Road Trip 2025 - Vancouver Aquarium and area

On the first day of our West Coast adventure, we chose the Vancouver Aquarium as the ideal place to retake some of our iconic photos from our only other BC coast visit back in 1981 when we were a family of three...Nelson, Me, and 2 1/2 year old Crystal. The summer of 2025 would give us a chance to update the photos to include Jessie, Nick, and JJ, who missed it the first time around. 

The Vancouver Aquarium is located in Stanley Park, a 1,000-plus acre public park on the northern part of Vancouver's peninsula between English Bay and Burrard Bay. The Aquarium had changed in the forty-four years since we'd been there, but it seemed more amazing than ever. The 65,000 animals within the walls and waters of Canada's largest aquarium includes species from Canada's Arctic and Pacific coasts, the Tropics, the Amazon rain forest, and more.  A profuse amount of shapes and colours everywhere you look. 

Nelson holding Crystal and watching a Beluga whale, 1981, Vancouver Aquarium

The beluga whale that captivated Crystal and Nelson back in 1981 is long gone. In its place, sea otters are shown in the B.C. Wild Coast Exhibit where they entertain the crowds while swimming on their backs and using their nimble forepaws to eat. All of the sea otters at the aquarium are either rescued orphans or too severely injured to be released back into the wild. They have been deemed non-releasable by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and now form part of the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Rescue Team. They are also available for symbolic adoption. 

Nelson with Crystal in front, and Jessie and JJ behind him, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

Our 2025 retake photo shows Crystal standing in front of Nelson, with Jessie and JJ beside and behind him, in the tunnel of the outdoor portion of the B.C. Wild Coast exhibit. As usual, the sea otter is using its forepaws to eat and although in a somewhat sheltered exhibit, must still keep a wary eye out for seagulls who like snatching the food in a swift flyby.

Crystal found JJ, Anita, and Nick watching a Sea Lion, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

Along the glass in the lover level of the B.C. Wild Coast gallery, we stopped to watch the antics of rescued California sea lions. The Marine Mammal Rescue Centre at the Vancouver Aquarium is "...the only facility of its kind in Canada and one of the largest rescue facilities in the world..." 

Here are some of the images I found when I went through all of our photographs that show the array of colour and shapes we discovered:

Jessie found a unique Pig-nosed Turtle and some Tropical Fish, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

Nick showed the size of Jellyfish, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium 

JJ and Nick were caught watching Linneaus's Two-toed Sloth. 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

JJ found some Golden Poison Frogs, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

Jessie and Nelson attended 4-D Theatre, The Great Salmon Run, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

Meanwhile, during a coffee break, I was checking out the vegetation. I was surprised to find holly with blue berries instead of the red ones like the Christmas holly that I've seen growing in Vancouver. On the prairies, you can't find holly growing outside at all so just seeing it in its natural state was special.

Mahonia aquifolium, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

With a bit of searching, I matched my holly image to Mahonia aquifolium, a member of the Barberry Family also called Oregon Grape Holly and Holly-leaved barberry. It appears the main difference in the leaves is that the barberry type leaf is more tapered at the end whereas Christmas holly seems to stay the same width for most of its entire length. 

Fern, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

A grouping of this fern was growing beside the Holly-leaved barberry. I suspect it's a sword fern, but I know nothing about fern types. What I do know is that each frond contains small capsules called sporangia that are filled with thousands of dust-like spores that will scatter in the wind when ripe. It's the artful display of the sporangia that fascinates me, especially when seen with the sun behind the fronds. 

There is so much beauty connected to the Vancouver Aquarium and too much to see in one afternoon. After several hours of exploration, we headed back to our Sooke Airbnb to do some whale watching and card playing. Join us for the next post as we let you know what we saw. 

Note: For those with a calendar, this post connects with the images shown for January 2026. 

Road Trip 2025 - Regina to Surrey

We haven't blogged much with all the life changes, pandemic turmoil, etc, in our lives, but now that we've sold the farm and are settled in Regina, Saskatchewan, we live a less stressful life with more time to play. So this past summer when we were blessed with a wonderful family vacation in British Columbia we thought you might want to be an armchair traveler and come along as we relive the sights and memories.

We first visited Vancouver Island in 1981 when there was just Nelson, myself, and our 2 1/2 year old daughter Crystal. There are now six of us, and due to school, work, etc, we never had the chance to take an extended vacation together as a family. We wanted to change that while revisiting the places we first discovered with Crystal, before Jessie, Nick, and JJ came along. 

Anita and Crystal, 1981, Hell's Gate Canyon, BC

The itinerary was simple. Nick and JJ, who also live in Regina would take one car, and Nelson and I would take our Flex. We gave ourselves three days and 2 nights to travel across the prairies, through the Rocky Mountains, and down across BC to the Greater Vancouver area where both Crystal and Jessie live. The drive would allow us to make plenty of stops for rest, fresh air, and fabulous scenic photos, and we would arrive ready to explore the BC coastal area and Vancouver Island.

