a very warm summer day and there was a lot of stop and go traffic on the busy freeway that took us north past both Portland and then Seattle. By the time we hit the rush-hour traffic of Seattle, we began getting concerned comments from people driving by. “Pull over! Your tire is smoking!” !!! WHAT WHAT WHAT?!!!!! Horrified, Steve and I used our mirrors to frantically check the tires on each side but we couldn’t see what people were so freaked out about. Which tires?!!! The truck?! The trailer?! Both?! And, as badly as we wanted to pull over and jump out to see what was going on, there was no shoulder to pull off onto. Steve and I were beside ourselves with worry. The stop and go traffic in the heat was so infuriating because we were stuck without any way to fix or even assess the situation. The next offramp was many miles down the road so all we could do is creep forward until we found a wide-enough shoulder to pull off onto. Cars continued to beep at us, roll their windows down and inform us that we had a problem. That didn’t help, and nobody answered our query, “WHICH TIRE???!!” The most we got were fingers pointed at our rig…could have been either the truck or the trailer, we just didn’t know. After what seemed like eternity, a wide shoulder presented itself and Steve pulled off as far over as possible. We both know how deadly it can be when drivers get out of their cars on a shoulder so Steve was very cautious as he left the truck and took a look at the tires. The trailer’s wheels were fine, and so were the wheels on the truck’s driver side. But looking at the wheels on the passenger side, Steve saw some smoke coming out from the rear one. What was going on????!!! Oh, And About the Truck… What I haven’t mentioned was that we got our truck totally serviced after we got back from our Central Oregon trip. That was the trip where we lost our truck’s transmission and had it rebuilt while we stayed at L.L. Stub Stewart State Park for ten days. Both Steve and I felt the same way though: when we got back home, the truck was going into the shop for a full service overhaul because we did NOT want to be on Vancouver Island with a disabled truck! Happily, we were able to get the servicing done but the only problem was that we got the truck back a mere couple of days before we were set to leave on our trip to Canada. That meant that Steve didn’t get to take the truck out to make sure all was well. Back to our Freakout Truck Session So Steve calls our mechanic and Huck answered immediately. He listened carefully as Steve described the problem we were having and then Huck explained what he figured was going on. After the two of them talked for a while, with Steve examining the wheel and relaying information to Huck, I could tell that Steve was much more relaxed and understood what was going on. Apparently the replaced bearings were faulty and some of the oil used to pack them was seeping out onto the center disk, which was so hot from the traffic that the oil began to smoke. Huck told Steve that the wheel would actually be ok and all Steve needed to do was monitor the situation and wipe off any oil that appeared. The problem would fix itself most likely and once we returned, Huck would replace the bearings just to make sure all was well. And that’s exactly what happened. We checked the wheel regularly throughout the trip and wiped off any oil that we found. Within a day or two no more oil appeared and we were able to relax, knowing the truck was ok. Whew. We sure do hate problems with our rig but the happy ending to this story was that we arrived at Fidalgo Bay Resort (*NOT* a parking lot!!) as the sun was dropping below the horizon, just in time for us to park our rig and take pictures of the breathtaking view. ----------------------------------- Today’s Pictures The main picture today is a view of the magnificent sunset that totally took our breaths away. Other pictures in this presentation include more sunset images and a walk on the beach the next morning before we left for the ferry. Inset 1: When Steve and I were on our trip, I posted another picture of the sunset and I thought it should be reposted in this presentation. Inset 2: This is a very wide panorama of the whole bay! It was a jaw-dropping sight and we felt very fortunate to stand in such a spot and think about how beautiful the world is. Inset 3: Look at this lovely trio!! Waking up in Fidalgo Bay, I popped outside and took a walk along the shore. It gave me the chance to watch a flock of Canada Geese having seaweed for breakfast! I got so many nice pictures of them that I can't resist sharing a few! Inset 4: Another beautiful Canada goose. I know we've all seen plenty of these common birds but you know, I just don't get tired of how pretty they are. Inset 5: I love this group picture because they are all busy doing their thing, including wolfing down seaweed! :) After Steve and I had our breakfast, we came out to the beach together but by that time the geese had finished their munching and made their way out into the bay