Englishman River & Little Qualcum Falls

(+6 insets…please be sure to look, there are some pretty views of the park and waterfall!) Trip Talk: Enjoying Beautiful Englishman River Provincial Park There is something extra wonderful about the parks on Vancouver Island. I believe the forests here are healthier because I feel such strong and vibrant energy from them. Don't get me wrong--the forests we visited in Oregon and Washington were also glowing and rich, but it seems that global warming has not affected this place as much as others. Or whatever it is…less people, a more wild state…I cannot tell you exactly what it is but I do know that the feeling of immersion was remarkable and has stayed indelibly in my mind. Established and protected in 1940, Englishmen Provincial Park has always been a very popular destination for locals and tourists alike. Visitors are drawn by its pair of gorgeous waterfalls and lovely forest trails which give hikers a glimpse of the park's 240 acres (97 hectares). For some historical background, Wiki says the following: According to a local legend, indigenous people in the area found the skeleton of a Caucasian man near the waterfalls, thus giving the river its current name; the river was given its name because "an Englishman was drowned while attempting to cross." Spanish mapmakers originally named it the "Rio de Grullas," presumably because of the large number of great blue herons living at its estuary (grulla being Spanish for "crane")." I must admit my confusion regarding the two waterfalls because Steve and I only saw one. I wasn't sure where the other one was but apparently we missed it. However, when I was looking up historical information for my post today, I suddenly saw the answer to my question! There on the wiki page was a picture of the second waterfall…and when I looked at my pictures, I was delighted to see that I'd gotten a wonderful picture of it after all! The only difference was that there was no water flowing over the falls in my picture--in other words, the water level had dropped by the time we visited in August…which of course makes sense! Many waterfalls cease to flow in the dry months of the year. (I have included a picture of the second waterfall with an attribution to the author-- DG Brown --noted on the picture) Today's Pictures My main picture today features one of the two bridges that cross the Englishman River on the way to the top of the waterfalls. The picture by itself wasn't all that interesting so I took some creative license with a few filters--I hope you like the outcome! I thought it would be perfect for the day--HAPPY FENCE FRIDAY! My first inset shows the second waterfall--without the waterfall! I laughed out loud when I found the picture on Wikipedia because I instantly recognized the rocks and deep canyon that form the area. You'll see my added inset from DG Brown that shows what the waterfall looks like. The cool thing to me is that the huge rock jammed into place, which is the basis for the waterfall, is really neat looking and something you'd miss when the water flows over it! Other insets include a picture of water rushing down the narrow canyon, complete with logs stuck in place; there's a close-up of water crashing over the waterfall, a view of lovely water making its way around rocks in a slower part of the river, and finally, another breathtaking forest view that we saw along our hike. I hope you like the show! :) Pam, I was amused to learn that the photos in the link I sent you were from an area not even remotely close to you. *wipes egg from face* LOL, oh well! Thanks for the info on the place that is actually near you, what a bummer that it's not a very impressive, boo! Well, hopefully you can enjoy some watery beauty through my photography and tales! Anyway, it's an absolutely gorgeous day here which started with sparkling frost and promises to warm up to be tee-shirt weather! Maybe your day is equally lovely! *BIG HUGS from southern Oregon* Explored on 2/21/20; highest placement #1.

(+4 insets!) (Please view large for a proper look! :) (Scroll down to "Today's Pictures" for information about the insets) Trip Talk: Big Fun at Little Qualicum Falls After our fantastic adventure at Englishman River Provincial Park, we couldn't imagine finding another waterfall and hike that would equal that experience. Well, we were about to be delightfully corrected! Heading along the beautiful Alberni Highway, we drove 13.5 miles (21.9 km) northwest to the trailhead for Little Qualicum Falls. Getting to the trailhead turned out to be a bit of a challenge, however. Arriving at the Google Map location, we didn't see any signs to direct us to a parking lot. We wondered if we were actually supposed to just pull off onto the shoulder, but that couldn't be right. Driving up and down the road a couple of times, we finally spotted a tiny road leading into a very small--but nicely paved--parking lot. "How did we miss that?!" we both exclaimed…a parking lot sign titled with Little Qualicum Falls was right there--it just wasn't obvious unless you knew where to look. There was exactly one spot left and Steve maneuvered our long truck expertly into place. The trail that led from the parking lot was equally unobtrusive but we were soon wowed by the unfolding beauty before us. A glowing, vibrant forest welcomed us as we took in the beautiful environment complete with the twitters and calls of birds near and far. Soon we heard the telltale sound of rushing water and saw water racing down a boulder-strewn chasm below. What a sight! Peeking over the side of the trail as we went, we found ourselves totally blown away by the views we saw. How can nature be so beautiful?! WOW!! Working our way up the trail and across a well-constructed bridge, we eventually came to an observation lookout and found ourselves staring in awe at the gorgeous two-levels of Little Qualicum Falls…WHAT A SIGHT! The shape of the falls, the way the logs seemed to arrange themselves so perfectly around the base of the main drop…the color of water in the pools and stream…the rocks and formations…it was just jaw-dropping!! The only thing which ruined the remarkable beauty of this place was the chain-link fencing along the edge of the deep chasm. They were annoying eyesores but unfortunately this place has a history of people falling to their deaths so the fencing is necessary. It took a bit of looking around but we were able to get plenty of nice angles through various holes in the fence and over the top. When we had satisfied our exploration of the area, we found a nice place for our lunch and enjoyed the views and the sound of crashing water cascading over the falls, tumbling topsy-turvy down the streambed towards the sea. What a joy to behold such incredible beauty! How lucky we were to get the opportunity to see this lovely place! Neither of us will ever take for granted our good fortune that allows us to explore the world. At one point on the meandering hike back to the truck, I noticed movement just off the trail. Investigating closer, I was delighted to find a garter snake on the hunt for lunch. While I was slowly crept nearer, stepping carefully over branches and around trees--clicking away with my Sony camera--a kid-filled family walking past noticed me and wondered what I was looking at. I told them it was a snake and if they approached quietly they might get a glimpse too...so, one by one they copied my stealthy movement and because the garter snake was relaxed and unafraid, they were able to see it too! Everyone stood frozen, appreciating its beauty until it silently slipped away into the brush. Then we chatted about snakes for a few minutes before we all headed off on our hikes again! What a fun memory for this day! Today's Pictures My main picture shows the awesome double-levels of Little Qualicum Falls, complete with logs that got stuck on the way down! This was a sight we stared at for a long time…it was just so beautiful! My first inset is a wide panorama showing the bridge up to the Falls and starring Steve in the middle! Other insets include some of the gorgeous views as we hiked the trail up to the Falls and finally, a pictures of the darling garter snake that allowed me to take its picture. I hope you enjoy the show! :) Pam, have you ever seen a "double-decker" waterfall like this one? What a special sight! We are amazed at the beautiful shapes that waterfalls can create and this particular one almost seems man-made because it's so pretty. I like to do long-exposure shots of waterfalls but they require tripods and we didn't have one with us today. Have you ever fooled around with long-exposure? I looked in your stream but didn't find any, though you may have a trove of these which you never uploaded. :) It's a fun skill to work on if the conditions are right and you're in the mood! Anyway, I'm sending a virtual *hug* your way on this soon-to-be-rainy day! Explored on 2/24/20; highest placement #1.