JJ, Nick, and Nelson at the Bow River Lookout on Hwy #1 west of Banff

It sort of worked. It was sunny when we arrived in Calgary for our first night, but cloudy the next morning as we entered the Rockies. We still stopped for photos and breaks while we admired the majestic mountains...a sight we don't see Saskatchewan, but we didn't see many of the mountain tops due to the low cloud cover. The sun came out the next morning after a restful night overlooking Shuswap Lake and we headed over to Kamloops and the daunting Coquihalla Highway. I call it daunting, but Nelson and our sons were excited to try out the four-lane high-speed shortcut part of Hwy 5 that followed the trail of the old Kettle Valley Railroad.

Coquihalla Hwy between Kamloops and Merritt, BC

We'd been on the Coquihalla about 20 minutes when our vehicle's Check Charging System light with a battery icon blinked on. Since everything appeared to be working and we were about halfway to Merritt, Nelson opted to keep going. Now, the highway was not packed with traffic, and it was the middle of summer and not during avalanche season, however, we'd passed numerous 'Runaway Lane' signs for drivers to head for if their brakes failed on portions of the 6% grade highway and I started feeling the stress. Within minutes the air conditioner stopped working. I tried to open a window only to find the windows weren't working either. And away we whizzed down the Coquihalla...a highway so dangerous in winter that it's a star of the TV show, Highway Thru Hell.

Nelson and I were hot and stressed when we drove into Merritt. The boys, on the other hand, were worried, but cool in their air conditioned vehicle. We were all surprised to find Merritt does not have a Ford dealership, so we parked in a nearby Chev dealership's lot and explained our situation. Their shop was fully booked, but offered other suggestions. We proceeded to phone around the city but everyone was booked until the next morning. Our only options were to stay the night...or take a chance and drive to Hope which was another 120 kms down the Coquihalla which included the steepest part, the Coquihalla Summit. By then we'd arrive at the end of the business day while shops were closing, and still have to look for lodging. 

While we were pondering our choices in the hot parking lot of the Murray Chevrolet Buick GMC dealer, someone came out and invited us to sit inside and use their facilities if we needed to. Their mechanic might be able to squeeze us in later. When she went back inside, Nelson, Nick, JJ and I prayed for guidance. We came to a decision that if the Chev mechanic couldn't fit us in today, I would go with JJ in his car to meet Jessie in Surrey, while Nelson and Nick stayed in Merritt with our Ford Flex. We went inside to use the facilities and thank the staff for their hospitality. While inside, we saw a quad pull up beside our Flex and a mechanic start poking around the engine. Minutes later, our Flex was in the shop and we were praying it could be fixed. We waited in the showroom as closing time neared. Finally, two hours after reaching Merritt, our vehicle was fixed, road-tested and ready to go. 

So here's a huge shout-out to Murray Chevrolet Buick GMC in Merritt, BC, and Greg, their mechanic, who took in and fixed a broken Ford Flex for a very grateful family from the prairies. It just goes to show that like the biblical parable, there are Good Samaritans everywhere.

Later that evening we arrived at our Surrey Airbnb. JJ and Nick had made a detour to pick up Jessie and Crystal and now we were blessed to be all together. We'd made it. 

Let the real adventure begin.  

Brown Thrasher

We spotted a strange sight this June when Nelson pointed out what looked like a Brown Thrasher without a tail. I reached for my camera and zoomed in to confirm the yellow eye and slightly curved bill. It even acted like a Brown Thrasher. (Video at bottom of post.)

Brown Thrasher with Missing Tail, June 2020, RM Montmartre, Saskatchewan

For further confirmation on the identity of this bird, I posted an image on the Facebook group, Sask Birders. Soon enough, another member said she had seen a Brown Thrasher in the mouth of a fox going one way, and minutes later, a Brown Thrasher without a tail running the other way. She added that the tail feathers grew back over time. I wonder if this is a defense mechanism.

Brown Thrashers are rusty or reddish-brown on the topside with a beautiful long tail which is sometimes pointed high. It's very noticeable, especially when they fly up and away from you.

Brown Thrasher, June 2019, Regina, Saskatchewan.

However, the wing bars on my image of the Brown Thrasher without a tail seem almost nonexistant, and it's hard to tell if the wings are the correct length for an adult thrasher, such as the one shown in the above photo which I took a year ago, in June 2019.

A check through my photo files brought up two interesting photos of Brown Thrashers. The first is a photo of a juvenile taken in June 2012 where I spotted one camouflaged under the evergreens in our shelterbelt while an adult kept watch nearby.