to another favored location. Inset 6: The night before, Steve and I couldn't help noticing the huge refinery across the bay, complete with billowing steam. We thought it was very cool-looking but wow, what an opposite to the natural beauty that we were experiencing on the other side! I learned that there are actually two refineries in the area which are part of the Puget Sound Refinery --one is the Texaco Refinery and the other is the Shell Refinery. Those of you who enjoy historical details will love this link to the building of these refineries in the 1960's . Inset 7: This monstrous oil tanker sat on the other side of the bay as well and I couldn't resist looking it up, since I could read its name, "Polar Discovery." Did you know that huge ships are tracked and logged, with updates about locations, cargo, weight and the like? This Google link will bring you to a list of pages mentioning the Polar Discovery; clicking on one will give you more detailed information and sometimes a picture of the vessel. The reason this is cool is that these massive ships are among our world's "movers and shakers." They are one of the countless chess pieces behind the scenes which are individually significant to country economies. Inset 8: The calm waters of Fidalgo Bay were perfect for morning kayaking or even paddle-boating! This man and his wife enjoyed some brisk exercise, though they seemed a bit on the stern side to me! :D Inset 9: These gorgeous gladiolus were growing in a planter next to the park's boat launch and I just had to immortalize them…what colors!! Inset 10: This row of RVs is right along the Fidalgo Bay's edge. How lucky to get a reservation which afforded such a view. (Even though the space between each rig is almost nothing!) We learned a bit of etiquette the night we arrived: You Must Not Walk Between RV's To Get To The Bay. You Must Use The Designated Path. Or Else. LOL, we didn't realize that people can be so territorial about their temporary RV site! At one point we walked between two RVs to get to the road where our RV was and suddenly a woman magically appeared to stand, extremely agitated, right in front of us. Steve and I were quite surprised as we watched her pull her shirt down with pomp and stand at full height, seemingly in a protective stance. "HELLO!" said Steve. *GLARE* from the woman. "Well, have a nice day!" added Steve. *HUFF-PUFF-GLARE* from the woman. YOIKS. Well...as we pushed around her rigid form, we learned something about stepping on people's toes and where not to walk! Inset 11: Here's a picture of our rig at Fidalgo Bay. Even though we weren't at the water's edge, we didn't care, it was mere seconds from our RV to walk out to the water's edge, how cool is that?! :) Inset 12: I added the picture of our rig at Riverside RV "Resort" (which is a strange way to spell "PARKING LOT") so you can see how close the sites are to each other.:D At least this place had gravel instead of uneven dirt! Pam, I wonder if you've ever used a paddle boat? I've never tried one myself but they do look like a lot of fun, don't they? We visited so many places along our journey which would have been perfect for these boats but still, they wouldn't really make sense because it would be very hard to take something like that with us, let alone two of them. We are going to try to get a boat of some kind at some point. For now, it's all fun to think about! Hope you have a nice day my dear! *big hugs from southern Oregon* Explored on 9/16/19; highest placement #5.

(+10 insets!) (bigger = better) :) Trip Talk: Balancing Planned Itineraries with the Wonder of Unexpected Surprises It was my job to come up with things for us to do on our trip to Vancouver Island…what a challenge! There seemed to be no end of things we could do, should do, and couldn't miss. We agreed that the best idea would be a list of 3-5 possibilities for each leg of our trip and that meant coming up with ideas for 9 places. Almost every spot we stayed at had seemingly countless activities for us to do so it took a while to find out which ones would be the best choices for us. At the same time, we didn't want to set all of our ideas into stone. One of the best things that can happen on a trip is when you discover something really cool that you didn't know about. We definitely wanted some of that and happily, the balance of planned destinations vs. unplanned special discoveries was really good. I didn't dig too hard into exact details of a place because I wanted us to have these surprises, and we sure did have them! In fact, our hike at Goldstream Park featured a totally memorable surprise which turned out to be a really exciting and unforgettable adventure for us! Today's Pictures Goldstream Provincial Park is located in the southern end of Vancouver Island and is very popular due to its easy access and proximity to Victoria. There are lots of hiking trails, one of which ascends steeply to the top of nearby Mount Finlayson. We opted to go on the much shorter and more reasonable Gold Mine trail instead. The trail