Another hike today. This time around the hood, namely UVic, Uplands, and Willows Beach. It has occurred to me lately that I have been doing a reasonable amount of hiking, but not much else aside from work and other stuff. With Spring around the corner and the fact that I haven’t been doing it much, cycling has been on my mind a bit more lately. Before that gets going too seriously I think there will be a couple more weeks of laziness. I’m not sure I want to admit this, but I found myself watching some of the Much Music ‘Bring-It-On-a-thon’ today (horrible movies about the trials and tribulations of cheerleading). If ever there was an impetus to get off my ass sooner rather than later, escaping the ‘Bring-It-On-a-thon’ would probably be it, or perhaps I’ve turned a corner and am heading towards a dark, dark future.
Michelle and I were out hiking today by ourselves, mind you there were many other people out and about. Like most hikes, this was a good outing through some nice spots including Mystic Vale, Uplands Park, Cattle Point, and Willows Beach. To wrap things up, we stopped at Pure Vanilla for a panini, soup, and pumpkin spice cookie.
GPS Data: 9.6km / 2h01m / GPS Route
A map of a hike around parts of Oak Bay (UVic / Uplands / Willows Beach). Click to view detailed GPS data on the Garmin website.
No trip to the UVic area is complete without seeing a rabbit.
Hanging upside down at Henderson Park is mind-blowing.
A curious assortment of items near the south end of Mystic Vale. Sand dollars must be cheap these days since whomever put this arrangement together had a few to spare.
South end of Mystic Vale with sun through trees action.
About halfway down Mystic Vale in the middle of the Ewok forest.
Parc du chien. Adjacent to Mystic Vale. I'm just practicing my rather poor French. I'm not sure the park/field has a name.
Looking east or thereabouts from Cattle Point near Victoria, BC. Sunny, but cool.
Mt. Baker in Washington State. No eruptions today thankfully.
Poo-Jays, sh*thawks, seagulls, etc. Whatever you call them there were a good number hanging out at Cattle Point today. I actually don't mind seagulls, despite the fact that they seem to be quite adept at painting some parts of the world with their excrement.
More Cattle Point. Looking east towards the Georgia Strait.
In case you were wondering how Cattle Point got its name...
Heading towards Willows Beach from the south end of Cattle Point.
Thou shalt enter into my gut via my mouth! Pure Vanilla pumpkin spice cookie.
Pure Vanilla tuna panini and tomato/white bean soup. A tasty conclusion to our hike around the hood.
Great lunch and great cookie. Can we get some for just staying at home and watching television.
Yes, you can! I suspect it might not be too fresh though after spending some time making it’s way to you via UPS, Canada Post, or whatever method is chosen
The name of the field adjacent to Mystic Vale is called the CJVI land (also known unofficially as the Mystic Vale farm land although it is not a part of Mystic Vale). It is a remnant of the last Hudson Bay Company farms. It used to be owned by the Hudson Bay Company till it was owned by a radio station called CJVI. This company owned 40 acres which encompassed the CJVI land and the Oak Bay portion of Mystic Vale. That 40 acre land parcel was called CJVI property. In 1964 it was sold to UVic (this by the way saved the Oak Bay portion of Mystic Vale from development). Today, the CJVI land is 30 acres because the Oak Bay part of Mystic Vale is now a part of a different area called Mystic Vale Protection Area.