Adler Planetarium (Chicago, Illinois, USA)

Posted on 8 October, 2026 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

After our tour of Shedd Aquarium, we walked the short 1.3-km. (10-min.) distance, along Solidarity Drive, to Adler Planetarium, a municipal public museum for astronomy and the first planetarium in the United States. As we approached the planetarium, we were greeted by bronze statue of Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus sitting on a pedestal and grazing towards Chicago’s skyline. A bronze replica of the famous 1830 original monument in Warsaw, Poland, created by sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, the Chicago bronze cast was executed by Bronislaw Koniuszy and dedicated and installed in 1973 by the Adler Planetarium to mark the 500th anniversary of Copernicus’s birth, with funding spearheaded by the Copernicus Foundation.

Located on the northeastern tip of Northerly Island (the first of five intended but, otherwise, never executed recreational islands that were to be consistent with Daniel Burnham‘s 1909 Plan of Chicago) on Lake Michigan, the planetarium is part of Chicago’s Museum Campus (which includes the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum of Natural History). Operated by the Chicago Park District, a municipal government agency of the City of Chicago, its mission is to inspire exploration and understanding of the universe.

Bronze statue of Nicolaus Copernicus by Bertel Thorvaldsen

Check out “Shedd Aquarium” and the “Field Museum of Natural History”

Here’s the historical timeline of the planetarium:

In 1913, Oskar von Miller of the Deutsches Museum commissioned Carl Zeiss Works in Jena, Germany, to design a mechanism that projects an image of celestial bodies onto a dome.
In 1923, Walther Bauersfeld, scientific director of the firm of Carl Zeiss Works designs an optical projection device that effectively creates the illusion of a night sky. With this innovation, the modern planetarium is born. By 1929, the popularity of the planetarium spreads, and there were fifteen planetariums in Germany, two in Italy, one in Russia, and one in Austria.
In 1928, local businessman Max Adler (a former executive with Sears, Roebuck & Co. who had recently retired to focus on philanthropic endeavors, primarily on behalf of musical and Jewish communities) and his cousin architect Ernest A. Grunsfeld, Jr. traveled to Germany where Adler was so impressed by the modern Munich planetarium that he donates funds to construct the first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere. He offers $500,000 for the construction of the first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere and commissions Grunsfeld to design the Chicago structure.
In 1930, at an auction in Amsterdam, Max Adler purchases the collection of antique astronomical instruments of A. W. Mensing. The Mensing Collection became the focus of the Astronomical Museum.
On May 12, 1930. on Max Adler‘s birthday, the Adler Planetarium and Astronomical Museum is opened to the public. Phillip Fox, Ph.D., a professor of astronomy at Northwestern University, is appointed as the Planetarium’s first director.
In 1931, Ernest A. Grunsfeld Jr. was awarded the gold medal of the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects for the planetarium’s design.
In 1931, the planetarium hosted the 44th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
In 1933, the Century of Progress Exposition takes place on what is now the Museum Campus.
In 1941, Phillip Fox is deployed to the Army and, during his absence, Assistant Director Maude Bennot is appointed acting director of the Planetarium.
In 1952, Max Adler dies.
In 1967, the board of trustees is created to share in the responsibilities and management of the Adler Planetarium with the commissioners of the Chicago Park District. The Adler Planetarium refurbishes the building and replaces the original Zeiss projector with a new Mark VI Zeiss unit.
On May 12, 1973, Adler Planetarium’s 43rd birthday, a new underground expansion is opened to the public.
In 1976, the Board of Trustees assumes full management responsibility for the planetarium but continues to receive support from the Chicago Park District.
In 1977, the Doane Observatory opens.
On February 27, 1987, the Adler Planetarium was declared as a National Historic Landmark.
In 1987, Doane Observatory’s original telescope, a 41-cm. (16-in.) Cassegrain reflecting telescope built by the Adler optical and machine shop staff, was retired and replaced with the current telescope.
In 1991, the museum unveils the results of the $6.5 million renovation project and, after 23 years of leadership, Dr. Joseph M. Chamberlain retires.
In 1999, the 60,000 sq. ft. Sky Pavilion, designed by Lohan Associates of Chicago and featuring four new exhibition galleries, including the historic Atwood Sphere and the Definiti (formerly StarRider) Theater, opens to the public.
In 2005, retired NASA astronaut James A. Lovell Jr. serves as chairman of Adler Planetarium’s 75th-anniversary celebration.
In 2007, the Adler Planetarium unveils its new Space Visualization Laboratory (SVL) was inaugurated in 2007 to virtually explore the Universe bringing the latest images of space science to the public.
The Space Visualization Laboratory.
In 2010, the Adler Planetarium begins transformation of the historic Sky Theater.
In May 2011, the renamed Grainger Sky Theater, at the time, the most technologically advanced dome theater in the world, was opened. The Clark Family Welcome Gallery, designed by Thomas Roszak Architecture, uses an LED-lit fabric and aluminum structure that includes educational interactive material projected on the fabric walls.
In 2012, after 21 years of service, Paul H. Knappenberger Jr. Ph.D., announces his retirement.
In 2013, the Board of Trustees elects astrophysicist and academic leader Michelle B. Larson, Ph.D., as president and CEO, the Adler Planetarium’s ninth leader and the first female president.
In 2013, “Adler After Dark,” the Adler Planetarium’s 21+ evening event, was voted “Best After Hours Event,” by the Chicago Reader, and “Best Date Night” by Chicago Parent.
In 2013, the Adler Planetarium undertook the first major renovation of the Doane Observatory. Renovations included the addition of an indoor classroom, a restroom, accessible entry ramps, and telescope and technology upgrades.
In 2015, the major upgrade of the Doane Observatory was completed.
In 2025, the Adler Planetarium appoints Elizabeth Babcock as President and Chief Executive Officer.

The Adler Planetarium, a member institution of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope project, has three theaters (two domed and one standard), space science exhibitions, including the Gemini 12 space capsule, a collection of antique scientific instruments and print materials. The Grainger Sky Theater, the largest of the Adler Planetarium’s theaters, has a dome that measures 21 m./830 in. (69 ft.) in diameter.

When we approached the planetarium is surrounded by sculptures including Man Enters the Cosmos (Henry Moore, 1980); Spiral Galaxy (John David Mooney, 1998); and America’s Courtyard (Ary Perez and Denise Milan).

Th Adler also hosts the Doane Observatory, a research-active public observatory with the largest aperture telescope available to the public in the Chicago area. With its 51-cm. (20-in.) diameter mirror, the Doane Observatory can gather over 5,000 times more light than an unaided human eye, allowing guests to see celestial objects like the Moon, planets, stars, and galaxies that are trillions of kilometers, if not many light years, away.

The Astronomy Department of Adler Planetarium and the Webster Institute for the History of Astronomy conduct and publish research for both the scientific community as well as the general public. The planetarium’s astronomers possess expertise in many areas of astronomy as well as other closely related science fields and their studies include planetary geology, star formation, gamma-rays, and telescope observing.

