Category Archives: North America

Inside Passage Ferry Trip to Visit Some of the Lighthouses

September 27, 2013Advertisement, Anti-Automation, Automation, British Columbia, Canada, Environment, Ferries, First Nations, Fisheries and Oceans, Fishing, Information, Lighthouses, Maps, Photos, Recreation, Tourism, Travel, WildlifeBC, BC Ferries, Boat Bluff, ferries, Inside Passage, lighthouse, litehouse, Scarlett Point, tourism, tripretlkpr

The idea for this story came from an article in the Vancouver Sun newspaper. I asked for permission to reprint it here for all to see, and they said I would have to pay them. This was an article about the Inside Passage ferry trip with mention of a couple of lighthouses – very few actually. I am not even going to mention the title of the story – how can they turn down free advertising. 😉

When you visit Canada do you plan on seeing some lighthouses? We have twenty-seven (27) manned lighthouses on the west coast of British Columbia (BC); Canada. There are other unmanned lighthouses that are available for viewing also. You can see some of them if you wish with the BC Ferries, plus enjoy wonderful trips through BC waters.

The Inside Passage

Let us start with the longest trip first. How about fifteen (15) hours on a luxurious ferry in daylight so that you can make many photos. Fifteen hours may seem like a long time, but there is so much to see that time flies by, especially if the weather is fine.

There are two ferries on the route (2013) – the Northern Expedition and the Northern Adventure. You can actually follow them live on this website.

Continue reading Inside Passage Ferry Trip to Visit Some of the Lighthouses →

Then You’ve Got to Clean Them!

September 25, 2013Adult Memories, British Columbia, Canada, First Nations, Fishing, Hobbies, Lighthouses, Photos, Recipes, Recreationcleaning, cooking, filet, filleting, fish, fishing, lighthouse, recipes, salmon, smokingretlkpr

Harvey & 47lb Spring — – photo courtesy of my friend Harvey Humchitt

Nice fish eh? This one is a forty-seven (47) pound (21.3 kg) Spring Salmon.

Continue reading Then You’ve Got to Clean Them! →

Tidelines and Ocean Currents

September 19, 2013Adult Memories, Beachcombing, British Columbia, Canada, Environment, Fishing, Incidents, Lighthouses, Recreation, Tourism, Travel, Tsunami, Visitorsaccidents, fishing, lighthouse, litehouse, oceans, rivers, Skeena River, Terrace, tide lines, tidelinesretlkpr

Tidelines – it is spelled both ways but I prefer the one-word form.

A tideline, according to Wikipedia,

refers to where two currents in the ocean converge (or meet). Driftwood, floating seaweed, foam, and other floating debris may accumulate, forming sinuous lines called tidelines.

The topic of this article came about after I saw the photo above.The photo actually shows two oceans meeting, but is similar to what happens with the tides on the ocean further south, especially with reference to the Pacific Ocean on the Canadian British Columbia (BC) coast where the tides change (from high to low and back again) twice a day – sometimes rising and falling by as much as seven (7) meters (22 feet)! Continue reading Tidelines and Ocean Currents →

Mise Tales Twenty-Six

September 17, 2013Adult Memories, Anti-Automation, Art, Beachcombing, Books, Books, Books, British Columbia, Canada, Construction, Environment, First Nations, Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, History, Information, Keepers, Lighthouses, Recreation, Souvenirs, Tourism, Travel, Wildlifebeach stones, book, Great Bear Sea, lighthouse, litehouse, Pt. Atkinson, review, World Heritage Siteretlkpr

For an update on what a Mise Tale is then please see Mise Tales One.

August 26, 2013 Vancouver Sun

Keeping the light on at Point Atkinson

When the Point Atkinson lighthouse was built 130 years ago, it was designed to protect shippers in the Strait of Georgia. Now the lighthouse itself is in need of a benefactor. . . . more

[private] Keeping the light on at Point Atkinson

VANCOUVER SUN AUGUST 26, 2013

The Point Atkinson Lighthouse at Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver stands guard at the mouth of Burrard Inlet May 11, 2004.

Photograph by: RIC ERNST , PNG

When the Point Atkinson lighthouse was built 130 years ago, it was designed to protect shippers in the Strait of Georgia. Now the lighthouse itself is in need of a benefactor.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the District of West Vancouver are discussing ways to put the lighthouse into the hands of the community after Point Atkinson — along with 18 other B.C. lighthouses — was deemed “surplus” to the federal government’s needs three years ago and offered up for sale or transfer.

“In reflection, (the federal government) realized some of the national historic sites aren’t going to go to the highest bidder,” said Brent Leigh, deputy chief administrative officer at the District of West Vancouver, which has a co-management agreement with the government to maintain the lighthouse.

