Bowser is becoming more and more of a cuddlebug the more he matures. I’m not complaining – I much prefer this to when he was a velociraptor wild fanged beast puppy. He only had 2 modes then – off and bitey. Remember the Thunderdome Days? Oh boy, I do!
We have apparently entered a new era.
We hope you get some scritches this weekend too.
Rock on,
The WB
My daughter complained that there was not enough Bowser on last week’s post. Probably some of you feel the same way. She sent me many cute photos to use. Here are some of the best!
You’re welcome.
Rock on,
The WB
One of life’s great pleasures is sharing food with good friends. This fall, fellow (once) blogger Erica/Erika and her long-time friend (now mine also) Eduarda met me in Nanaimo for some fun and frolic. We ended up at Penny’s Palapa – one of my favourite dockside restaurants – and Erica generously sent me some photos. Penny’s closes at the end of September and we made it there just before season’s end.
Of course, I can’t finish this post without a shot of a recent lunch out with Donna, at Heritage Indian Cuisine in Nanaimo. Donna wasn’t feeling too hungry so she decided to order the Indian breakfast, thinking it sounded like less food. Uh huh.
No matter where we go or what we order, eating out with friends is guaranteed to be a good time!
So what’s on your plate this month? My co-host Donna is on a social media break right now, so it’s just me this time. And no link-up because I don’t do that. But you can certainly share in the Comments, if you like! And I’d love to hear from you.
Rock on,
The WB
What with all the salmon activity happening down at the creek, it’s no surprise that the bears want in on the action. (Why should the eagles, crows and ravens have all the fun?!) What was surprising was that I never saw a bear at the creek – in fact, I’ve never seen a bear on the trail, period. Up until a week or so ago, that is! And he/she was far from the creek, when I came to a “crossroad” and saw him. (Luckily Bowser was nosing in the brush on the other side of the trail, and didn’t notice the bear.)
Once I realized he was walking away from us, I got out my phone camera to take a few shots (like any good blogger would 😉).
Then we headed on our shaken but merry way, in another direction. Of course (!!!), I had forgotten my bear bell and bear horn for that walk, so I had no choice but to make up a song to sing, to warn that bear or any others of our presence! 😉 🎶
Rock on,
The WB
The previous posts can be found here: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
Dear Reader, if you feel that is has taken an inordinate amount of time to to get all of my thoughts down regarding my visit to Outer Shores Lodge, I’m with you! I have been sifting through hundreds of photos and so many incredible memories and struggling to figure out how to transfer them to Ye Olde Blogge such that a reader who has never been to this extraordinary place will feel the magic and, well…I am not that talented, I fear. And that has kept me pondering instead of writing. However, it is past time to put this one to bed so here is the final post about my 2024 stay at Outer Shores Lodge, imperfect though it will invariably be. So here are the last few things I want to write about.
The Meals
Five star dining at every turn! Chef Jeanne Rankin, ably assisted by fellow staffers Sara and Abi stunned me at each meal – first with the beautifully set table, and then with the unbelievably delicious food and free-flowing wine. This is not what I had previously experienced from other lodges I have been to. Yes, I was expecting good, tasty food but not of this calibre! Out. Of. This. World.
Our Last Evening and Wrap Up
The sun came out on our last afternoon and everyone naturally migrated to the front deck to bask there after the day’s activities.
Scott, Jeanne, Sara and Abi – I can’t thank you enough for the magic that you do and I can only hope to experience it again next year.
To my fellow guests in this special moment in time – thank you for your open-heartedness, warm support, and all of the exhilarating, stimulating conversations I was privileged to be a part of. Extra special thanks to Sara and Jon, for being so giving of their vast knowledge and experience of the “Stars and Sea Stars”!
Rock on,
The WB
The whole family went down to the creek to watch for salmon one day. There had been even more rain and the creek was flowing quite fast. We did see some salmon (jumping, even) but the waters were too rough to get good video of them. Daddy walked across part of the creek to get to another section and You-Know-Who HAD to run swim after him. My daughter and I stood on the shore looking on in amazement at what this little dog was doing. Luckily I got over the shock and got my camera out to capture the journey back to us.
May you always make to the other side.
Rock on,
The WB
Welcome to Part Three of this series about my recent visit to Bamfield, to stay at Outer Shores Lodge. You can find Part One here, and Part Two here.