The Collections Department cares for, studies, and interprets the planetarium collections which, since the Adler’s opening, has grown to approximately 8,000 objects, books, works on paper, archival collections, paintings, and photographs. The Adler hosts archives from Derek J. de Solla Price, Michael J. Crowe, and NASA astronaut Jim Lovell, as well as the largest collection of historic scientific instruments in the Western Hemisphere.

The Adler Citizen Science Department is also the U.S. headquarters of The Zooniverse, a citizen science platform and a global collaboration across several institutions that designs and builds citizen science projects and, as of early 2014, has engaged more than 1.1 million online volunteers as active scientists by discovering planets, mapping the surface of Mars, and detecting solar flares.

Guests at “Adler After Dark,” the Adler Planetarium’s 21+ evening event, have open museum access, themed programs, sky shows and views of the Chicago skyline. “Astro Overnights” gives families a chance to spend a night under the stars at the Adler. Guests have open museum access, a sky show and educational programming.

The Adler also hosts quarterly “Hack Days” (intended to encourage software developers, designers, scientists, engineers, artists and people who just like to create and build, to work together to solve problems); and summer camps (where participants build rockets, launch high-altitude balloons, and explore the edge of space). The Adler’s hands-on summer camps are designed for children ages 5–14.

Adler Planetarium: 1300 S DuSable Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, Illinois 60605. Tel: +1 312-922-7827. Website: www.adlerplanetarium.org. Open Thursdays through Tuesdays, 9 AM to 4 PM, and Wednesdays, 4 PM to 10 PM (extended evening hours). Admission: $25.00 (adults, ages 12+) and $13.00 (children, ages 3-11). Free admission for Illinois residents. Online advance ticket purchases are required on the Adler Planetarium Tickets page. Coordinates: 41°51′59″N 87°36′24″W.

Old St. Patrick’s Church (Chicago, Illinois, USA)

Posted on 6 September, 2026 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

On our first whole day in Chicago, before touring the city, Andy drove the 21-km. distance, from their place, to Old St. Patrick’s Church where we heard the 9 AM mass (it being a Sunday) . Also known as St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church and commonly known as Old St. Pat’s, it is the city’s oldest standing church building. Described as the “cornerstone of Irish culture” in Chicago, the main church building is one of a handful of structures remaining in the city that predate the October 1871 Great Chicago Fire which missed Old St. Patrick’s Church by just two blocks.

Founded on April 12, 1846 (Easter Sunday) by Irish bishop William Quarter as the first English-speaking parish and the second parish established in Chicago (after St. Mary’s which was built by the French), the parish was originally housed in a wooden building at the intersection of Randolph Street and Des Plaines Street.

The steep, pointed south spire representing the Western Church

The present Romanesque Revival-style church building was designed by Augustus Bauer and Asher Carter, two of Chicago’s earliest practicing architects. On May 23, 1853, the cornerstone was laid and, on Christmas Day, 1856, the building was dedicated by Rev. Denis Dunne, the pastor of Old St. Patrick’s. On St. Patrick’s Day 1857, Mozart’s 12th Mass was performed at the church.

Byzantine-inspired onion dome representing the Eastern Church

In 1885, two octagonal towers, topped with different spires, were completed by the same architect as the Holy Name Cathedral and the Archbishop’s residence. The steep, pointed south spire represents the Western Church while the north tower, with its Byzantine-inspired onion dome, represents the Eastern Church. Together they symbolize the universality of the Catholic Church in a city once dominated by immigrant Irish, Polish, Italian, Bohemian and German Catholics. In the course of the 1880s, the English-speaking parish of St. Patrick was mostly composed of Irish-Americans.

Between 1912 and 1922, the interior was redecorated, in the Celtic Revival style, a nationalistic art movement stressed ancient Celtic links to Catholicism. Chicago Daily News graphic artist and master craftsman Thomas A. O’Shaughnessy (an Irishman from Missouri), inspired by the Celtic art exhibit in the Irish village at the Columbian Exposition of 1893 and the Celtic illuminations found in the late 8th Century Book of Kells (a hand-illuminated Bible housed in Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, it is one of Ireland’s great national treasures), designed, constructed, and personally installed the 15 beautiful stained-glass windows (depicting Irish saints) of Old St. Patrick’s plus the original interior stenciling, decorative motifs and a mosaic-lined niche in the back of the nave between 1912 and 1922.

In 1921, the final triptych windows, done in an Art Nouveau style, were installed in the eastern facade of the church. On March 10, 1964, the church was designated as a Chicago Landmark and, on July 15, 1977, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1985, the first Old St. Patrick’s “World’s Largest Block Party” (which funded the rebuilding of the church) drew 5,000 people to Des Plaines Street. Today, Old St. Pat still hosts this massively popular, annual summer block party. In 1996, the reconstruction and restoration of most of the church interior and exterior were completed.

The main altar with statue of St. Patrick above it

This 37-m. (120-ft.) long and 19.5-m. (64-ft.) wide church was constructed with Cream City brick made from yellowish clay found along the shores of Lake Michigan, near Milwaukee. The base is made of Joliet limestone. Celtic Revival’s entwined bands, lines, dragons and long-tailed birds snaked across the walls and windows of St. Pat’s in determined harmony. The fabulous interlace ornament (lacy lines symmetrically entwined), in paint and glass, were styled, in part, after illuminations found in the Book of Kells.

The Art-Nouveau Faith, Hope and Charity Triptych of Thomas A. O’Shaughnessy

This Art Nouveau triptych, in stained-glass, also called the Faith, Hope & Charity windows as it symbolizes the virtues of faith, hope and charity (viewed left to right from the nave), is an amazing and meticulously composed set of windows. O’Shaughnessy’s tour de force it is, arguably, the finest of its kind in the U.S. Thousands of precisely cut and delicately hued areas of glass, separated by hairlines of lead, copper foil and bronze, were assembled in an unsurpassed spiritual imagery.

Stained-glass windows depicting Irish saints St. Columba (written in Gaelige as Naom Coluumbkille) and St. Brendan (written in Gaelige as Naom Brendan)

Stained-glass depicting St. Bernard of Clairvaux

The MacSwiney window, the central window (Hope Window), is the most intricate of the lot as it uses more than 250,000 individual pieces of glass and no pint whatsoever. It was named in honor of Terrance McSwiney, the lord mayor of Cork who had died in a hunger strike, in 1920, in the fight for Irish independence from British rule. The glass colors, for all these windows, were manufactured in 1912 by Kinsella Art Glass, as per O’Shaughnessy’s own formulas. Above the doorway is a painted mahogany angel.

Old St. Patrick’s Church: 700 West Adams St. cor, Des Plaines St., Chicago, Illinois 60661. Tel: 312.648.1021. E-mail: info@oldstpats.org. Website: www.oldstpats.org. Coordinates: 41°52′45″N 87°38′40″W.

