Trees of hundreds of years of age

Cathedral Grove is a protected area full of very very old trees. Some of which, unfortunately, have been fallen after a storm. What comes out of this event is a new opportunity for new plants to grow because of more sunlight to penetrate to the ground.

Beware of insect-eating plant!

We made a quick stop at the Shorepine Bog Trail on our return trip. The signage warned us that the boardwalk might be slippery when wet; however I found that there's another reason: insect-eating plant, maybe they feed on more than just insects!?

Long Beach, Vancouver Island

Off we went on our trip to Long Beach on a friday night after work. As soon as we got our supper of sushi take-out, Mark drove us in his white car to our weekend getaway. We covered more than half the distance shortly after mid-night and was time to get some sleep. Emily remembered a place by the river where we could set up our tents. At night in the dark, we walked through some bushes and found a sandy area to spend the night.


The five of us (Mark, Em, Owen, Greg and I) shared these two yellow tents by the river on our way to the campground. Very very comfortable. It's incredible to wake up first thing in the morning with a beautiful view.


Our destination Long Beach!
Scattered rocks of various sizes are places for wild life including starfish contrasted with a long stretch of white sand beach.


Em and the starfish
We lost a bet to Em when she dared to lick the starfish! Apparently she's done it many times. It was the first time that I came across a starfish outside of aquarium!




Miles of sand with no end in sight!


It's not quick sand...but it feels incredible!

Beer Tasting Night

At Emily and Mark's place where we spent a great evening with good food, good drinks and good desserts!

Grouse Grind

This 2.9km hike up the Grouse Mountain to a height of 853 metres was such a good challenge!