climbed quickly from the Niagara Falls creek bed and brought us to a feature we weren't aware of until a passing hiker pointed the way…a railroad trestle with access! Hot dog!!! The trestle crossed over a very deep gorge and had many signs warning of the extreme danger for any who dared travel over the trestle. Did they think that would stop us? We would not be denied! No matter how terrified of heights that I can be, I refuse to let my fears stop me from certain activities. Such as walking on a trestle that spans an abyss! There were plenty of others who braved the trestle walk and all of us took great care to watch our footing. There were no railings so the safest place to walk was directly down the center of the trestle. Passing one another meant stepping to the side to allow them to get by and everyone was careful as they went. Naturally I had a battle of wills going on as I made my way across. The trestle was so unbelievably HIGH that I only peeked a couple of times through the tracks to see the tall trees underneath. Holy heebie-jeebies, what sort of insanity led me to cross this thing anyway?!! Seriously, I couldn't help thinking about the reality: if you tripped and went terribly wrong, you'd fall right off the side and plummet for what seems like forever! Insanity. Shaking my head in amazement as I slowly made my way along, I also reminded myself that the bridge was totally safe if one was careful. And after all, it could support entire TRAINS so one puny little person would probably be fine. On either side of the trestle there were a couple of places where you could walk out to the very edge and stand on a platform complete with metal railings to cling to. When I first noticed these spots I was all, "Not Gonna Happen." But by the time I got to each of them, I was able to creep over to the platforms and appreciate the (terrifying) view beyond. I couldn't help but notice various people who were actually sitting at the edge with legs dangling over the side as they enjoyed a snack and some conversation. The thought of doing such a thing totally freaked me out! Even Steve agreed: CRAZY! The trip across the entire length took about 10 minutes because I went slowly and stopped on the platforms along the way. When I got to the far side I was very pleased with myself for conquering my fears, but I was also very relieved to have solid ground under my feet again! :D Standing from the safety of the ground, I enjoyed watching people crossing over and returning. It was comforting to see that I wasn't the only one who was obviously quite nervous but there were plenty who were so relaxed they almost seemed too incautious. They walked near the edges with calm indifference but all I could do was scream inside as my mind's eye saw them tripping and falling to their doom. Still, it was nice to see everyone enjoying this awesome place. The fact was that each of us made a conscious decision to walk on the trestle despite being strongly discouraged against it. I liked being in the Cool Club! :) Steve had fun taking pictures through the tracks as he slowly went along. I watched him curiously while he studied the changing views, stopping now and again for another picture. I wondered how he managed to deal with seeing the dizzying sight below without freaking out. I can handle compartmentalizing my fears to a point but actively looking as Steve was doing…NO WAY JOSE!!! My main picture today shows the trestle as we made our way up the hillside trail to the track above. What an awesome sight! I am such a fan of this type of bridge construction and I also love the way the trestle emerges from the forest before disappearing into it again on the other side of the chasm. Inset 1: I couldn't resist taking a picture of Steve taking a picture of the trestle! Inset 2: "RAIL BRIDGE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS" Yeah, yeah…we're still going! Inset 3: The straight path across seemed safe enough when there weren't any people on it! Inset 4: I forced myself to look down and take this picture…holy freakout Batman, that's HIGH! Inset 5: The view of the trestle when standing on a platform near the edge. I actually liked the graffiti on the bridge. For some reason it seems to fit--what a switch…I usually detest graffiti! Inset 6: An abstract view showing the edge and bottomless pit below… Inset 7: A graffiti-adorned post with a lovely view beyond. Inset 8: The tracks from where they came on the starting side. Inset 9: The tracks heading away from the far side. Inset 10: Lil' ol' me clinging to one of the platform's railings. Pam, would you have been able to cross this trestle? I bet you would have done fine, especially since we'd do it together! :) I do appreciate working on my fear of heights because the rewards are always so huge and meaningful. I'll never ever forget this trestle because it was so potentially deadly but was just that much more cool because of the danger! I hope that your day is going well my dear, many hugs going your way! :) Explored on 9/14/19; highest placement #2.