Buckingham Fountain (Chicago, Illinois, USA)

Posted on 5 September, 2026 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

After our late lunch at Andy and Raquel’s place, we drove the 27.2-km. (30-min.) distance to our first sightseeing destination in Chicago – Buckingham Fountain (officially called is the Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain), one of the largest fountains in the world. Also considered one of the finest ornamental fountains in America, many tourists and Chicagoans visit the fountain each year. The centerpiece of Grant Park, the fountain area has been called Chicago’s “Front Yard.” It has been designated as a Chicago Landmark and a contributing feature within Grant Park’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The fountain, constructed at a cost of $750,000 ($13.9 million in 2025), was donated to the city by important Chicago art patron and philanthropist Kate Sturges Buckingham who also established the Buckingham Fountain Endowment Fund with an initial investment of $300,000 to pay for maintenance.

Here’s the historical timeline of the fountain:

In the mid-1920s, Beaux Arts architect Edward H. Bennett (1874-1954) of the firm Bennett, Parsons and Frost and longtime associate of Daniel H. Burnham (1846–1912) and co-author of his seminal Plan of Chicago, prepared new plans to complete Grant Park, envisioning a monumental fountain to serve as the park’s formal focal point without obstructing views of Lake Michigan. Philanthropist and art patron Kate Sturges Buckingham (1858 – 1937), the last member of the Buckingham family, agreed to donate one million dollars for the magnificent fountain in Grant Park as a memorial to her brother, philanthropist and businessman Clarence Buckingham (1854 – 1913). Engineer Jacques H. Lambert and architect Clarence W. Farrier served as associates on the project.
On May 26, 1927, the fountain was officially opened to the public
On August 26, 1927, Buckingham Fountain was dedicated with conductor John Philip Sousa and his band playing “Pomp and Circumstance” before an audience of 50,000 people.
In the late 1950s, the major water displays, which originally occurred only twice a day, three times a week, were now offered every day.
In 1968, the light show was first automated. Originally, the engineers used a keyboard, with 21 electric switches, to fade, brighten, and blend colors to create numerous light effects.
In 1980, when the Chicago Park District entered into a contract with Honeywell, the operations became fully automated (Buckingham Fountain was manually operated, from 1927 through the 1970s, by two stationary engineers who each worked a daily 12-hour shift). The computer was located on site, but the monitoring system took place remotely, off premises, in the Chicago suburbs.
In the mid-1980s, the monitoring system was moved to Atlanta, Georgia.
On July 21, 1993, the fountain was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places. That same day, to transform the space and encourage social gathering, the Chicago Park District announced a summer Seating Pilot Program inspired by the Luxembourg Garden in Paris.
In 1994, due to leaks developed during Chicago’s harsh winters and to address some of its masonry problems, the Buckingham Fountain underwent a major $2.8 million conservation project to its three smallest basins, with Buckingham Fund of the Art Institute and the Chicago Park District cooperatively funding the project. The monitoring system also returned to the pump house of the fountain.
On August 30, 2000, the fountain was designated as an official Chicago Landmark.
In September 2008, the three-phase renovation project (to modernized aging internal systems in the fountain and restored deteriorated features) on Buckingham Fountain began. Funding was a combination from the Buckingham endowment, city and park district funds and a grant from the Lollapalooza music festival which is held annually near the fountain.
On April 3, 2009, Phase I was dedicated. This phase included permeable pavers (a safer and smoother surface which complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990) surrounding the fountain, which replaced the crushed stone that was used since the fountain was constructed.
Between 2009 and 2012, additional repairs were made including landscape improvements surrounding the monument, plumbing upgrades, and computer upgrades.
In 2013, the Chicago Park District upgraded the Buckingham Fountain computer with a non-proprietary Allen-Bradley PLC System.
In August 2016, in a partnership with the City of Chicago, the Chicago Park District and Everywhere Wireless, the fountain viewing area joined many Chicago beaches and the Museum Campus in providing free Wi-Fi to visitors.

The fountain, built in a Rococo wedding cake style, comprises four basins clad in elaborately-carved granite and pink Georgia marble. It is twice the size and re-circulates approximately three times more water than the Bassin de Latone of the Latona Fountain at the Palace of Versailles, which it was modeled after.

One set of Art-Deco-style, bronze sea horses

The massive lower basin features four sets of Art Deco-style, bronze (with a natural green copper patina) sea horses (two per set), created by the French sculptor Marcel F. Loyau (1895–1936), representing nearby Lake Michigan, and symbolizing the four states (Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana) that border the lake. To create the sea-related bronze elements, Loyau studied the sea horse collection at a zoological institution in Paris. The fountain’s sculptural elements garnered Loyau the Prix National at the 1927 Paris Salon.

The monument’s original design included colored lighting to emulate the effect of “soft moonlight.” The fountain contains 820 lights with 16 in the top bowl; 72 in the upper trough; 204 in the inner trough; 432 in the lower trough; 24 in the isolated jets; 60 in the sea horses and 12 in the bulrushes.

The bottom pool of the fountain is 85 m. (280 ft.) in diameter, the lower basin is 31 m. (103 ft.), the middle basin is 18 m. (60 ft.) and the upper basin is 7.3 m. (24 ft.). The lip of the upper basin is 7.6 m. (25 ft.) above the water in the lower basin. The fountain also contains 820 lights with 16 in the top bowl; 72 in the upper trough; 204 in the inner trough; 432 in the lower trough; 24 in the isolated jets; 60 in the sea horses and 12 in the bulrushes.

The fountain has its original two-level underground pump house with the control room on the first level, and a 35 ft. long and 25 ft. wide lower level pump room. The original pumps and motors are still in operation today. The water displays are powered by three pumps. Pump 1 (75 HP for 1,600 gallons of water a minute) is the primary pump that keeps the fountain running throughout the day while Pumps 2 (190 HP for 5,500 gallons of water a minute) and Pump 3 (250 HP for 7,000 gallons of water a minute) operate during the major display.

Depending on wind conditions, major displays recirculate approximately 0.88 cu. m. (14,000 U.S. gallons per minute) of water per second are conveyed through 133 jets with one central jet at the top of the upper basin used for the 150-ft. tall geyser; 34 jets pointing upwards from the top basin along the inner top ring; 34 jets at the consoles located along the perimeter of all three basins; 12 jets for each of the three basins that spray an arc to the level about 8 jets spout from the sea horses’ mouths; and 20 isolated jets of 4 groups of 5 spray heads. Water is recirculated from the base pool after the basins are filled and not drawn from the outside except to replace losses from wind and evaporation.

Today, all of the automation and monitoring takes place on-site, with remote alarm monitoring and notification. The fountain’s security system is monitored from Arlington Heights (a Chicago suburb).

