Tag Archives: Port Alberni

Port Alberni River Mist

The drive across Vancouver Island on our way back to the ferry was exceedingly pretty.  The temperature in the passes was pretty low and what I imagine happens is that the mist freezes on to the trees.  The result was these beautiful white trees looking like they had been created as some Christmas decoration.  We were on a main road so no chance to stop and photograph them but, as we got down to Port Alberni, the mist was still around.

As we crossed the river, we got a view along the water between the trees with the mist hanging over the surface.  It looked really beautiful.  I stopped further along the road where I found a gap in the trees and could get down to the bank.  Once out of the car, I figured that the cold temperatures could be handled for a short while and walked back to the bridge.  We had a ferry to catch so I wasn’t going to spend too long exploring but this might prove to be a very photogenic place to explore if you had the time.

Martin Mars Storage

The days of the Martin Mars flying boats are probably done.  Coulson had been flying them on firefighting duties but they have been superseded by more modern and cost efficient types.  One of the airframes had been painted up in US Navy colors as what was supposed to be a move to a museum but that plan fell through.  The two airframes are now sitting on the ramp at Sproat Lake and are showing no sign of moving.

The drive to Tofino takes you right past the Coulson facility so I stopped off on the way over.  They don’t take visitors anymore so I just took a look through the fence.  On the way over, I was really looking in to the sun so getting a shot was tricky.  On our way back a few days later, we had made progress compared to schedule and the light was on the better side so I stopped off briefly to get a couple of more shots.  I wonder what the future holds for these planes?