Janet Brien's photos

(+12 insets!) (view large to see the cool views of this pano!) (Please scroll down to "Black Frank" and Today's Pictures" for information about the insets) I'm finally ready to continue with my trip reports from our 5-week adventure up to Vancouver Island and back! Again, I'd like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, to all of you, for your visits, favorites, comments, and support. There really is nothing that feels so good as being part of a community like the one here on ipernity. You are my internet family and I love you all! *BIG HUGS* A Short Stay in the Nanaimo "Hub" of our Vancouver Island Trip Our campground at "Living Forest RV Park" was located just a few minute's drive from the lovely and popular oceanside town of Nanaimo, centrally located between the north and south of Vancouver Island. Unfortunately, we weren't able to book a 5-day stay there and with just three days, our visit would have only one full, "relaxed" day. The day we arrive at a campsite is usually eaten up, unless it only takes a very short time and we are able to get situated quickly without stress. Setting up the RV, winding down from the drive, getting meals together, figuring out the lay of the land and getting comfortable with the new "digs" really sucks up the hours and before we realize it, the whole day is gone! That's how we figured out that staying for five days at each location is a minimum for a satisfying visit. We came to realize that even five days isn't enough. When you take away the first and last days, three days are left and though that is sometimes long enough to exhaust the local sights, it doesn't leave enough time to truly kick back and relax. We need more time to allow ourselves the freedom to do things like wander around a town or natural area just looking for artistic photography—not travel highlights—or sit and read a book, play a video game, take a nap, or do nothing at all. With "just enough time," we were constantly reminded that we need to use our time wisely and make sure not to miss an important local sight. This was maddening to both of us. Steve wanted to just chill out but he couldn't. I wanted to creep around with my macro lens but I couldn't. Not without feeling terribly guilty that we should be making the most of the short time we had available to us. Knowing that we may never visit this area again was not something either of us took lightly. This caused considerable stress and unhappiness and changed the whole way we'll be traveling in the future. Our next trip will be open-ended with long stays at each place. We may not see as many places but each destination will be wonderful and satisfying! Happily it didn't take very long to get to our campsite from Malahat. We were able to get ourselves set up and relaxed enough that we decided to drive into town and take a walk along its lovely harbor, taking in the sights along the way. The cloud-filled but comfortable day was perfect and we were delighted by the incredible views as we walked along. A popular paved path stretched from their harbor, along the shore to the heart of the town and we enjoyed the views and the salty breeze that accented our stroll. Black Frank, Admiral of the Fleet At one point along our walk, I noticed a very festive-looking sculpture of what looked to be a very happy pirate, titled "Admiral of the Fleet." I took pictures of the plaque along with the beautifully detailed bronze sculpture and looked forward to learning more about this "Black Frank" pirate person once I got home. When I processed the pictures for our Nanaimo stroll, I arrived at the pirate pictures and eagerly dove into the internet to learn more. What I discovered warmed my heart, brought a tear to my eye, and made me wish dearly that I could have met the man so affectionately known as "Black Frank." You'll see several insets for Frank Ney—two of his memorial sculpture and one of the plaques. The plaques had the following text on them: (This placard was small and set at the foot of the sculpture) Dedicated by the citizens of Nanaimo in memory of Frank James Ney (1918 - 1992) Affectionately known as "Black Frank" "8 Bells and All is Well in Davey Jone's Locker" (This plaque was larger and set off to the side; you'll see this one as an inset) Admiral of the Fleet (Frank Ney - May 12, 1918 - November 24, 1992) In 1967, Black Frank" helped launch the now famous Loyal Nanaimo Bath Tub Race. The colorful pirate costume was worn to promote Nanaimo as the Sunporch of Canada, Jewel of the West, and Bathtub Capital of the World! A Lifetime of Service Mayor of Nanaimo 1967-1984 and 1986-1990 Member of Legislative Assembly 1969-1972 "Freeman of the City of Nanaimo" B.C.'s Tourism Ambassador Honorary Chief First Nations of Nanaimo Killer Whale Q'Un Lhanumutsun Active Member of many organizations Notary Public and President of Nanaimo Realty I was able to locate videos of Frank Ney, as "Black Frank" , which show what an incredibly silly and fun-loving character he was. It is obvious why he was so beloved by his city. You will laugh when you see him being a pirate and paddling one of his bathtub boats! What a loon! And in regards to being the "Bathtub Capital of the World" and home of the Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Race, here's a video which celebrates the 25th anniversary of their races . Interestingly, they allow the bathtubs to be set inside another boat so they are less tippy and able to gain more speed. Today's Pictures My main picture today is a panorama of the harbor and view towards the main part of town. There are lots of insets too, including those of "Black Frank". You'll see the harbor, panoramas of our walk along the water, tagged geese, a lovely wood rose I couldn’t resist taking a picture of, and an image of a seagull who sadly has a starfish stuck in in its mouth. We really hoped that it would be able to prize the starfish out of its beak before it starved, the poor thing. Pam, I remember thinking about you as we walked along and we were sure that you would have really enjoyed this pretty stroll. Everyone that we passed by was happy too—it was a wonderful place to be and obviously very popular for folks who work and live in the area. I've always wished we could be next to a path like this for bike riding but the closest one is about 15 minute's drive away. Since that means loading up the bikes in the truck we don't go often, though the Bear Creek Greenway ride is incredible. It takes us about 17.5 miles from Central Point on a picturesque trip down to the town of Ashland where we always stop at our favorite coffee shop and also grab a bite to eat at one of the many wonderful restaurants there. Another 17.5 beautiful miles back to our truck to complete a most satisfying bike ride. What fun! Paved pathways are a natural favorite for us! Hope all is well with you my dear! *BIG HUGS* Explored on 1/16/20; highest placement #8.