The author (center) with Grace and Jandy

The song Spider-Man Dick, by Cupcakke, mentions the fountain. Buckingham Fountain was also featured in the following:

Title sequence of the TV show Married… with Children
Title sequence of the TV show Crime Story
The starting point for the television show The Amazing Race 6 in 2004
Featured in a task on the television show The Amazing Race 29 in 2017.
The protagonist’s meeting place in the 1949 film noir film Undertow

Metal chairs (in two styles, one upright and another slightly reclined), manufactured by Fermob in Paris, allow visitors to bask in the warm summer days ahead. Available daily, from May 30 through September, except during major events hosted in Grant Park, they can be moved around to take advantage of the stunning views of the fountain, the park, the lake, and the skyline.

Buckingham Fountain: Columbus Drive (301 East) and Congress Parkway (500 South), Grant Park, Downtown Chicago, Illinois 60601. Tel: (312) 742-3918. Coordinates: 41°52′33″N 87°37′08″W. The fountain operates daily, from 8 AM to 11 PM, typically from mid-April through mid-October, depending on weather. Regular water water-jet displays, beginning at 9 AM and lasting 20 mins., occur every hour on-the-hour. shows, the center jet shoots up vertically to 46 m. (150 ft.), and, after dusk, a spectacular light and music display accompanies the major display, choreographed with colored lights and music (the last show begins at 10 PM and the final display of the day begins at 10:35 PM). The fountain shuts down just after the last display, around 10:55 PM. Display times are subject to change during special events in Grant Park. During winter, the fountain is decorated with festival lights.

How to Get There: The fountain is located in the center of Grant Park, between Queen’s Landing and near the intersection of Columbus Drive and the end of Ida B. Wells Drive. By bus, take either the south-bound CTA bus line #146 or #147 to Congress and Michigan, then walk .3 miles east to fountain. If driving, take Shore Drive (US 41) south to Jackson, right on Jackson to Columbus. Left on Columbus to fountain.

Vancouver Island Military Museum (Nanaimo, British Columbia)

Posted on 4 August, 2026 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

On our last day in Nanaimo, we drove the short 4.5-km. (a 10-min. drive), from Departure Bay Motel, to Vancouver Island Military Museum. Considered as British Columbia’s most significant military museum, the Vancouver Island Military Museum’s truly impressive collection of military memorabilia and artifacts, from the War of 1812 right through to Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan, was assembled by the museum for more than a quarter of a century.

Lodged in a historic, 2-storey, octagon-shaped building, built by the Hudson’s Bay Company between 1853 and 1855 to defend their coal mining operations in the area, it originally housed the Nanaimo Centennial Museum, opened in 1967.

The museum, receiving around 3,500 visitors a year, features than 25 exhibits and displays showcasing Canada’s proud military history and traditions.

Our guide Mr. Joseph “Joe” Pighin pointing to a model of the HMS Ajax

We were shown around the museum by knowledgeable and friendly volunteer guide Joseph “Joe” Pighin, who authored research articles for the museum publications, covering topics like Canadians who served and died fighting for other countries (such as in the American Civil War). He also contributed a Chinese army ammunition belt from the Korean War.

Here, we examined life on the home front; the important work of the Red Cross, St John Ambulance, the Salvation Army, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP); and the critical role played by the Canadian Merchant Navy in war time.

We also followed the evolution of Women in the Armed Forces, from Nursing Sisters, during the Second Boer War and World War I, where more than 2800 Canadian Nursing Sisters served (many of them nuns, nicknamed the “bluebirds” due to their blue dresses and white veils), to present day operations in all branches of the Canadian Armed Forces. By World War II, the first Women’s Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force was created. By the end of the war, membership totaled more than 1,700. Initially performing clerical and administrative roles, a number of them later became radio/radar operators, plotters, coding technicians, and signalers.

The many unique artifacts and exhibits, related to the military and life on the homefront, include extensive dioramas, unit histories, the riding crop used by Canadian Corps Cmdr. Arthur Currie during World War I; the ship’s bell from HMCS Saskatchewan, dedicated displays with detailed scale models of the coastal defense vessel HMCS Nanaimo (MM 702) and the World War II corvette HMCS Nanaimo (K101); rare items linked to Nanaimo fighter ace Raymond Collishaw; a gallery of photos of Canadian Forces members killed in the Afghanistan War, 2001-2011; 2000+ military books and military history, from the War of 1812 through the Cold War to Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan.

Canadian Forces in Afghanistan Exhibit. At the bottom left is a Russian 40 mm Automatic Grenade launcher (AGS-17)

On display at the German Memorabilia Exhibit are a German Luftwaffe pilot uniform and a framed picture of Adolf Hitler that a unit of the Canadian Army in the Netherlands, used for target practice in 1945 and brought home by Nanaimo veteran Maj. Stewart Edgar Jamieson. There’s also an exhibit dedicated to Winston Churchill.

German Memorabilia Exhibit. At the center is a German Luftwaffe pilot uniform

Framed photo of Adolf Hitler with bullet holes

The 85 firearms (from 300 in its inventory), secured safely (rendered fully inactive/deactivated for public viewing) and on display behind glass display cases, features deactivated pistols, long guns, and main-service rifles from the War of 1812 through the Cold War, including standard service rifles and handguns utilized by Canadian, American, and Allied troops, alongside captured German and Japanese artifacts, as well as percussion cap rifles, early long guns, and small arms used up through the Vietnam War era.

Russian DShKM Heavy Machine Gun. At the base is a Russian Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG)

The 90 curated uniforms (from 700 in storage) on display include Royal Canadian Air Force attire (complete with rare historical pins and veteran histories); dedicated dress and service gear representing the evolution of female roles, from early nursing sisters to modern armed forces; and outfits and gear representing the two World Wars, the Korean War and peacekeeping missions, alongside Allied and adversary dress.

Also very interesting was the display of model airplanes crafted, over many years, by volunteer researcher and modeler Pat Murphy. The exhibit showcases roughly 70 meticulously-researched (it required up to 50 hours of historical cross-referencing and hand-assembly) replicas of World War II Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Supermarine Spitfires and the specific pilots who flew them including historic local veterans, such as the late World War II Spitfire pilot Pierce George Brewster (whose “Lois-II” model was added to the permanent display) and Squadron Leader Hart Finley. Each miniature Spitfire was built to replicate the exact squadron codes, serial numbers, and nose art of a real aircraft flown by a Canadian veteran.

Two of their incredibly rare possessions, significant to military history, is a signed Christmas card from Adolf Hitler to his command structure in 1939 (seen at the captured German memorabilia display) and a 1937 Canadian dollar bill signed by flying ace George Frederick “Buzz” Beurling, considered to be Canada’s most famous hero of World War II nicknamed both as the Falcon of Malta and the Knight of Malta.

The Ronald Buxton album was assembled from the somewhat tattered remains of a scrapbook Ronald Buxton kept during the three years he was a prisoner of war. Many of the pictures in this album were done by Lt. Gordon Horner of the 72nd Field Regiment. K.A. (a fellow P.O.W and a former ‘Sunday Chronicle’ war artist) while others are freehand copies, done by Ronald, of some of his sketches.

