Pterodactyl Bombing, Boat Cleaning, and Hiking Elk Falls...
This morning we heard quite a squawking commotion and then a series of bangs and splats. Whatever, I rolled over and went back to bed.
A bit later, I poked my head into the flybridge and discovered that we must have been poo-bombed by a flock of very regular pterodactyls. They managed to hit windows, the hard top, the foredeck, etc. So, we spent the morning cleaning the boat. The joys of boating!
Here we are sitting on the bench at Discovery Harbour Marina awaiting our taxi to Elk Falls.
Hiking the trail to the falls. This is a suspension bridge over the canyon just below the falls. You know I don't like heights, right??? This was no exception.
Here's a view looking back across it. Obviously, we made it to the other side.
And there you have it. Elk Falls and these two photobombers...
The view from about the middle of the span.
Another view from an observation platform, a bit upstream from the suspension bridge.
And for you, Patty, we found this odd plant all along the trail...
If trees could talk. This one must have an interesting story about the wound and recovery. I mean, look at that wild burl-like curve in the trunk.
And a tunnel tree!
This stump must be 12'-14' across. It was not possible to get it all in the photo.
A view from the rocks just above the falls.
Taking the videos...
Supervision during the video filming...
The pond just above the falls.
A view across the upper falls to the suspension bridge over the canyon.
And there you have it. Redds... See, we didn't just make up this weird name...
We dined at Harbour Grill, just above the harbour proper. This is one of our regular stops as we love this place. Scott, the owner is a hoot and he really goes out of his way to take care of us. Unfortunately, he wasn't around tonight...
The flow was very low today at maybe 4 M^3/sec. We saw a photo in the visitor center with this flowing a 480 M^3/sec. Wholly cow, that must have been really something to see.
The fall is downstream of the John Hart Dam and Hydropower station. The flow of water is carefully managed and regulated by the Dam. I will say that the controlling body, BC Hydro, has really struck a seemingly nice balance between the needs of the people and the needs of the environment.
Just a few steps involved. This from about 1/2 way... We will have to climb all of these to get back!
And now, for some Zen Moments...
I know I'm weird. I pick the wine I want to drink first then I will select from the menu the food that I think will work well with it. Backwards from the way most people do it. But then I am a self-avowed wine geek.
This Brunello was excellent. Very bright red-berry fruits, cedar, sandalwood, hints of spice and raw honey. Oakey soft tannins and a long, sweet finish round it out. I gave it a 4.0 out of 5.0.
We started with Oysters Rockefeller. Then a shared house salad (they forgot to include the blueberries, which were important). Then on to dinner. Karen had the fresh Sockeye Salmon, medium rare, in a maple syrup glaze while I had the Filet Mignon, medium-rare, in a peppercorn sauce. And this is where things went south in a hurry.
The kitchen was backed up, so it took 1:45 to get our main courses. By the time we got them, my filet was dry and tough (and medium-well). Karen's salmon was also overcooked and dry. They made it right, which is OK, but it messed-up the flow of dinner. Then it took 27 minutes to deliver dessert, which was very tasty.
Whatever. I ended-up on a diet as I passed on having them remake my meal; I ate none of mine. Karen ate most of hers, but she hates to complain... (except to me).
Disappointing, but I will chock that up to a one-time confluence of unfortunate happenings. We will revisit them next May when we are again on our way north to Alaska.
No sunset photos tonight as we were busy waiting on dining.
Good Night, My Friends.
Geez! There’s not enough wine to fix that meal. 😖 How disappointing!
ReplyDeleteOh, and that odd plant is a horsetail fern. We had them growing in our garden here in Oregon, and they were impossible to get rid of! When they are very young, they resemble asparagus, and you can harvest them and prepare them very much like asparagus. but when they get to the stage where you saw them, they are inedible … woody and dry. They’re really quite invasive and will push out other plants. I am not a fan. -CM
Yup, the inside joke is that in Kansas this was very rare. I stupidly made that comment one time while hiking in California with friends. That horsetail fern was not rare, it was everywhere and as you pointed out, it is aggressive. I find it beautiful, but I've never tied to eat one. It is a truly prehistoric plant from the Paleozoic, about 400M years ago (give or take an epoch or two).
ReplyDelete