(+7 insets!) I'm not quite ready to get back to posting my travel pictures so today I wanted to share another picture--along with insets--of the adorable micro-mushrooms which are found on some of the younger oak trees on our property during the fall and winter. The funny thing about these little dolls is that I totally missed them for years and years as I wandered around out property taking pictures. As keen an eye as folks may think I have, it's obviously very easy to miss an endless array of tiny treasures--including these adorable little guys. Last year I posted a trio of pictures to show just how eensy-weensy these mushrooms are. I took a picture to show the tree. Then another a lot closer so you could see there are little somethings on the tree, and of course the main picture which shows the amazing little stars of the show. (I've included that set as insets too) One observation I find interesting is that only very rarely do I find these micro mushrooms on older trees with thick bark. Not sure why. I thought I might find them when the bark had moss and lichen on it for more cracks and crevices but no, except for the rare exception I only find these tiny mushrooms on younger saplings. Isn't that fascinating? I would love to know why this is! In any event, I've got another trio of pictures to show you a distant, closer, and in-your-face picture of a fabulous threesome who are hanging out under a cluster of moss. I often go to this sapling when searching for these little mushrooms and they are there again this year! So cute! You'll also see a couple of snowy shots! Today a very cold storm is rolling in and as I was marching up and down my driveway this morning in the rain, it slowly turned into snow! We haven't had much of that this season but I'm including a couple of snowy pictures I captured early last year which turned out nicely. Pam, I loved reading about your rockhounding past! *high five* It is such fun! I am not sure what I'll do with all of the polished stones which I'll be gathering as time goes on but they sure will be nice to have! I have gone ahead and bought a book on basic rockhounding so I can learn the geology and so forth, and also a couple of identification books for this region. What an enjoyable thing to do! I'm surprised that you haven't shared any pictures of your rocks with us! I, for one, would love to see some of your prizes! :) Here's hoping it's warm and cozy for you today! *BIG HUGS* Explored on 1/13/20; highest placement #1.

(+15 insets!) (Please view large to see the pretty rocks closer! :D) (sorry for the book...go get some coffee!) :D I want to start this post with a huge thank you and endless virtual hugs to all of you for your support, care and understanding in regards to my low mood. I am very happy to report that things have been improving on a daily basis and this upward spiral has meant that I've been able to crawl out of the hole I've been in for the past few weeks. The community here at ipernity is wonderful and I am so thankful to call so many of you my friends and internet family. *MORE HUGS* I Got a Rock Tumbler for My Metal Detecting Hobby... and Now I Have ANOTHER Hobby! If you've been following my photography and writing, you'll know that a few months ago I got a metal detector, something that's been great fun to play with and a really interesting hobby too. It's opened my eyes to local history in addition to being an exciting treasure hunt! One of the things metal detectorists love to find are coins. Though I haven't found very many myself—since I haven't been to many parks yet--it's apparently very easy to find quite a trove when detecting at playgrounds and such. Since the majority of found coins are current, the best thing to do is save them up and then dump them into a "Coin Star"-type machine in exchange for paper money or store credit. These coins need to be cleaned up to remove the grime and oxidation so the machines can recognize them and the best way to do this is with...you guessed it...a rock tumbler! A couple of 20-minute runs with soap and water and grubby coins are shiny and easily returned. Here's a picture showing dirty and cleaned pennies so you can see the difference! Anyway, with the fact that I'll eventually be treasure hunting in parks and playgrounds, I decided to get a rock tumbler. Part of my reasoning was that I also have an interest in rocks, though it's never been anything more than appreciating the odd cool stone that catches my eye. So, a couple of months back I did some research and decided on a "two-barrel" rock tumbler which would allow me to do two sets of coins or rocks or one and one. Since I don't have enough coins to bother cleaning right now, the tumbler just sat there. I didn't have a pile of rocks to tumble and the rain at the time kept me from looking for any. Did I mention that our driveway is covered with a layer of gravel from a local quarry? Apparently the rocks they graveled our driveway came from an area which includes a percentage of mixed river and other mineral rock. This translates to mostly dark grey gravel with a blend of many interesting rocks. I've always noticed these rocks and, in fact, gathered the white ones and the ones that are flecked with black and white. Some of those I used as "counting" rocks, which I use to keep track of my laps as I walk up and down the driveway for my exercise. The rest I had in a pile next to my "counting stones". Naturally I began to think about using the rock tumbler for...oh, I don't know...TUMBLING ROCKS! After all, I figured that there were probably enough interesting rocks on our driveway to fill one of the 3-pound capacity drums. I decided that I would begin collecting any interesting rocks I found on the driveway as I marched up and down each day. Do you know how long it took me to gather a batch of rocks to fill the tumbler? About one lap. LOL, I couldn't believe it! Once I started looking at the driveway as a source of interesting