The facility also features permanent exhibits containing extensive historic military medal displays, from World War I, World War II, and post-war conflicts, donated by families and veterans. They also offer professional medal mounting and framing services for orders, decorations (court or swing-mounted on brooch or push pins using regulation ribbons service medals), and service medals with historical accuracy, alongside housing.

The exhibits, covering all phases of Canadian military history (which, of course, means there is a lot of crossover with events involving the USA such as the American Revolution and the War of 1812), at the museum’s well filled space was well organized and professionally presented, with many of the “real stuff,” and none of the “interpretive” pap of many other museums. The exhibits are updated when new information or artifacts come in.

At the ground floor is the Veterans Wall of Honour. Began in October 2013, it was dedicated at a ceremony held on June 16, 2016 by Judith Guichon, OBC, the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. The wall was created to recognize the service of veterans from Canada’s Armed Forces, Merchant Navy, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and those who served with British and Commonwealth of Nations Forces and its Allies, and as a fund-raising project to further the work of the museum. The wall, displays 414 black granite plaques, showing each veteran’s name, branch of service, and dates of service. The largest tribute dedicated solely to military service in British Columbia it is, however, not a memorial as the plaques show no rank, honors nor awards.

Mounted at the entrance of the museum is the actual 40 mm. Bofors Gun from the decommissioned Royal Canadian Navy’s maritime coastal defense vessel HMCS Nanaimo which was presented during a ceremony, attended by the mayor, members of city council, and the ship’s crew, held on July 1, 2017, during the celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday and the 20th anniversary of the commissioning of the HMCS Nanaimo.

Vancouver Island Military Museum: Piper Park, 100 Cameron Rd., Nanaimo, British Columbia BC V9R 0C8. Tel: (250) 753-3814. E-mail: oic@militarymuseum.ca. Website: www.militarymuseum.ca. Admission: $4.00 for adults; $2.00 for students and seniors; free for children under 12 and military/RCMP veterans or active personnel. Open Tuesdays through Fridays, from 10 AM to 3 PM, and Saturdays, from 11 AM to 3 PM (Closed Sundays and Mondays).

How to Get There: The museum is located in downtown Nanaimo’s dynamic waterfront; close to the Port Theatre, the Inner Harbour Boat Basin, Cruise Ship Facility, the Nanaimo Conference Centre, Tourism Office and many major hotels.

Extension Ridge Trail Loop (British Columbia)

Posted on 3 August, 2026 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

Part of the Extension Ridge Trail Loop exposed to the sun

From Morden Colliery Regional Trail, it was a short, 102-km. (15-min.) drive, via Cedar Rd. and Extension Rd., to the Extension Ridge Trail Loop, a moderately-rated loop trail that features a rocky and forested setting and is famous for “The Abyss,” a large and dramatic ground fissure. We parked our car at a free roadside parking along Harewood Mines Road, near the power lines.

Check out “Morden Colliery Regional Trail”

The trail was a 9.2-km. (5.8-mi.) loop, which takes about 2.5 to 3 hours, but we just opted for the shorter, direct 2.9-km. (1.8-mi.) out-and-back hike, which takes about an hour, as we just wanted to visit the crack. Parts of the well-used dirt trail are exposed to the sun and, as it was a bright sunny day, the hike was quite tiring and draining with the limited shade available. There were also some tree roots and uneven rocky terrain underfoot plus a steady climb with roughly 80 m. (255 ft.) of elevation gain.

Still, you can’t help but admire some of the wildflowers along the way such as Golden Crownbeard (Verbesina enceliodes), Common Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), Little Larkspur (Delphinium bicolor) and Sitka Valerian (Valeriana sitchensis) as well as edible Canada Blackberry (Rubus canadensis).

Approximately 1.5-km. into the trail we arrived at what locals popularly call “The Abyss,” a narrow earthquake fissure or deep, sharp-edged crack in the rock, about 0.40 mm. (16 in.) wide, at least 8 m. deep, and stretching roughly 40 m., with smooth exposed rock. Around it were striking groves of native arbutus trees (Arbutus menziesii), with twisting orange-red trunks and peeling bark, growing directly out of exposed, mossy sandstone and conglomerate rock.

I felt a bit surreal realizing that I was standing beside a natural fracture created by the movement of the earth. However, while popularly attributed to tectonic shifts, local experts debate whether it is purely a prehistoric seismic/earthquake fault or exacerbated/caused by shallow historic underground extension coal workings that weaken the sandstone and conglomerate strata, causing it to collapse. Similar subsidence holes, cracks, and depressions occur around historic mining regions on Vancouver Island.

There were no railings, so we had to keep a safe distance from the edge as there was a risk of falling into the gap which was wide enough for most people, especially children, and dogs (our dog Luffy was on-leash) to fall into. We also heard distant gunshots from active live fire exercises from a Department of National Defense (DND) rifle and weapons range off Lincoln Road, about 1 km. away. Their active military danger and buffer zones are strictly closed off and trespassing is prohibited.

Past the main Abyss site, just off the beaten track, are narrower and shorter splits or fissures in the surrounding sandstone bedrock found tuck away in the forest and rocky sections, often hidden by arbutus trees, moss and forest debris

Groves of native arbutus trees (*Arbutus menziesii*)

Extension Ridge Trail Loop: 540 Virostko Rd. Extension, Nanaimo, British Columbia V9X 1E8.

How to Get There: This area can be accessed from a number of locations including from McKeown Way, Lotus Pinnatus Way, the Village of Extension, and the neighborhoods west of Extension Rd.

Morden Colliery Regional Trail (Nanaimo, British Columbia)

Posted on 3 August, 2026 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

From Petroglyph National Park, it was just a short 10.1-km. (15-min.) drive to the 1.1-mile Morden Colliery Regional Trail (MCRT), a segment of a historical rail corridor that has become a popular regional and community route for walking, nature appreciation, horseback riding and cycling.

Check out “Petroglyph National Park”

This small 4-hectare provincial park, in south Nanaimo, gives you access to the only remaining coal tipple (a structure that loads coal into rail cars, much like a grain elevator unloads grain) on Vancouver Island. Not well-known, it can easily be considered a Vancouver Island hidden gem.

Known for its historical significance and natural beauty, this 4 km-long corridor of Provincial Crown Land located between Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park (maintained and managed by the Regional District of Nanaimo), in South Wellington, and Hemer Provincial Park in Cedar, is a unique, must-visit destination for anyone interested in Vancouver Island’s history or for those simply looking for a peaceful outdoor escape.

Because there is currently no bridge crossing the Nanaimo River, within the MCRT, the trail network of the MCRT consists of two separate segments – the 2 km-long North Segment, between Cedar Road and Hemer Provincial Park, and the 1-km. long South Segment between MCRT to the Nanaimo River. The Central segment of the MCRT, which runs approximately 1 km. through agricultural land from the Nanaimo River to Cedar Road, is currently undeveloped and requires two bridges to span the Nanaimo River.

