Our Next Conqueror Challenge...

 Hullo!!! I was going to try and wear all my Conqueror Medals but.. no...

Too many ribbons and... each medal weighs more than me!!

This all started during Covid when we wanted to do the virtual Camino... and then from there... well... it just kept going... Hadrian's Wall... The Jurassic Coast..... then the epic Pacific Crest Trail with Little Fox... and finally the Cabot Trail.

Anyhow... as most of you know... I finished the Cabot Trail last month... and dithered a bit about which challenge to do next... cause there was a discount after finishing... sooo... ready...

We are doing the West Coast Trail!!!

And after we bought that code... we got a discount to buy two more and get a third free... sigh... so we have *cough* three code vouchers waiting in the wings... We better get walking!

A Multi-faceted Adventure across the 49th Parallel...

 Hullo!! The town of Chemainus (world famous for its murals) had a street market a few months ago... so we decided to go. 

Seeee... murals!

They blocked off a huge stretch of Willows Street...

Well, that's cute... apparently the smallest luxury hotel... the Little Inn on Willow... it's cute...

Ah... here we go... stalls, stalls and more stalls!!

The street market had a bit of everything... crafters... flea market... food stalls...

I stopped to check out the old waterwheel... which is probably a replica... but still cool.

It's kind of neat... and a bit cooler under the trees. It is hot out there!

Alright... back into the fray!

People selling plants...

And wood work thingies...

And painted rocks coated with epoxy so they are UV proof!! I like the bear ones...

These two had the right idea... sitting in the shade.

A town with a bear is always a good place...

This is Hansel & Gretel's candy store...

Mama wouldn't let me in there. Hmph...

So... we didn't find much at the market but on the way back home, we stopped in Ladysmith and took a picture of this cute little house...

Do you know who lives here??? Do you..... think... Bay Watch...

You think about that... and put your guesses in the comments...

And one more stop in Ladysmith... which...

Has a marker for the 49th parallel!!! Yep... it crosses through town around here...

Am I straddling the 49th parallel??

Wait? I'm not???

Huh? How can it not be here? There's a sign post and everything!!???

Ah... well... technically... that sign is at 48 degrees 59'50"N... Phooie...

So where is the real 49 degrees??? Well, just a bit farther north in the middle of an intersection with the highway!!

A bit farther west, it crosses into this old private lot (it's a derelict building) but the city can't really put up a sign there... Oh well... at least we know where it is!

See... you learn something new everyday!!! You can also cross the 49th parallel again near Ucluelet on the west coast!

Sandy's Third Randomly-Scheduled Art Deco Architecture Contest

Hullo!! Sandy Bear here, and I came across a tragical tale the other day which has inspired me... Soooo...

This lovely building was the Georgia Medical and Dental Building (GMDB). It was built in 1927-1929 and was a stellar example of art deco architecture in Vancouver. It was the first art deco skyscraper in Vancouver! Pretty, isn't it?? It was designed by the same people who designed the Marine Building! And we all know how much I love the Marine Building...

It was across from the Hotel Vancouver - that's it in the background on the right...

The GMDB building had these 10 foot high terra cotta nurse statues on the outside of the 10th floor...

They were called the Rhea sisters and the three of them were nicknamed "Gono," "Pyor," and "Dia" (funny, eh?).

If you've been paying attention... you've probably noticed that I've been referring to the building in the past tense... sigh...

In 1989... the building was demolished with one of those controlled explosions. It created quite a stir and after that the City of Vancouver did more to protect historical heritage buildings. The reason for the demolition... it wasn't earthquake proof. Sigh.

Scandalous!!! Really. They did save the Rhea sisters... and one of them is on a building up at UBC!

They replaced the GMDB with a building now called Cathedral Place (cause it's next to the Anglican Cathedral. This new building has a fibreglass replica of a Rhea Sister. Hmph...

Anyhow... this story inspired me to hold the 3rd Randomly-Scheduled Art Deco Architecture Contest!! It's nothing like being an annual contest... although the last ones were in 2019 and then 2021... anyhoo...

3rd Randomly-Scheduled Art Deco Architecture Contest

The idea is... get a picture of yourself (the stuffie... not the human) in front of an Art Deco building where you live (or travel)... more details below... Building should be in focus... stuffies can be out of focus... as they usually are...

Contest Details:

Take a picture of you (the stuffie) in front of an Art Deco building where you live (or travel).

One entry per stuffie. If there is more than one stuffie in your household... well... then you can have one entry for each stuffie... Maximum of 3 stuffies per household (looking at you Beanie Mouse & Co... and you Little Fox & Co!!!)

You can send the pic via email or post on your blog and send me the link... (littlecanadianbear {at} gmail {dot} com)

Winners chosen by random draw...

Prizes sent out by Canada Post (as long as it's not on strike (again)).

Deadline for submissions: November 30, 2025

More Info on the Tragic Georgia Medical and Dental Building

Vancouver's First Art Deco Skyscraper Crumbles Down -

Georgia Medical Dental Building demolition - YouTube

The Georgia Medical-Dental Building | Eve Lazarus

Finding the Rhea Sisters   | Eve Lazarus

Finishing A New Hike

 This is such a pretty waterfall... it's too bad it's quite a hike... although that can be a good thing too!

Always good to know! This is a coal mining area... and you never know where you might find old workings... with holes...

Alright... let's continue this loop hike!

This is the view of the waterfall from the main trail... good thing we took that little side shoot!

We finally reached the upper part of the creek where the trail crossed the creek.  And now we're coming down the far side.

This side is wayyyyy more civilized... like a wide gravel path (we'll learn why later).

Onwards!!

Huh. Look at that... there's an old dam here! Apparently it was a colliery dam (told you there was old coal workings around here).

There's an interesting bit up near the bottom of the dam... let's just go see...

Up here... along this concrete wall that leads to the dam...

There is a big, ancient pipe coming out of the dam and going into that concrete wall.

That's pretty cool!! It must have funneled water somewhere... for some purpose...

Oooh... as we were walking we saw this... wait for it...

Do you see that black box?? We think it might be a trail camera...

Peek-a-boo I see you!!! Heh-heh... 

Or it might just be a people counter... who knows... but if it is a trail camera... someone's going to see a bear on it!! Rah!

Oooh... the wild blackberries are ready... or almost ready!

They are super yummy!

So... as we walk along this uber-civilized trail...

We see that old pipe following along with us... so this trail might have been an old road access back in the day.

Then we came across another sign for the Mackie Road Dam...

That's it down there... while the other dam we saw was a concrete dam... this one is a timber crib dam... It is at least 70 years old (early 1950s) and was built by the Wellington Collieries Company for coal mining water supply or control. But it's now not in a safe condition. It was supposed to be removed in 2023... and then 2024... but now it's due to get removed in 2025... we'll see.

Along the way... we found some horsetails...

Which are normally a foot tall or so... but these...

... are much, much taller... well over 3 feet!!

How did they know I was coming???

We are almost done our loop and found some old bridge abutments along the creek... one on this side...

And one that has fallen down on the other side.

I love it when a hike brings together nature and history!!

I also saw something interesting on that old cut log in the background...

Do you see the faces in it???

There's like a cat on the left... and... not sure about the right... maybe a camel head???

Cool!!!

The stinging nettles are all flowering... and I can touch them and get no stings!!! Cause I'm a little bear... 

And that concludes our hike today!! Now off to get some sustenance...

Ready...

A hot chocolate of course!!!!