The Enterprise.

These are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise.

Its five year mission... to boldly go where no man has gone before.

There is something interesting about Vulcan that few realize. During World War II the town of Vulcan housed the BCAPT Base that provided flight training to British Commonwealth members and the United States. At it's peak the base had 163 aircraft on site. But that's a story in itself and best told by those who are much more knowledgeable than I am. What I wanted to to show you was the an aerial view of the Vulcan Aerodrome. Check out the shape of the runways!

Now, look at the Vulcan Idic symbol on the plaque below. Coincidence, I'm sure, but I wanted to point this out. It leads me to ask a very strange question. Did Gene Roddenberry know about this little town and it's war time history when he chose to name Spock's home world Vulcan? As a commercial airline pilot he may have known the air strip existed and possibly even been aware of its purpose. We will never know.

We tried to enunciate the Vulcan Welcome but failed miserably. My daughter literally fell onto the grass laughing hysterically at me. She and her new pet Tribble, sprawled on the grass and laughing so hard I think they came from her toes. I was glad to have been the source of her amusement and I'm sure everyone who knows myself and my family would gladly point out exactly where she learned to be so twisted.

It really was a sight to see and the pictures don't do it any justice. It's huge, much bigger than I expected it to be, yet strangely small. Next time I hope the skies are brighter and the temperatures a bit warmer.

I also hope to see that they have updated the face board, or added a new one with all the new faces of Star Trek. The faces on this one kept falling backward and I finally gave up trying to get a picture with all the faces.

I have only a few more pictures to post and then my trip is done. The little town of Vulcan has the biggest spirit and happily welcomes everyone who wanders in, either by design or mistake. If you go, take the time and wander around the town as there are several Star Trek themed buildings, parks and murals to see.

Vulcan Virtual Reality Game

Don't Forget To Click On The Photos For A Larger View!

So, the Vulcan tourism Centre has a fun virtual reality game. And, of course we just had to go give it a try!

The premise is that you are a Starfleet Cadet and the Federation is under attack by either Klingons or Romulans. You have not completed your training, but since the entire sector is under attack, all cadets are deemed battle ready and, like the new Star Trek movie, the cadets are placed onto starships and sent into the fray.

When first entering the game, you are briefed by Captain Krok. This is a hilarious send up of Captain Kirk using over exaggerated body movements and vocalisms (if that's even a word).

He doesn't like cadets and, ironically, considers them inept and like children. Toward the end of the briefing, he forgets that the transmission is stil engaged and hurls one or two laughable insults at you, the cadet.

Captain Krok will appear once you are aboard your starship to give you other instructions.

The Omega shaped apparatus is called L.E.O.N.A.R.D, and is a new patented aiming and firing device desinged by a company called GestureTek. The game combines light, sound effects and a multi camera technology to place the player right in the middle of the action.

According to Vulcan Tourism, the "Vulcan Space Adventure" is one of only a couple GestureTek installations in Canada, and a first opportunity for Western Canada to see and experience this technology in action.

That aside, I can honestly say that my father, my daughter and myself had a ball playing the game. It only cost us $10.00 for the game and it was well worth it.

It took us a while to figure out which buttons were which and who was pushing what buttons. Part of the fun is the mistakes we made and the missed shots as we tried to recover from our own ineptitude and fits of giggles.

It really was a fun game to play and the props were very authentic looking.