The MCRT runs along an old rail grade used to move coal, during the early years of the 20th century, from the mines of South Wellington to Boat Harbour. Between 1852 and 1938, coal mining was the main economic driver on Vancouver Island, and 10 small towns, notably Nanaimo, Ladysmith and Cumberland, were built because of it. In 1912, Pacific Coast Coal Mines, Ltd. (PCCM) began developing Morden Mine and, in its first year of operation, the Morden Mine produced 76,000 tons of coal.

However, from 1913 to 1914, a miners’ strike disrupted operations. During that time, a 22.7-m. (74.5-ft.) high reinforced concrete head-frame, the first in the district, was constructed.

Despite modern equipment and investment, Morden Mine was not as successful as investors had hoped and never succeeded. After the strike ended, underground work resumed, but the mine struggled with poor air quality, causing frequent illnesses among the miners. Between union strikes and unfavorable economic conditions, production stopped in 1921 and the closure caused PCCM to go bankrupt the following year. In 1930, the Canadian Coal and Iron Co. rehabilitated the mine, but production didn’t even last a full year, and the mine officially closed in 1931.

Crossing a wooden bridge along the trail

In 1972, to protect and preserve remnants of the Nanaimo region’s coal mining history, the area was turned into a provincial park (largely due to the efforts of George Wilkinson, a prominent Vancouver businessman) and recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada but, despite the designation, little was done to preserve the remaining structures. In 2003, “Friends of Morden Mine,” a group of concerned citizens, got together to try to save the remains.

In 1995, the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN), under license from the Province of British Columbia, initiated development of the MCRT corridor for recreational trail use. In 2019, the Government committed $1.4 million to restore the concrete headframe and tipple structure at Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park. Consequently, at the same time, improvements were made at the park.

Upon arrival at Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park, we parked the car just across the concrete Morden Mine tipple, its remaining concrete head-frame standing as a rare monument to Vancouver Island‘s coal mining history. The first of its kind in North America (before 1913, tipple were usually made of wood) it is, ironically, one of only two left standing (the other is the O’Gara Coal Mine No. 12 Tipple, built in 1923, in Muddy, Illinois) and the only one in Canada.

A memorial, at its base, commemorates the estimated 1,000 miners who were killed doing this very dangerous job, with 600 in the Greater Nanaimo area and 3, in particular, at the Morden Mine, as well as the unfortunate workplace deaths that do not include those who died of industry-related illnesses, such as black lung, of which there were many.

From Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park, we first hiked the wide, 1.2-km. long and fully accessible gravel path, with two wooden bridges, developed by the RDN. The RDN Trail lead to a view deck overlooking a quiet and tame section of the Nanaimo River. Currently, one can only cross the river on foot (getting wet in the process) but, eventually, the RDN hopes to build a bridge connecting Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park with Hemer Provincial Park in Cedar.

Back at Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park, we then walked along the short Miners Trail that follows the old rail grade used to move coal at the mine. There were plenty of signs to guide us. Along the way, we saw remnants of the mining operation that once took place here.

Kyle, the author, Grace and Jandy under The Arch

The concrete “Arch,” the surviving heavy structural base of a 60-ft. high, 56-in. diameter industrial smokestack, was built around 1913 by the Pacific Coast Coal Mines (PCCM), and once supported the boiler plant (with 3 150 horsepower Goldie & McCulloch high pressure boilers) that powered the historic mine site’s ventilation, pumps, heating and lighting as well as the winches to raise and lower the buckets up the 600-ft. main air shafts.

Near the towering headframe ruins are the foundations and structural remnants of the hoist house that housed the electric winding engines and heavy cable spools used to operate the skip/cage system, the electric winding machinery to raise and lower workers and coal cars via dual steel cables sunk roughly 180 m. (600 ft.) down to the main coal seam, in the concrete headframe.

Another remnant of the concrete foundation

Morden Colliery Regional Trail: 1L7, 1840 Cedar Rd., Nanaimo, British Columbia V9X 1H9. Tel: (250) 390-4111.

How to Get There: Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park is located 7 kms. south of Nanaimo. It is accessible off Highway 1 on Morden Road.

Petroglyph Provincial Park (Nanaimo, British Columbia)

Posted on 3 August, 2026 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

On our second whole day in Nanaimo, we decided to visit the small, 2-hectare Petroglyph Provincial Park, a short 8.2-km. (15-min.) drive from our motel. From the parking lot, a short walkway lead to an interpretive area with information boards that offer details about the history of the area and help to decipher the petroglyphs.

Main interpretive area at Petroglyph Provincial Park with casts and information boards

Established on August 24, 1948, the provincial park protects a remarkably high concentration of petroglyphs, date to at least the 10th century CE, found near the estuary of the Nanaimo River. These carvings depict mythological sea creatures, human figures, and animals that are symbolic of the spiritual and cultural history of the Coast Salish and Snuneymuxw First Nations.

Cheska, Kyle, Grace and Jandy at the entrance of the park trail

The locations of these traditional prehistoric rock art carvings were chosen carefully, almost always made at places of power or mystery, where forces of nature were believed to be especially strong. These areas are usually marked by a natural feature such as a waterfall, rock formation or caves, and most are near water.

Hard to verify, but I’m guessing this is one of the original petroglyphs.

Slightly further up the trail is the large sandstone gallery area, located on a hill overlooking Nanaimo Harbor, covered in the real petroglyphs and moss. The images, depicting everything, from mystical wolf-like creatures to fish and human figures, were made for a variety of reasons, including territorial ownership and to commemorate special events among a people with no written language.

A cast of a pteroglyph, probably a mythological sea creature

Eight concrete replica castings of the petroglyphs can be found in the main interpretation area. Here, visitors can make rubbings of the castings by stretching cloth or paper across the carving and lightly rubbing with a crayon, charcoal or wax, which leaves a reverse imprint. These rubbings make a great souvenir of a visit to this intriguing and educational park.

A cast of a petroglyph, probably a human figure

To protect the petroglyphs and surrounding vegetation, we stayed on the designated trails. Over or near to the original ancient indigenous artwork are more modern unauthorized rock carvings, including English letters, added by vandals.

A cast of a petroglyph, probably a wolf-like creature

Petroglyph Provincial Park: .990-960, Trans-Canada Highway, Nanaimo, British Columbia. Tel: (250) 474-1336. Open daily, 7 AM – 10 PM. Coordinates: 49°08′27″N 123°55′36″W.

How to Get There: It is located 4 kms. (2.5 mi.) south of the city of Nanaimo, on a hill overlooking Nanaimo Harbour. Access to the park is via a pull-off from Highway 1. Watch for signs. The parking area is a pull off, next to Highway 1. From there, it is a short walk to reach the petroglyphs, less than 500 m. in a loop.

