Blog: I Think It's This Way

Road Ride – Lower Saanich – If There Is Such a Thing as Lower Saanich

Kris — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 01:57:29 +0000

Wow it’s been a while without any blogging, exercise, photos, or other cool stuff. These last couple months of house hunting, research, and buying have been a bit of a drag. That’s not to say I didn’t appreciate the challenge that came with various fixit projects, like changing a toilet etc., but there’s pretty much no way I’d prefer doing that sort of stuff over bike riding.

Time to get back to a more active lifestyle… I don’t really have any good excuses to for not doing so, so I shall ‘do’ rather than ‘do not’… thanks recently viewed Yoda quote.

GPS Data: 45.1km – 1h47m – Garmin Website | GPX (right click to download)

Another trip down Martindale Road on the road bike on a wet coast day with the smell of pumpkin and cabbage decomposition in the air.

Curious Christmas arrangement on West Wallace Drive. Good luck with that Santa.

Saturday Morning Photos – Gorge Waterway – Victoria

Kris — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 08:00:21 +0000

Database error! Failed insertions into activity table. That’s computer dork code that I am using to describe my lack of activity and whatnot recently. Managed to get out for a photo walk today, which was kind of fun. Had to cut it short when the rain started.

Saturday morning at the Gorge in Victoria.

Selkirk Trestle in Victoria.

Some sort of fruit near the Selkirk Trestle.

Evidence of a rainy day in Victoria.

Gorge Waterway dragon boaters.

Skatin and textin on the Galloping Goose Trail.

Newer Gorge Waterway residences and office buildings.

Interesting adornments on a row boat near the Selkirk Trestle.

Water droplets on a leaf near the Gorge.

Fall is here in Victoria.

A partially naked tree and a Gorge Waterway residence.

Wet leaves on the Galloping Goose Trail.

Gorge Waterway / Dockside Green residences.

Gorge office buildings and an outrigger canoe.

Bright red tree near the Selkirk Trestle in Victoria.

Wednesday Hike – Goldstream Park – Victoria, BC

Kris — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 06:24:32 +0000

Wow, it’s practically Fall. Wow, the daylight is getting shorter. Wow, how many more times might I use the word ‘wow’? This week’s Wednesday outing was a nice sort of meandering around Goldstream Park near Victoria. For an after work hike, Goldstream is a little ways out of town and given the daylight situation, I figured we’d wing it a little bit in terms of route. We ended up choosing to take a pass on the Mt. Finlayson ascent and instead wandered around the lower reaches of the park. Nice big trees, Niagara Falls, and a blackberry feed at the nature house.

GPS Data: 3.4km – 1h24m – Garmin Website | GPX (right click to download)

Bill admiring some nice green carpet.

Goldstream River.

Creek bed artwork.

Leaf in the water at the bottom of Niagara Falls.

Bill admiring Niagara Falls west.

Wednesday Hike – Swan Lake / Christmas Hill – Victoria, BC

Kris — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 06:19:29 +0000

Pretty sure I saw some mosquitoes hatching tonight at Swan Lake. They may have also instantly become full grown mosquitoes, or maybe that’s how the mosquito life cycle works… more research I could do if I felt more inclined to do so. Aside from the mosquito stuff, tonight’s hike at Swan Lake and Christmas Hill was good as usual. Early evening light up at Christmas Hill never seems to result in great photos for me, which is a bit disappointing, but oh well. There were some good opportunities down at the lake including a grumpy looking cat.

GPS Data: 6.0km – 1h26m – Garmin Website | GPX (right click to download)

View over part of Victoria from the top of Christmas Hill.

Mr. Grumpy did not appreciate our interruption of his alone time at Swan Lake.

Watch out for Mr. Grumpy, Ms. Duck.

You've got something on your leg.

Lake Cowichan Get-Away – Day 2

Kris — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 06:49:26 +0000

Day 2 of our Lake Cowichan excursion… tasty blueberry pancakes in the morning followed by some more sailing. Gurbir and I were doing pretty well with just the two of us on the boat, but things weren’t quite so smooth with Michelle and Sheena on board; the wind was not cooperating. Overall this weekend represented brought a very satisfying improvement in our sailing abilities. The food and the rest of the cabin time with friends was great too.

