Salt Spring Island

Another place I very much looked forward to visiting while over on Vancouver Island was Salt Spring Island. While the weather didn't quite cooperate as much as it did for the visit to Tofino the weekend before, we still decided to make the short trip over to Salt Spring for the day to go hiking in the rain. First up was catching the little ferry from Crofton to Vesuvius.

Crofton Harbor

Ferry crossing

Abstract look at cars on the ferry

On the way to our hike at Ruckle Provincial Park we had to pull over to check out the turkeys at Ruckle Heritage Farm. I had no idea they would come right over and check me out! It led to some awesome photographic opportunities.

You may have noticed I was busy playing with my new Ricoh GR camera. It's great for street and macro photography, and was also handy on this day because it A) fit in my pocket out of the rain, unlike my DSLR, and B) is great for black and white photography, which fit the mood of this gray day:

Oh yeah, what was I saying about macro?

The rain just started coming down harder throughout our hike, but I couldn't stop taking photos!

And a couple more mushroom shots for good measure:

Tofino and Ucluelet

The skies were overcast, but the rain mostly held off during our full day exploring the Tofino area. We hiked a lot of the local trails and explored the remote beaches while bird-watching and taking photos.

Overlook along the Tonquin Trail

Long log on Long Beach

Taking wave photos on Long Beach

Couple on Long Beach

Down at the Ucluelet harbor, we saw some California sea lions fishing right off the docks.

 

Next we walked out to Amphitrite Lighthouse in Ucluelet, a short stubby little lighthouse:

We only saw about 15 bird species throughout the day, but one of them, the black turnstone (80), added to the year list.

As we approached one overlook we were stunned to see a male and female killer whale surface just beyond the breakers! These were my first orcas of 2016, and also the first time I've seen orcas in the open Pacific! Infuriatingly, they only surfaced that ONE TIME. We scanned for the next half hour but never saw them again. Here's what my face looked like at that point:

Teased by Ts!

Before it got dark, we did some tidepooling at Brown's Beach, where the most impressive sights were the abundant mussels and giant anemones.

The next day, Monday, was when we had to head back, but when we woke up to sunshine we decided to spend most of the day on the coast before driving home. Our first stop was Schooner's Cove.

While the crashing waves on the sandy beaches were the most different from the east side of Vancouver Island, the forest portions of the walks were equally impressive, especially with their macro opportunities. Check out the droplets on this fungus!

It was so beautiful we decided to do the lighthouse loop in Ucluelet again, with dreams of more dorsal fins in the back of our minds for sure. We didn't see any more whales, but it was still a very good decision to go back out there. The wave action was incredible, and the rugged coastline was that much more picturesque in the sun.

Crazy sea foam

There were lots of bald eagles about too, with some of them engaged in courtship-like behavior.

All in all the Tofino area was stunning, just as I expected it to be!

En Route to Tofino

We took advantage of a 3-day weekend in British Columbia to get out to Tofino over the last couple of days. I've been excited about getting the chance to explore more of Vancouver Island this month, and Tofino was near the top of my list. Not surprisingly, the drive out to the Pacific Coast was full of stunning sights, too. Our first stop of the day was at Cathedral Grove along Highway 4. While the giant trees were impressive, I was again turning my eyes to the minute:

Turns out just about the only photo I took of the trees themselves was this reflection shot!

Next up we stopped near Port Alberni at a little known side trail we read about called Hole in the Wall. We weren't really sure what to expect, but it turned out to be well worth the stop. Not only for the hole in the wall itself, which was apparently blasted through the volcanic shale, but for all the other scenery:

The hole in the wall

Roger Creek runs by the wall of volcanic shale

Abstract black and white of the running creek

Old car abandoned in the woods --> Gets covered with graffiti --> Moss grows on it

Crazy lichen close-up

While it had been mostly overcast throughout the day, as we hit the stretch of highway between Port Alberni and the Pacific Ocean the clouds began to break, which made for some incredibly stunning lighting as we drove along the Kennedy River with snow-capped peaks towering overhead. We had to stop many times to get out the cameras. Here are just a few of my favorites: