The Comox Valley Farmers' Market is a great way to spend a Saturday morning

by Keith and Heather Nicol

There are lots of vendors selling their wares

The Comox Valley Farmers' Market (CVFM) is a great place to buy some local products, meet friends, enjoy some great summer weather and even catch some music. We enjoyed taking in the CVFM through the fall and winter at the Native Sons’ Hall in Courtenay but now that it is outside it is even better. We recently took our son Michael there who was visiting from Vancouver. He had not been to the market before and he was very impressed. He sampled some coffee from the Royston Roasters which feature fair trade organic coffee and ended up buying a bag. 

Michael sampling some coffee

 The market is located at the Comox Valley Exhibition Grounds for the spring and summer and has room for close to 60 vendors. The CVFM has a long history starting back in 1992 and focuses on products made in the local area. You can buy everything from vegetables, wine, cheese, meats, soap, sea salt, baked items and a whole lot more.  The CVFM has been voted the best Farmer’s Market in the Province in 2014 by the BC Association of Farmers' Markets which says something about the quality and variety of items sold here. The CVFM is a perfect way to spend a Saturday morning from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.  See http://www.comoxvalleyfarmersmarket.com/  for more information. 

Music by "Easy Street" was a real bonus

 

Photographing Wildflowers in Paradise Meadows in Strathcona Park

by Keith and Heather Nicol    

Pink Heather is now in full bloom

On June 25, we decided to check out Paradise Meadows in Strathcona Provincial Park with Heather’s sister, Lisa and brother law, Paul who were visiting from Ottawa. The last time we were here was when I competed in the Snow to Surf race at the end of April and this area was under a deep snow pack.  On this hike we decided to focus on some of the wild flowers which were out along the scenic Paradise Meadows trail. The information centre is not open until this coming weekend but you can still explore the trails. 

Heather (right) with Lisa on the Paradise Meadows trail

 The Paradise Meadows trail is about 4 km and you can do a shorter 2 km wheelchair accessible boardwalk trail if you have people with mobility issues or small children in your group. There are quite a few wildflowers out and we saw many areas of Pink Heather and Jeffrey’s Shooting Star when we did the trail and there are markers identifying many of them along the trail which really helps those people who want to learn about the different plants in the area. The trail also gives views of Mount Washington Alpine Ski Resort as well as several ponds. Also several other trails branch off from these trails providing access to the higher mountains nearby. Our goal is investigate some of those trails in the near future. This park is a real bonus for people in the Comox Valley since it is a great way to access the sub alpine environment and the extensive trail network in Strathcona Provincial Park. For more information on the Strathcona Wilderness Institute which runs the information centre see: http://strathconapark.org/

Jeffrey's Shooting Star are also in bloom

 

Testing the Rudy Project “Rydon” Sunglasses

By Keith and Heather Nicol

   I am always on the lookout for good quality outdoor gear that is easy to use and built to last. In the past I have had many sunglasses which broke after a few lens changes, that were too tight on the temples or slipped of my nose when I was working up a sweat.  So when I discovered that Rudy Project sunglasses were very adjustable and had a clever way of changing lenses I was more than ready to test them out.

Rudy's dark lenses come out in the sunny weather

 I have been using Rudy’s Rydon sunglasses for several months and so have had a chance to use them in the winter cross country skiing as well as biking in the summer.  My first impressions are that they do everything they say and then some. First of all, they are have many adjustments to fit every face. I find the flexible temple arms particularly useful since they can adjusted to fit under bike helmets and over ski toques. But you can also adjust the nose bridge and changing lenses couldn’t be easier. Just snap one lens out and put in another better suited to the weather.  I found this very handy when skiing at Mt Washington on Vancouver Island since you can have foggy conditions in the morning give way to blue bird skies in the afternoon. So the orange lenses would go on when we arrived and the dark lenses would be put on at lunch as the skies cleared.  You can also get a variety of other colour lenses which I am keen to try out. 

