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.