Okay, so it's not exactly breaking news... I was just looking for an excuse to post some new photos I took over the weekend, on my latest hike along mountain trails. This is a new park I hadn't visited before, and didn't know what to expect. I didn't expect it to be so big... 16 km I walked, and I only managed to see half of it.
It was all as quiet as it looks, usually with only your own thoughts to keep you company.
And, the occasional passerby, like this little feathered fellow. (Click to enlarge, to see some of his colorful plumage)I had a good book to keep me company along my journey: "The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success", by Rodney Stark. This is one of the most stimulating books I've read in a long while, and I have a feeling it will take me a long while to finish... I keep stopping and thinking about what I've read, after virtually every page, so far. There's so much information in here that I never knew before. I spend more time thinking about it than reading it, which makes it a good fit for hiking.
I highly recommend it, if you're a history buff looking for some fascinating summer reading..!
9 comments:
Is that Rice Lake? And the lookout on the Seymour Valley?
Geez, you sure know your parks..!
Yes, to both guesses. It's sure beautiful up there, isn't it?
I went up the Seymour on my bike two weeks ago. There were a ton of foxgloves in full glory in the grass below the lookout. And salmon berries, yumm.
It's a great places for a bike ride, especially if you come up from Riverside Dr because there is some spectacular canyon scenery down where the trail starts from the end of the road. I like to go up to the hatchery and see the old growth forest there; but it's a long walk on paved road for the pedestrian since the fishermen's trail only goes halfway up.
One thought that I've had during my own expiditions into the wild
( ok, it's an abandoned rock quarry )has been the adaptivity of nature to mankind.
I've made the observation that animals, like birds and their ilk, and plants, are able to interact with man-made structures, like powerlines, quite easily. They can incorporate it into their environment.
Extending that thought then, isn't it kind of arrogant of us to assume that our intrusions into nature are nothing but damaging to it?
To an extent, of course.
But I digress.
What a view. I'll try and upload a few pics and videos of my own from around Vancouver Island.
I'd like to see your photos, Walker; lots of people talk about Vancouver scenery; but the Cowichan Valley is even greater.
I spent a good deal of time trying to identify your feathered friend, and am pretty sure it's a Steller's Jay, which is the provincial bird of BC. My mom got me hooked on birdwatching, and it's fun, but often frustrating. Even now I'm not 100-percent sure I ID'ed that bird properly!
Beautiful photos ... and, I'm sure, even more beautiful in person.
Eowyn, I think you're right about the bird, they are relatively common up in the mountains here.
I'd like the record to show that I don't post pictures of Vancouver, but rather, the Greater Vancouver Regional District. [he says in his best snobbish voice]
(I've never particularly liked Vancouver, I'm just in love with the surroundings.)
Walker, I'm looking forward to seeing your photos as well; I'm not as well-traveled as Dag and Truepeers, so I've not seen much of Vancouver Island, outside of Victoria anyway.
Between the two of us, we'll make BC a tourist magnet yet..!
It might be a little while before I can upload those pictures, unfortunately.
I've loaned my camera to a frien of mine, so I kind of have to wait until she's done with it.
Ah well.
It'll be glorious when it actually happens :)
My compliments! Well-written! I need to write my paper soon, so this information must be very useful, I suppose! This is a fascinating summer read!
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