« August 2004 | Main | October 2004 »
September 23, 2004
Attack of the Killer Kelp
Last weekend my father graced me with a visit to my home in Victoria. Not knowing exactly what to do with the old fellow we decided to take a hike along the Juan de Fuca Trail. This time we started at Sombreo Beach and headed West. As soon as we made it down to the beach, Dad decided he wanted to pose for a picture with a kelp-snake.
As the flash went off the snake awoke and started to attack by wrapping its body around Dad's neck. Dad snapped into action ripping the beast off and twisted its torso in his bare hands.
As the snake's body went limp Dad grabbed its tail and smashed it into the rocks.
Don't worry, only the snake was harmed in the taking of these photos. To see a couple more shots of the trail CLICK HERE.
Posted by jmclean at 06:36 PM | Comments (1)
View from the Outhouse
Posted by jmclean at 04:52 PM | Comments (0)
September 09, 2004
Studying for Finals
Well, tomorrow is the last day of class before our dreaded finals. (Being in the Quarter system we are taking finals while everyone else is starting their first days of school.) I have finally found a great way to study.... away from the computer. At the kitchen table there is no instant messenger. There is no opportunity to check my email every ten minutes just in case a long lost friend decided to write. There are no sites to surf or even Yahoo crossword, (which happens to be my best internet time waster).
This study technique was discovered by accident, (during the long day our internet was down in our house). I managed to get through a record number of chapters that evening and it was easier focus.... GO FIGURE! Good thing I discovered this now. With 6 exams during the next seven days I will need all the help I can get.
Posted by jmclean at 10:55 PM | Comments (3)
September 06, 2004
What's that noise
Just after waking up this morning I heard a strange noise coming from the kitchen. Feeling quite bold in my state of stupor I went in to investigate... It was definitely coming from the freezer and it didn't sound happy. Image the sound of a wolverine stuck in a box or a couple chickens fighting for a grub. I opened it up only to find.....
A WILD MONSTER GNAWING ON THE FREEZER COMPRESSOR....
I am sure this is what is causing the constant grinding of the gears and cycling of the motor in the old appliance. I will keep you posted to the monster and the fridge's status.
Posted by jmclean at 01:11 PM | Comments (3)
September 05, 2004
Camping in the Carmanah
Well, it took longer than it should have to get to the Carmanah Valley, but it was worth it! Unaware that the fastest route was through Lake Cowichan, Friday afternoon we headed off towards Port Renfrew. Five hours later, after lots of self-doubt, reading / rereading our map and swearing at the poor, (or lack of signage), we arrived at the Carmanah/Walbran Valley. This was after a mere 140 km of logging road travel.
Click the signage to see more shots...
The forest which is know for the huge Sitka Spruce held true to its reputation. We were dumbfounded at the size of some the trees. It also contained lots of wildlife, namely, slugs, chipmunks, funny looking birds, and bears. The bear was heard but not seen about 15 minutes into our hike. The bear "spotting" left me a little jumpy as we were camping in the park, and I noticed there was only one other car in the parking lot.
That night we hiked in a few kilometers and set up camp on a river bed beside the forest attraction "Three Sisters". The Three Sisters were three Sitka Spruces that appeared to have grown together throughout the centuries. The next day we did a small day hike out to Grunt's Grove. I tripped the whole way as I was craning my neck up to seen the tops of the trees.
We had lunch at camp and then packed up and headed back to the car. With directions from the Ranger we drove back through Youbou. This was only 60 kilometers of logging road and 3 hours from Victoria.
Needless to say the old Subaru was happy to get home and we were happy to cut off 2 hours of drive time.
Posted by jmclean at 07:56 PM