(+ 7 insets) (Please view large!!) Trip Talk: Cameras for Travel Some months ago, one of my contacts, George ( Tiabunna ), wrote an article about the fast-rising quality of phone cameras and how they are impacting the industry. He even compared pictures of a subject taken by his DSLR and his phone, showing all of us how similar they are. The interesting discussion solidified my feelings about my phone and I decided not to discriminate against these pictures when picking my main image to share. I think phone pictures look great--and even if they may not be the quality of a DSLR, who of us is really needing that all the time? (This is George's article, well-worth reading! Smartphones and cameras ) It would turn out that on our trip, I used my phone’s camera more and more, to the point that by the end, at least half of my pictures were taken with my phone. I used my Sony for most of the others and just a few days-worth were taken with my Canon and 100mm macro lens. Isn’t it interesting how your expectations can sometimes be so far from reality? I imagined many happy days filled with me creeping around with my macro lens, photographing endless cool subjects that I’d never seen before. I did have a few days like that but for the most part, I didn’t use my Canon. I need to feel relaxed and creatively free but I rarely felt comfortable enough to escape into this mode. Seems like there was always something in the way…too many activities calling our attention to go do. Wrong place/wrong time, or just plain not in the mood. As I mentioned in a previous post, Steve and I discussed our shared feelings of needing open-ended travel. With this set-up, we’ll be able to do things like Steve dropping me off at a trail that we hiked previously—one that brimming with zillions of super-cool macro subjects. (There were countless trails like this on our trip—but had I brought my macro lens, we’d never see any of the trails at all except the very beginning!) And while I am lost in my macro world of bliss, Steve would be able to go fishing nearby or perhaps just hang out in the car. Steve understands the importance of being alone for my macro outings and he also loves fishing on his own because he can just kick back and enjoy all things fishing without worrying whether or not I’ve had enough. We do love fishing together but sometimes I’d rather do something else. Regarding travel photography, I have to admit that when on a trip, the best sort of pictures highlight the places you went to, the things you saw. No matter how much I love macro photography, those sorts of images aren’t as important except as specialty highlights. So, though it would have been awesome to have the time and freedom to do more macro photography, it’s not the end of the world! Today’s Pictures The first place that we stayed at on Vancouver Island was at Malahat Mountain. Though situated in a park-like area, we were only 30 minutes away from the British Columbia capitol of Victoria. That was perfect because we were looking forward to at least a couple of days in town. For our first adventure, we went to the extremely popular provincial (state) park, Goldstream, just a few minutes from our campground. There were many hikes available but the one we wanted to do included a visit to Vancouver Island’s very own Niagara Falls! We really enjoyed this hike, which took us to the Falls and then onwards to a railroad trestle (those pictures will be posted another day) and through extremely beautiful forests along meandering, well-maintained trails. My main picture features this beautiful and elegant waterfall, which drops from an impressive height of 156 feet/47.5 meters to an enticing swimming pool below. The number of people playing around and enjoying this noisy waterfall and its chilly pool made it challenging to get an unpopulated picture but eventually I succeeded! Inset 1: With the extreme drop of Niagara Creek down to the rocky bed below, the view upwards and through the trees was really breathtaking. Inset 2: Looking up the steep canyon walls revealed beautiful, lush ferns that got my attention. Inset 3: Take a look at this Bigleaf Maple growing out of an old Red Cedar stump! The roots are so fascinating to me and remind me a bit of strangler figs that grow in the rainforest. I’d never seen a tree growing out of a stump like this before, but apparently Red Cedar stumps must make a nice place for tree seedlings to grow, as I saw a bunch of these while we were on the Island. Inset 4: I saw some Spring Beauty blossoms at the edge of the canyon walls and couldn’t resist taking a picture with my Sony. Inset 4: Moss grew on everything it seemed and it was fun to take a picture of Steve in a setting with some moss-covered branches. Inset 5: The shadows on this trio of leaves were so pretty to me, along with the lovely russet color. Inset 6: The dappled light on the road that led to the Niagara Falls trail was just too lovely to resist this picture! Pam, this is a place that Steve and I sat at for quite some time. Partly waiting for the hoards to leave so we could take pictures, but also to soak up this glowing place. It was also fun to watch people enjoying the area as well. I even watched a supervised toddler tossing rocks into the water that she could just barely pick up! A lovely place you would have surely loved. I'm sending my love and hope all is as well as can be today! Explored on 9/12/19; highest placement #2.

