Wednesday, December 23, 2009







Mist on the Mountain


There is indeed mist on our mountain - Mt. Benson, that is, which overlooks Nanaimo - and it gives an aura of mystery to the scenery  - not in this photo, of course. This looks as if it dates to maybe August. I have searched my archives in vain for a photo that shows Mt. Benson shrouded in mist, which is odd considering how often it is.

There was mist on Mt. Washington, too, when we drove up there yesterday to have a look at the view. Remember when we went to Mt. Washington the last time? That was back in June. We drove through a bright, sunny day, hoping to see the view from the top of the mountain, but when we got there, the mountain was shrouded in fog, and we couldn't see much at all.

This trip was almost completely different. The sun was shining - at just above freezing - and the road was clear until we got to Mt. Washington, when we found ourselves driving into a mist. About 1/4 of the way up to the lodge, a young man waved us down. We thought he was somebody who worked for the lodge, and that he was going to turn us back because of the weather, but it turned out he was just hitch-hiking up to the ski lift. So he put his snowboard in the trunk, hopped into the car, and rode to the top with us, assuring us that the fog didn't go all the way to the top. He was right. As we passed the halfway point, we came out of the fog, and I started muttering about how annoyed I was that my camera wasn't working. It was really quite splendid, looking down from the sunny heights at fog like whipped cream over the landscape. We parked the car near the ski lift, said good-bye to our stowaway, and went inside the lodge to buy a cup of tea. From there, we could look out through the picture windows at hundreds - hundreds! - of people careening down the slopes on snowboards and skis. There was even one man who skied sitting down. He turned out to be using something like this - It is called a monoski. I had never seen one before.


We all enjoyed watching the skiers, but we agreed that you would have to be crazy to come flying down a mountain on a couple of sticks. I suspect that we are getting old - but on the other hand,

I don't recall ever having the urge to do that, even when I was young. Of course, my favourite snow is on calendars, or on mountains in the distance when I know I don't have to drive over them.

We drank our tea, walked across the snow to the parking lot, and drove back to Nanaimo, having had our fill of snow for this winter - we hope.

I was trying to find a good picture of Mt. Washington to show you, and I ran across a set of webcams. I snagged this photo, but of course it's night now, and the mountain doesn't look the way it did when we were there. It looks quite festive, though, doesn't it?  If it's daytime when you read this, you might try clicking here to get to the rest of the webcams, or to this one by day.

We put Clarence on the train today, back to Victoria. The two of us will be working over the next four days, and then Christmas will start all over again when we take the ferry to Vancouver for a couple of days.

Meanwhile, La Boheme is playing on the television, so I'm very happy. Ah, Musetta is singing. Must go swoon.

5 comments:

Dominic Rivron said...

Re camera not working. I'm sometimes quite pleased to find myself without a camera. I find I can so easily get sidetracked trying to photograph what I'm looking at when I should be quietly appreciating it. (And I'm still young enough for my memories to be easier to find than my old snaps!) Other times I'm pleased I've got one.

Saw la Boheme once, years ago.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Unknown said...

I think Dominic has a point, but having said that, I still love to have a camera--hope you get a new one soon! Merry Christmas to you & yours.

Sandra Leigh said...

Good morning, Dominic and John. You know, I went something like thirty years without owning a camera. I missed capturing a lot of memories, but on the other hand, I think you're right - I saw a lot more than I do when I'm taking photos. That said, I can't post my impressions on my blog - except in words. Hmmmm.

Reya Mellicker said...

Lovely shots! I remember how shy the coastal mountain ranges are - how often they wrap themselves up in veils. When I lived in Portland, it was months after I moved when I saw Mt. Hood for the first time. Wow!!

I did ski when I lived at Lake Tahoe. My nickname? Snowface. That explains about about my lack of expertise, eh?

Happy Christmas!!

Sandra Leigh said...

LOL,Reya! You must be feeling better. In fairness, I should say that if I ever tried skiing, I'm sure I'd have had that nickname, if not a worse one.

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