(+6 insets!) Trip Talk: Big Qualicum River, Qualicum River, Little Qualicum River…WHAT?! When I put our itinerary together for this area of Vancouver Island, I knew that Little Qualicum Falls was a spot we must not miss. Wow, what an understatement…it was GORGEOUS! And with all of the fuss over Little Qualicum Falls, I expected to see lots of information about Big Qualicum Falls too. I do remember being a bit confused about the deal with Qualicum River while we were in the area and now I've finally figured it all out! It turns out that the indigenous Qualicum people had two rivers named after them in that area--the Qualicum River and the Little Qualicum River. To make matters confusing, the Qualicum River is usually called the Big Qualicum River. The location of these two beautiful rivers is within 10 miles of each other. Little Qualicum originates from Cameron Lake and empties out into the ocean just north of Qualicum Beach at the southern end of Qualicum Bay. (Big) Qualicum River originates in the hills beyond Horne Lake, spills out the other side and empties out into the ocean at the north end of Qualicum Bay. To make this clear, I have included a topographical map inset which shows the two lakes and the paths leading to the ocean. It's nice to have this straight in my head! :) Today's Pictures I originally planned to show another magnificent view of Little Qualicum Falls as my main image. However, the image that gets first billing is a glimpse of the river through a quartet of glowing, moss-covered trees, surrounded by verdant greenery. It gives an very nice understanding of how rich and lovely it was in the forests of Vancouver Island. The first inset is the image of Little Qualicum Falls dumping down into a log-wreathed pool in tones of teal and aqua. It was incredible to stand at the edge of the chasm and appreciate that awesome sight. It's also no wonder there is fencing erected all along this area…too many irresponsible selfie-junkies out there and they kept falling of the ledges! The second inset shows a tree-accented view of the colorful water as we headed up to the falls. Inset three shows a log panorama covered with carefully-stacked prayer stones. At that particular spot there were piled prayer stones all over the ground, in small and big groups--they were everywhere! Unfortunately the many grey piles of stones blended together, so the pictures really weren't showing how cool they looked. Until I saw this rock-covered log! I knew it would be just right to show that spot and it turned out as I'd hoped! My other insets include tree shadows on a pool of water and an abstract, blurry image of a fellow jumping off a ledge into a deep pool--his girlfriend had just jumped and though he was visibly nervous, he threw caution to the wind and followed suit. Neither of them were hurt but I couldn't stop thinking about my older brother who once jumped off a rope swing into a river and didn't realize the water level was too low…he broke his left femur and was in a cast for three months! Pam, what is the health like of the forests where you live? Dry and ailing like ours? It's really incredible to visit a place where the forests are simply glowing with good health. We do have plenty of healthy forests here in southern Oregon--the ones that border rivers and streams are fine--but areas without a constant source of water are definitely not doing as well with the slow increase of heat over the years we've lived here. It didn't hit home until we spent a lot of time on Vancouver Island. Oddly enough--distressing to learn as well--the amount of moisture on Vancouver Island has decreased over the years as well. Lower rivers, less rain, more stress-related tree problems…even though it seems like their forests are in perfect shape, climate change has been affecting them too. We are happy that we've gotten to visit this place before the damage has become obvious. *sigh* Well, I hope that your day is going well…here it started off chilly with twinkling frost and bright sunshine and promises to warm up and continue to be fabulous and beautiful! *many HUGSSSSS and happy tidings!* Explored on 2/26/20; highest placement #5.