Drumbeg Provincial Park (Gabriola Island, British Columbia)

Posted on 2 August, 2026 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

From Brickyard Beach, it was a short 8-km. (12-min.) drive to the 55-hectare (140-acre) Drumbeg Provincial Park at the east coast of Gabriola Island, overlooking the scenic Gabriola Passage. It is one of the most relaxed and scenic spots on Gabriola, and an easy day trip from Nanaimo. A popular area for diving, hiking, nature viewing, sunbathing and picnicking, facilities at this park include a grassy field, pit toilets, picnic tables, hiking trails and an information shelter.

Check out “Brickyard Beach”

Interpretive signage (donated by the Heartland Conservancy Group and the Gabriola Theatre Club), located at the information shelter in the day-use areas, offered information about the protected endangered Garry oak ecosystem and meadows (a rare and ecologically sensitive habitat that is especially pretty in spring when the wildflowers come out), undeveloped Douglas fir forest landscapes and the diverse marine zone in the park. Along with a number of intertidal creatures, bald eagles, great blue herons, harbor seals and American oystercatchers can be spotted here.

The kilometer-long sand and pebble beach

Managed by BC Parks, this day-use only provincial park (one of three provincial parks on Gabriola Island, the others being Gabriola Sands Provincial Park on the northwest shore and Sandwell Provincial Park on the northeast shore) was established in 1971. Offering excellent views of the Strait of Georgia and the Coast Mountains on the mainland, the shoreline here is the main draw.

The park contains a kilometer-long sand and pebble beach, which curves around the bay, with unique and striking, sculpted sandstone and conglomerate rock formations that Gabriola is known for, best seen and fully exposed at low tide (the time we arrive). The formations include shelves, ridges, and pockets that, though the terrain is uneven, are fascinating to explore and walk across.

The unique and striking, sculpted sandstone and conglomerate rock formations

We picked a spot along the quiet beach for our picnic. There was no drinking water, so we brought your own. While picnicking, we watched boats navigating the narrow Gabriola Passage just offshore. The sheltered bay at Drumbeg warms up nicely in summer, making it one of the better swimming spots on the island. However, strong tidal currents run between the islands and riptides and currents can be dangerous.

A light beacon used as a navigational aid

Following the shoreline are about 2 kms. of easy, gentle and well-maintained walking/hiking trails that meander along the shoreline and through the upland above the beach, well suited for families, with frequent openings to the water and quiet spots to stop for a picnic. The route passes through rare and fragile Garry oak and open meadows (keep to the trails to protect the fragile meadow plants). Underwater enthusiasts can dive from the shores of the park, or they can head out to Rogers Reef, by boat, and still stay out of the strong currents that run through Gabriola Passage.

The shoreline forest of Douglas firs and Garry oaks

After our picnic, we returned to our car for the 15.3-km. (20-min.) drive back to the Descanso Bay Ferry Terminal for our scheduled 9:25 PM return trip, via BC Ferries MV Island Gwawis, back to Nanaimo’s Departure Bay Terminal.

Drumbeg Provincial Park: Stalker Rd., Gabriola Island, British Columbia V0R 1X0. Tel: (250) 474-1336. Coordinates: 49°07′57″N 123°41′39″W.

How to Get There: BC Ferries has 25-min. crossings, from Nanaimo Harbor, to Gabriola Island. Depending on the season, the ferries run almost every half-hour, from 5:45 AM to 11 PM. From the Descanso Bay Ferry Terminal, follow South Road, across the island toward the south end, then follow signs via Coast Road and Stalker Road to the park. The road in to the park is narrow (only wide enough for one car) and the drive takes roughly 20 minutes. The small parking lot is adequate for most of the year, but it can fill on warm summer weekends, so arrive earlier in the day.

Brickyard Beach (Gabriola Island, British Columbia)

Posted on 2 August, 2026 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

From Malaspina Galleries Community Park, we next drove 9.8 kms. (a 15-min. drive) to Brickyard Beach, a rocky beach rich in industrial history located on the southwest coastline of Gabriola Island. The beach is located on False Narrows that separates Gabriola Island from Mudge Island and Vancouver Island.

Check out “Malaspina Galleries Community Park”

Brickyard Beach with Mudge Island, across False Narrows, in the background

It was once the site of Gabriola Brickyard, the largest industry and employer (of Gabriolans and Chinese contract workers) on the island. From 1890 to 1950, it was actively producing, all by hand, up to 80,000 bricks per day. The work was difficult, noisy, and dirty, but the bricks were used for construction of buildings in Nanaimo, Victoria, Vancouver and New Westminister in British Columbia.

The brickyard was located at the base of Brickyard Hill, just north of Ferne Road. The raw material was plentiful blue and brown shale, extracted on the hill by the beach, which was crushed to make clay. There was no electricity at Gabriola at the time and the plant operated on steam pumps heated by local firewood and cheap coal from Nanaimo. To heat the crushed shale, workers shoveled coal and wood into a fire and pressed the shale into bricks, four at a time, using a hand-operated hydraulic press.

Remnants of bricks mixed with sand, clam shells and pebbles

The ease of transportation, by ocean, made the location functionable. During low tide, the bricks were loaded onto scows that departed from the shore, with the high tide, for shipping. In 1952, because construction techniques had advanced beyond bricks, production ceased and the plant was closed and, a little later, the kilns and buildings were dismantled and the area was bulldozed and cleared.

Brush and undergrowth have now reclaimed most of the site but pieces of misshapen, defective or broken “Dominion” brand red bricks, that were culled by workers on the beach, have remained there still, mixed with the sand and pebbles. That’s how Brickyard Beach turned out. Today, there is still evidence of the old bricks located throughout the beach. However, because of storms, winds and human activity, most are crushed and mixed in with the sand and pebbles.

Today, little remains of the Gabriola Brickyard except for piles of broken bricks heavily littered on Brickyard Beach and the name of the steep hill on South Road. Enterprising locals still dig these historic bricks out of the banks. From the shore of the beach, it is easy to see Mudge Island (where orcas are frequently spotted) and the Pylades Islands and there are views of birds and marine activity as boats and kayaks often explore the area. The False Narrows is a busy marine route used frequently by sailboats, fishing vessels and yachts.

False Narrows. In the foreground are debris which, I am guessing, are probably from the dismantled factory and kilns

During low tide, the ocean water recedes, revealing a land of tidal pools that are full of marine life like sea anemones, crabs and star fish. There are opportunities for birdwatching and wildlife viewing like sea birds, predator birds, seals and more. Brickyard Beach, a launch and landing point for kayaking (the close proximity to the bays and coves on Mudge Island and the Pylades Islands makes the beach ideal for launching a kayak), is also a popular location for beachcombing, clam digging, gathering oysters and sightseeing.

Brickyard Beach: 1633 South Rd., Gabriola, British Columbia V0R 1X6.

