Vancouver Island

We arrived home from the Rockies after a long, but uneventful 12-hour drive. The trip was good, and we felt like we'd had a nice summer vacation. Here's a few stray pictures from our last few days:

Climbing at Carrot Creek. Our last week was quite hot and this location is north facing beside a cool creek. It was a good place to escape the heat and Elise enjoyed playing in the water. This is me at the crux of American Standard, 5.13b.


Elise making her own pizza at the Flatbread Co., a popular local pizza restaurant. She asked about this for weeks, and we finally relented. She looks pleased...


On my last day in the Rockies, Derek and I hiked far into Echo Canyon and climbed an excellent 7-pitch route called "The Tall Storey", 5.11c. The rock was excellent and the climb stayed in the shade for most of the day, which provided perfect summer conditions. Derek let me lead the entire route, which was a nice treat on such good stone. Thanks Derek! These are all pictures of Derek on the climb.





A couple of days after returning to Squamish, we headed off to Vancouver Island for the Labour Day weekend. We are trying to pack lots of outdoor activities into the summer and fall because Pam is starting work full time and Elise is going to Kindergarten this year! Preparation for the weekend was rushed, but we had a really nice time once we got across the straight. We climbed two days at Horne Lake and spent some memorable time at Pacific Rim National Park - a real treat! Elise enjoyed the ferry ride, swimming in the lakes, camping and, of course, the beach!

Here we are cooking dinner in the Wikininnish parking lot at Pacific Rim National Park.


We were super lucky to get the last walk-in camping spot at the national park campground - we were prepared to sleep in the van)! This is a pancake breakfast, again in the parking lot (because it was sunny and warm).


The beach combing was superb. We went down to Green Point at low tide and found tons of interesting sea creatures. Elise with a large starfish...


Goose neck barnacles.


Elise is obsessed with catching minnows. Much of the weekend was devoted to this pursuit, both in freshwater and in saltwater.


The starfish were thick!




Sea anemones.



Big waves at Green Point below the campground.


We spent an evening at Wikinnish walking the beach, looking for shells and enjoying the view. The sunset was truly spectacular. I couldn't stop taking pictures. These are a couple of my favourites.



We spent our last evening in Nanaimo where we had a good Mexican meal and walked the seaside promenade, watching people fishing for salmon at the river mouth and for crab off the pier. We got home around midnight - it was a long day! Next weekend, we are planning a short backpacking trip to Sand point at the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. We'll camp overnight at the beach will be a first for Elise. So far, September is starting with beautiful weather in Sqaumish. We hope it stays that way!

Marc