UNLIKELY ADVENTURER — FINAL INSTALMENT

2021 - A YEAR FOR ADVENTURE!

PROXIMITY TO WATER PLAYED A BIG ROLE IN ADVENTURES THIS YEAR—OCEAN, RIVERS, LAKES. It wasn’t planned. The reality was that not much was pre-planned this year. My husband, Lotar and I fit our adventures into the last-minute windows of opportunity presented by COVID-19 conditions. We chose to be flexible and take on adventures on short notice.

Walking the sand of Long Beach—marvelling at the sky reflections on receding waves, absorbing sounds of the crashing waves along The Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet, watching the tides come and go along the east coast of Vancouver Island and hearing people play—all fed my soul. My favourite was during the first rain of the fall season while we were camping— hearing the sudden bursts of children laughing as they rode their bicycles through puddles and water sprayed out—real joy!

Wild Pacific Trail

NOTE

The Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet is worth a trip to the west coast. I’d rather go there than Long Beach. The Trail has amazing viewpoints, you can feel the ocean surges through the ground and there is a lot of variety in flora and fauna. Wear comfortable shoes and be prepared for rain. Be sure to check travel times through Sutton Pass as road construction causes significant delays during the day.

Another favourite moment was while tubing down the Cowichan River as my seven-year old great-nephew explained to me why we couldn’t wait for his dad to catch up—a young grinning boy saying “the rapids are just making us go fast,” then giggles. Luckily he was on a tube (wearing a life-jacket) and I was faster in a kayak, with a paddle and could stay close and wave back to his mom and dad. There were 14 family members tubing on the river that day and it was a fun, casual, relaxed time to chat and catch up as we social distanced. A great way to beat the summer heat and the series of gentle rapids on the second half of the float did create excitement. This 2 ½ hour float down the river comes with a bus to pick you up and drive you back to your starting point. We were making memories to take us through the coming winter.

Clams squirting all around

This year, at our first large family gathering in several years, a realization of my age hit—I am now part of the family’s oldest generation. It came as a revelation and is now an adventure. Suddenly I view my expectations and responsibilities differently. I’m learning how to be an ‘older person’ as I define it for myself, not based on stereotypes. There are multiple generations younger—babies, children, teenagers, 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and now 50 year-olds who are not siblings. I’m now happy to sit in the background and enjoy others doing the planning and organizing, living at an unhurried pace and being content in the moment. As a great-aunt I get to teach children how to stomp on the sand and get clams to squirt, advise on what is suitable to beachcomb for and what is not. Here on Vancouver Island beaches are yearround treasures to share. I get to go on adventures to local attractions with whole new generations as their parents zip off on their own activities. I’m open to suggestions for new activities too.

Gold panning certainly wasn’t something on my bucket list. However, when the opportunity came up I got excited. I’m glad I tried it; I had no idea what was involved except a gold pan, water and sand. Add patience, more patience, tweezers, a squeeze bottle, a tiny jar and then more patience. We decided the best word for trying to capture gold flakes was elusive. The gold flakes we found along Salmon River were thin and as soon as we shifted the pan (with water in it) the thin gold flake often disappeared from sight. The trick was to settle into a stable location for balance so that once a bit of gold was seen, the gold flake could be picked up out of the water with tweezers and put into a tiny bottle – along with the drop of water that kept it hooked to the tweezer. It was a very finicky process. My older brother brought the squeeze bottle that allowed him to suck the gold flakes up out of the water. Next time I do this, I plan to take a change of clothes so I can jump into the water if I feel like it. The river pools looked very inviting but we were in someone else’s car and I didn’t want to get it soaked. I think we all went home with rocks in our pockets.

Equipment: pan and shovel

Gold (does not represent quantities found by the author)

For a few months, ongoing vertigo added a new dimension to what might otherwise have been simple activities. I learned the trick was that it was okay to turn my head side to side, but suddenly looking up and down would throw me off balance. Life, however, was too busy over the summer to stop doing things because of it, so, my hiking poles were put to good use. Happily, we used those months to recharge, refresh, hug family and mentally prepare ourselves for not travelling this winter as planned.

The incredible weather meant a bumper crop of garden vegetables were harvested, consumed, and preserved. Thankfully I didn’t plant zucchini this year. Instead, we loved the lemon cucumbers that were especially prolific. Dehydrated cherry tomatoes and our very own raisins will be delicious winter snacks. I was thrilled to beat the racoons to the grapes and didn’t even mind that it took four days for them to fully dry.

Stamp River Provincial Park is now on our repeat list. It’s a one-hour drive to a glorious grove of old maples and evergreens with trails right along the river. Each time we go, I can’t wait to see what is around the next corner of the trail and the changes in the river never disappoint. This easy hike, with a waterfall, fish ladder, steep cliffs, and deep pools is well worth the drive. In the spring we saw chocolate lilies. When the fish were spawning, a chocolate coloured bear strolled along the other side of the river; chocolate often just appeared at our campsite; and always, there was that sound of rushing water we love.

Lotar and I feel such gratitude for all the blessings in our life. We look forward to our retirement even though we have no idea now what that is going to look like, aside from experiencing joy in the moments when we take in the peace and beauty of living here, rising to the challenge of maintaining our property, staying fit and discovering new places here on the island. Bring on the adventures, whatever they may be! I am more than ready for the next chapter of my life—the possibilities are endless.

A PERSONAL ASIDE

Metal and glass flowers created by the author

During the first three waves of COVID-19 I had no desire to work at my home-based art business—I work at a torch and create glass beads and have for 14 years. I was seriously wondering if my creativity had deserted me and did this mean I was finished working with glass. Then it was announced that the wonderful family that hosts Nanoose Art In The Garden and their friends were again holding this special event. It was like a light switch was turned on and immediately I was back at work and quite enjoying myself. This was a true gift for me artistically and I am so very grateful. The show had double its usual attendance and people who attended were so happy to be out and about. As an artist, it was rewarding on so many levels to be part of this. Since then I have created a grouping of metal and glass flowers for a challenging spot in my garden and have more ideas germinating. My focus is shifting. I recently saw a quote that speaks to me “Working hard for something we love is called Passion.” I had the opportunity several times this year to create special items for friends that envisioned a contribution I could create to their personal journeys. I realized I do still have passion for working with glass.