"Up Island" - Part 2

Continued from Part 1 . . . 

The next day, we drove back towards Courtney and entered Strathcona Park from a different area. We started on the Paradise Meadows Loop Trail and followed the Lake Trail to Lake Helen Mackenzie.  

We ate lots of bog blueberries along the way. Yummy! 

Another stellar lunch spot at Lake Helen Mackenzie.

There were so many colourful mushrooms! 

In the morning, before heading home, we went for a short hike in Millard Nature Park in Courtney. Once on the trails, it's hard to believe you're right beside a big shopping mall! 

Fall Road Trip 2023 - Newport to Ashland

We were going to stop at the aquarium in Newport but pouring rain, and knowing that much of the aquarium is outside, made us change plans. Instead, we tried to find a place to pick up a coffee/tea and happened upon these sea lions (probably close to 100!) on a dock by the water. They are so noisy but it was so fun to watch them for a while. 

We stopped early at Sunset Bay State Park (just south of Coos Bay). Andrew went for a run and I did a campground workout with the dumbbells I'd packed. 

The next morning, we went for a short walk to where Andrew had seen these mushrooms the day before. Neither of us thought we'd actually seen mushrooms like this before, even though we both recall seeing them in cartoon type pictures.

Andrew used our van camping lamp for extra lighting. 

The orange coral was aptly named as it looks just like what you'd see under water. 

We arrived in Ashland in the late afternoon and enjoyed the Japanese Garden. Such gorgeous fall colours! 

We stayed at the Ashland Springs Hotel that night to clean up after a few days of camping and to have a nice meal at The Larks restaurant.