Saturday, August 2, 2008
VANCOUVER — We’ve been here at Vancouver International Airport since 10 this morning, and we won’t be leaving until just before eight tonight. So if anyone has any questions about YVR, you know who to ask.
Our alarm went off at six this morning so we would have time to do all the last things in the camper before turning it in at Canadream. As mentioned yesterday, we had to do one more waste water dump, so when we got to the dumpsite, we were second in line. Unfortunately, when our turn came, we discovered that there was no more tank capacity for our small contribution! I went in to speak to the manager and he more or less shrugged and gave us directions to a place where we could obtain this service — without offering a refund for the service he was clearly unable to provide us.
Off we went, found the service station, paid our four dollar fee and divested ourselves of the last litre or two of waste water since our session last night. Not much further along the road was the Canadream headquarters.
What an impressive operation. We were directed into the ‘returning vehicles’ area where there was a hive of activity. Workers were stripping out linens and towels for laundering in one area while mechanics were crawling under other rigs in the garage section. Cleaners were scrubbing, dusting and cleaning every orifice and cupboard and plank inside the rigs, and in another spot campers and motor homes of all sizes were getting a thorough spray-down with pressure washers.
Meanwhile, reception crews were going over the newly arrived vehicles and finding out if there had been any problems during the rental period. I went off to the storage area to retrieve our luggage, which they had kept for us during our holiday, and we packed all our belongings. Then we went in to settle the account and no less than five minutes later we were boarding the shuttle bus to be driven to the airport. It was gratifying to see such a well-run business!
The airport was a bustling place, and, since we had all day till our flight was leaving, I asked the Air Canada attendant if there was a less busy time when we could obtain our boarding passes and surrender our luggage. He said it was pretty well this busy the whole time, so we decided to join the throng and get rid of the big stuff right off the bat.
We had a rendez-vous with my brother Johan at one, so we found a place to sit and read the newspaper for a while. He had suggested we meet at "the sculpture", so I went off in search of this landmark and discovered it not too far from our seats. It’s a replica of the work by Pacific native artist Bill Reid that sits at the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC — and is also depicted on our $20 bill. It’s a beautiful bronze statue that plenty of people were photographing.
We finally connected with Johan and set off to find a restaurant for lunch. Since our flight would be at supper time, we decided to have a decent dinner at the restaurant where there was some hope of elbow room and have something snacky on the plane. We enjoyed wild Pacific salmon one more time, and found it very tasty!
After some pleasant conversation, we bid Johan farewell and checked in past the security gate. After finding our gate and waiting about half an hour, Val noticed a change on the departure board: our plane would be delayed about 20 minutes. After absorbing that information for a while, an announcement came over the public address system that due to unforeseen circumstances, the flight to Ottawa would be delayed from 4:35 pm to 7:50 pm!! Yikes!
To kill time, I decided to go back to a boutique we had passed and treat myself to a manicure while Val immersed himself in his book. Then we went off to find a snack bar for a bite, using the meal vouchers Air Canada passed out to all the passengers. In a few minutes (we hope) we will finally board the plane which should get us in to Ottawa somewhere in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Ain’t traveling grand?
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Endgames
Friday, August 1, 2008
TSAWASSEN — We’re back on the mainland again tonight. Our campground is just a couple of kilometers from the ferry landing, and a few this side of the Canadream headquarters where we are to drop off our camper in the morning. So it’s convenient.
We got an early start this morning so we could make the 10:15 ferry back from Duke Point, outside Nanaimo, to Tsawassen. We opted for Highway 19, the four-lane, rather than the more scenic Oceanview Road, to make good time, and much of it looked like the 401 or any other super highway, although we passed a few rivers and farms along the way, and plenty of elk crossing warnings, if not elk themselves.
We made the ferry in plenty of time, and when it set sail, it wasn’t full, so we needn’t have been too concerned about crowding on the Friday before a long weekend. It was a smooth and comfortable ride, and we were at our campsite in time for lunch.
