Expedition Canada

Bears don't just poop in the woods!  Sun Aug 29th Paddle boarder on Hopkins Landing walk Mon Aug 30th It was a still start to Sunday and a couple of paddle boarders were out on the water off Hopkins Landing beach. One with a dog, one without.  It was quite a serene setting. A Great Blue Heron was perched on Hopkins Landing Wharf and was silhouetted against the distant horizon with a sparkle of sun on water. Heron on Hopkins Landing Wharf Later in the day we went down to Grantham's beach, by which time the wind and waves had got up.  Not quite so ideal for paddle boarding.  Great for the kitesurfing foil-board riders and sailing boats. Not like the electric powered ones that go up and down the Thames and irritate Ditton Island residents!  Quite impressive skill. Entertained by the flying foil kitesurfer, Jack and I decided it was time for a quick paddle.  It was choppy and Jack was not as relaxed as usual.  But he stuck with it.  We landed 20 minut...

Clouds Disperse Fri Aug 27th  Sat Aug 28th It was a magical sunrise Saturday morning over Hopkins Landing Wharf.    An early start as we were headed to Vancouver to check out EVs.    The ribbon of cloud against the distant mainland mountains highlighted the scale of the geography and beauty of the surroundings. It was a different scene to yesterday, with the the cloud clearing as the day went on. Cloaked in thick cloud, the peaks that had been hidden over the last few days started to emerge. The small hollow of snow remains, but is getting much smaller. Though it has remained long beyond my predictions it cannot be around for long. If Friday was a local day, Saturday took us in to Vancouver to check our EV's. Unlike the UK, the main dealers congregate on auto-malls. We were headed to the one in North Vancouver, just fifteen minutes from the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal. After a few test drives we settled on a Nissan Leaf, delivery early next week.  It ...

Super-Visas Approved  Lone Heron on a diving platform Hopkins Landing beach Thu Aug 26th BREAKING NEWS Having written all about bear encounters and rain, our lovely immigration advisor rang early afternoon to say out Super-visas had been approved.  We're over the moon. It means we can now stay for 10 years in 2 year chunks, longer initially if our visitor extension gets approved.  Should be enough time to get residency sorted!  Earlier in the day ..... Having complained in yesterday's blog about the risk of bears being attracted by people not taking their green food bins in at night, a large male black bear interrupted my dog walk home this morning.  One hundred yards from home he ambled down the entrance drive from one of the neighbouring properties and disappeared in the bend in the road.   Dilemma, he's between me and the house, proceed or 'phone a Fred'.  As it was a local walk I had no bear spray or bangers.  I opted for the ph...

Batteries not Included Tue Aug 24th  One of the many barges taking wood chips to Port Mellon  Wed Aug 25th Having checked out the Chevy Bolt Electric Vehicle (EV) on Sunday we arranged to take a closer look on Tuesday.  The red EUV (slightly larger than the EV) remained unsold on the forecourt.  We learnt that it, and all other Bolts were going to remain unsold due to a Chevrolet recall and sales ban.  They were happy to take a deposit on it, but we were not able to do a test drive. Irritated (understatement) we'd driven down to Sechelt when the salesman knew it could not be sold and then tried to sell something else was not a great dealership strategy.  It was particularly frustrating as we wanted to buy an EV from a Coast based dealership, rather than have to go back to Vancouver for servicing. GM are the only EV supplier on the Coast.  About ten of GM's earlier models have caught fire because of a battery fault, none of the...

Through Step One Hopkins Landing dock - Sunday morning Sun Aug 22nd Mon Aug 23rd Looking from afar you may wonder about the complexity or security of our presence in Canada.  In some ways it's both though we are taking a three step approach to a continued stay.  It also varies by age and if you are coming to study, work or just visit. Strand one - We arrived on British Passports for a stay of six months and entry to Canada as part of their programme of 'reuniting families' during the pandemic.   It meant an immigration on arrival not just a passport check and stamp. I suspect some friends thought we were mad to do this at the height of the Pandemic - and probably were, but nothing ventured.......   Nick, as a Permanent Resident, enabled us to meet the 'reuniting families criteria' was sufficient to get us in.  Since then he has become a Canadian Citizen.   We are allowed to remain for six months, as all British Passport holders can ...

Water Restrictions Tightened Hopkins Landing Beach Fri Aug 20 Sat Aug 21 Saturday kicked off with the overcast skies of the day before, rain was forecast.   It did not disappoint.  By lunchtime it was falling out of the sky.  Reports suggest it did provide some help to the firefighters in the interior as the day went on, but wildfires still rage. I've been curious to see the rain around the house with the chain 'downpipes' on the deck instead of conventional pipes. It was quite mesmerizing to watch the water tumble down the chain links.   The week it rained was the same week water restrictions were tightened across most of the Sunshine Coast, which has moved to level four, the highest level.  This means there is a ban on " the use of tap water for things like garden hoses, sprinklers, and irrigation. It also cannot be used for pools, hot tubs, and garden fountains".   It has also hit hobby farmers, though after lobbying they have been given ...

Summer Over? Wed Aug 18th Dark O' Clock Start for Vancouver Thu Aug 19th To suggest life has settled in to a routine might imply the sense of adventure is waining, which is not the case. We do feel settled in Gibsons.  It has a strong sense of community and a good base for exploring the Coast as well as 'mainland' BC.  I say mainland, but the Coast is actually part of mainland BC, but you can only get to it by boat, or plane.  Too many mountains in between. The search has started for a second car as Fred is out playing tennis 3-4 times a week, usually in Sechelt, it means I'm half a day without transport each time.  Last patch of snow I predicted a few weeks ago that the last patches of snow on the distant mountains would be gone in a few days.  I was wrong.  As the peaks emerged from the cloak of cloud that followed rain at the beginning of the week, a small patch still exists.  For how much longer remains to be seen. Wednesday was a local day, apart ...

Cooler and Quieter Hopkins landing beach and mainland mountains Mon Aug 16th Tues Aug 17th Temperatures have dropped 10c - 15c since the arrival of rain on Monday and Tuesday.  Much needed, long overdue and still not enough. After reaching 33c over the weekend we have struggled to get to 20c.  The rain didn't  reach the interior of BC in any quantity and was of no help to the wildfire fighters, struggling with   266 fires , up 10 in the two days. It was quite murky towards the end of the weekend, largely blamed on wildfire smoke.  The sun was a deep red morning and evening as it shone through the low level haze.  There was no obvious hint of smoke in the air. The end of the week is forecast to be sunnier, before rain returns at  the weekend. We hope the rain reaches the interior. Wildfire Map Our six month visitor stamps in the passport expire 3rd October. We have now formally applied for an extension for a further year, which has been organised b...

Jack Sets Sail Sat Aug 14th Hopkins Landing in the morning haze Sun Aug 15th With Nick and Lizzie here it was going to be a busy weekend!   Hikes to waterless waterfalls, paddleboarding on the Sechelt Inlet, more hikes and swimming - when I fell off the board.   Saturday morning, while Lizzie ran to the top of Elphinstone Mountain (16k and 1200m elevation), the rest of us wandered up to Dakota Falls on Dakota Creek.  It was the last day of the heatwave and around 30c, though we were in the shade of the forest some of the time it was still hot!  As we neared the Falls we came across  a  huge Douglas Fir.  Nick called it a 'mother tree'. You may remember a documentary on UK tv Calculated circumference of 7.5m about how larger trees support the growth of younger ones through a subsoil connection of roots that share carbon and nitrogen to aid younger tree growth. Much of the work was done by Dr Simard, of the University of British Columbia (UBC)...