“They expect to work with the district in a community-based program that would ensure that we retain community use … Point Atkinson is one of our most beloved community assets.”

Originally built on a rocky cliff in 1875, the lighthouse has been more than just a beacon of hope for shippers over the centuries. It has also recorded a series of historical firsts as time went on, as chronicled in the book Keepers of the Light, written by one of the last lightkeepers, Donald Graham:

1774: Captain Vancouver rows past the point and names it for a ”particular friend.”

1872: The Marine Department awards contract to Arthur Finney to build the lighthouse.

1875: New lighthouse exhibits fixed white light illuminated by two coal oil lamps and silver-plated copper reflectors.

1875: Edwin Woodward and his wife land at the station.

1876: James Atkinson Woodward, the first white child born in West Vancouver, is born there.

1881: 185-acre park created as a Lighthouse Reserve.

1889: Scotch siren fog signal, powered by a coal-generated steam plant installed to help shippers navigate the fog.

1912: Original tower replaced by 60-foot-high concrete tower. Light replaced by a vaporized oil lamp.

1960: Vaporized oil lamp replaced by electric light bulb.

1994: Lighthouse designated a National Historic Site.

1996: Point Atkinson refitted with an automated solar-powered light.

Donald Graham and Gerry Watson were the last lightkeepers. Graham’s wife Elaine still lives in the cottage at Lighthouse Park.

With files from Canadian Lightkeepers Association website

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Something Even Better?

September 15, 2013Alberta, Environment, Information, Lighthouses, On The Job, Operators, Tourism, Travel, Visitors, Weather, Wildlife, WomenAB, Alberta, BC, British Columbia, Fire Tower, lighthouse, litehouse, Lookoutretlkpr

alberta-fire-lookout — photo – Stuart Gradon Calgary Herald

Something Even Better than working on a lighthouse?

In an email with an ex British Columbia (BC) lighthouse keeper he mentioned that he was going to work in Alberta, Canada as a Fire Tower Lookout!

What does that have to do with lighthouses?

A lot from many people’s perspective! Both jobs have the isolation and romance that a lot of people seek in a job. When I was younger I know it was always in the back of my mind.

Again the same questions pop up – Wouldn’t it be lonely? What about wild animals? What happens if you hurt yourself? These and many more questions are asked, but to the adventurous, it is part of the adventure. Anyways, take a look at the photo at the top – that is an Alberta lookout tower but not as you or I probably imagined it – sitting on the ground!

The photo is taken from a 2011 story by Calgary Herald reporterJamie Komarnicki Mystery and mountains: A look at Alberta forest fire spotters. Continue reading Something Even Better? →

Doug Clement Photography

September 11, 2013Advertisement, Art, British Columbia, Canada, Lighthouses, Maps, Photos, Photos, Radio, Tourism, TravelBC, Canada, Doug Clement Photogrpahy, lighthouse, litehouse, Ogden Point, photographer, photos, Trial Island, Victoriaretlkpr

All photos copyright by Doug Clement Photography, and used with permission.

Doug is a professional artist, videographer and photographer. He is a lifetime resident of Victoria and has been capturing its beauty on film for over 30 years. – from the Facebook page

Lightning at Trial Island © Doug Clement Photography

In my teenage years while attending High School and University, and before I moved onto the lighthouses, I lived in Victoria, British Columbia (BC), Canada (on southern Vancouver Island off the West Coast of BC). It was a delightful town to grow up in and had access to numerous beaches, parks and believe it or not, a few lighthouses, of which I was not interested at that time.

Just recently on Facebook I have seen some wonderful photography of the lighthouses in and around Victoria, BC by Doug Clement. He has given me permission to publish them here, I hope that in your first or next trip to Victoria, you get a chance to see these places. If not, please admire them in the photos by Doug Clement.

The first photo above shows Trial Island Lighthouse at night with a blast of lightning. The actual light of the lighthouse is the greenish glow on the right side while the red lights are warning lights for aircraft mounted on the radio towers on the island (see the last photo in this story).

Here is a link to a Google Map showing the Trial Island Lighthouse, above photo (yellow point on map) and Ogden Point Breakwater light, photo below (red point on the map). Continue reading Doug Clement Photography →

Haida Gwaii

September 9, 2013Adult Memories, Beachcombing, British Columbia, Canada, Environment, First Nations, History, Information, Lighthouses, Maps, Recreation, Totems, Tourism, Travel, Wildlifebeachcoming, Haida Gwaii, history, lighthouse, litehouse, parks, totemretlkpr

Queen_Charlotte_Islands_Map — Haida Gwaii Map

Haida Gwaii (High-Da Gwi my pronunciation) literally means “Islands of the Haida People”, informally but formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands (QCI) and the Charlottes, is an archipelago on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, populated mostly by first nations Haida people.