At this point our highest priority has been to consume as much of the food we bought as possible, since everything else has to be disposed of our transported in our baggage home. So we have had some rather unusual combinations of foods to accomplish this. And really, a cream cheese sandwich with relish isn’t half bad!
Our next priority was to get the camper washed. We saw quite a bit of rain these last couple of days, so there was some dirt and waterstains to remove. The campground manager gave us directions to a coin-operated carwash in Tsawassen that could handle an RV, so we headed in to town to get that job done. It was a bit of a challenge because the hoses were a bit short, and Val had to jockey the camper back and forth to ensure we got both ends of it clean! But it is looking quite spiffy now. We’re hoping the few raindrops that fell post washing will be it till we return the rig tomorrow.
We had purchased an extra bag so we could bring back the extra stuff we picked up; in particular the camp stove we bought — which served us well throughout the trip. So we did some digging out of cubby holes and drawers in the camper and began stuffing the new bag, cushioning things with our laundry. Thank goodness for ziplock bags, to keep things like garlic powder and parmesan cheese separate from T-shirts and socks!
Our final supper was a comestible patchwork of leftovers that assuaged our hunger pangs and emptied the fridge, but would hardly go down in the annals of culinary masterpieces. After the eighth pickled beet to kill the jar, I think Val was on the verge of regretting that indulgence!
Our other attempt at careful timing had to do with the camper’s holding tanks. The idea was to do one final dump in the morning before returning the vehicle, and we almost made it. But not quite. After washing up the dishes from our unusual supper, Val opened the door to our tiny, ahem, water closet and nearly stepped into a pink puddle of water on its floor! Those final dribbles of pickled beet juice that we had sent down the drain were the proverbial last drop, and the overflow was sloshing pinkly about the washroom floor! So, we unplugged the power line, stowed the stairs and drove 20 meters to the dump site for our second last drain, a less-than-delightful chore we will now have to repeat again in the morning. Oh well, we really didn’t have a whole lot to do tonight anyway!
TSAWASSEN — We’re back on the mainland again tonight. Our campground is just a couple of kilometers from the ferry landing, and a few this side of the Canadream headquarters where we are to drop off our camper in the morning. So it’s convenient.
We got an early start this morning so we could make the 10:15 ferry back from Duke Point, outside Nanaimo, to Tsawassen. We opted for Highway 19, the four-lane, rather than the more scenic Oceanview Road, to make good time, and much of it looked like the 401 or any other super highway, although we passed a few rivers and farms along the way, and plenty of elk crossing warnings, if not elk themselves.
We made the ferry in plenty of time, and when it set sail, it wasn’t full, so we needn’t have been too concerned about crowding on the Friday before a long weekend. It was a smooth and comfortable ride, and we were at our campsite in time for lunch.
At this point our highest priority has been to consume as much of the food we bought as possible, since everything else has to be disposed of our transported in our baggage home. So we have had some rather unusual combinations of foods to accomplish this. And really, a cream cheese sandwich with relish isn’t half bad!
Our next priority was to get the camper washed. We saw quite a bit of rain these last couple of days, so there was some dirt and waterstains to remove. The campground manager gave us directions to a coin-operated carwash in Tsawassen that could handle an RV, so we headed in to town to get that job done. It was a bit of a challenge because the hoses were a bit short, and Val had to jockey the camper back and forth to ensure we got both ends of it clean! But it is looking quite spiffy now. We’re hoping the few raindrops that fell post washing will be it till we return the rig tomorrow.
We had purchased an extra bag so we could bring back the extra stuff we picked up; in particular the camp stove we bought — which served us well throughout the trip. So we did some digging out of cubby holes and drawers in the camper and began stuffing the new bag, cushioning things with our laundry. Thank goodness for ziplock bags, to keep things like garlic powder and parmesan cheese separate from T-shirts and socks!
