Fall Splendour

The Aspen tree is the quintessential Colorado tree.  We name towns, streets, dogs and even our beer after it.  Many people make a fall color pilgrimage.  You have to time it just right, the color is fleeting and last only about a week.

Aspen are able to survive forest fires since their roots are below the heat of the fire, with new sprouts growing after the fire burns out.  Aspen have an increased popularity up here after loosing millions of pine trees to the beetle.  Aspen have a fast growth rate and ability to regenerate from sprouts.

We enjoy all the beautiful show of colors as leaves change each autumn.  Did you ever wonder how this happens.  Leaves change colour because they need a break, a winter of rest, after a summer of photosynthesizing (using sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugar).

Aspen are native to cold regions with cool summers.  All of the aspens typically grow in clonal colonies derived from a single seedling, and spreading by means of root suckers; new stems in the colony may appear up to 3-40 meters from the parent tree.

An aspen tree can live for 40-150 years above ground, but the root system of the colony is long-lived, thousands of years, sending up new trunks as the older trunks die off above ground.  The aspen is considered to be an indicator of ancient woodlands.  A colony in Utah, "Pando"is claimed to be 80,000 years old.

Pigments are responsible for the distinct colours of the leaves in the fall; chlorophyll for green, carotenoid for yellow, orange and brown; anthocyanins for red.  As sunlight decreases, the tree stops producing chlorophyll and the carotenoid in the leaves shows through with yellows, oranges and soft browns.

In contrast with many trees, aspen bark is base-rich, meaning that aspens are important hosts for and act as food plants for the larvae of butterfly species, seasonal forage for the hare and other animals in early spring. Aspen bark provides an extra food source for elk and deer in winter.

Standing trees seem to rot from the heart outward, the dry timber weathers very well, becoming silvery-grey and resistant to rotting and warping.  Aspen makes beautiful paneling and sauna interiors. 

What causes the most spectacular display?  The brightest colors are seen when the late summer is dry, and autumn has bright sunny days and cool nights (low 40's*). A fall with cloudy days and warm nights bring drab colors.  Sunny days and cool nights produce choicest spectrum 

Fun Trivia! 

Aspen have been traditionally reputed in many countries to drive off  evil spirits, planted near the dwellings.  An aspen stake was believed to be one of the few weapons suitable to kill a vampire or a werewolf.  According to the Ute legend, the reason for the unique aspect of aspen quaking happened during a visit from the Great Spirit during the full moon. All of nature anticipated the Spirit's arrival and trembled to pay homage, all except the proud and beautiful aspen. The aspen stood still, refusing to pay proper respect.  The Great Spirit was furious and and decreed that, from that time on, the aspen leaves would tremble whenever anyone looked upon them.  There are many other legends of the quaking aspen - that I won't mention now.



Aspen wood is white and soft, but fairly
strong, and has low flammability.  It is
used to make matches among a number
of uses. 



In admiration of fall's splendour, John Donne once wrote,  "No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace, as I have seen in one autumnal face."  You don't have to be an English poet to appreciate the season's bright colours and bountiful harvest, which help smooth the transition to shorter and colder days.

Highlights of a Great Trip

                              ALL GOOD THINGS DO COME TO AN END 

Always fun.



Okay, got him dressed.  Now, get him
up on those skis.  A real highlight of
the trip for Phil.



Busy kitchen at Grants.  Spencer,
sitting at the bar having a quick bite,
 he is on the fast track.



Steaks and Salmon, doesn't get any
better!!  Steak from Granville Market
and that delicious local salmon.



The last supper, so to speak, and another wonderful
evening together as Grouse Mountain seems to darkle
 in the background..

Ray proves there is a timer on my
camera that I have had for 3 years. 
Doctors do know everything!



      


We did learn a lot about our Neighbor
North, beautiful BC.




   

Isabel's learning fruit.  So much fun and tasty too but Ray
would like to just have some oranges and apples.

Our ride?  Ray-Isabel, now this is just
too much!   Exactly how they were,
The Best!

Our tour guide drove us many miles around
Vancouver and she was fun too!!!

Until we see you in Manzanillo, Dick, Cheryl and Makaleah
have a long drive back home after dinner and we go home
tomorrow.