Brown Thrasher Juvenile, June 2012, RM Montmartre, Saskatchewan

The wing bars on the Brown Thrasher in this next photo made me think of a juvenile, but it has the long tail of an adult. Because this photo was taken in September of last year, I now believe it's a Brown Thrasher in molt. Mid-July to September is prime season for birds to shed their old feathers and grow new strong ones for the long trip to their wintering grounds, so if you see a bird who appears to have lost its dignity along with its beauty, and it's too old to be a juvenile, it's probably molting.

Brown Thrasher in Molt, September 2019, RM Montmartre, Saskatchewan

Here's the video I took of the Brown Thrasher without a tail, which is also available on my YouTube channel. https://youtu.be/YKRICrGNpXo

Our photos can also be found on our Bird and Wildlife Pinterest boards, as well as on Instagram.

Wind and Fire

The prairie wind has been ferocious this year straining power lines to their limit. Tree branches are a particular menace on windy days. Recently, on a harsh, windy, HOT day, a tree branch tangled with a power line in the corner of our farmyard. We saw the fallen line on the ground and tried to contact the power company who had numerous calls already on the go. Not long after, we saw smoke coming from the area and called 911.

The Montmartre Fire Department showed up in record time and got to work putting out the fire. Since the line was still live, the guys stayed on guard for several hours in case the fire flared back up, waiting for the power company to come out and shut the power off.

The Draper family would like to thank the Montmartre Fire Department for their quick response. The damage to our farm and more could have been horrid if the fire had gotten out of hand.

Tale of the Tiny Discarded Tree

Draper's Acres, Winter of 2007

In October 1999 when we moved to our farm, we planted an 18" spruce tree where it would stand as a beacon to show the corner where the lawn ends and the gravel driveway branches off. This is needed to aid snow clearing so we don't ruin our lawn every winter. It was the perfect spot for the imperfect little tree. The tree is special to us as we had rescued it in 1994 from a large tree farm operation that threw out several hundred seedlings because they'd grown too large for the automatic tree planting equipment. We rescued 10 of the trees, deep down from a pile that had been left lying with their roots exposed to the sun for several hours. We planted them at home on our acreage, hoping they'd survive. The next year we retired from our military careers and left CFB Cold Lake, Alberta for the balmy climate of Saskatchewan. Along with our kids and belongings, we took our houseplants and six containers of sorry-looking seedlings which we transplanted into the garden of our new home. (The seedlings, not the kids.) We lived in town for five years. The seedlings were alive, but didn't thrive. Then came the move to the farm where we picked the healthiest seedling for the honored corner spot.

By 2010 the small spruce was still too small for Christmas lights. Although it wasn't actively growing, it was still green and healthy looking.

Draper's Acres, May 2010

Then during the summer of 2011, we noticed new growth at the ends of each little branch and it didn't look lopsided if you looked at it from the right angle.

Draper's Acres, Dec 2011

In 2013 the tree grew upwards and outwards, filling out yet still with its signature branch jutting out.  The gardener in me figures the roots had stretched out and down and the tree decided to put its efforts into growing topside. But my heart likes the thought that the little discarded tree finally realized it was home and would never be uprooted again.

Draper's Acres, Nov 2013

The tree was 20 years old in 2014 and continued its growth spurt--so much that when Nelson (and the boys who are hidden) went to string the lights, they had a tough time reaching the top branches. And oh, that tree shone through the darkness, a wonderful sight to behold during those long winter nights.

Draper's Acres, Dec 2014

It's hard to tell how tall the 2015 spruce tree is in this next photo, so that's when I decided I'd need to include the power line above it in all future shots.

Draper's Acres, Dec 2015

By 2017 the once-discarded spruce was over 14 feet tall as shown by the height of Nelson and JJ, the space between them and above them. To string the lights, JJ used two of those picker-upper things so it looked like he had extended lobster claws, but they did the trick of reaching the top of the tree. (For comparison, check out the 2010 photo to see the progress in the past 7 years!)

Draper's Acres, Nov 2017

Throughout the years we've lived on the farm, the tree has been the gathering place for family photos. It's a visual reference to the growth of the kids as well as the tree. Like this 2017 photo when all four kids were home for Christmas and after they went home, we were left with a beautiful memory of the event.

Draper's Acres, Christmas 2017

Draper's Acres, Nov 2018

The guys have gotten inventive over the years and last week when they went to string the lights, Nelson taped one of the picker-uppers to the end of a long handle. JJ held the lights up and they both circled the tree, winding the lights around as they went.

Draper's Acres, Nov 2019

A few hours after this year's tree was strung with lights, the moon tried to peek out and add to the light show. .

Draper's Acres, Nov 2019

So there you have the tale of the tiny discarded spruce tree. I only have one worry now...because of where we planted it, we may have to shave a bit off the top side if it reaches the power line. It's my fault--something I should have considered, but never imagined 20 years ago on that late October day when we moved to Draper's Acres to raise our family.

What started out as a tiny discarded tree provides us with immeasurable blessings throughout the year.

This post is also posted at https://www.inkwellinspirations.com/2019/11/tale-of-tiny-discarded-tree.html