rocks to try polishing, suddenly I realized what a treasure trove we had! Stones of all colors...white, mottled and marbled grey, some with stripes and striations, brown speckled ones, red ones with layer lines and interesting patterns, and lots of quartz that had patches of clear parts or tinges of pink, red, yellow or green. I found rocks with teal green tones and some that looked a bit blue. The more I looked, the more I found, and every time I'd do another lap I found more! The Interesting, Long Process of Tumbling Rocks I brought my treasure inside and washed the dirt off, dumped them into the tumbler and followed the directions included. My tumbler came with a beginner's tumbling kit, part of which were the various grits that are added to the rocks you're tumbling. Turns out there are 4 stages of tumbling, each of which takes 7 to 10 days. Yes, do the math. That's 28 to 40 DAYS before your rocks are polished! This is why I was never all that interested in tumbling rocks. It's true...I have the patience of a gnat. Heck, I can't even deal with setting up a tripod for my photography, so the idea of being forced to wait for a whole MONTH to arrive at finished stones was a big ol' NOPE in my book. But hey, if the tumbler is just SITTING there, not doing a thing, what's the harm in loading it up and turning it on, right? And that's just what I did. I measured the Step One grit and poured it on top of the rocks in the tumbler, added water to just above the stones, closed the chamber up tight and put it on the roller. All the rock tumbling machine does is turn the chamber of rocks round and round, day in and day out. Heck, if you could figure out how to get some hamsters or other rodents to take shifts running in their little wheels 24/7, you'd have the same deal! Cuter, of course, but the identical motion! I will say, I was very curious about the results of one week in the tumbler, and so was Steve. He's the one who got me to get off my duff and use the tumbler in the first place, so hats-off to him! We had the tumbler set up in the garage and every time we went out there for something we'd hear the tumbler going and wonder what the rocks looked like. By the way, these things are LOUD! The one I have is praised for being much more quiet than other rock tumblers but every time I went into the garage I thought to myself, "If this tumbler is less noisy than others, what do THEY sound like?!" WOW, what a racket! But it sits in the garage and it can make all the noise it wants out there! :) What Did the Rocks Look Like After Week 1?! Eventually the first week came to an end and it was time to see what happened to those rocks! Opening the top, I saw a thick film of mouse-gray mud covering everything. How interesting! I'd read that the grinding of the rocks produces a thick sludge of grey mud and that was totally accurate! Using a salad strainer over a large bowl, I dumped the rocks in and rinsed them off. There are stern warnings to never ever wash this mud down the drain because it will clog your pipes. Thinking about it, the logic is obvious so the water went into a bowl which I dumped in the back yard. It was like thick, very dense silt which packed into a clay-like consistency and took time to get completely washed out of the bowl, wow! Clogged pipes indeed! Finally the rocks were cleaned off and Steve and I eagerly picked up handfuls of the stones and looked at them with wonder. "LOOK AT HOW COOL THEY ARE!!" Both of us exclaimed our amazement at the worn-down edges and much rounder, smoother appearance of these once very rough stones. It was totally cool and with that realization, we were sold! "NEATO!!" I squeaked in delight. "AWESOME!" added Steve in pleasure. The two of us showed each other the wonderful rocks that caught our eye and soon we realized that every rock was wonderful and we laughed. What fun. We were also fascinated at the reduction in size of the rocks. They were all smaller than when they were first put into the tumbler, something that made sense but usually takes eons in nature. How interesting that we could reproduce this natural erosion over the course of a week instead of thousands of years. Groovy. Eventually we'd seen enough of our rocks that it was time to send them on to Step Two. Back into the barrel they went, only now the cylinder was barely half-full instead of two-thirds. The directions say that the rocks do best when the barrel is at the proper fullness. So what now? Why, add media to make up the difference, of course!* Because I'd forgotten to order the proper media to fill up the barrel, Steve went out and brought back some river stones from a hobby store which were smooth and hopefully wouldn't mess up our project. (In hindsight, river stones wasn't the best choice because they are very hard to tell apart from the rocks I found, but some of them I can see are more matt in tone which points them out.) With the rocks filled to the proper amount, I added Step Two grit, poured water up to just above the stones and off they went for another week! *Usual media used to increase lost volume in a tumbler is either plastic beads or ceramic media. (link to picture) The Next Steps Week Two results were even smoother and a bit smaller too. We appreciated the beautiful rocks and then sent them on their way to Step Three, after removing some broken rock chips and a few rocks that were broken and would ruin the finish of the other rocks. I let this batch of rocks go for 10 days because I hoped to counter the effects of the river rocks I'd introduced, which I thought might impact on their smoothing. Week Three results definitely showed a soft shine, how exciting! They were a bit smaller but not by much. The grit used was finer and much less abrasive, called a "Pre-Polish", and it all made sense judging by the matte glow of the rocks. I was really excited as I put them into the barrel for Step 4, the Polishing Stage. I wanted to give these guys the best chance for a nice