Today felt like a France day. My schedule was very similar to the one I used to have in France.
I got up, had a stovetop coffee and a bath. Then I cleared out the reiki room and did some spiritual work. I made lunch for Colin, who was working from home, then we went for a walk together, and came back for cheese time. Then I blogged a bit, and then it was time for a nap!
On this day on Bowen Island, it was -5°C outside, and the second clear day after our big snow dump. The cold air burned my nose and lungs.
Colin got a message that his work meeting would be on-island, since the person he was meeting with happened to be in Horseshoe Bay. They planned to hop onto the 12pm ferry to Bowen Island. So we planned a walk near the Cove, so Colin could have his meeting in the Cove right after.
We decided to roam around a bit in Crippen Park, on some of the trails Colin had never visited. We would start in the cove, at the corner of Miller Rd and Bowen Island Trunk Rd. The route shown in red below was just over 3.5km, and all fairly flat.
As we approached Snug Cove, we admired the mountains of the North Shore, gleaming white in a perfectly blue sky behind the Cove.
We walked down Miller Rd until we saw the mailboxes next to the RCMP building. I had just read in the Undercurrent that there would soon be a seniors' residence in this spot, which would really help retain some of older folks from going off-island.
Soon we joined up with Maple Trail. We turned right onto it.
We stayed on Maple Trail past the first fork, and at the trail intersection, we turned left into the Memorial Gardens.
Directly through the Japanese-style gates, we climbed up a big rock to the viewpoint. This time it was not brilliant green, but rather white... ;)
A bald eagle soared overhead. The North Shore mountains framed a lovely view of Deep Cove.
We wandered around in the Memorial Gardens a while, then exited back onto Alder Grove Trail.
Turning right onto Alder Grove Trail, we headed along the south side of the Lagoon.
We could see glimpses of the Lagoon through the trees.
At the junction with Maple Trail, we stayed on Alder Grove Trail, heading towards Miller Rd.
To my right, I could see the waters of the fish ladder crashing down Killarney Creek towards the Lagoon and the sea. In the summer, we could not see the waters from here, as the green foliage filled in these viewpoints.
I was eager to check out the fish ladder, as Colin had never seen it.
A trail post and a sign marked the entrace to the fish ladders. We turned right off of Alder Grove Trail and onto the Fish Ladder trail.
The trail leading down to the fish ladder was steep and seemed icy. I put my camera strap on my wrist and aimed my attention towards the far guard rail, ready to grab it, if I slipped. Well, sure enough, I did slip, and nearly slid right under the guard rails.
I hurt my other ankle a little. "What do ankles represent?" Colin asked me, thinking of Louise L Hay. "Flexibility and change." I answered, with a laugh.
I hurt my other ankle a little. "Your ankles have been taking a beating lately!" Colin commented. "What do ankles represent?" Colin asked me, thinking of Louise L Hay. "Flexibility and change." I answered, with a laugh.
Descending the stairs, with a firm grip on the handrails, we saw this sign near the river. Um, things that could have been mentioned EARLIER... ;)
The fish ladders were gorgeous, overflowing with snow melt.
Gesturing at the fish ladder right beside the waterfall, Colin asked: "How do they know where to go up, the waterfall or the fish ladder?" I answered, with a laugh: "They go up both, Colin."
After a last look at the upper falls (we couldn't access the lower fish ladders, due to the snow and ice), we headed back up the stairs. Again, I gripped the railing tightly, and we ascended without incident.
As soon as we exited the Fish Ladder trail, we could see Miller Rd ahead, down Alder Grove Trail.
We crossed Miller Rd, and took the Hatchery Trail towards Killarney Lake. There were many directional signs and a park map there, for our convenience.
The trail was beautiful: a carpet runner of white through the trees.
On the right side of the trail, through the ferns and trees, we could see the waters where Killarney Creek and Terminal Creek merged and mingled. This is why I had gotten confused, on my first trip through here, thinking that I was following Killarney Creek when I was actually following Terminal Creek.
A trail branched off to the left, leading to the rear of the Bowen Island Community School, the public elementary school. We stayed straight, along Hatchery Trail.
Just on the other side of the first little bridge, the huge row of tree stumps called to us. With Colin here, I could finally take a few photos that showed proper perspective on how huge they were.
From a distance, they didn't look so extraordinary, but closeup, they were astounding.
I stepped inside one. It nearly swallowed me.
A much smaller tree, laden with snow, had bent over the path. Colin spent a little time shaking off the snow, and freeing it. It finally sprung back up, fairly upright beside the path.
Our way was now clear to the Terminal Creek Bridge.
Past the bridge, we took a right at the junction and headed towards Terminal Creek Meadows.
We took the Meadow Trail, past the equestrian ring on the right. The ring was replete with viewing stands, although I would suspect one would get a very chilly seat, sitting there on this day.
In the ring, a pair of snowmen faced each other in a show down. It was fairly obvious which one had lost that battle.... ;)
Like on the TIT the day before, someone had driven though here, to mark the trail.
On the other side of the meadow, the path meandered through the trees, and over another small bridge.
From the bridge, we got a nice view of the marsh.
At the junction past the bridge, we turned right onto Killarney Creek Trail.
From this trail, we got another view of the marsh. Three trees stood sentry over the marsh, although they had long ago broken in half.
I just liked this log. It looked like a footbridge in a Japanese garden.
Killarney Creek Trail ran fairly straight, along the length of Killarney Creek. (Go figure!)
Approaching Miller Rd once again, there were some garbage cans and a parking lot. Collins trail also led off to the left, towards Collins Rd and Farm. On this day, we just kept on going straight to Miller Rd.
We turned right onto Miller Rd, and I pointed out the LIFT sign to Colin.
We stayed on the snow-covered path right beside Miller Rd, as we crossed over Killarney Creek, and passed the junction with Alder Grove Trail.
It was then that Colin got a message from the person he was to meet with, saying that the ferries were not running at all, due to power problems. The meeting would have to be online after all. I laughed about "the curse of the 12pm ferry."
Checking the BC Ferries website, it said: "Update as of 11:25 am: Please be advised that the Queen of Capilano is currently operating 23 minutes behind schedule due to peak demand." (We found out later that the ferries were simply delayed, and left 5 mins after Colin's workmate was told they were cancelled.)
Since I wanted to buy an outdoor extension cord, and since we were right at the Cove, I stopped in at the Snug Cove General Store, as Colin headed home. They had no power cords at the store, but I did overhear a local woman discussing how their power had been out a couple days. I was glad we didn't lose power at our house. Fortunately, in our area, the power lines were run underground, instead of on poles, making it much less likely that weather would affect our power supply.
I saw some city workers at the corner of Miller and Bowen Island Trunk Rd. There were workmen all over the island these last couple days -- I suspected that the snow had thrown quite a few systems into disarray.
Close to home, I noticed the neat icicles that had been produced by this drainage pipe. Then I paused in thought... were they actually "icicles" if they rose UP from the ground? Wouldn't they be stalagmites or stalactites? I played through the memory trick, to tell which of the two they would be: "M" like a mound or dropping down like a "T"... These would be mostly stalagmites.
I walked home, had cheese time and blogged a little by the fire, then took a nap before supper.
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