(+8 insets) (this pano is terrific at full size!) Trip Talk: The Problems of Structured Travel Have you ever been on a really, really long trip before? The longest I’d ever been away was a 28-day whirlwind tour of Europe when I was a mere 21 years old. Steve had been on a three-week trip before we met but this trip to Vancouver Island was to be six whole weeks when all was said and done. Even though we’d planned our accommodations and made possible itineraries for each destination, we hoped there would be ample time to relax and just absorb the surroundings wherever we went. We’d learned from our past trips that the acceptable minimum stay at each destination was four days, with five days being better. However, as it turned out, the very fact of having a finite amount of time took away our desire for carefree spontaneity. As well, we felt an obligation to do and see as much as we could at each place because in the backs of our minds we couldn’t help thinking that we may never see this place again. We didn’t want to “miss anything”. But isn’t that the opposite of what a vacation is supposed to be? What’s the point of rabidly running around an area to the point of exhaustion? Granted, Steve and I didn’t actually do that. We did our best to be reasonable and not put too much into each day. However, both of us still felt a level of disappointment whenever we moved on to the next leg of our journey. It was rare that we felt that we’d had enough time to experience a place as we’d wanted to. One day while we were on a gorgeous hike to a place called Marble Falls, we spent some time chatting about the trip so far. We both felt stifled and pushed along just when we were getting to know a place. We felt frustrated that we couldn’t just have a day to do nothing at all if we liked. Steve wanted to be able to just go out fishing for the whole day if he wanted. Or maybe just stay in the rig and take a day off by playing a computer game. Or whatever he felt like that wasn’t necessarily the best choice for the day. I was upset because taking any time at all to write about the trip felt too selfish so I just didn’t. As well, macro photography was something I did only a few times during the entire six weeks. I need to be creatively free without pressure so I can creep around and be “in the moment”. Because we had limited time at each spot, I couldn’t just relax and enjoy my creative pursuits. That made me very unhappy— I felt like I wasn’t allowed to express myself creatively and that’s not what I’d signed up for. We needed a different approach to allow us to feel satisfied by our experience of each place. In other words, we really need to go “Full-Time”. Instead of spending 4-5 days at a place, we need to spend an undefined amount of time that allows us to stay as long as we want until we’re ready to move on. That means we’ll need to sell our house. No surprise but we have all the more reason to work towards that goal. Ugh. Not a chapter I want to be part of but the end result will be freedom and enough coin to afford a bigger, better RV. Something for us to look forward to! ———— Today’s Pictures One of our campsite destinations was near a place called Port Alberni, located fairly close to the center of Vancouver Island. With so many fun activities available to us, we decided to try fishing at nearby Sproat Lake. Tempted by reports of excellent fishing, we soon made our way out to the large, four-armed lake by way of a relatively short hike. The hike turned out to be a lot longer than we anticipated and our fishing gear got heavier and heavier as we trekked along. However, we didn’t know how beautiful the trail would be and soon felt the misjudged time was well worth it to find this gem. We were surprised by a super cool suspension bridge, a little waterfall, and lush beautiful forest along the way. Eventually the trail spilled out onto the shore of Sproat Lake and the sight simply took our breaths away! Main Image: the view of Sproat Lake when we got to the end of Fossili Trail. Inset 1: Steve catches a branch! Fishing turned out to be a bust for us, but we loved being out there in such a pretty place. Steve did catch a small Sculpin, but they’re not good for eating unless you’re ocean fishing and get a really big one. Inset 2: Vertical panorama of the trail we walked on. What a lovely forest it was! Inset 3: Panorama of verdant Fossili Trail. So lush and green! Inset 4: Another vertical panorama of the trail, I just love the way these pictures look! Inset 5: The wonderful suspension bridge along the trail, we were so happy because we love these bridges so much. What’s funny is that I’m afraid of heights and suspension bridges bounce, sway, and move freely as you walk on them. Terrifying much? Um, yeah. But my love for the construction and appearance of these marvels supersedes my fears and I am able to force myself to cross them without freaking out! :) Inset 6: Where we parked the truck, I noticed a possible view if I scrambled over some boulders and fallen trees. With Steve urging me on, I approached the opening in the forest and I saw a huge meadow lined with timber. I really liked the way this row of tall, slender trees looks, standing guard over the vista. Inset 7: This is a panorama of the timber-lined meadow when I moved past the trees. Inset 8: On the way home I asked Steve to pull over so I could take this picture, which shows how beautiful the area around Port Alberni is! :) Pam, I think you would have loved this hike and the lovely time we spent out at the lake. Most of the forests we visited on Vancouver Island glowed vibrantly. They felt so welcoming and left us content and happy. Forests at home feel almost desperate from the heat and lack of water. What a difference. I expect that’s the same where you live too. Well, I do hope that you are having a good day! *BIG HUGS* Explored on 9/10/19; highest placement #6.