shine, so I let them go for 10 days. I knew that my results wouldn't be perfect—glossy shine on blemish-free rocks—but I was hoping for some nice shine to enjoy for our first batch. Our First Batch of Tumbled Rocks The day finally came to unveil our finished stones! I opened up the barrel and carefully washed them off. I refused to look at them until they were clean, but when they'd been thoroughly rinsed I poured them slowly onto a towel, grabbed some paper towels and dried one off. The lovely mottled stone gleamed back at me with its round edges and shiny surface. IT WORKED!!! IT WORKED!!! I was so excited that it was all I could do to keep myself from blasting upstairs with my rock to alert Steve! But I kept myself in place. I wanted to dry the rocks off first so he could see the whole show and we could enjoy our first batch together. After a few minutes they were ready and I fairly boinged upstairs to gather Steve. I got his attention and waved a rock in front of him. "LOOK!!! Our first batch is FINISHED!! And they are AMAZING!!!" Steve nearly exploded out of his chair and basically left a vapor trail behind him as he raced down to the kitchen. Following him with a joyful chuckle, I entered the kitchen to find him bent over the rocks, rolling one over in front of his eyes and oohing and ahhhing over it. "WOWWWWWW!!!! They're so SHINY!!!!" Steve found his favorite rock, the one he picked out weeks before. It was a near-black, oblong stone that had a lovely band of white running through it at the half-way mark. "LOOK AT MY ROCK! IT'S PERFECT!!" Beaming happily, I gently took the offered stone and turned it over and over in my fingers, appreciating its beauty and shine. It really was a gorgeous rock. But then again...they all were! We would burst out with joy over an especially pretty rock, put it down, pick up the next one and...burst out with joy over the especially pretty rock! LOL, just about every single rock was a stunner. Some weren't quite as shiny, the river rocks we suspect, and a few were chipped. Most had "imperfections" of cracks but to us, they were all perfect! I eventually put them into a clear glass bowl and there they sit on our kitchen counter to admire. We pour them all out onto a dish towel every couple of days to look at and enjoy. Both of us are absolutely delighted and blown away that these were found on our gravel-covered driveway. AMAZING!! Our Property is Bulging with Awesome Rocks! One thing I didn't mention was that our property lies at the edge of the "agate desert" of this area, and this means that we have our very own treasure trove of stones that are at least as beautiful as the rocks on the driveway, but to be honest, I've been finding LOADS of rocks which are even NICER. In fact, I've collected piles of stones from around our pond that are so pretty, I can hardly wait to see what they look like when they are polished! Today's Pictures Today's main picture is our bowl of polished rocks, which I thought looked really neat in a top-down view. I have a mass of insets too, 15 in total, GAH! There are pictures of the finished rocks laid out on a towel for you to stare at...it will be a chore for you to come up with a favorite if you're like we are! I also picked out a bunch of stones that I showed individually so you can appreciate them on a one-by-one basis. Finally, I also included a couple of pictures that show unfinished "roughs" as they're called by "rock-hounds", and they're sitting in water to show why I was attracted to them. It's amazing how dull and boring these rocks appear when dry or unpolished! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the show! I've got two sets of rocks tumbling right now and the next finished batch will be ready next week, oh boy!!! Pam, are you a fan of rocks too? I've always been interested in them but never put them on my radar for a hobby because there was always something else I was doing. I never realized how rewarding it could be to find rocks and put them through this very long process, and at the end, to hold that same rock which is now gleaming and so lustrous and gem-like. Turning a rock into a jewel is an awesome experience and something you might like to try yourself? Anyway, thank you so much for your support, love, and attention...I'm thinking of you all the time and hope you are doing well! Explored on 1/11/20; highest placement #11.

I found this lovely madrone leaf a few days ago and had to get my camera because it was such a special sight. It reflects the way things are for me right now too...I'm not in a good place and sometimes it's hard to find the will to do anything at all. I hope things will get better... My Two Insets One of the things that makes me happy is finding mushrooms and right now the micro mushrooms peek out at me when I stare nose-close at the lichen and moss-covered oak trees which these darling, miniscule mushrooms call their home. When I say tiny, they are only about 1/16-1/8" in diameter when full grown! So cute! Finally, it hasn't been snowing lately but the forecast suggests some snowy days in the next week. We'll see, but in the meantime, the inset pano is from a month back when we had a very cold weather pattern roll through. Such a pretty sight! I am very worried about our ipernity friend George ( Tiabunny ), whose home was threatened once again, by the horrific fires in Australia. I hope he is ok. Pam, you are in my thoughts as well, and I'm so happy about your upcoming surgery, though I am worried too because it's some serious business. Hoping that the outcome places you on the path for a much happier lifestyle with improvements in your vision and ability to create as you did before. Thank you all for visiting me when I have not been by for so long. It's so touching. I am sorry I don't have the energy to share with all of you...my life is sucking me dry right now. I feel terrible about neglecting all of my friends. :( Explored on 1/05/20; highest placement #1.

