Rainy Days and Sunday

John made a reservation at the Blue Grouse Winery for a tasting and charcuterie pairing. The address says Duncan but we are in the Cowichen Valley where most of Vancouver Island’s vineyards are located.   The wines were good but very different varietals such as Gamay, Ortega and Bacchus.

We decided to take the back roads to return when we saw a sign for the Kinsol Trestle Bridge. It is one of the worlds tallest, free-standing timber railway trestles at 615 feet high and 144 feet wide.  It is note worthy for its seven degree curve. The Galloping Goose, a gas engine passenger car, ran this line from Victoria to Sooke and then up to Cowichan Lake from 1922-1931 until automobiles became a popular way of travel.

As we walked back to the car from the bridge the sky opened up and rain fell! We were pretty wet by the time we reached the car.  It put a bit of a damper (get it?) on the day.

Galloping Goose Trail

What a beautiful day for a bike ride.  The Galloping Goose Trail is a rails-to-trails bike or walking path that spans the southern end of Vancouver Island for over 55 miles.   It was originally the Canadian National Railway begun in 1911. We drove to a trailhead near the west end that parallels the Sooke River.  It was such a beautiful ride under old growth trees, along and through rocky out cropping and the river next to us.

At one point on the river there are areas with holes or places where the river has carved through the canyon walls and created deep pools called pot holes.  It was a popular place for folks to swim and sun bathe and a good place to picnic.  We also crossed two wood trestle bridges. The Todd Creek Trestle was built in 1918 out of Douglas fir. We only rode about 16 miles out and back but it was so nice.

Legislative Building & Wood Boats

Most government buildings are offices and meeting rooms but the Legislative Building of Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, is a show place for the city and the Provence.  The rotunda has hand-laid Italian mosaic. The dome is 100 feet high with eight sides. Murals in the rotunda illustrate the four main industries that are important to BC - forestry, agriculture, mining and fishing.

 

The buildings windows are stained glass with some from Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and one from the Golden Jubilee for Queen Elizabeth in 2002.

A symbol of the Speaker is the gold Mace on display in the Legislative Chamber.  It must be present on the Clerk’s Table for the Legislative Assembly to conduct its business.

As we walked the harbour looking for a place to have lunch, we spied wood boats.  They were having a festival with both wood motor boats and sailboats.  It was quite interesting to look at these magnificent, highly polished and historic boats.  One I found interesting was a small steam powered boat.

Butchart Gardens

The Butchart Gardens covers more than 55 acres of a 130 acre estate.  Jennie Butchart started the gardens to beautify a worked-out quarry and has filled it with flowers, plants, shrubs and trees from Canada and from around the world.  Over a million visitors walk through the gardens every year.  These include a Sunken Garden, Japanese, Rose, Italian and Mediterranean gardens.  The pictures will speak to the beauty. (Don’t ask John if he liked it.  He came because he knew I would love it).

A Day in the City

We had a leisurely day today.  John stayed at the RV while I walked the West Bay Trail which follows the harbour from the RV park all the way around to Fisherman’s Wharf.  I only walked about 1.5 miles of it on mostly wood walkways and some paved areas.  It was so peaceful and pretty.

Later in the day we rode our bikes into town to visit China Town and then rode the Galloping Goose Trail a short distance so we could cross its wooden trestle bridge across the Gorge Waterway. Victoria’s China Town was established in 1858 and is the oldest and most intact China Town in Canada.

Castle and Fort

On a cloudy and cool day we decided to explore a castle - the Hartley Castle, built by James and Laura Dunsmuir.  James is the son of Robert Dunsmuir who built the Craigdarroch Castle.  Robert used the same architect and designer that his father used and Laura created the beautiful gardens that surround the building. The interior is decorated in the arts and crafts style of the early 20th century.

Hartley was built in 1908-1910 and overlooks the Juan de Fuca Straight. The windows of the first floor look out on the croquet garden, the large front lawn and a naturally formed lagoon. 

We toured the large entryway, the dining room, sitting room and James own sitting room. The men in the tour were impressed with the large billiards room. You may recognize the building as it as been used in several recent movies such as X-Men, Deadpool and the Green Arrow. Today the building is part of the University and is used for office space and classrooms.

Just around the corner from the Castle is the Fort Rodd Hill Provincial Park and the Fisgard Lighthouse. The Fort was built to protect Canada from the possible Japanese invasion during WWII.  It still has the battery, gun placements, ammo depot, and barracks.

The Fisgard Lighthouse is, like most other lighthouses, automated but its last keeper left in 1929.  It points the way to the Esquimalt Harbour and Victoria Harbour.

Victoria

We left Courtenay and drove the Trans-Canada Highway to Victoria where the highway begins/ends.  Our campground is located on Victoria Harbour and our site is across from Fisherman’s Wharf so we are entertained all day watching all the boats, water taxis, seaplanes, sailboats, whale watching craft, ferry ships and cruise ships move in and out of the harbor along with the occasional seal who peeks up at us.

The Ferry we took back to the USA

This city is very bike friendly with numerous bike trails and dedicated bike lanes that will get us to almost anywhere we want to go. We took advantage of them both Saturday and today to explore around the harbor and out to Oak Bay where, if it weren’t so Smokey we might be able to see the shores of the US.  Along the way we went thru Beacon Hill Park where the world’s tallest totem pole is located.  It’s 127 feet tall and was carved by three men in 1956.  There are over 12 figures in the pole such as an eagle, seal, otter, whale, and men.

We lunched on Fisherman’s Wharf, walked on the sea break wall, and napped on Willow beach on probably one of the last warm days we will experience.