GPS Data: Sailing – 21.8km – 2h51m – max speed about 21 km/h

Uncooperative wind = floppy sail.

Hobie cruising with the south shore of Lake Cowichan in the background.

Kris and Gurbir on the Hobie, Gurbir in control.

Heading toward the south shore of Lake Cowichan on the Hobie Cat.

Gurbir's foot and one of the Hobie rudders.

Hobie trampoline and sail winch line.

Kris and Gurbir on approach to the cabin.

Picking up speed on a decent day for beginner sailing.

Lake Cowichan Get-Away – Day 1

Kris — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 06:19:15 +0000

Michelle and I headed up to Lake Cowichan again this weekend with Sheena and Gurbir. Day 1 started out with a bike ride near the town of Lake Cowichan. Actually it was a loop that started and ended in Lake Cowichan and included a decent chunk of time on the Cowichan Valley Trail / Trans-Canada Trail. Saw some slugs, trashed cars, someone’s underwear hanging of a bridge, Cowichan River tubers, Skutz Falls… I guess that’s probably enough of a list, I’ll stop now.

After the ride, it was up to the cabin for some lunch, a swim, a sail on the Hobie Cat, and a tasty sausage fest dinner. Did I just say ‘sausage fest’? Oops, not that kind of sausage fest.

GPS Data: 21.4km – 1h50m – Garmin Website | GPX (right click to download)

Michelle heading towards Duncan on the Cowichan Valley Trail.

Sheena and Gurbir on the Cowichan Valley Trail.

Michelle, Gurbir, and Sheena on Mayo Road near Lake Cowichan.

The Cowichan River near Skutz Falls. Did a whitewater kayak lesson here a while back.

Cowichan River tubers.

Sheena and Gurbir on a bridge near Skutz Falls on the Cowichan River.

Michelle on a bridge near Skutz Falls.

Part of Skutz Falls I think.

Cowichan River shrapnel and a rather substantial looking fish ladder installation.

Bridge to the darkside on the Cowichan Valley Trail.

We're sailing after a somewhat shady start.

Token wave at the camera shot.

Walk Home From Work Photos

Kris — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 06:52:28 +0000

Decided to take the slow way home after work today, namely walking. Fought off the urge to use some Starbucks card credit and wound my way back towards home on Rockland Avenue. The most notable stop was Government House. Along the way I took some pics.

Older rear derailleur on a bike near Rockland and Cook.

What does it mean when the bee/wasp sees its shadow.

Tree sap at government house on Rockland Avenue.

More tree sap at government house.

Top of a small totem pole at Government House.

Nice white flower at Government House.

Another angle on a nice white flower at Government House.

Yellow flowers and transluscent leaves.

Hair balls.

Not upside down hairball.

Leaf and blurry hairball at Government House.

Hairball close up.

Kingdom in decay.

Bee work.

Pollen transfer engineer.

Blurry flowers near Oak Bay Avenue and Foul Bay Road.

Big flower with spikey looking centre.

Turntable and needle.

Bear hug.

Flowers against a well lit lawn.

Shrubbery near Oak Bay Ave.

Bee and flower near Oak Bay Avenue and Foul Bay Road.

Wednesday Hike – Macaulay Point – Victoria, BC

Kris — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 06:10:31 +0000

You never know for sure what you’ll see on a hike. Tonight’s hike was at Macaulay Point, a place I have been to only once before. The highlight of the hike was definitely seeing an orca very close to shore. It didn’t do any TV orca tricks, which was slightly disappointing, but I can deal since this was only the second time I have seen a real, live orca. The hike / walk was pretty short at about 2.5km, but there were lots of cool things to look at… uhhh yeah, we saw a freakin orca.

GPS Data: 2.5km – 1h03m – Garmin Website | GPX (right click to download)

Rather beautiful night at Macaulay Point in Victoria.

Ummm... awesome night and a whale too!

Orca checking out the marker near the Macaulay Point jetty.

Orca close to shore near Macaulay Point with Metchosin in the background.

Ferry, outrigger canoes, orca.