(+13 insets) (please scroll down for information about the insets!) Trip Talk: Moving North to the Fabulous Hub Area of Nanaimo! The second location of our Vancouver Island trip at Living Forest took us 50 miles (80km) north from our first site at Malahat Mountain. We'd been through Nanaimo during the motorcycle trip we'd been on some years before but only had an hour or two to visit. How excited we were to spend a whole week in the area! The Living Forest campground might not have been ideal but the location was fantastic and perfect for our upcoming adventures. Duncan, the City of Totems! The day after we arrived at Nanaimo, we headed off to Duncan, known for its seemingly countless totems erected in the heart of town. In fact, there is a walking tour, complete with green footsteps to show the way. I was a happy little kid with my camera as we made our way from totem to totem, stopping at each placard to read about each carved and painted statue. The indigenous population is proud and thriving on Vancouver Island and wherever they can, local tribes call attention to their history and importance to the community. Duncan's totems are almost all located on the traditional lands of the Cowichan people (Quw'utson), the most populous group in British Columbia. The city began back in 1887, sharing space with the Cowichan tribes. Today both communities are so intertwined that all decisions are made together, taking care to respect everyone's wishes. Each of the symbol-laden totems represent aspects of history, heritage and mythical legend; many are meant to represent a single house with its stories, passed down through the generations. Duncan began its collection of totems in 1985 and is one of the world's largest, currently at 44 as of 2018. It is meant to share this sacred tradition of the Cowichan people and is also a wonderful way to attract visitors. Duncan's Shops Were Fun Too As Steve and I wandered along the meandering trail of green footprints, we stopped here and there at various little shops, including "The Olive Station." Steve was initially excited because the name sounded like a tasting bar for olives--something that he adores. Instead, it was filled with an equally delightful bounty--countless kinds of flavor-infused olive oils and balsamic vinegars. (Be sure to click on the link above to see pictures of this cool store!) We spent nearly an hour there as we chatted with the owner and tasted the dizzying varieties. Although it was really hard to make final decisions, we left with two bottles of olive oil in White Truffle and Tuscan Herb and a Balsamic vinegar in Cara Cara Orange-Vanilla. These lovely gourmet treats are something we've savored for special salads and we only wish they were affordable so we could order them nonstop! Not Just Totem Poles! There were other wonderful artistic sights to discover too. Murals, bronzes, traditional-styled artwork and tattoo-like touches painted on walls were really fun to discover--even the graffiti was sometimes photo-worthy! Walking through a square, I noticed a striking Asian sculpture that immediately made me think of Confucius. What do you know? That's what it was, and this one had historical meaning, left on a tasteful plaque that I'm including: Confucius Statue This statue of Confucius was donated by the Wah Sing Chow Family. It is dedicated to the Chinese pioneers who, from the early 1890s, established a Chinatown in the heart of Duncan that stood here for nearly 70 years. The Chinese community continues to make a unique contribution to Duncan's heritage. Wah Sing Chow (b. 1898) arrived in Duncan in 1908. After graduating from high school he studied law and became a human rights activist. He advocated for Chinese immigrants to be treated equally and was a respected community leader until his death in 1962. Cowichan Valley Museum Although we don't generally visit museums, the charming building which housed the Cowichan Valley Museum basically sucked us inside, and what a treat it was! Nearly an hour we spent there, gob-smacked by the eyefuls everywhere we turned our heads. Historical items were placed on every available surface, adorning the walls and ceilings, the floors were covered with historical rugs, and there was even a room set up to show what an old store looked like so many years ago. And every single thing came with its own description of what it was. Truly mind-boggling, Steve and I would move a few steps and just stare, looking from one item to the next and appreciating everything. The sheer amount of time that went into the displays, the information provided, it just completely and utterly blew us away. When we finally left, we both agreed that this particular museum was one of the very best we've ever visited! (Please be sure to visit the link above to see some pictures of the museum so you get an idea of what we saw!) Today's Pictures I am posting a selection of totems that we saw, but have decided not to include the placard descriptions for every one because I think it's just too much. Instead, I've included text for the totems in the main image as insets placed on each totem. (If you are interested in knowing more about all of the totems, there is a complete listing on Duncan's Walking Tour of Totems ) In addition to the totem poles, I have included murals, graffiti and artwork we found around town. Pam, I hope that you had a peaceful, joyful Christmas. You've been in my thoughts and I'm hoping for the best in the coming days for your procedure! *BIG HUGS from southern Oregon* Explored on 12/30/19; highest placement #3.