While our days were spent in and on the water, the clear nights were for observing the skies while listening to Sara and Jon talk about the universe and point out what we were seeing. Fascinating stuff!
Another option for guests at Outer Shores was a tour of the local waters, hosted by Scott. I was lucky enough to get to experience 2 of these rides! During our tours, Scott shared his knowledge of the area including showing us ancient village sites, and of course the local flora and fauna. Including whales! Humpback whales were spotted on every boat ride!
Another activity I really enjoyed was exploring West Bamfield. Scott took me on a walk to Brady’s Beach the first day there and I enjoyed it so much I went back on my own later.
I also visited the West Coast Magic Park.
Including a phone of the wind. I had never heard of this before, but I can see how this would provide an outlet for people experiencing grief and loss.
And the tiniest artist’s studio I have ever seen.
I also enjoyed walks along the boardwalk along on the east side of West Bamfield, facing the inlet.
Whew! This post turned out to be quite a long one, and if you made it this far I hope you enjoyed the visual tour of West Bamfield and surrounding waters.
Stayed tuned for Part Four, the Wrap Up!
Rock on,
The WB
Now that Bowser has discovered the creek can contain these interesting creatures, he’s on a mission to find more.
I managed to get a close-up on the salmon without interference from You-Know-Who. My son-in-law tells me these are pink salmon.
Sometimes he roams a bit too far into the creek (heading for the deeper portions), than I’d like!
But he always manages to make it back to shore…uh…so far!
We hope you always manage to come back from your adventures too.
Rock on,
The WB
The previous Autumn, I had been told by someone I met on the trail that the Haslam Creek is part of the annual fall salmon run here on the island. I had found that hard to believe, standing in the inch of water that made up a large part of the creek that I visit on a daily basis. How could any salmon navigate these shallow waters to the spawning grounds that they were born in?
Cue the recent atmospheric river event that dumped tons of water on the island, and the flood of fresh water flowing in the mouths of these waterways also cueing the salmon waiting in the ocean bays to start heading “home”, to spawn and die.
Now our shallow little creek is running fast with feet of water – not inches, and previously dry ancillary streams are flowing again.
Bowser took off like a shot to investigate one of these little streams and I quickly found out why. I was astonished to see a dorsal fin and tail wiggling down this tiny flow (and so was Bowser!).
We followed the fish further up the stream so I could get a closer look:
Despite Bowser proving very adept at chasing and chewing and shaking the living daylights out of his toys, he doesn’t quite know what to do with a living creature. According to my experience with previous dogs, a dog needs to witness a kill in order to know “the next step”. Usually this is learned from their mother or other dogs. They have the instinct to chase but need to witness a kill in order to finish the job. At least that is how it’s worked with the other schnauzers I have had in my life. My Maxx did not know what to do with a groundhog until he saw my parents’ dog grab one and shake it to death. Then something clicked for him and no groundhogs were safe on our property after that! My Lucy never saw a kill and thus she never killed anything. Chased everything but never killed. Even when a squirrel (her nemesis!) fell out of a tree and landed right in front of her nose and just laid there, stunned.
Or maybe Bowser is just too well-fed 😉. Anyways, I’m happy to keep him ignorant of that final step in chasing down prey.
Rock on,
The WB
See Part One, here.
Shortly after arriving at Outer Shores Lodge, I asked Scott if there was an agenda or schedule that would be followed each day and he answered that each morning at breakfast he would come up with a list and time for activities based on the day’s weather, tides and people’s interests. We would be free to join in or do our own thing. A show of hands was needed for certain activities that were limited by gear availability or space and those were repeated throughout the day so all 13 of us could partake if we wanted (e.g. kayaking, boat outings). I really appreciated the easy-breezy and casual-ness of it all! It immediately relaxed me.
Each day went something like this:
Shore Walk – the first morning Scott took us on a low-tide walk right outside the lodge, showing us the natural wonders at our feet and explaining the tidal eco-system in funny and immediately graspable ways.
Kayaking – The Lodge has 6 kayaks for guest use. A guide must accompany you if you want to leave the inlet (insurance requirement); otherwise you can take them when you like and explore the inlet on your own.
Snorkelling – the Lodge provides a full range of gear for snorkelers who didn’t bring their own. All 13 of us geared up and went into the water at the same time – from the youngest among us up to the octogenarians!
As this post is getting a bit long, I will stop here. To be continued in the next: Night skies, boat tours, hiking etc.!
Rock on,
The WB