Possible cause for concern, but pretty sure there's lots for whales to eat without resorting to fiberglass.

The Coho heading into Victoria from Port Angeles.

Beast chillin at Macaulay Point.

Washed up tree remnants.

Blackberries of varying rypeness.

Vine of some sort against a former gunnery installation at Macaulay Point.

Trevor, Christine, and Sheena at Macaulay Point on a very nice late summer evening.

Through the tunnel up to the lookout at Macaulay Point.

Looking across the Juan de Fuca Strait toward Washington State.

Ogden Point viewed from the lookout at Macaulay Point.

Another beast on the rocks at Macaulay Point.

Brown beast staring contest.

A vessel looking somewhat military oriented off the Esquimalt waterfront.

Peeps, dog, log, and rocks.

Late day sun at Macaulay Point with a glimpse of the Fort Rodd Hill lighthouse.

Climber go up.

Climber go down.

Macaulay Point dock.

Metchosin Hills and a dock near Macaulay Point.

Weekend at Lake Cowichan

Kris — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 06:42:43 +0000

Had a good time up at Lake Cowichan this past weekend. Michelle and I headed out from Victoria at the less than early hour of about 11am on Saturday and arrived at the lake less than two hours later. We took bikes and I did some research into hiking, but in the end we did neither. Saturday afternoon I went for a swim (dog paddling around the dock) and discovered that I may have some interest in sailing. We had access to a Hobie catamaran, which for whatever reason had me thinking that it was/is unfortunate that I only have a vague idea about how to sail and no practical experience. Perhaps this weekend will mark the start of my sailing career. It was kind of fun thinking about how the equipment should work and then actually trying to sail with it. Admittedly, things went pretty timidly given that getting blown over or getting stuck in the middle of the lake were possible outcomes.

Aside from the sailing, there was good food (thanks Michelle), a sweet kayak outing with Michelle, Sheena, and Gurbir, and some pretty fun little photo sessions of various lake things, some of which follow.

Sail on the Hobie 17 at the lake.

Leaf floating on Lake Cowichan.

Rocky shoreline at Lake Cowichan.

Leaf on a dock at Lake Cowichan.

Dragonfly on a dock at Lake Cowichan.

Dragonfly and bokeh at Lake Cowichan.

Kris and Gurbir prepping the kayaks for a possible Hobie rescue.

I'm cool, I connected the sail boom.

More probably unnecessary paddling.

Hoping for a bit more wind.

Hobie sail and Lake Cowichan shoreline near dawn.

Early morning boat action on Lake Cowichan.

Sleeping bee on the diving board at Lake Cowichan.

Dock and diving board at Lake Cowichan.

The Hobie Cat awaiting some wind.

Michelle, Gurbir, and Sheena on a late morning paddle at Lake Cowichan.

Sheena with the south shore of Lake Cowichan in the background.

Kris and Michelle.

Kris's ride in the absence of an additional kayak.

Paddlers on a calm morning.

Kris's ride.

Michelle waiting in a nice little bay.

Sheena working on her paddle stroke.

Paddling out to small non-descript islands.

Beautiful day on the lake.

Wednesday Hike – Partridge Hills – Victoria, BC

Kris — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 05:28:33 +0000

Somewhat hot, somewhat humid, but all in all an excellent night for some sort of activity. Since it’s Wednesday, it’s hike night and the destination was once again the Partridge Hills out near Durrance Lake. As with previous outings we started from the Durrance Lake parking lot and did an out and back route to the the highest spot we could find. The views were the same as previous outings, except the skies were a bit clearer, particularly in the direction of Mt. Baker.

GPS Data: 6.4km – 1h37m – Garmin Website | GPX (right click to download)

View from the top of the Partridge Hills towards Mill Bay.

Fair sized hike group for the Wednesday outing.

Partridge Hills grass with the Saanich Inlet in the background.

Grass / wheat at the top of the Partridge Hills.

Particularly good view of Mt. Baker.

Sunset at Mt. Tolmie after the Wednesday hike.

Red sky at sunset viewed from the top of Mt. Tolmie.

Mt. Tolmie sunset.

Yellow skies at sunset viewed from Mt. Tolmie.