For most of the time we spinet at Seal Bay we were the only people in sight – I suppose that is not surprising as this was on a wet day in the middle of October, yet this is one of the most beautiful times of the year and the relatively short hike to the beach is time well spent.
Above, looking toward Campbell River – below, toward Lazo.
7km south of Duncan, Whippletree Junction is a once thriving retail attraction that hosts specialty shops and restaurants within 14 restored buildings from original Chinatown buildings of Duncan.
While this was a favourite stop when I was young, I drive past it now as other than an awesome wool and knitting shop, the few stores that remain are not worth the stop. The entire site is crumbling, perhaps a victim of out high speed days of “have to get there now”.
A shame…
A few minutes on Mt Tolmie in Victoria – the view of Victoria, surrounding areas and the Gulf Islands is spectacular on a clear day, but it’s also nice on a foggy day such as this.
The salmon trap and counting station on Black River, near Miracle Beach Provincial Park. The size of the salmon is recorded, and the fish are scanned to record information from the RFID tags that were inserted if the fish was reared in a hatchery.
Dallas Road, James Bay – one of the districts of Victoria where I have lived on and off over the years.
Christina B alongside in Campbell River
The M/V Bowen Queen is one of three Powell River Class ferries built to operate on the new minor routes acquired by BC Ferries in the early 1960’s. The Bowen Queen, Mayne Queen and the Powell River Queen were built for approximately 1 million dollars each in 1965.
M/V Bowen Queen in Campbell River
In 1979, the Bowen Queen along with her sisters were refitted, stretched by 30 metres and re-engined at a cost of 3 million each.
M/V Bowen Queen crossing Discovery Passage
The Bowen Queen is powered by four engines and propelled and steered through four right angle drives (RADs), one located in each quarter of the vessel.
Westwood Lake is named after William Joseph Westwood, who operated a dairy farm when the area now known as Westwood Lake was a shallow marsh. In 1860 the Westwoods boarded a California steamer bound for Victoria. After making a small fortune in real estate, they moved to Nanaimo in 1864. Westwood paid $1 an acre for the 650-acre East Wellington property as a homesteader.
The dairy farm was operated until Westwood’s death, on Jan. 29, 1872. When the farm buildings were destroyed by fire that same year, his widow sold 600 acres of the property acres to Richard Chandler of San Francisco, who wanted the coal rights, for $150,000.
The Nanaimo Electric Light, Power and Heating Company operated a coal-powered electric plant in Nanaimo built in 1888, primarily for lighting streets and homes. In 1904, the company, then owned in Victoria, built the Millstone hydro-electric plant and dam on the Millstone River. In 1907, the company built No. 2 dam at Westwood Lake.
The company was sold in 1926 to the International Utilities Corporation, and the Millstone power plant was later acquired by the British Columbia Power Commission. The power plant ceased operations in 1956, was decommissioned, and in January 1957 the City of Nanaimo bought the land for $1. Westwood Lake was dedicated as a city park in 1957
And now you know…
Thanks to a deal that saw most of the former Camp Moorecroft become a regional park, you can enjoy some pristine beach while watching local wildlife and plants reclaiming the land.
Not all is well though, as much of the former United Church property is slated for development as condos – that’s a sign of the time as the Nanoose Bay area is increasingly becoming more popular for the wealthy.
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This is cool – especially for a person who grew up on the west coast and has sailed around the world for fun and for profit.
The remains of 14 ships include four Royal Canadian Navy warships, one U.S. navy destroyer, two whalers, two Canadian Pacific Railway steam tugs, a deep sea rescue tug, a wood-hulled barquentine and three Cape Horn windjammers. The ships were sunk, starting in 1936 and continuing for 25 years, as breakwaters for log-booming operations.
More images are in a Facebook album…