(+10 insets) (please scroll down for information about the insets!) Trip Talk: Our Stay at Living Forest RV Park , Nanaimo, Vancouver Island Boy, I'll tell you one thing about RV parks. They range in quality from one extreme to the other and some of them are so greedy and money-grubbing that they will stop at nothing to make a buck. When we pulled into Living Forest RV Park , we got excited because we were so impressed by what we saw. Driving towards our reserved spot we were dazzled by the spacious RV sites tucked between groves of huge conifers, lots of room between each camping area--it looked super! However, when we arrived at OUR site, that elevated opinion quickly deflated. It turned out that our reserved location was part of a newly developed area and it was totally ridiculous to the point of being dangerous. The sites were crammed right next to one another with no trees and very few plants between them. In fact, there was barely enough room to put your rig into position. Incredibly, they had to build up the ground to make enough room. This meant that the dirt was soft and at the edges of the sites the dirt fell off down the hillside. They didn't even build embankments to hold the dirt in place! On top of that, trying to back a rig into the site was extremely difficult with almost no room for error. And just to add insult to injury, if anyone needed to drive by they would be stuck until we were in position. We have no idea what they were thinking except that it was high season and they needed more room in a hurry. In any event, Steve was totally infuriated (and my nerves were fried) after he spent 15 minutes trying to get the trailer backed into our site properly. Just when he nearly gave up and drove to the office to give them a piece of his mind, he was successful at inching the trailer into place, with no room to spare. Talk about stressful!! That being said, if you ignored the area where our RV was located, the park was wonderful. During our trip, we learned that Vancouver Island has many marshlands and Living Forest sits right where the Nanaimo River empties out into the bay. The view was pretty from our campsite but when we hopped on our bikes and went down to the shore, we were awed by the beauty. About Today's Main Image and Associated Insets The marshland abutted a protected bay and there at the bottom of the Living Forest's hill was a boat launch and also a pretty gazebo (which is also the feature of today's presentation). Steve and I had a lot of fun with our panoramas but spent plenty of time staring out over the water too. I found some gorgeous woodland views that included the marsh through the trees. It was a wonder. Later we decided to ride our bikes around the whole park. It was big enough (53 acres) that walking on every road would have taken quite some time so we were happy to have the excuse to take a bike tour. It was obvious that the park had been there for quite some time and in the wooded areas tucked away from ocean views we found the park's full-time residents. The condition of these RVs varied from nice to completely dilapidated but the folks we passed by smiled and waved hello. The Story of Some of Today's Insets Just as we were heading back to our RV, Steve put on the brakes and slowed to a stop in front of some odd artwork standing outside of a full-timer's RV. Hopping off our bikes we stood and stared. What the heck were we looking at, anyway?! A group of animated-like characters in bright colors had our attention and we could see they were meant to be likenesses of tv cartoons, though we couldn't say which. Steve laughed aloud when he realized the commonality of every artwork. "PROPANE TANKS! They are all made from used propane tanks!" (Propane is the fuel used in RVs and every rig has at least a couple of these tanks.) I exclaimed in agreement, "YEAH!! Woah, that's so cool!!" Nearly every piece was made from a propane tank or oxygen cylinder, with other pipes and fittings used for legs and appendages. Old BBQ grills and other pieces found at an RV dumpsite were all put to artistic use and we chattered back and forth as we identified another item. We were delighted! How CLEVER AND FUN! Though we couldn't identify some of the animated characters, we exclaimed out loud, "PIKACHU!" "BATMAN!" "A LEGO KNIGHT!" "STAR WARS TIE FIGHTER!" "THE ENTERPRISE surrounded by SHUTTLECRAFT!" "A PIRATE SHIP!" I looked up on a tree nearby and yelled, "LADYBUGS and a DRAGONFLY!" "A TRAIN LOCOMOTIVE AND CARGO CAR!" What fun we had!! After looking online for a while, I discovered that the trio of animated characters we didn't recognize are from a show called "Rick and Morty", though I still cannot identify the hilarious-looking purple one. I found a Rick and Morty Wiki page that shows all of the characters but there are just too many to look through. If you find out which one the purple one is, please let me know! :D Pam, have you ever been much of an animated show watcher? As a kid I love them to a degree but honestly, most were just too totally stupid and I couldn't stand them. Saturday mornings were always fun though, I'd sit and watch the garbage until noon. As an adult, I've always been crazy about anything Pixar of course. I used to enjoy Disney movies but they slowly descended in the realm of merchandised trash and I am generally disgusted by it all. On the other hand, Japan's "Disney," Hayao Miyazaki, is amazing, and the film, "My Neighbor Totoro" is my all-time favorite animated film, one that brings out my inner child and reduces me to tears upon every completed viewing. My favorite American animated film, "The Iron Giant" is a VERY strong second thought, and also turns me into a heap of blubbering tears at its end. Great stuff! *MANY HUGS from southern Oregon* :) Explored on 12/17/19; highest placement #13.

