The blister glassy-bubble snail (Haminoea vesicula) is common in the sheltered eelgrass beds on the east side of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Typically known as a “bubble snail,” this species of sea snail also goes by the name blister paper bubble, white paper bubble, and the white bubble shell. This unique marine creature belongs to the family Haminoeidae and is …
Beaches
Sandcut Beach at Jordan River Regional Park
Sandcut Creek waterfall drops down to a gravel beach in Jordan River Regional Park. The waterfall at Sandcut Beach in Jordan River Regional Park is an easy destination for groups of all ages. The short walk through the forest and along the beach is ideal for families with small children. The waterfall is an attractive, and achievable goal. However, for …
Beautifully Desolate Comber’s Beach
At Comber’s Beach sand flows around driftwood at the mouth of Sandhill Creek in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. There is something beautifully desolate about Comber’s Beach in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. The wind constantly moves the sand to form ripples and low dunes. Large pieces of driftwood block sand movement and hollows form in the lee of the …
Rising Tide at Point Holmes
Point Holmes #1 A large boulder is slowly surrounded by the rising tide. Point Holmes in Comox, British Columbia is a fabulous place for landscape photography. The dynamic nature of the rising or falling tide can create very different compositions at the same location. Therefore, the challenge is to quickly adapt to changing water levels and find interesting combinations of …
Lovekin Rock at Long Beach
Early in the sunset the sky over Lovekin Rock is a mix of pale blues and salmon. It gets better! There’s something about a wet beach at sunset that I just can’t get enough of. Over the course of the summer I check the tide tables and try to find days when the sunset coincides with a low or dropping tide. …
Payzant Falls on the Juan De Fuca Trail
A couple of weeks ago I did a day trip out to the west coast between Port Renfrew and Victoria. This stretch of coast is the home to the Juan De Fuca Trail, a 47 km long trail that follows the coastline. Hikers have the option to do the whole trail as a multi-day hike or to pick and choose …
Union Bay Coal Hills
Large chunks of black rock on the beach at Union Bay are remnants of the area’s historic use as a coal shipping terminal between 1888 and the 1960s. Pilings are other evidence of historic industrial activity at Union Bay. I’ve lived in the Comox Valley for some time now but have never walked out into the coal waste hills at …
Radar Hill Beach
Remote Radar Hill Beach is a challenging destination in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. It’s definitely off the beaten track in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and takes a little effort to get to but the Radar Hill Beaches are spectacular. The trail down to the beach is not maintained by Parks Canada and the going is fairly rough—there are …
Serene Schooner Cove Sunset
Looking west at the setting sun at Schooner Cove in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Yellow Sand-verbena (Abronia latifolia) in the foreground amongst the drift logs. Schooner Cove in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is one of my favourite places on the west coast of Vancouver Island to visit. It takes a little longer to get to (about 30 to …
Point Holmes Moonrise
The first night I went down to Point Holmes, the moonrise was relatively close to sunset so there was still some very interesting colour in the sky. The beach at Point Holmes is fabulous to photograph and particularly good on a falling tide since the dropping water reveals a set of very interesting boulders. Over the last month I’ve been down …