Christmas 2004

Mount Douglas City Park make up a significant part of the view out of my parents window.  While most people used every available moment to explore the interiors of Malls (tis' the season), My Dad and I took the youngest out to the park to play.   Mount Doug has a few different parks - at the bottom is a beach access, grassy fields and a kids playground - all hits.  I especially like the beach - it's not particularly sandy, but it does have a stream (not a drainage outlet) merging with the ocean.

The top of the mountain has a 360 view of the southern most part of the island (including many of the Gulf Islands) and is surrounded by fairly gentle rock bluffs that can be fun to scramble on (I'm sure the moss isn't amused).    Surviving a beach and a playground, the kids were well behaved.

A second common tradition is to visit my Grandparents for Boxing day and a few days following.  (It helps keep the crazy boxing day spending under control).    There are many great outdoor activities in the Comox area, it's good to get out for an afternoon stroll.  My Dad and I took a walk to see the Medicine Bowls - a small and fast canyon in the Brown River.  In the summer, there are a number of excellent swimming holes.  It reminded me of the Sooke pot holes or parts of the Capilano River in Vancouver.

This year, for a bit of additional fun, I decided to take a day trip (really a half day - I had to back by 4pm) trip to Denman and Hornby Islands.  The two islands, about 15 minutes south of Courtney, between Vancouver Island and the Mainland, have a long history of farming and independence.  I caught the 8:20 am ferry

The first island you arrive on is Denman (you have to cross the island to get to the Hornby Island ferry terminal).  As much fun as a morning ferry ride is, I held off on my second ride to explore Boyle Point Provincial Park on the far eastern tip of Denman.   It has two great view points - the first is Eagle Island

Just past the Eagle Island outlook, is a view of Chrome Island which is dominated by the manned lighthouse.  It's funny to be on a remote Island that you can walk from end to end in a minute, but have power from the mainland.

I have a love hate relationship with trees - while I love trees, I really am without the means to take a good picture of them.  (Trust me, I've tried).  Hornby has the only Arbutus Forest I've even seen.  Arbutus trees generally have a hard time here (they flourish much further south and only exist here because of the confluence of weather found in the Gulf Islands area), and generally are only found near the shore fighting with other trees for a good hold.  At the tip of Hornby, they were the only species - like they truly belong here.   Walking back from the beach you pass through a section of unlogged old growth forest with a number of massive Douglas fir trees.  Again a real treat.