(+10 insets!) (view large for more fun details!) ACK! Where Have I Been?! My apologies for the absence and my lack of visits. I'm guilty of diving into an online game that I love, and it's swept me away with its extreme engagement. The game of RIFT allows me to do things I cannot do in real life and every once in a while I just gotta go be a magical being. I'm not "full" yet so I won't be around here very much until I'm satisfied. I'm going to do my best to post and visit but please forgive my lag in participation! Today's Pictures Today I'm posting the last set from our incredible hike at Eastern Sooke Regional Park. Places like this are why we love to travel. Our eyes were opened to the extreme beauty of Vancouver Island's southern coastline and we learned the difference between normal hiking trails in Canada vs. the US. Although this particular trail turned out to be the most extreme of the entire trip on the island, it made us aware that trails tend to be a bit tougher and wild, with assumptions that the hiker is naturally careful and fit enough to take on challenges along the way. Game on! We loved it so much! My main picture shows another lovely coastal view, accented by Secretary Island in the distance. If you look on the beach in the lower left you'll see the enormous driftwood tree stump that I shared in my last set (I'll add the picture again as an inset). Insets of our hike include: a neat panorama of the beach at the beginning of the hike which will give you a sense of the beauty of the area, a group of mushrooms I found, some atmospheric forest images, dried peapods with peas inside, and an oil tanker in the misty distance. I'm also posting pictures of an old bus that was parked at the RV campground we were staying at. It was so old and decrepit that I couldn't resist immortalizing it! Of course I needed to find out more. First off, there are many people who have taken old busses and turned them into travel coaches. The front of this bus has a backwards sign reading "Re-Tyred" and I expect that it has seen a lot of country in its day. Digging further, I learned that this was one of the busses used in Canada's Greyhound fleet, made by Motor Coach Industries in 1950. I am so happy I took pictures because they turned out really well! :) Finally, I'm including a picture of our Grey Wolf trailer and our truck, parked at our Malamat Mountain RV campsite. This location turned out to be perfect for us. Only about 30 minutes from Victoria, just minutes from Goldstream Provincial Park and about 45 minutes-hour from East Sooke Regional Park, it was a very nice hub to base our southern Vancouver Island adventures. The RV "resort" was a bit run-down but nice enough. Many people actually lived there full-time, something we noticed a lot of on our travels. There was a very homey quality to the place and our experience there was very nice. Pam, what's the weather like for you right now? It's been raining cats and dogs on and off for the past few days. I'm glad because it's been an extremely dry fall and early winter and we really need to get the water table rebuilt. Is it dry where you live too? I sure do hope that you are feeling well and shoring up your energies for your upcoming procedure. I'm very happy to read that things are moving along…now you just need to set the appointment! *GREAT BIG HUGS from southern Oregon* Explored on 12/13/19; highest placement #5.

(+9 insets!) (Please scroll down to Today's Pictures for inset information) Continuing with Our Vancouver Island Trip! The drive out to East Sooke Regional Park on Vancouver Island was really beautiful and took us on twisting roads with lovely views of forest and coast. I'd seen pictures and read reviews--the Coast Trail was raved as a MUST NOT MISS hike, and so we went! They were right, and this walk turned out to be one of the most scenic coastal hikes we'd ever been on in our lives! This lovely park features more than 50km amongst its dozens of trails that showcase Sooke's breathtaking forest and coastal scenery. The area was historically prized for its natural resources--logging, mining and fishing--but today you'd never know how important it was in this regard. Instead, this park is now a jewel for all who love the outdoors, with facilities for picnics and group outings as well as challenging remote trails which require a pickup if an entire hike is attempted. We would very much love to go back to this area and spend a couple of weeks traversing its trails. The jaw-dropping beauty was astonishing and though we didn't get to see as much as we wanted to, our choice of the most popular Coastal Trail was perfect. One of the things we weren't prepared for was how much climbing and scrambling we would be doing to follow the trail. In fact, there were many places where the only way we knew where to go was to search out the little yellow trail markers which pointed the way. It was a lot of fun though, and both of us are in fine shape for arduous treks and so we loved the adventure of occasionally needing to find our way! Now, had the trail been straight and easy to negotiate, we might have been able to walk the extent of this amazing out-and-back hike, but it was not to be. It didn't help that we started later than we wanted to and took longer to get to the trail head than we expected. As we set out on the wide, straight walkway that made a beeline from the parking lot out to the trail head at the coast, we wished we'd had our bikes with us. The park, however, didn't allow them. Once we got to the start of the Coast Trail, it soon became obvious why bikes were denied—at least on this trail. Almost immediately there were rocks and roots on the path and some very steep bits on an extremely narrow path. Then we found ourselves imitating billy goats as we crawled up and over huge, mountainous chunks of lichen and moss-covered rocks. I couldn't help myself from stopping to appreciate the colorful succulent, sedum, which clung in great clumps to crevices in the stone. How odd, I thought, to find this plant here, of all places! In any event, we were soon laughing hysterically at our desire to ride our bikes on this trail. Hah! Even the most masterful of mountain bike riders would not be able to negotiate some of the areas we traversed. Bike riding indeed! And so in the end, we had to turn around much earlier on the trail than we'd hoped. However, as we usually do, we found a fine place for our lunch and sat with a beautiful view of the coast to look out on. We munched happily on our sausage, cheese, and fauxtato salad (incredible potato salad made with cauliflower) and talked blissfully about this amazing place we were so lucky to have the chance to visit. Today's Pictures My main picture is one of the amazing coastal views that we got to see along the trail. The cove that's dotted with floating bull kelp had us both picturing how wonderful it would be if we were scuba diving there, though it would certainly be very cold! The insets I'm sharing show some of the cool finds we discovered along the way. It was such a treat to find a number of mushrooms and I was very happy that my Sony was able to take nice pictures that I could share! Other images include the wide, sun-dappled path out to the coast, lots of coastal views and forest highlights as well. ENJOY! Pam, I know you love places like this and Steve and I mentioned you in our conversation as we sat eating our lunch. I don't think you would have appreciated the extremely strenuous nature of the hike though! It was sometimes such a treacherous climb that the little yellow trail signs—literally pounded into the rock face—showed a picture directing people to take turns one by one, so as to keep rocks from falling onto the person below! YIKES! Still, it was great fun and heck, we'd just pick you up and piggy-back you along for the ride! HAH! Ok, well, Steve would do that part but I'd take pictures! :D :D Hope this cold, rainy and misty day is treating you well in your neck of the woods! *BIG HUGS* from southern Oregon! Explored on 12/09/19; highest placement #20.

