My favourite type of adventure is the kind that ends up being completely different from what you were planning. Maybe it’s the creative in me. Or maybe it’s just my desire to break free from the predictability that modern life seems to have. But when I’m expecting one thing, and I find something different, it makes my romantic soul sing!
This is exactly what happened when I headed to Sooke Potholes Provincial Park with my family for a hike. I had gone in search of pictures of the Potholes, and what I discovered was a waterfall!
searching for romantic inspiration
This adventure started because I used the Sooke Potholes as inspiration for the hot springs in Saving Shelby, West Coast Romance Books 1. I was planning to write a blog post about it, but I didn’t have any pictures that would work.
This weekend was blissfully rain free—a rarity on south Vancouver Island at this time of year—so when my husband suggested we take the kids for a hike, I requested that we head to Sooke Pothole Provincial Park, so that I could get those pictures.
Right from the start this plan was doomed to failure for a couple of reasons, not least of which has to do with the fact that all the rain we get around here in the Fall makes the rivers significantly higher than in the Summer.
But we will get to that in a moment.
First let’s talk about the discovery of a waterfall, because I have a not so secret LOVE of waterfalls. And I am always on the look out for them. Which makes the fact that I didn’t know about this one all the more surprising.
sooke pothole provincial park
Sooke Potholes is a very popular location on Vancouver Island. Basically, the Sooke River has carved “pools” into the rocks, making it an amazing swimming destination.
In the Summer, the sun heats the rocks, so that swimmers can warm up from the FREEZING COLD water simply by lying out on the rocks and absorbing the heat.
When my kids heard we were going to the Potholes, they immediately assumed that we were going swimming, and even when I told them that I just needed to grab some pictures and we were actually going for a hike, they still wanted to swim.
They didn’t seem to hear the part where I told them that this would be similar to doing a polar bear swim, just without the ice and snow—so warmer, but still ridiculous!
In the end, we decided that we would first go for our hike in the Sooke Hills, and then circle back around to the river to get my pictures and let the kids “jump” in the river.
undiscovered waterfalls as romantic inspiration
We headed off down the Mary Vine Creek Trail, which would probably have been a very serene, nature-filled hike, if we hadn’t been accompanied by very excited children. Instead, we just got the nature part.
And let me tell you, it was beautiful.
Sometimes it is easy to stop seeing the beauty around you, when you are immersed in it every day. Sometimes, I just need a last minute, spontaneous hike near home to be reminded that I live in a place that is pretty close to paradise—I think true paradise is probably a few degrees warmer and only gets rain at night.
I hadn’t had any expectations for the hike. I was just hoping to get some miles on my legs, so that when I do my next backpacking trip, I still have some of the fitness from the Summer. But as I walked along the path, laughing at the antics of the kids—every boulder that we came across, they pretended was the boulder from Indiana Jones—the sound of the creek we were walking beside intensified.
And then I came around a corner and realized that there was a waterfall. If my husband had needed any husband points, he would have regained all of them in that moment!
This wasn’t like the Skutz Falls debacle, where I had been expecting a real waterfall and discovered more of a plunging rapids situation. This was the discovery of a true waterfall.
The type of waterfall that you can stand at the base of and feel the power as the spray dampens your face. It was exhilarating!
inspiration for a romance novel
I was so moved by this experience—although I still can’t figure out how I didn’t know this waterfall was there—that I decided to make a change to my current work in progress: Rescuing Claire, West Coast Romance Book 3.
I usually wait to the end of the post to talk about how the location fits in with my current and/or future books, but since the change was a spontaneous reaction in that moment, I’m going to let you in on my idea now.
So without giving too much away, I will describe this change that I’m so excited about!
Claire isn’t a lover of the outdoors. She finds it scary and dirty, and she can think of much better ways to spend her time. But when she meets Spencer, who is Mr. Outdoors himself, she finds herself being “coaxed” into activities that take place outside—mud included.
Originally, I had Spencer convince her to give camping a try, but it never really felt right. It felt too rushed, like it was too big of a step for her.
And then I saw the Mary Vine Creek Waterfall, and I knew that instead of taking her camping, Spencer was going to bring her there. It would have a bit of hiking, and a bit of the romance that only a rushing waterfall can provide, and it felt much more doable for Claire.
Plus, there is another scene in the book involving another waterfall—hint, hint, it’s Skutz Falls—and so this new scene will circle back nicely 😊.
And back to the potholes
After our hike through the lush forest of the Sooke Hills and the romantic inspiration brought on by the discovery of a “hidden” waterfall—I’m pretty sure I’m the only person who has ever been to the park that didn’t know there was an amazing waterfall—we headed back to the river.
I was already concerned about getting my pictures, because we were losing the sun.
But, like I hinted to at the beginning, it didn’t matter what the sun was doing, because we arrived at the river to find that it was swollen from the recent rains. It was running so high that the Potholes were submerged.
All I could do was laugh!
I guess I will just have to make do with the few pictures I have of the Sooke Potholes for my post until I can come back next Summer and get some more.
If you’re wondering if the kids took the plunge that they were planning, the answer is sort of.
The river was running too high and fast for them to jump in fully, but they did run in up to their knees a few times. I had gone up the river to take more pictures, and I could hear their shrieks on initial contact. They reminded me of the scene in Saving Shelby when Shelby and Ian jump into the river.
Where to next?
It’s hard to say when or where I will head next in my quest for romantic inspiration. The weather is so changeable at this time of year. Plus it’s hard to predict what will happen with COVID 19. But I will keep searching for the right spot and opportunity!
When I can’t provide you with the details of a new adventure, I will fall back on ones I have taken in recent years that have influenced my writing.
In the meantime, I am hard at work on Rescuing Claire, and I also have the rough outline for a spinoff series—West Coast Romance Rivals—which will feature some of the ladies from the original series that were in competition with the heroine for the hero or at the very least made her life more difficult.
Should be exciting!
Take care. Stay safe. And keep wandering,
This adventure took place 7 November 2020
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