Langara Point Lighthouse courtesy of Langara Fishing Adventures on Flickr Continue reading Haida Gwaii →

Nootka Sea Glass

September 7, 2013Advertisement, Beachcombing, British Columbia, Canada, Hobbies, Jewellery, Keepers, Lighthouses, TravelBC, beach glass, Canada, earrings, jewelry, lighthouse, litehouse, mermaid's tears, MV Uchuck III, necklaces, Nootka, sea glassretlkpr

When I wrote Recycling Glass as Sea Glass aka Mermaids Tears I never realized that keepers on one of the BC lighthouses, Nootka Island Lighthouse (photo above) were utilizing this free resource for jewelry.

They have a Facebook page showing some of the items for sale, some of which I am showing below. Very beautiful. My uses for the sea glass were a bit more mundane, but it is amazing what you can make with beach glass, sea glass, aka mermaid’s tears.

I also see that the keepers are also advertising their wares on Etsy – a very famous site for anything coastal.

[nggallery id=73]

There are lots more items than shown in the album above, so take a look at their Facebook page or the Etsy pages – very beautiful art work, and each is unique.

The designers can be contacted here:

Nootka Lightstation, 25 Huron Street, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8V 4V9

Phone: +1 250-726-1222
Email: jtiglmann@hotmail.com

Would you like to travel to Nootka Island to visit the keepers or pick out your own jewelry? Join the MV Uchuck III on a day tour to Nootka Sound. More information here.

The West Coast Trail

September 5, 2013Beachcombing, British Columbia, Canada, Environment, Genealogy, Government, History, Information, Lighthouses, Maps, Recreation, Shipwrecks, Stories, Tourism, Travel, Videos, Visitors, WeatherBC, British Columbia, Canada, Carmanah, hiking, Lifesaving Trail, lighthouse, litehouse, Pachena, trail, Vancouver Island, VI, West Coast Trailretlkpr

The West Coast Trail is a 75 km (47 mi) long backpacking trail following the southwestern edge of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It was built in 1907 to facilitate the rescue of survivors of shipwrecks along the coast, part of the treacherous Graveyard of the Pacific. It is now part of Pacific Rim National Park (Parks Canada and Wikipedia) and is often rated by hiking guides as one of the world’s top hiking trails.

The West Coast Trail is open from May 1 until September 30. It is accessible to hikers outside of this period but Parks Canada does not guarantee the accessibility of services (such as search and rescue) in the off season. It was originally known as the Dominion Lifesaving Trail (sometimes misidentified as the West Coast Lifesaving Trail).-Wikipedia

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Video courtesy of Parks Canada website

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My daughter and her friend just finished hiking the West Coast Trail this Summer 2013 and thoroughly enjoyed it. (photos on Facebook) It is rough, it is challenging, but it is an adventure, and it is fun! The trail passes by two manned lighthouses (Pachena -photo above, and Carmanah – photo below) which date back to the time when the trail was Continue reading The West Coast Trail →

Another Group Protecting the BC Coast

August 30, 2013Advertisement, British Columbia, Canada, Environment, First Nations, Fishing, Government, History, Lighthouses, Oil Spills, Ships & Shipping, Travel, Videos, VisitorsBC, Canada, Great Bear Rainforest, Hartley Bay, lighthouse, litehouse, tripretlkpr

Published on 7 Aug 2013 by the Rainforest Conservation Foundation

Documentary Film about the Great Bear Rainforest Youth Paddle – www.gbryouthpaddle.org

In June 2012, a group of Quest university students travelled to the Great Bear Rainforest, through BC’s Inside Passage and arrived in the remote First Nations community of Hartley Bay. Here, we learned firsthand about the potential impacts of the Northern Gateway Pipeline proposal on Gitga’at culture and traditions. Quest students, along with youth from the Hartley Bay Secondary School, joined together on a life-changing journey through the pristine waters of BC’s temperate rainforest. Together we paddled from Hartley Bay to the Gitga’at’s spring-harvest camp in Kiel. We journeyed through a portion of the proposed tanker route for the Northern Gateway project, the same area where the ferry Queen of the North sank in 2006. Durig our time in Hartley Bay, participants bared witness to the unparalleled natural abundance of the Great Bear Rainforest. This short documentary provides a platform for youth to speak out and express their perspectives of the pipeline proposal. It also celebrates land and culture, while promotes a more sustainable future.

More information: Rainforest Conservation Foundation (online) and Facebook

Lighthouse Memories

– bringing a little life into your lights