(+4 insets) (bigger is better!) I've done some thinking about how I should approach my trip pictures and posts here on ipernity. I have so many things to talk about and countless pictures to go through that I'm going to have two parts of each post: Trip Talk and Today's Pictures . This way, if you only want to know about the pictures, you can scroll down to that part. And this way it won't matter if the main subject has absolutely nothing to do with the pictures…such as today! Now is the time to go get a cup of coffee or perhaps a bottle of wine? Let's get this party started!! :) Trip Talk Traveling to Vancouver Island and spending five weeks there was an amazing experience. Neither of us had been on such a long trip before and even the planning took many weeks. We had our share of problems, as can be expected. Pumpkin Couldn’t Go On Our Trip!!! One of the worst surprises was when—just a few days before we were set to leave—we discovered that we wouldn’t be able to bring our parrot with us. We were so upset that our first thought was to cancel the entire trip. However, at that point we couldn't afford NOT to go, as so many of our accommodations had been paid for already. The good news was that the vet where we board her would be able to accommodate her while we were gone. Also, the fact is that Pumpkin has such a good time staying there that we refer to her boarding place as “Camp Chicken”. We worried if she’d be able to forgive us for leaving her for six weeks but we had nothing to fear. As we hoped, our weekly calls revealed that Pumpkin was having a blast and was loved by the staff as well. Steve and I had the hard part, which was managing our feelings. Pumpkin is like our child—can you imagine being separated from your little one with basically no warning—and for six WEEKS? It was really, really hard to deal with that, but what else could we do? Both of us missed her so deeply that we had to just shut down those thoughts. We purposely didn’t talk about her, though she was so often on our minds. The only thing that made our painful longing bearable was knowing that she was doing great and having full days of fun entertainment with lots of attention. To tell you how much we wanted to see her, we TRIED to change our plans so we could get back sooner, but nothing was possible. The last five days of our trip revolved around Labor Day weekend and the non-existence of camping spots anywhere except for totally overpriced spots we couldn’t—wouldn’t—afford. As it was, Steve made reservations for those last five days months ago and even then, finding anything was next to impossible. We were good and truly stuck with our full itinerary, so we did our best to not think about her.Wretched. We DID make one alteration to our plans though. Since the trailer is so big, we planned to drive home, drop off the trailer and then return to pick up Pumpkin. This would surely threaten to kill us as we’d be literally driving right past the town where she was staying…and the added time would be nearly two hours. UGH!! However, before we started driving that morning, I showed Steve how we could drive the truck and trailer around the block where there would be room for our rig while we picked up Biscuit (Pumpkin). At first he didn’t think it would be wise, but when we were nearly there, Steve changed his mind and we pulled off the freeway to pick up Pumpkin! It turned out to be an easy situation and there was even a place for us to parallel park just out front! PERFECT!! When we stepped inside the office, not a minute had passed before we heard Pumpkin’s sweet whistling melodies from where she was housed. It was all we could do to keep from running into the back to get her! “CHICKEN!!!” I squealed in anticipation, bouncing up and down and beaming back at Steve. A few minutes later her cage was carried out to us and Steve and I were just coo-coo at the sight of her. She not only remembered us, the sight of us made her equally excited and as Steve took her out of her cage and held her up to his face for a kiss, Pumpkin’s dear vocalizations were so sweet and full of undeniable joy and longing too. What an amazing reunion for all three of us. Stepping onto my offered finger, I held Pumpkin up to my face for a kiss and cooed at her while she made wonderful purring chirps and whistles that were so full of love…all three of us were just so happy to be a family again. All was well. Our family was once again complete. And, I’m so pleased to report that Pumpkin never punished us with bad behavior to let us know how angry she’d been that we were gone for so long. You may be aware that companion animals will sometimes act up to let you know they were upset at a long parting. I certainly wouldn’t have blamed Pumpkin for lashing out at us but she never did. How blessed we are to have this angel of a bird in our lives! Today's Pictures My main picture is a pair of islands that Steve and I saw while