Our final supper was a comestible patchwork of leftovers that assuaged our hunger pangs and emptied the fridge, but would hardly go down in the annals of culinary masterpieces. After the eighth pickled beet to kill the jar, I think Val was on the verge of regretting that indulgence!
Our other attempt at careful timing had to do with the camper’s holding tanks. The idea was to do one final dump in the morning before returning the vehicle, and we almost made it. But not quite. After washing up the dishes from our unusual supper, Val opened the door to our tiny, ahem, water closet and nearly stepped into a pink puddle of water on its floor! Those final dribbles of pickled beet juice that we had sent down the drain were the proverbial last drop, and the overflow was sloshing pinkly about the washroom floor! So, we unplugged the power line, stowed the stairs and drove 20 meters to the dump site for our second last drain, a less-than-delightful chore we will now have to repeat again in the morning. Oh well, we really didn’t have a whole lot to do tonight anyway!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Water world
Thursday, July 31, 2008
CAMPBELL RIVER — The steady patter of raindrops on our camper roof greeted us this morning, and the rain has continued in varying intensities throughout the entire day. It was a day to do indoor things as much as possible, and fortunately we had a couple of things on our agenda to fill the bill.
Before the rain got too oppressive, we stopped at a small municipal park next to the shore where we had passed a collection of wood sculptures several times during our stay here. They are part of an annual driftwood sculpturing contest — although the wood being used appears to be more like large stumps from giant fir trees than driftwood! There were about 20 sculptures done with varying degrees of professionalism; in fact there were two categories of entries, professional and amateur. They reminded me of the snow sculpture contests we used to have during Winterlude in Ottawa. Once the sculptures are judged, they become the property of the town, and the outcome of previous years’ contests are on display throughout the town — eagles and mermaids, horses and bears, mythical creatures and fairytale characters.
We left the park and headed off to have a good look at the town of Campbell River, meandering down its streets and discovering that it is quite a bit larger than it seems when looking at the map. The land rises fairly steeply from the shoreline, so houses several streets back from the water still have a pretty good view, but beyond the slope are a number of neighbourhoods and subdivisions. The population of Campbell River is around 30,000, so it covers quite a bit of territory.
The Maritime Heritage Building was another "must-see". Its claim to fame is the original BCP 45, the fishing boat that was featured on the back of the Canadian five-dollar bill between 1972 and about 1986. A very nice gentleman named Boyd Van Engen was our volunteer guide, and because we were the only two in his party for the tour, we got an extended and expanded version of the normal spiel. Boyd is 73, sports a seaman’s beard and lively bright eyes, and brings a wealth of seamanship to his work as a museum guide. One of his colleagues kidded him at the end of our tour, saying once he learns to speak English he might be a pretty good guide. We enjoyed his Dutch lilt as he explained the painstaking work of restoring BCP 45 from the state of dry rot it was in when the community acquired it. The initials stand for British Columbia Packer, as the vessel was a salmon-fishing rig for a packing company. A team of six men, headed by the retired Buford Haines, set to work restoring the boat in 2003 with white cedar donated by a logging company and a lot of elbow grease and love. Haines passed away in 2007, just a year after this magnum opus was completed.
Boyd explained a lot more than the boat on our tour. We learned about the magnetic north pole, about tides in the Georgia Strait, and about the significant threat to shipping that a huge submerged rock presented in the early years in the strait. Some 170 vessels were shipwrecked when the swift current drew them into the narrow area where the rock was situated some seven meters under the surface. Finally, in 1958, a crew of engineers and miners plotted the destruction of Ripple Rock with great precision and lengthy preparations that involved tunneling through the rock to place explosives in such a way that the rock would be destroyed, but the resulting debris would not impede subsequent navigation. CBC television cameras positioned in several places along the shore recorded this explosion that, at the time, was the largest non-nuclear explosion the world had ever seen. We were able to view this massive display on a TV screen at the museum. The project was a great success and the now-open Discovery Passage has been a boon to the ever-growing shipping industry ever since.
