National Marksmanship Competition – Part 4

May 7 marked the middle of the competition, but no shooting relays took place.  Instead, everyone was given the day off to participate in cultural activities.  We were all going to be tourists.  Having a day off in the middle is a nice way to reduce stress and build comradery.  Sometimes the thrill of competition gets the better of people and they become unbearable.  I’ve heard and witnessed friendships tarnished & even end during competitions.  The day would also give organizers time to review the scores of the first two days and prepare the range for the standing relays. 

            

A number of locations were booked for cadets & their coaches to visit.  Buses would be used for transport.  The last destination would be downtown Victoria and teams were allowed to explore the area before being bused back to Work Point.  Officers were allowed to wear civilian clothing.

            

The first place we visited was Royal Roads University (RRU) in Colwood.  The main campus is located to the west of CFB Esquimalt and used to be the Royal Roads Military College (RRMC).   The centrepiece is Hatley Castle, built in 1908 by coal & rail baron James Dunsmuir.  RRMC was established in 1940 during the Second World War and operated until 1995 when it became RRU.  RRU is a civilian university that offers many academic programs, too many for me to list.  You can visit their website here for more information.

            

We disembarked from the buses and were directed to the entrance to the Gardens.  The Gardens are one of the main attractions of RRU, featuring greenhouses, a croquet lawn, and Italian, Japanese, and Rose Gardens.  The tour guides explained how to navigate these areas: keep to the path and stay off the plants.  The military organizers gave everyone 30 minutes to look around and then head to Hatley Castle.  Mother Nature must have known of our plans because the sun was out and shining brightly.  I would use this opportunity to perfect my skills in natural light photography.

            

The Gardens are packed with flora, ponds, and birds looking to escape the noises of the city.  (I suppose the same can be said for human visitors).  I’m not a botanist nor an expert gardener so I can’t name all the plants you can find here.  I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.  Some of the plants & trees are labelled.  The noise level within the Gardens is mostly quiet but not as quiet as the Arctic.  My cadets explored the area with curiosity.  Seeing so much flora in one place can be quite overwhelming when you’re born & raised in an area where there is so little flora and mostly rocks.  I think the main challenge to overcome is not being able to see clearly for many kilometres.

            

“So, this is one thing that Qallunnaat do down south to pass the time,” I explained to my cadets.  (Qallunnat means non-Inuit).  “They grow & nurture plants in specific patterns around houses and open spaces.  Sometimes, they’ll plant large trees to provide shade.”

           

“And then what do they do?”

            

“They just . . . look at the plants.  They also sit on chairs and benches . . . and look at the plants.”

            

“That’s it?”

            

“Well, the plants need to be watered everyday and some need to be trimmed to look nice.  Like getting a haircut.  You can do the same thing up north but these plants would have to be grown inside houses and greenhouses.  The Staff Room at school has several plants in large pots.  You could also make a rock garden if you prefer rocks.”

            

A short pause followed after my explanation.

           

“It all depends on where you live.  Some people hunt, fish, and camp out on the land while others prefer to take care of plants.  They say it’s therapeutic.”

           

3045 Marksmanship Team of 2019.

3045's Abbey Road.

I took a few group photos of the cadets in various places.  By a stroke of luck, I managed to take a picture of them recreating the famous album cover Abbey Road.  I’ll let you decide if there are similarities.

            

There was a large flock of Canada Geese swimming in the ponds with their young chicks.  I was taking pictures of a mother goose swimming with her chicks when suddenly, I noticed another goose nestled between green leaves just a few feet from me.  My cadets were daring me to get closer and pet it with my hands but I refused, saying I didn’t want to end up in a YouTube video clip that showed me being attacked by a goose.  I just took a photo of the goose giving me a serious stare.

            

The last photograph I took within the Gardens was a worker who was being hoisted up a tall tree to cut off a few branches.  (The area around the tree was roped off).  He was getting ready to give the tree a “haircut”.