Rudy's orange lenses were ideal in foggy or cloudy conditions

 Overall after 4 months of testing I can give these glasses great marks-they are my go to glasses for just about all situations.   I will do another review in a year when I have had a chance to see how well they last. Rudy Project is an Italian Company which also sells bike helmets and goggles.  For more information on Rudy Project see: www.rudyprojectna.com  

 

The "Pub to Pub" walk is one of our "fav" coastal walks near Courtenay, BC

by Keith and Heather Nicol

 On June 15 we decided to show our son Michael who was visiting from Vancouver the so called “Pub to Pub” trail which starts along the Oyster River, roughly half way between Courtenay and Campbell River on the east coast of Vancouver Island. We love this trail since it is a scenic trail with both river and ocean/beach views. Since the trail is just 3.5 km (1 way) it is suited to a variety of options. If you have young children or walkers that would find 7 km too long a hike, you could park a car at each end and just make the 1 way trip. 

The trail starts off in the tall trees

To get there from Courtenay drive north on Highway 19A and keep an eye out for the Oyster River bridge since you want to turn right on the next road (Glenmore Road).  Then travel one roughly 1 block and then turn left on Regent and look for a parking lot with a sign Oyster River Nature Park. The parking lot coordinates are 49. 52.232 N and 125 07.616 W.  Then follow the Ferguson Trail which is well signed and easy to walk on. After about 1 km you reach the ocean and from there you follow the Jack Hames Trail to Salmon Point.

There is lots of coastal scenes to photograph

 From there the trail winds along the upper part of the beach and through the trees giving fine views of Georgia Strait and mountains beyond. There are even some picnic tables along the way for anyone wanting a scenic place to have lunch. Sometimes the trail separates into 2 trails and there seemed to be some new cedar shavings placed down on parts of the trail. After about 1 hour we came out to Salmon Point Resort RV Park and Restaurant and the trail’s end.  We fully recommend this trail since it offers scenic ocean views and can be walked by a wide variety of people. Check it out on your next trip to this area. 

Heather and Michael at the 1/2 point of the trail

 

Mountain biking around Puntledge River in Courtenay provides scenic river views

by Keith and Heather Nicol

     For anyone looking for a perfect mountain bike tour in the Comox Valley you couldn’t do much better than the loop around the Puntledge River, just west of Courtenay.  It is suited to a wide range of riders from kids to seniors and involves trails that are generally smooth with few hills or tricky descents. You could do this loop from a variety of starting points and in the past we have ridden this loop right from Courtenay but in this case we started from the Duncan Bay Main road near Stoten Falls. Fellow biker Norm Reynolds initially showed me this trail but on this day our son Michael who was visiting from Vancouver was keen to see it so he accompanied me. We parked 49 40.842 N 125 03.342 W and we followed the gravel road next to the pipeline. 

Michael along the first part of the trail

 You need to duck your bike past some gates in a couple of places but otherwise you can stay on your bike for just about the entire ride. Part way along the route jogs to the left off the gravel road and the trail from here follows the river and becomes more interesting as it winds around through the tall trees. There are short bridges across small streams and then it arrives at the bridge which crosses the Puntledge River at Comox Lake. 

The trail is well maintained with bridges and boardwalk in places

Just after the bridge look for a small trail which cuts right off the gravel road and this leads to a nice park with picnic tables. Again follow the trail next to the river and you are in for a nice winding flowing trail all the way to Nymph Falls Park. Once at the park we headed to the Forbidden Plateau paved road and followed it back to Duncan Bay Main road where our car was parked. Over all the distance according to our GPS was about 18 km and it took us about 90 minutes with a few stops for pictures. This makes this scenic loop an ideal morning or afternoon bike trip. The trail does have a few choices but if take the trail along the river you should be fine. 

Michael takes a picture at Barbours Hole on the Puntledge River