Playing a round at Comox Golf Course is an ideal way to spend an afternoon

By Keith and Heather Nicol

   With the great fall weather continuing we decided to play golf at one of the few places in the Comox Valley that we hadn’t had a chance to experience-Comox Golf Club. With the temperatures on Friday, October 27 hitting the mid teens we arrived at the centrally located Comox Golf Course parking lot and found the last parking place available. “This is not looking that promising” I mentioned to my wife Heather since we couldn’t book a tee time. “Let me head in to the Pro shop and find out how busy they are”. Fortunately Tom Lambourne, the friendly  pro shop assistant said” No problem , we can get you out in 15 minutes”.  

Heather hitting on the colourful 2nd hole

      Comox Golf Course is one of the oldest courses in the valley and was established in 1928. It is also 9 holes and relatively short at 2680 yards so is a fun course for a variety of ages and stages. We liked the open layout and could see why this course is so popular.  It was in good condition when we played and Tom Lambourne told us that even in the heat of the summer the course is green and shady due to the tall trees.  Although there is some water hazards and a few sand traps, they didn’t come into play much on our round and we could imagine that this course would appeal to youth, women and others want a forgiving round of golf.

The greens were in fine shape

       Some holes even have some nice fall colours at the present time and we really enjoyed the dogleg 2^nd hole for its colourful stand of big leaf maples. The greens were large and surprisingly fast. The course has a putting green, club house and proshop as well as a driving range. General Manager, Sandy Kurceba, told us after our round that it has been surprisingly busy since the beginning of October. The course is now on winter rates which means you can play 9 holes for just $20 or 18 holes for $28 which is a great bargain. This will hold from now until March 31, 2018. Another deal worth looking at is punch card that gives you 13 games for $250 plus GST. It would make a great Christmas stocking stuffer for golfers on your list. For more information see: http://www.comoxgolfclub.ca/ 

Besides nice fall colours you get views of the Beaufort Mtns on some holes

Checking out the fall colours along the Union Bay Coastal Trail

By Keith and Heather Nicol

On our quest to check out the fall colours in the Comox Valley we wanted to revisit the Union Bay coastal trail which we discovered earlier in the summer. On Thursday, October 26 we headed south of Courtenay to Union Bay along highway 19A. To access the trail there is small parking lot on the ocean side of the road just north of the community of Union Bay.  For those handy with a GPS the coordinates for the parking lot are: 49 35.250 N and 124 53.210 W. There are prominent signs indicating private property so enter at your own risk. There is more information about the history of the site in our original post (http://keithnicol.blogspot.ca/2017/07/exploring-union-bay-coastal-trail.html). Heather walking past some of the large cottonwood trees      We were not disappointed with the colours provided by tall cottonwood trees and we really like the open landscape that has resulted from the former coal washing site. There are numerous trails but we followed the main one that heads along the shore and then back along “Washer” or Hart Creek. Allow about 45 – 60 minutes to do the mostly level 2.4 km walk depending on how long you linger along the way. Don’t get too close to edge of the “cliffs” which are actively eroding and respect the signs that are posted.  Heather photographing Tree Island with Denman Island on the right

Exploring the Fall Colours in Mack Laing Park-Macdonald Wood Park in Comox

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

     On Wednesday, October 25 we decided to explore out the fall colours in the Macdonald Wood Park-Mack Laing Park area of the city of Comox. With the period of sunny fall weather holding we were on a quest to see the fall colours in a number of places in the Comox Valley. This trail is nice because it follows a loop and explores a number of different habitats. We parked on Balmoral Ave at a small 3 car parking area at coordinates 49 40.431 N, 124 54.569 W. From there we entered Macdonald Wood Park and walked toward the ocean. Once at the ocean there is a very pleasant board walk with nice benches and an interpretative sign placed there by Project Watershed. Evidently this area of the foreshore is composed of a large midden indicating that the local First Nations have used this area from 1000 BC onward. The board walk is sheltered by trees and this spot is worth knowing about even if you just come down to sit on the benches and look out at Comox Harbour.

Heather reading the Project Watershed interpretative sign

From the end of the board walk the “trail” follows the coastline and after 200 meters heads back into the forest at Mack Laing’s old house. There are large signs that interpret various aspects of Mack Laing Park and the trail follows scenic Brooklyn Creek. The fall colours are good along Brooklyn Creek but not as spectacular as the ones at Millard Creek we had walked a few days earlier. The trail winds toward Balmoral Ave where a set of stairs brings you to the road. From there we walked back to our car. The total loop is about 2.5 km and suited to a wide range of walkers. This route makes a pleasant walk and we recommend it for its variety of habitats. 

The colours along Brooklyn Creek are prime at the moment

Great Fall Colours at Millard Creek in Courtenay, B.C.

By Keith and Heather Nicol

      Fall is at its peak right now and on Sunday, October 22 we took advantage of some changeable

There are new benches at the start of the trail

weather to get in a photogenic hike at Millard Creek. Millard Creek is located in the southern part of Courtenay just off of Highway 19A. We parked at Millard Road where there is a parking lot and several new benches have been built which look out to the Comox Estuary. The coordinates of the parking lot are: 49 39.916 N, 124 58.284 W. The trail starts near the parking lot and a real bonus of this trail is that it has a small brochure with 10 interpretative signs which cover various topics related to salmon, the old railway that traversed this area as well as explaining aspects of the vegetation. Look the brochures in a plastic waterproof holder at near the start of the trail.

Keith on the bridge checking for salmon in the stream

     There are numerous big leaf maple in the area and they have showered down lots of leaves along the trail but there are still lots of leaves left on the trees at this point in time. There is a small bridge which fords Millard Creek but we saw no signs of salmon swimming upstream. Coho use this waterway and they might come later perhaps with more fall rains. We saw many people on the trail including a number of families and this trail is also used by cyclists. Toward the end the “wilderness” aspect of the trail ends since a new apartment and several condo developments have been built along the route. We walked as far as 31^st Street which would offer another starting point for the walk but it only has 4 parking places so can fill up quickly. The walk to this point is almost 1 km so the return trip can be done in 30 -45 minutes. The fall leaves are well worth checking out since they are some of the best we have seen this year in the Comox Valley.  Thanks to the Millard-Piercy Watershed Stewards and the Rotary Club for putting together the brochure.  

Heather at Interpretative Station 5

 

Tall leafy maples line the creek

Fall hiking along Black Creek at Miracle Beach Provincial Park, Comox Valley

By Keith and Heather Nicol

   On Thursday,  October 19 we were invited to Christine Gornall’s place for lunch and since she lives

Fall colours are impressive at Black Creek

on nearby Seaview Road she suggested a walk along Black Creek. We were impressed by the fall colours and there are lots of big leaf maples in the area which added lots of bright yellow to the walk. We could see Coho salmon swimming upstream taking advantage of the recent rains which added some much needed volume to the stream.

     We walked out to the ocean but by this time the clouds had changed to rain so we opted not to walk along the ocean but return the way we had come.  Christine had some hot soup waiting at her house for lunch so we cut our walk short vowing to return to this area on the next sunny day to explore it more before the fall colours start to disappear.  Also it pays to bring a tripod since if the day is overcast not much light makes through the trees. Miracle Beach Provincial Park is located off highway 19A mid way between Comox and Campbell River. See http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/miracle_bch/ for more information. The parking lot we used is at : 49 50.950N, 125 06.037W. 

Heather and Christine walking along the trail

Black Creek has lots of autumn leaves in full colour at this time