Exploring Nanaimo

After a week on Denman Island (population approximately 1500), Nanaimo feels like a big city! I walked down to the Bastion, a tower used as a trading post which was also fortified with cannons in case anyone tried to take over the rich coal mining area. Coal became even more important once the gold rush started on the west coast. Interestingly, one of the tools on the inside walls was the same type of draw knife that I used yesterday for shaving bark off a tree.

Next, I did a whirlwind tour through the Nanaimo Museum in the 30 minutes before they closed. They had a very nice exhibit on coal mining, with a staged coal mine. There were lanterns outside the entrance that visitors could take to walk through the dark mine and read the placards.

In addition, there were many artifacts from the Salish people, including from an archaeological dig on formerly Salish land. There were drawers of stone tools; however, my favorite pieces were the beautifully woven baskets and hats.

A very well done traveling exhibit was of all the Japanese Canadians forced into internment camps during World War 2. There was a map of all the blocks in Vancouver where Japanese-Canadians lived, listing all the inhabitants. There were many different stories from individual Japanese-Canadians. After they were allowed to leave the interment camps, they were banned from returning home. Instead, their options were to go to Japan or east of the Rocky Mountains. A wall map shows how many migrated where.

At the ground floor of the museum was the Nanaimo tourist information desk. They had a much better map with walking trails listed. Google hasn't figured out walking trails in the parks in Denman Island or Nanaimo. Thankfully, maps are still printed! I walked all the way to Morrell Nature Preserve, which had maps signed throughout the trails. It was a very beautiful park to walk through. There were salal berries, Oregon grapes, turkey tail mushrooms and arbutus trees (with the peeling bark). On the trail, there was the largest slug I've ever seen! It was about the size of 15 garden slugs, just a big black mass on the trail that I thought was a large pinecone until it started moving.

My goal had been to walk around Westwood Lake as well, yet, after a bit of backtracking in Morrell, I decided to head back to the roads once I reached the lake. Westoowd Lake trails were printed on the map at the information center. However, there weren't any trail names listed. I tried to decipher the few sign posts that I saw against the paper map. There were very few people hiking or cycling on the trails.

Eventually, I made it back to a residential neighborhood. Yet, then, I tried to do a shortcut which appeared to work on the printed map which Google maps wasnt showing. Walked downhill a long gravel path. It didn't go through. Ate a blackberry as consolation and then walked back up that hill. At least there was a good view from the top.

By this time, it was time to start booking it to get back to my Airbnb by sunset.  After a very long steep downhill, I walked along a paved path by the main road. It looked almost brand new! Only saw one person on it while walking there. Didn't see the sunset but made it back before dark.