We leave on a rainy day, after having sunshine everyday.
Shades of England.

Benjamin Franklin authored the traditional saying, 'fish and company stink after three days', refers to the dislike of the two.  Most people would not want fish lying around after three days, as it becomes unwelcoming (because of the smell).  The term applies to visitors because most people don't want visitors that long.  Visitors start to become like fish because of their overdue stay,  However, the smell has nothing to do with the visitors unless they weren't provided with a shower. 

Isabel and Ray did provide us with a shower.
So, although we were there much longer than
3 days, we were very happy.

Victoria, Final

I lost some of the 'Victoria continued' photos because my fascination with Craigdarroch became too lengthy.




Many of the older areas of Victoria have transitioned into
beautiful villages like Oak Bay and China Town.



There are so many scenic walkways. Dallas Road takes you from downtown to Beacon Hill Park, one of downtown Victoria's crown jewels, beautifully landscaped and manicured with bridges, lakes and ponds and an alpine rock garden. The park has wondrous displays of exotic native trees, including Oak, Arbutus, Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Birch, Willow and Maple. Peacocks roam freely in the park. This delightful, sunny spot has walking trails that link with neighborhood streets and leads to the beach. 

Part of the Royal BC Museum
Thunderbird Park in downtown
Victoria offers an ex ordinary
display of houses and totem
poles.  It is an impressive park
with trees, notice the blossoming
plum trees.

The Dallas Road walkway leads to Clover Point and offers miles
of scenic walkway with open fields and along the beach with
views of Juan de Fuca Straight with the ferry route to Washington.



We walked as much as we could
during our three days in Victoria and
enjoyed the incredible scenery.



The Natural History Gallery with exhibits from prehistoric
 Dinosaur footprint from the original impressions left
in BC's Peace River Canyon by a carnosaur (100 million
years) - no photographs, to this very realistic exhibit.

 


Royal BC Museum.  Since 1886 the museum has collected,
protected and shared the human and natural histories of BC.
It is easy to spend the complete day here, we divided the
time into two days.  After a few hours we were suffering
from a bit of museum burn out and wanted back in the sun.

The second floor is dedicated to the western settlers of this
region. Brought from it's original site, a homestead from 1910.

   

 

 


I really liked the replica of Hudson's Bay Old Town. 

The Cannery, early days.

The displays were so realistic.  I enjoyed
this part of BC history.

A place of discovery with everything you might imagine.

 


The history gallery had a
variety of everything, even
clothes of the 1940's.

The western settlers area had a section of the old Victoria, built Hudson's Bay Company style
 around 1843.  Hudson's Bay Company was an
important part of BC's history. In 1670 a cousin to
King Charles11, Prince Rupert and a group of
noblemen were granted a charter to exploit trade 
& commerce in BC.  They called themselves 'The
Company of Adventurers'.

 



A hand plough, important to the
early settlers of BC.

First Nation display, cape woven from Bark. 



The exhibits are almost a little too real.

If you want to learn more about the First Nation,
the 3rd floor is dedicated to the First Nation and
first people of British Columbia.

Emily Carr, a Canadian Icon.
We were fortunate to see this temporary exhibit, which
 I enjoyed the most.  Emily was an artist and
writer inspired by the indigenous people of the Pacific
Northwest Coast.  As she matured her interest shifted
to landscapes and mostly forest scenes.  She used a post-
impressionist painting style and her work is stunning.
The earliest chronicles of life in British Columbia were
written by Emily Carr. 

The Royal BC Museum is to experience British Columbia, truly moving with it's rich history and wild land shaped by earth, ice, water and people.  The Natural History Gallery is a journey through beautiful British
Columbia.  The First Peoples Gallery takes you back in time for thousands of years, wild landscapes and the different people that have called this place their home.  You can totally immerse yourself for the day and combine it with  the National Geographic IMAX theater in the same building.  We went to an evening show after we were tanked up on afternoon tea with a caffeine high and sat spellbound with the wraparound sound and screen that was six storeys high to see Pirates of the Caribbean.
This was one of the most beautiful, people friendly museums that I have been in.

Parliament at night.

and Good Bye Victoria