Walk # 21 January 5th 2012 Cedar Hill Golf Course
Aren't you sorry you missed this first walking group event of the year? Well...don't feel so bad. Three of us eager walkers showed up even though it was pouring rain. I guess the rest of the people that had indicated that they were coming had more common sense. Anyway; Lois, Larry and I (Terry) waited until about 11:15am and then decided to head into the clubhouse for a bite of lunch. We soon found that the doors were locked tight and a sign on the door said that the clubhouse was closed until January 10th. Larry suggested that we go to the Fifth Street Bar and Grill for lunch. The three of us had a nice lunch and caught up on what had been happening over Christmas. No walking was done, too darn wet!
There are no photos to view either.
There are no photos to view either.
Walk #21 Second Try January 11th 2012 Mt. Douglas Park
The day was almost totally clear and sunny, but the air was cold, about 5 degrees C. Nevertheless there were 11 walkers ready to head out into the trails shortly after the 11am start. We headed into the park and set a nice pace traveling down towards the southern end of the park, then we headed towards the Blenkinsop road side of the park. We took a side trip to see the entrance of the old mine and then headed back towards Cedar Hill road, where we took a trail back to our starting point at Harvest lane. The group decided to go to the Smuggler's Cove Pub in Cadboro bay for lunch and a pint.
View Claudia's photos.
To see the video about the old mine go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ca2BRuuCWU&NR=1
View Claudia's photos.
To see the video about the old mine go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ca2BRuuCWU&NR=1
Walk #22 February 1st 2012 Gorge History Tour #1 Heritage Walking Tour
Finally another clear and sunny day! A turnout of 12 persons for this walk. The cold wind made us bundle up to walk through several streets north of the Gorge Inlet where we learned about 11 historic homes, the people that built them, and the history of the area. We started and finished at the historic Craigflower school and Archaeological site. Afterwards we had a nice lunch at the 4 Mile Roadhouse Pub a few blocks away. Lois was able to join us for the lunch.
View Claudia's photos.
View Claudia's photos.
Walk # 23 February 8th 2012 Colwood Area Galloping Goose Trail
It started to rain just as we started off at the Island Highway end of this section of the trail, but the drizzle didn't dampen our spirits. Most of the way along the 2.5 km of trail that we walked the rain stayed away, I guess that the umbrellas and rain gear helped ward off any downpours. Along the trail we crossed several roads, passed over a couple of bridges and viewed lots of rural properties and new developments. The ladders beside or against the fruit trees really were at the angles displayed. Definately a nice trail to walk at any time of the year. Eight of us turned out for this walk, despite the cloudy and uncertain weather. There is a tunnel/underpass near the Atkins road end of the trail that we stopped to take a look at. The murals in the tunnel were quite vivid and impressive. We enjoyed a nice lunch at the Six Mile Pub after this walk. Inside the pub Claudia took lots of photos of objects of interest. The ceramic piggies were part of a larger collection on display, many donated by patrons. The story as recounted by a "regular" old timer: The largest piggy (not in the photo) was originally bought by a Chinaman who insisted that it always had to face in the same direction. That was taken as a challenge by some, who would sneak over and turn it the other way whenever they got a chance. Eventually, he'd had enough, and glued the feet of the pig to the shelf. So a new challenge was to find other, better if not bigger, piggies for the collection. Apparently piggies are now harder to find at thrift stores and swap meets! Suzanne likes spiral staircases so Claudia tried to get some artistic shots, but was warned to not climb on it for liability reasons, so some of the photos were illicitly obtained!
To learn some more history about the pub you might go to this link that has some of the history of the pub. http://sixmilepub.com/history/
To remember the murder of Kimberly Proctor whose body was dumped under the bridge we crossed, you can go tho this link. http://www.vancouverite.com/2010/03/23/womans-body-was-burned-in-brutal-langford-murder/
View Claudia's photos.
To learn some more history about the pub you might go to this link that has some of the history of the pub. http://sixmilepub.com/history/
To remember the murder of Kimberly Proctor whose body was dumped under the bridge we crossed, you can go tho this link. http://www.vancouverite.com/2010/03/23/womans-body-was-burned-in-brutal-langford-murder/
View Claudia's photos.
Walk #24 February 15th Law and Disorder in Downtown Victoria
A history of Victoria's law and Disorder was the topic of this walking tour of downtown Victoria. We walked from the inner harbour to city hall and learned about notorious people and places in our city's past. The walk started out under a cloudy sky, but near the end of the walk the sun came out and the clouds disappeared. We walked all the way back to the Bard and Banker pub for a nice lunch. A few of the notable buildings we saw were the Union Club celebrating 100 years of history this year, The Pantages Theatre, (McPherson) built in 1914, and several hotels built in the mid to late 1800's. The Irish Times pub, was once the Bank Of Montreal and was designed by Francis Mawson Rattenbury. The beautiful statue of the young girl was seen in a window in Trounce Alley. We were intrigued by the rather drafty Men's facility near the corner of Government and Pandora. These walks give us a chance to see many architectural details that we otherwise don't notice.
View Claudia's photos.
View Claudia's photos.
Walk #25 February 22nd Tillicum Mall Area Colquitz River Trail
A bright sunny day with moderate wind gusts greeted the walkers this day as we started at the corner of the Tillicum Mall parking lot and walked under the Island Highway and onto the Colquitz River Trail. We walked all the way to Dewdney Flats and turned around and walked the same way back. The water in the river was high and quite muddy after all the rains. Only a few Mallard ducks were seen in the river. The many little "Pebble Mosaics" that we noticed were an art project of the Colquitz Middle School students. A celebration called RiverSong was held in 2009 to dedicate the little mosaics, and celebrate BC Rivers day. John suggested that maybe one of these times we might do a clean-up as one of our walks. As April 25th is just a couple of days after Earth Day, maybe that would be a good time for us to "Pay Back" the area for all of our nice outings by doing a clean-up walk. Perhaps a beach walk along Island View Beach? We dropped into the Moon Under Water Brewpub for a nice lunch after the walk. Ron, one of the brewers gave us a quick tour of the brewery after our meal. For your information the walking group has walked a total of 87.4 kilometers or 54.31 miles in the 25 outings that we have done since July 19th 2011.
View Claudia's photos.
View Claudia's photos.
Walk #26 February 29th Gorge Park and area
I was told.."Too little rain to bother with an umbrella, so leave it in the car!" We started off in a few showers and walked up to the start of the Japanese Gardens that Esquimalt has been restoring over the past year or so. Pretty soon the sun came out and some blue sky started to appear. There were men working on the gardens as we admired the new ponds, streams, bridges and waterfalls. It's going to be lovely in a couple of months when all the flowers are in bloom. We then headed down to the Gorge water and walked along to the end of the park where the newly reclaimed Gorge Creek enters the main waters. Crossing the bridge we headed up to Craigflower Road and walked back to the Tillicum intersection. Proceeding on to Arcadia Street we started to find the historic houses that were included on this tour as we threaded our way down to Selkirk, Uganda and McNaughton before going back to the Gorge Point Pub for a tasty and very affordable lunch. Dale was visiting from Parksville and his friend Pat came along too. Marion's husband Dave joined us for lunch.
View Claudia's photos.
View Claudia's photos.