How to Get There: A ferry leaves, almost every hour, for Descanso bay Ferry Terminal on Gabriola Island, from Nanaimo Harbor. The crossing takes 25 mins. From Descanso bay Terminal, it is a 7.3-km. (4.5-mi.)/10-min. drive to the beach. Drive up Ferry Hill onto North Road, connect toward South Road, and follow it southeast to 1633 South Road.

Malaspina Galleries Community Park (Gabriola, British Columbia)

Posted on 2 August, 2026 by Benjie Layug — Leave a reply

The tunnel of the Malaspina Galleries Community Park

After lunch at Ground Up Café and Catering, we drove the short 3.6-km. (5-min.) distance to the nearby Malaspina Galleries Community Park, a unique, wave-shaped sandstone rock formation on the northwest shore of Gabriola Island. The galleries were named for Alejandro Malaspina (November 5, 1754 – April 9, 1810), an Italian-born 18th century explorer sailing for Spain, who charted parts of this coast in the early 1790s. For well over a century, the formation has drawn artists and visitors.

One of the most photographed natural features in the Gulf Islands and one of Gabriola Island’s signature natural sights, the galleries are located within a small community park at the end of a dead-end road in a residential neighborhood so parking was limited. Luckily, we were able to park.

From the parking area, it was a short 100 m. (2 to 3-min.) walk, through a shaded, green West Coast evergreen environment typical of the Gulf Islands, to the rocky shoreline flats. Striking, vibrant arbutus trees, distinctive Pacific Northwest native trees, grow right above and alongside its famous weathered sandstone wave formations.

Grace and Cheska walking through the overhang

Upon reaching the shoreline from the trail, the galleries were on the left side of the rocky bluff. Carved by wind and waves into a shape that genuinely resembles a breaking, barreling wave frozen in stone. This overhanging sandstone rock formation, called a rip curl, stretches about 100 m. and stands about 4 m. high, forming a sheltered, tunnel-like passage with a ceiling, running along its length, you can walk beneath.

Bryan reading a book with our pet dog Luffy beside him.

As we arrived during the summer season, the area was packed with tourists. It was low tide (access along the shore is limited during high tide) and visitors were walking the shoreline, some looking for sea stars, sand dollars and other tide-pool life on the exposed walkable shoreline shelves.

Jandy, Grace and the author along the walkable shoreline shelf

At the tunnel floor are tafoni, a geological weathering process that creates a distinctive Swiss-cheese or honeycomb texture visible across the sandstone. Saltwater spray and tiny salt crystals seep into the porous sandstone and, as the crystals dry and expand, they pop tiny sand grains loose over hundreds to thousands of years, hollowing out individual pockets.

Distinctive Swiss-cheese or honeycomb texture visible across the sandstone

The Malaspina Galleries Community Park are a great fit for photographers and families wanting a quick, scenic natural stop. Walking beneath the passage, we appreciated the relentless erosive power of the ocean’s and got a sense of the impressive scale that photos struggle to capture.

Since the final approach is over uneven rock, the site is not for anyone with mobility challenges. Fishing or beach fires are also not allowed. The rocky point was also a great scenic coastal viewpoint where you can watch the regular BC Ferries ships crossing the Strait of Georgia between Nanaimo Harbor and Descanso Bay.

A BC Ferries ship, seen from the rocky bluff, crossing the Strait of Georgia

There’s also a house on the opposite shore which, I am guessing (I may be wrong), would be the Foster’s House (belonging to an early settler family) seen on a 1903 Malaspina Galleries postcard showing a standing man and a seated woman, a rowboat and the house in the background.

Malaspina Galleries Community Park: 99 Malaspina Drive, Gabriola, British Columbia V0R 1X1. Admission is free. A tide-dependent stop, at low tide the formation is fully walkable and the tide pools are exposed while at high tide, the water comes up against the rock and access along the shore is limited or cut off. Before you go, check a tide table. For safety and preservation, it is best to view and walk beneath the formation rather than climb the top of the soft, eroding sandstone overhang, a natural feature that continues to weather. As it is often the first stop for visitors, parking spaces fill quickly on summer weekends, especially right after the ferry unloads. Park respectfully and avoid blocking driveways. There are no restrooms on the site, only pathways and trash/recycling bins. The area offers opportunities to explore other natural formations, such as the Galiano Gallery and the “honeycomb holes.”

How to Get There: BC Ferries has 25-min. crossings, from Nanaimo Harbor, to Gabriola Island. Depending on the season, the ferries run almost every half-hour, from 5:45 AM to 11 PM. From the Descanso Bay Ferry Terminal, follow Taylor Bay Road, turn onto Malaspina Drive, and continue to the very end, where a short trail leads to the shore in about two to three minutes.

This travel blog, a diary of the author’s local and international travels, aims to provide the reader with news and information on people, places and events that would interest the avid traveler and tourist. But, it also aims to be much more, providing insights on the wonders of this beautiful country, as well as the world, beyond the strict confines of the city. Have a BLAST seeing old churches, exotic temples, educational museums as well as palm-fringed islands; white sand beaches; thundering waterfalls; placid lakes; fiery sunsets; turquoise seas; cathedral-like caves; swirling rivers; majestic mountains; stupendous, amphitheater-like rice terraces; awesome volcanoes and the like. Get to know the movers and shakers in the tourism industry; find out where to titillate the palate; rejuvenate your body; feed your adrenalin, unwind and relax; satisfy your craving for history and culture; and find out what's being celebrated and where.

BENJAMIN “BENJIE” LAYUG, an architect by profession (he finished his B. S. Architecture degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1982), is also a copy editor for two publishing houses; travel writer; blogger; architectural historian; author; concert. movie and musical reviewer (for www.pep.ph); and a motivational speaker.

As a free-lance travel writer, he has, in the past, contributed articles to Travel Update, Philippine Daily Inquirer, COLORS, TODAY, 7107 Islands Magazine, Business Day and Bluprint. He currently writes for Artplus Magazine and the Business Mirror.

He is also the author of the following travel books:

A Philippine Odyssey (New Day Publishers, 2005)
Pathfinder’s Travel Guide: Boracay (Great Books Trading, 2006)
A Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Churches (New Day Publishers, 2007)
A Tourist to Notable Philippine Historical Landmarks, Monuments and Shrines (New Day Publishers, 2010)
A Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Museums (New Day Publishers, 2012)

Some of his books now appear in the local library shelves of the National Library of the Philippines, De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila University, University of Sto. Tomas, U.P. Diliman, Centro Escolar University, San Sebastian College, Miriam College, Silliman University, to name a few, as well as internationally at the National Library of Australia and the University of California Berkeley Library.

Now a senior citizen, he is probably one of the oldest, if not the oldest, active travel blogger in the country today. He also has a lifestyle blog called F.Y.I.:Firing Your Imagination (www.firingyourimagination.blogspot.com). Benjie has traveled to two-thirds (53) of the country’s 81 provinces and over 20 countries in 4 continents.