Cliff Gilker Park - Jan 14, 2011

Today was supposed to be my long awaited ladies snowshoe day on Dakota Ridge. Mother Nature thought otherwise. Temperatures of 10C/50F and rain do not fit with snowshoes...it was 3C already at 10am on the mountain and raining. So, we postponed our snowshoe plans and went for coffee.

By the time we finished chatting, the rain stopped and the sun came out. Fully dressed in outdoor gear, we decided we might as well get a workout, so we headed for nearby Cliff Gilker Park. What a great decision!

All the recent rain and warm temperatures have created amazing waterfall conditions. Unfortunately, I passed up the photo op at the large waterfall but these are pretty good. I have never seen so much water in the stream here.




The forest is lush and full and green everywhere you look. The sun was just peeking in through the trees with a few lingering drops falling onto our heads. This is one of many bridges in the park. I am always amazed at the work that goes into creating such wonderful trails.

Cliff Gilker park is part of the Sunshine Coast Regional District Park System. As such, the trails are wide and well maintained with good signage. You can't get lost in this park. There were muddy spots, but we have had a lot of rain lately.


With more experienced hikers than myself in the group, I got to see a whole new area of the park. We hiked for over an hour with fairly small elevation changes. We peeked into the neighboring Sunshine Coast Golf & Country Club course a few times, but no players due to the heavy early morning rain. This is a hike that any mobile person can handle. The best feature of the park is that the front large waterfall is wheelchair accessible, too. A short wide trail leads to a wooden viewing deck that literally everyone can enjoy.

Fingers crossed that my next post will be photos of Dakota Ridge and our snowshoe trek.

Day at the Beach - September 5, 2010

Today was a beautiful sunny day. One of those last days of summer where the sun is shining but there is a cool nip in the air that lets you know that fall is just around the corner. I decided to take advantage of a quiet afternoon to venture out to a nearby beach...Roberts Creek Provincial Park.

I've posted pics from here before, but in winter. Summer is usually lively here with picnic tables and plenty of room for kids to run, play catch, or just have fun.



Today, I had the beach to myself. What a special time to have complete peace with the waves softly crashing into the shore. I found a spot on a large log (about 1 meter in diameter) and soaked in the moment. It was high tide, so there was only about 5 meters between me and the water. You can see Vancouver Island in the distance looking both west and south.

There were a few boats out today, but all in the distance so all the sounds were of birds and waves. A perfectly peaceful afternoon!




This is a tree that has washed up on the shore. The rootball is at least 4-5 meters high. It's not as clear in the picture, but the roots are all curled up and gnarly. Shells and rocks have been lodged in some of the openings. The wood on the trunk is smooth...sanded down by the waves.








This is the open beach to the north....not a sole to be seen.

And the same to the south. Just me and the birds today. I was hoping to see our grey whale that has been spotted in the area for the last 2 months. I kept watching the horizon, but no luck today. Oh well, another time. Today was for relaxing, slowing down and enjoying the moment. Have to remember to do this more often.