Royal Roads/Hatley Park 35/17 weeks

We think we may have run into a "charlie" type guy on this trail.

We chose Hatley Park for our 35th outing. It is nice to occasionally visit the western communities. There are a few stores that we have grown fond of for selections of one thing or another. When the Canadian Superstore discontinued oil cured black olives from their olive bar the disappointment was palpable but there are still enough things to lure us over that way.
Hatley Park is a definite lure. At 82 forested acres alongside an outstanding array of gardens and the original family castle this place is amazing by anyone's standards.

The original Dunsmir castle lodge.

When we first immigrated to Canada in 2002 our family secured an apartment online from Illinois. It ended up falling well below the standards that we were promised and was a disappointment in every sense except its proximity to Hatley Park. Our first day here we ordered lunch to go from Dairy Queen and walked into the forest for a picnic while we waited for the landlord. We got to know the park pretty well and Mark took our mastiff Agatha for a walk through the park every day.

There are dozens of interesting facts about Hatley Park  as a historic site.  On this hike Mark and I actually avoided the feature that is one of the biggest and most famous attractions; the formal gardens. We will have to save that for another week. We hiked up the length of Charlie's Trail from the bottom. There is a waterfall canyon at the top but it was dried up at the time of our visit. After the rainy season it will be at a satisfying roar.
When we arrived at the cross roads leading to the Galloping Goose trail, we turned left and walked into Hatley Park.

 This colossal tree is an old growth example of what was saved in this park. 

An extreme hill that we hiked down and ran up the other side.   As you can imagine the forest air is invigorating.

Mark is always so happy here.

We walked across the main road to the university and headed into the forest. This wound around to the buildings that house the YMCA gym at Royal Roads. Below their parking lot is an access road that heads deeper into the forest or onto the hardtop leading to the lagoon at the bottom of Hatley Park.  We choose to head back to the main parking lot to continue the search for a source of oil cured black olives. And possibly a well deserved lunch at the Noodle House where they have proven their ability to provide us a vegetarian meal with no garlic or onion to mask its deliciousness.
I have actually used up my daily quota of superlatives to endorse this most beloved of local parks and still haven't managed to do it any justice. Take a day off and enjoy this ~~~~~ place. Like everything else on this island, it is changing fast.

Actually it is the hardtop leading AWAY from the lagoon but TOWARD lunch, which is why they are traveling so quickly.

(~~~~~ takes the place of the superlative I may have used had I not reached my limit.)