On a beautiful autumn morning, twenty one of us left from the Westview ferry terminal to begin our trip to Texada Island. Upon our arrival our first stop was the Texada Museum in Van Anda. We met with Janice, a volunteer, who opened the museum just for us. She gave us a brief recent history of the island and then we had an hour to explore on our own. For an island with such a small population the museum is very well established. The articles/artifacts they have and the way they are exhibited in diorama rooms is very effective. We even got to go into a small replica of the Little Billy Mine. We learned about the island’s history, its First Nations use as a summer camp, exploration by the Spanish and on to the early settlers who were involved in the mining of iron, copper, gold and limestone and the establishment of Texada City and Van Anda.
Leaving the museum we drove to Shelter Point Regional Park in the Gillies Bay area.
We split into two groups and walked the 2.3 km trail through the impressive and unique old growth Douglas fir forest. The thick furrowed bark and limbs as big as tree trunks are no longer seen in such numbers and proximity in our own area. A truly awe- inspiring sight to see and many pictures were taken.
We had lunch at the Shelter Point Gathering structure in view of the ocean where we also enjoyed the warmth of a campfire.
There was a little bit of time to check out the area for birds and sea life before we left for the ferry and home.
Some of us were lucky enough to see a brief glimpse of two whales as we neared the Westview terminal!
Submitted by: Cindy Dalcourt
