This is why I live here!

Looking from Biggs Park to downtown Nanaimo

This week, my friend Sally and I checked out Biggs Park and Jack Point, located right near the Duke Point Ferry Terminal just south of Nanaimo and about forty minutes north of my home.  Despite its proximity to the terminal, there is no traffic noise and no visible signs of the terminal with the exception of a couple of hundred feet of the 5 km round trip trail.  There is just the cry of the eagles and the caw of the ravens, the splash of the surf, the rustle of arbutus leaves and the whisper of fir trees.  Soft sandstone has been carved into beautiful shapes by the water and rain, and eroded into caves beneath tall cliffs. Driftwood in shades of reds and yellows and soft weathered greys lies haphazardly along the shoreline.
A thousand times I said 'We live in such a beautiful place!  This is amazing!"  And as much as I love these photos, they simply cannot do it justice.  Beauty and peace and nature and wildlife all at my back door......THIS is why I live here:

One of five eagles sitting in one tree

Sandstone cliffs eroded by water.  Notice the caves in the lower half.

More sandstone erosions.
This one looks like fish skeletons! 

The trees may not have leaves yet,
but the grass already has new spring growth.

Zooming in on downtown Nanaimo -
you can see the same orange containers in the photo above.

A quiet little backwash of water amid sandstone.

Beaches of driftwood and sandstone

Tall trees, calm water, blue sky -
What more could one want?

We sat here to eat our lunch....

Looking out at the lighthouse off Jack Point....

And watching the ships - some moving, some waiting.

A cormorant was also watching the ships, from atop the lighthouse -
perhaps he was the keeper? 

Colourful logs upon the shore

A tree waits for spring
on its own little island

The trail is well maintained, and most of the 32 acres is left in its natural state but for a few flights of stairs over tricky cliffs and a couple of short boardwalks over vulnerable terrain.  Despite its beauty and proximity to both Nanaimo and the ferry terminal, we saw no more than a half dozen people in the four hours we were there.  This is one more park on my 'visit again!' list.