(+12 insets!) (Please scroll down to Today's Pictures for inset information) OMG My Eyes! Turn Off the Light! I was awoken this morning to the lights blazing overhead and the beep of power coming on in the house. In my bleary state I thought to myself, "Oh wow, we must have had a power outage." At the same time I was happy that the power was restored before we got up. We'd had a wind advisory last night, though it wasn't windy enough that we noticed. I guess it depended on where you were because the power lines came down somewhere. Starting the Day with Pumpkin Though I was so rudely awoken, it was a good time to get up, so up I popped! Pumpkin and I started our day as usual--she supervising my shower and laughing at me--and we whistled together as I dressed. While I prepared her cage she checked out the extremely interesting space between the bureau and the wall where I'd set her down, turning her head to peer with one eye into the dark abyss that so fascinated her. The funny gronking sounds she made to express her opinion made me laugh, and she followed suit, which made me laugh even more. What a silly bird, and how I love her! :) Downstairs in the kitchen, I deposited Pumpkin onto her custom perch that Steve made--complete with food and water cups--where she enjoyed nibbling on warm, moistened seed-filled bread. While she looked out the kitchen window with great interest, she kept an eye on my activities as any proper supervisor should do. Whistling back and forth, laughing together and making silly sound effects, I made my coffee and got her food bowl ready. She's had this healthy blend for the nearly 20 years of her life with us since she was just 6 months old--a mixture of carrots, celery, bell pepper, corn and apple, topped with wheat berries, red pepper flakes, another piece of bread and a pecan--her glowing feathers and excellent health show that we're doing something right! :) Nothing but the best for our darling feathered child! Soon we returned upstairs so she could have her breakfast. Apparently I wasn't moving fast enough because she strained towards her cage as we approached and hopped off my finger to turn and dance back and forth as I put her food cup in place and closed her cage door. I smiled as she gronked in happiness and dove into her food. What a doll. Before I left the room I opened my laptop to play a music playlist from YouTube that she seems to really enjoy-- "Happy Hawaiian Music" ...but wait... No internet. Hmmm, that was a problem…without her music, Pumpkin gets very fussy and yells very loudly to let us know that her tunes aren't playing. I checked the network and…yep. No dice. What was going on, I wondered. Solving the Mystery of No Internet Wandering into our game room, I noticed our router and modems were off…no power anywhere. Flipping the switch on the power strip didn't do a thing. My computer was on though, but I had no internet. Odd. I wondered if the fuse had popped and some of our devices were on that one? I went to the basement to check the fuse box. Everything was fine there. The last thing I wanted to do was wake up Steve for his assistance but if I didn't, Pumpkin would soon start yelling, which would wake him up in a much less-pleasant way. Cringing inwardly, I opened the door to Steve's bedroom (we sleep separately because he snores and we finally realized it was the best solution so we could get a good night's sleep) and gently roused him. I was relieved that he didn't mind the wake-up as he wanted to start his day anyway. He confirmed the internet situation and was soon in the game room to investigate. Peering at our computer setups, he saw the answer and said, "Two of the three UPS's (Uninterruptible power supply and surge suppressor) are off…must have happened with the power outage." He pressed the power buttons on each of them and they beeped and whirred back to life. A few moments later, everything was back to normal and Life Could Resume! :D Today's Pictures This is my last set from Joseph Stewart State Park--my second set of pictures from my metal-detecting adventure, along with my other treasures from home. My main picture is a bit of a mystery because I'm not exactly sure what it is. Could be the button on a shirt, the closure at the top of a child's pants, or maybe even an earring. There's a little hollow post centered in the back and I cannot figure out what it might be. Pretty though and a fine metal detecting prize to share today! Insets include the other finds at the park--four recent pennies, a gloriously rusty tack, a buckshot ball used with a shotgun which I processed like a planet, and a broken zipper pull that I found buried near our trailer. The pictures I'm sharing from finds at home include plenty of fun prizes! Another view of the Winchester 300 casing, a Hamm's beer can advertising the exciting aluminum can, a bent fence-keeper wire, the largest piece of shrapnel I've found, care of Camp White, a spoon found in the dirt next to our road, a pair of dimes, four bottle caps found at a rest stop at Rogue River, and finally, a motorcycle chain rusted into position! Pam, thank you for the lovely prize you mailed to me…it arrived yesterday and both Steve and I were very touched by your festive gesture. :) Here's hoping that Santa brings you something wonderful towards your recovery! *BIG HUGS on this COLD DAY* from Janet and Steve! Explored on 12/06/19; highest placement #13.