            

Everyone was standing next to the RRU Museum entrance at the appropriate time.  The museum is located on the lower level of Hatley Castle.  A tour guide gave a brief history of the castle and its recent appearances in Hollywood blockbuster movies.  The most recent appearance she listed was the 2016 movie Deadpool.

            

Hatley Castle.

The museum contains a lot of information plaques and artifacts on display.  The largest display is a horse carriage.  The display I found the most interesting was a collection of RRMC uniforms and drums.

            

We walked up a large flight of stairs behind Hatley Castle towards the waiting school buses.  It was time to visit the Victoria Esquimalt Fortifications.

            

One of my cadets convinced me to stand next to this statue for a photo.

The fortifications are officially called the Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site.  The fort is named after John Rashleigh Rodd, a 1^st Lieutenant who served on the HMS Fisgard.  Construction took place between 1895 – 1897.  The fort remained active until 1958 when it received its National Historic Site designation.            

Fake artillery shells on display.

Battery entrance.

Where a cannon sat.

Large replicas of the coastal guns that were used by the coastal fort are on display just past the main entrance.  The foundations of the coastal battery still remain and you can visit the underground magazine rooms where the rounds were stored.  When you step onto the hill that overlooks the bay, you get a clear view of the sea, thus explaining why this area was chosen to construct the fort.

            

Fisgard Lighthouse, constructed in 1860, sits next to Fort Rodd Hill and was the first lighthouse in western Canada.  The structure became automated in 1929.  It’s also a National Historic Site.

            

Fisgard Lighthouse

I was able to take some good pictures of the lighthouse from atop of the hill.  I walked down and joined my cadets who were looking through tower viewers.  We walked around the lighthouse and inside the lighthouse.  There are some nice boat models & information plaques inside.

            

Royal British Columbia Museum

We were bused into downtown Victoria and dropped off in front of the Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM).  It’s a large building that appears to have undergone an exterior renovation.  There’s more glass and stone but traces of Brutalist architecture are still present.  We were led inside by a side entrance, bypassing the Admission lines.  We were given a room to leave our backpacks and any other large items.  I was glad cameras were allowed in the exhibitions.

            

The first exhibit we walked through was Natural History.  The exhibit is divided into 6 sections: Coastal Forest, Seashore, Ocean Station, Ice Age, Climate Rules!, and Fraser River Delta.  What I liked most about this exhibit are the stuffed animals on display.  There’re deer, bears, walruses, seals, and geese.

            

The next exhibit we explored was Our Living Languages.  This exhibit explores how the many languages of the First Peoples came under threat by the arrival of the White Man, the establishment of Residential Schools (RS), loss of resources, and current efforts on revitalizing & keeping these languages from becoming extinct.  I was glad there was an RS section included in the exhibit.  There are still many RS deniers in Canada and the best way to silence them is through education.    

            

The First Peoples Galleries are divided into five sections: Totem Hall, Nisga’a: People of the Nass River, Johnathan Hunt House, Haida Argillite Carving (HAC), and Archaeology.  These galleries I found to be the most in depth, detailed, and well presented.  My favourites were Totem Hall and HAC.  You can immediately see a lot of passion & work put into these galleries.  I took as many pictures as I could.           

            

Totem Hall.

The last section we walked through was the Becoming BC Galleries.  The five galleries in this section are: Century Hall, Old Town, HMS Discovery, Industries, and Gold Rush.  These galleries focus on the history of British Columbia from the 18^th to 20^th centuries.

            

The only exhibit we didn’t get to see was the Maya exhibit.  A large billboard outside was advertising the travelling exhibit but it wouldn’t start until May 17.  Maybe I’ll see it in a different city?

            

We retrieved our belongings and left the museum, free to roam downtown Victoria for 3 hours.  The cadets & I explored a few individual stores but ended up in The Bay Centre.  We boarded the bus at 6:40pm in front of the museum.  We arrived at Work Point at 6:50pm.  It was a great day off from the competition.                             

Outdoor display next to the RBCM.

To Be Continued . . .