Water Recedes

Salmon in Danger

Bus stop furniture

Tue Nov 23rd

As we have driven along the Coast we've been amused by the variety of cast-off chairs that are gifted to bus stops along the highways.  I've shared the odd picture before.  These Adirondack chairs have clearly seen better days but have been recycled to the bus stop at Langdale.  Quirky, rather than transport utilitarian.

The floodwater that hit much of the Fraser Valley from Merritt in the north to Abbotsford nearer to the US border has started to recede.  BC has mobilized to clean, dry, repair and rebuild - houses, roads and railways affected by the landslides and flooding.  

There is some interesting footage from a helicopter pilot who flew in supplies to a flood isolated camp, which shows some of the devastation that took place.  A second video he did a few days later shows the water receding.  Some of the bridges that have been washed out are not expected to be back in service until the new year.  Military personnel have been brought in to the province from Ontario to help with the clean up.  With a couple of the highways now open, food stocks in the worst hit areas are getting back to normal, drivers are still limited to 30L of gas at the filling station; except Fred of course, who is still chuckling.  She was a bit concerned in last week's power cut though.

Back near Gibsons, Fred was walking back from Hopkins Landing the other morning and a truck parked out on the Langdale Creek bridge turned out to be the Stream Keeper (as well as a member of the local Search and Rescue).  He was checking the condition of Langdale Creek (video below) who's usual babble of water is a currently a raging torrent.

The big concern now, he explained, is the impact of the heavy rain and floods on the various salmon species.  It's twofold.  The first is that the salmon that have reached their spawning ground my have had all the fertilized eggs washed away by the swollen creeks.  

The second is that salmon species that return to spawn in later fall may not reach their spawning ground because they cannot find the creeks (one was seen swimming up a flooded road) or can't make it against the strength of the creek's flow.   CBC covered the story  a few days ago.  Fewer spawning salmon will mean fewer returnees in future salmon runs and less food for bears, who use the runs to stock up on fat before winter hibernation.  Not all the bears have headed off to hibernation.  Once of the food bins was trashed before it was collected on Smith Road this morning.

Langdale looking towards the mainland

Saturday I popped over to Vancouver on the 0840 ferry to pick up ski gear and other bits and pieces, plus the motor for my lathe that the repair shop had got going. 

It was as stunning morning and the views from the ferry inspiring.  I am quite a fan of the BC Ferries services we've used.  They operate pretty efficiently, provide good service and the staff are all quite friendly.  Well all bar one based at Comox, who missed the charm school part of her induction !   

It is an easy journey.  We're two minutes away from the Langdale ferry terminal and it's a 40 minute crossing.

By 0945, I was in the Grouse Mountain car park to pick up my lathe motor from Nick who had gathered it up from the repair shop a couple of days earlier.  

Sea to Sky Highway mountains

He had just finished the first of 4 runs on the BCMC.  A mountain climb of just over 800m, each 'run' just over 3km.  He was keen I should try it.  Unfortunately I'd not taken my running gear.  He did it twice more on Sunday!  It's on Strava for those interested. There was snow on the top and the mountain already open for skiing!

From Grouse I headed over to the ski shop in Kitsilano, across the Lion's Gate Bridge.  The architecture of the bridge, the setting around Stanley Park and the harbour and ships moored in the Burrard Inlet is an awesome sight.   From there off to Canadian Tire (Canada's B&Q/Halfords/hunting shop/outdoor sports shop combined) over on Cowie St, then dropping a parcel of Christmas Cards off at DHL for posting in the UK (much cheaper) and it was back to the ferry.  I rather like driving around Vancouver.

 

The mountains and islands around West Howe Sound mean the waters are very sheltered and we've not had a bumpy ride on any of our crossings.  

Vancouver's English Bay barge  - still not re-floated

The same cannot be said for the route across from S Vancouver (Tsawwassen) to Victoria or Nanaimo and the Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo across the Georgia Straits (Salish Sea).  They can have ferries cancelled in rough weather.  The crossing are in open water.

The barge on English Bay beach near Burrard Bridge remains a visitor attraction.  Last Thursday's attempt to float it off failed and they try again later in the week when higher tides return.  The barges are deceptively large and cary about 3,000 short-tons of wood chips or sawdust to the pulp mills.  This one had been empty at the time it was stranded in strong winds.

Full, they look like the one on the right.  They regularly pass us out on West Howe Sound.

  

Sea to Sky Highway mountains

For the self homebuilders amongst you my eye was caught by a video on Youtube from a guy who is building his own log cabin.  It won't win any awards for production quality, screen-play (there's none) or narration which is virtually non-existent.  It is though oddly compulsive and I watched the series through to the end.  For those who like to watch paint drying, it's here!

Bowen Island with Sea to Sky backdrop 

My past employer still manages to catch my attention for all the wrong reasons. 

Yesterday their coverage of the red SUV that tragically ploughed in to a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Winsconsin was surrounded by adverts for a red SUV, a Nissan Pathfinder.  Unfortunately we have to suffer the ads as we're outside the UK.  Not sure who should be more embarrassed, the BBC or Nissan.  What an absolutely awful situation for those watching, injured or had family killed.   

I suspect the algorithm that drops adverts in around the copy needs some work!

While on the subject of marketing and advertising, we had an exciting promotion through from Land Rover Vancouver the other day, inviting us to a Pre-Order Event.  Oh dear!