on the ferry ride from Anacortes, Washington to Sidney, Vancouver Island. The ferry was HUGE! I mean…REALLY HUGE!!! There were many RVs and trucks loaded on as well as dozens of cars. Everyone drove onto the ferry in designated aisles demarcated by lines and workers directed each vehicle into position. It was just amazing to me that we drove our rig--nearly 60 feet long--onto a BOAT, which would carry us to an island in Canada! CRAZY! The ride took over an hour and we were free to stay in our truck or walk around the ferry if we liked. We met a man with an adorable Boxer and spent time chatting with him while we showered the dog with affection…we sure do miss our Boxer, Zoey, and the lovely fawn-colored beauty was fun to see! Inset 1 : This was a view from Anacortes while we were waiting for the ferry. Inset 2 : After two days of driving, pulling into the ferry terminal was incredibly exciting for us! Inset 3 : Here's a view from the truck on the ferry! Inset 4 : I am including a picture of what the ferries look like as well as a map showing our route from Anacortes to Sidney. We were both really worried about going through customs because we had so much food with us. However, I'd done my homework and even though many websites written by travelers to Canada have said you can't bring ANY food, I figured out that you merely have to let the agent know what you have when they ask. I did forget to toss the apples--fruit is a no-no--so Steve popped into the RV to retrieve them. Another agent peeked inside our trailer, using a stick to push the bedroom curtain aside, just to see that everything was normal looking. Steve offered to let him come in but the man declined and soon we were off and starting our adventure on Vancouver Island!! Pam, would you agree that going through Customs is one of the worst hells on the planet?! Heh…it gets worse every time I go through, although our experience with land-based customs was nothing at all! I hope all is well with you, I'm sending my *BIG HUGS* your way!! Explored on September 7, 2019. Highest placement, #3.

(+8 insets with larger versions below) (please view this main image large for more cool details!) WE ARE BACK!!! :D Steve and I are finally home from our epic adventure to Vancouver Island, Canada! How strange it is to be back in a place that doesn't move. And after living in our comparatively tiny RV ( Recreational Vehicle if you don't know), the house is GIGANTIC! We keep wondering why we ever chose such a big home for just two people. (It has a master bedroom and two smaller ones plus a large den/game room, three bathrooms, a kitchen, dinette, laundry room, large living room and a sizable one-car garage.) Downsizing is definitely in our future! :D Our Canada trip was six weeks in total, longer than any trip either of us has ever been on, and included countless amazing experiences that were mostly wonderful but also a number of bummers along the way. What a crazy, life-changing ride!! Today I'm sharing a series of pictures from one of our very last stops, which happened to be in the United States. This incredible place is called Deception Pass and is located on the northern border of Washington. It was named by the famous explorer, George Vancouver, when he mistakenly thought Whidbey Island was a peninsula. There is a lovely pair of bridges that cross from Whidbey, over the small Canoe Pass and Deception Pass just next to it, connecting Whidby to Fidalgo Island which lies just north. Returning to the United States, we took the enormous Washington-BC ferry from the charming southwestern Vancouver Island town of Sidney to the busy Washington island port town of Anacortes, Washington, situated on Fidalgo Island. We drove south over the Deception Pass Bridge and then to our 3-night stay at an RV campground on Whidby Island. On our first of two full days we decided to incorporate a walk across the fabulous bridges we'd driven over to get to our campsite. We simply could not believe the jaw-dropping views we saw and knew the bridges would make a fine adventure out of this day. Along with a picture-laden walk over the bridges, we also went on the gorgeous Goose Rock perimeter hike along Cornet Bay, including a climb to the top of Goose Rock Summit. There we sat and enjoyed a yummy picnic as we looked out over the bay with a view of the pretty little uninhabited marine sanctuary, Strawberry Island. My main picture is a panorama of the view westward out to the Pacific Ocean with Deception Island off in the distance. Inset 1: Next are a couple of boats passing by. There was a fairly constant stream of boats buzzing under the bridge, really fun to watch! Inset 2: The third inset is a vertical panorama! Steve was taking one of his million panorama pictures with his phone one day and decided to try doing a vertical version. The results are so cool that he turned both of us into panorama junkies! This picture shows the view