Be Prepared for the Unexpected

This was the sign that I encountered about 500km into my christmas vacation road trip. Be prepared for the UNEXPECTED. Josh had decided that it was a good idea to go to the furthest possible point of Vancouver Island before leaving it forever, and here we were driving 35km/h down a rocky, pot-holed snowy logging road, heading towards Holberg. Two cracks in the windshield from flying rocks (one more to come), 60km - two hours - to go, and I was a nervous wreck. This sign did not help.

Holberg, the most northwesterly town on the island, is a sleepy ex-logging town that doesn't get much traffic. When Josh called the only hotel he could find listed on the internet, he asked "is this the Holberg Motel?" "it used to be" said the voice on the other end. But with the promise of a room and private fireworks show, all dreams of flying back to Ontario for the annual Carlson New Year's Bash were put to rest, and we hit the road.

The fireworks were a bust, but the hike to the coast the next day made the treacherous driving worth it. Seeing an untouched BC forest in person is nothing like what I have seen in pictures. You can't capture the feeling of being so small beside majestic trees and endless ocean on a camera. But what the hell, I'm going to show you anyways.

 Now that's determination. The middle tree is suspended in the air and its roots wrap around the bases of the trees next to it. Southern Ontario trees just don't have this kind of zest for life.

 Beach at the coast. You can't see it here but the waves were massive...they were coming from Japan after all.

 Where's Waldo shot. Classic.

 On the way home we helped ourselves to the logging machinery. The keys were literally still in the ignition. Josh chickened out of driving it, and has regretted that decision ever since.

This is a good 'full circle' shot. For most of september I picked cones from fir trees that were separated into seeds, sent to a greenhouse and planted. Once the seedlings are a year old they are planted in clearcuts like this one. 60 years later, they will be cut down again. 

 There were tree 'farms' in all stages of growth along the 90km of logging road. So next time you wipe your bum, you'll know where that paper came from. The bike is just there for artistic purposes.

 Sea Lions. These big guys were hanging out on a barge off the coast of Courtenay.

You have to look closely for this one. The beige spots are Elk bums. I was 10 seconds too late with my camera, but I swear there was a family of 6 hanging out on the side of the highway. They retreated just as we pulled up.