This is the entrance to the western side of Manning Park. If you don't look closely, you'd be forgiven for thinking this was a bear. (In fact, I did, as I didn't notice the tail.) However, apparently the people who made the decision regarding what to put on the sign as a symbol of the spirit of the park were total nature geeks. "What symbol should we choose? Something that sums up what this whole park is about, something that tells visitors they've come to a special place... a Bald Eagle? A Golden Eagle? Maybe a Puma or a Brown or Black Bear? No, wait!! A HOARY MARMOT! That's PERFECT!"

The trail leads off through the woods, on a very gentle incline. This region is dryer than the coastal areas, as it's in the beginning of the coastal mountain ranges.

This is the Pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellata, Ericaceae). It's an evergreen plant, used for a fair number of medicinal purposes across North America. The leaves and roots were also used as a flavoring. It blooms in June and July.

Leading off to one side is the Mount Outram Trail, a 7.5 km trail leading up into the alpine meadows of Mount Outram. I went up it a short ways but immediately after this clear area, the bushes have overgrown the trail. Since I am still rather paranoid about there being animals larger than me in this area... I decided to just finish the well-cleared trail.

The Simple-leaved foamflower (Tiarella unifoliata, Saxifragaceae). It's quite small, with very tiny white flowers.

Back into the shady section of the woods. The Large Wintergreen (Pyrola asarifolia, Ericaceae) is taller than the Pipsissewa, with all of its leaves basal - that is, growing from the bottom of the flower stalk.

A little further on, the trail goes over a stream that rushes down the hill. It's a lovely spot, but I just couldn't get a good shot of the stream. It was a hot day though, and the watery sounds perked me up. This Little-flower Penstemon (Penstemon procerus, Scrophulariaceae) was growing on one side of the footbridge.

The trail wraps back around on a bluff beside the highway, through a nice open meadowy area. The Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium, Onagraceae) grows in large stands in sunny areas.

And the final photo! The rare British Columbian Orange-Butted Bumblebee! Ok, so maybe it's not rare. I just thought it was rather neat to see bumblebees with nifty colors. (Postscript - ah, the hazards of research. Turns out, this actually is another species of bumblebee - the Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius, Hymenoptera). That's what I get for trying to be humorous.)