looking eastward toward the northern side of Puget Sound and you can see Strawberry Island in the distance. Inset 3: look at the water going under the bridge! A huge volume is squished into this tiny space and the power and speed are incredible. I am afraid of heights but push past it when I must…looking down at this churning, roiling water was shocking when you understand what exactly is going on! Inset 4: a view of the bridge from below, we just loved the construction of this masterpiece! Inset 5: a map to show the area called Dire Straits (the band didn't name it for this place, btw) and shows the fascinating jumble of islands and waterways in the area. I've put a large version of this image at the end so you can look more closely. Inset 6: a vertical panorama showing part of the Goose Rock Perimeter Trail that we hiked. We just love the way these pictures turn out and think a series of super cool bookmarks is in order! :) Inset 7: another panorama, though it's not obvious, which shows a very long, fallen tree which lay just next to the trail. The lush vegetation here was just captivating. (By the way, I will upload a video at one point, which shows me walking down this log…it's pretty silly!) Inset 8: This is our Goose Rock Summit picnic lunch view! You can see little Strawberry Island at near-center-stage! I have many other pictures of our bridge walk and hike but I think eight pictures is more than enough for now! :D Pam, we thought of you so often along our long trip--as you know--and hope that our pictures will be fun for you to experience as I roll them out! Would have been so nice to have you with us, even though logistically it just couldn't have happened…still it was fun to think about, if only something like that were a possibility! I sure do hope that you have a wonderful day--I'm sending *BIG HUGS* your way! Thank you so much for coming by while I've been away, it's been wonderful to see your comments and support! Explored on September 5, 2019. Highest placement, #1.

Hi everyone! We're having a wonderful time on Vancouver Island! We've seen so many breathtaking sights and lots of "firsts" too. One of my dreams has always been to see a real-live bald eagle and since we've been here, Steve and I have seen at least five of them! In fact, we know what they sound like, isn't that something?! We have been staying at a number of places along the eastern coast of the island (only the lower half on the west shore has been developed) and the last place we visited was the furthest north, just south of Port Hardy at a First Nation campground called Cluxewe Resort. While we were there, we learned that a clutch of Bald Eagle chicks are raised in a nest visible from the campground, but unfortunately the chicks had already grown and flown away. However, I was still in luck! There is a specific tree that is a favorite watching spot for one of the eagles. It happens to be a two-minute walk from our trailer, and as luck would have it, I had my Sony zoom camera with me when the eagle was there! HOORAY!!! This picture is a total "bucket list" shot for me. On this trip we have seen a bald eagle here and there, flying overhead and landing on posts that are too far to photograph ("See that little dot? IT'S A BALD EAGLE, HONEST!!!"). I really would have been fine without a nice picture because we've seen them many times now, but having this picture has totally made my day!! I hope that all of you are doing well! It's a shame that I have no internet most of the time, and in fact, just getting this picture posted took FOREVER. I tried to post it three times last night without success, but finally today I have been able to post it. Pam, I hoped to upload that video I told you about…whatever was I thinking?! HAHAHAHAH…it will just have to wait until we have a better connection. You guys are all on my mind--I wish I could teleport everyone here to enjoy this spectacular place. It really is incredible and gives me a glimpse of what unspoiled splendor of nature actually looks like! Explored on August 17. Highest placement, #1.

(please veiw large for best impact!) Steve and I are off on our RV trip to Vancouver Island! We've been here for a few days and having an amazing time! So many things to see and do, pictures to take, adventures to experience. We have also discovered that so far, our connectivity to the internet is the worst ever at this point. So if you're wondering where I went to, I'm off the grid. I'll be checking in when I can but I'm not going to worry about it. The universe is telling us to focus on the here and now and not both with our computers. So be it! This sunset image was taken on our second night away from home...what a lovely place! There have been so many amazing sights since then, sometime I will be able to share some of the cool things we've been seeing. :) Take care everyone, you're in in my thoughts! Explored on August 2, 2019. Highest placement, #7.