Our tour, which was supposed to be a mere half-hour, lasted three times as long, and we enjoyed every minute of it! We thanked Boyd for his generosity and headed out — still in the drizzle — to the camper for a bite of lunch. Next to the Maritime Heritage Building is the Discovery Pier, that stretches out and runs parallel to the shore several feet out. People can rent fishing rods and fish from the pier, and a photo album near the rental office shows pictures of the amazing catches that have been had at that spot — salmon up to 40 pounds or more! On our visit, we saw some impressive wads of seaweed coming up at the end of some fishing lines, but that was all. I picked up a cup of hot chocolate at the snack stand to warm my hands and insides, while other customers walked away with newspaper cones filled with steaming fish and chips.
We thought we might take in a movie on this rainy afternoon, but after finding the theatre, which we had passed earlier in the day, we discovered that on weekdays in July and August there is only one matinee at one o’clock and we had arrived in time to see people leaving the shows. Oh well.
After a rest back at our campground, we donned our rain gear and walked over to the Salmon Point Pub and Restaurant for a lovely dinner of salmon with crab and shrimp sauce, baked potato and colourful veggies, followed by a Tiger Brownie (white and dark chocolate) drizzled in caramel and chocolate sauce and hot mugs of tea. A nice final dinner before we wrap up our holiday tomorrow, heading back to the mainland and flying home on Saturday.
CAMPBELL RIVER — The steady patter of raindrops on our camper roof greeted us this morning, and the rain has continued in varying intensities throughout the entire day. It was a day to do indoor things as much as possible, and fortunately we had a couple of things on our agenda to fill the bill.
Before the rain got too oppressive, we stopped at a small municipal park next to the shore where we had passed a collection of wood sculptures several times during our stay here. They are part of an annual driftwood sculpturing contest — although the wood being used appears to be more like large stumps from giant fir trees than driftwood! There were about 20 sculptures done with varying degrees of professionalism; in fact there were two categories of entries, professional and amateur. They reminded me of the snow sculpture contests we used to have during Winterlude in Ottawa. Once the sculptures are judged, they become the property of the town, and the outcome of previous years’ contests are on display throughout the town — eagles and mermaids, horses and bears, mythical creatures and fairytale characters.
We left the park and headed off to have a good look at the town of Campbell River, meandering down its streets and discovering that it is quite a bit larger than it seems when looking at the map. The land rises fairly steeply from the shoreline, so houses several streets back from the water still have a pretty good view, but beyond the slope are a number of neighbourhoods and subdivisions. The population of Campbell River is around 30,000, so it covers quite a bit of territory.
The Maritime Heritage Building was another "must-see". Its claim to fame is the original BCP 45, the fishing boat that was featured on the back of the Canadian five-dollar bill between 1972 and about 1986. A very nice gentleman named Boyd Van Engen was our volunteer guide, and because we were the only two in his party for the tour, we got an extended and expanded version of the normal spiel. Boyd is 73, sports a seaman’s beard and lively bright eyes, and brings a wealth of seamanship to his work as a museum guide. One of his colleagues kidded him at the end of our tour, saying once he learns to speak English he might be a pretty good guide. We enjoyed his Dutch lilt as he explained the painstaking work of restoring BCP 45 from the state of dry rot it was in when the community acquired it. The initials stand for British Columbia Packer, as the vessel was a salmon-fishing rig for a packing company. A team of six men, headed by the retired Buford Haines, set to work restoring the boat in 2003 with white cedar donated by a logging company and a lot of elbow grease and love. Haines passed away in 2007, just a year after this magnum opus was completed.
Boyd explained a lot more than the boat on our tour. We learned about the magnetic north pole, about tides in the Georgia Strait, and about the significant threat to shipping that a huge submerged rock presented in the early years in the strait. Some 170 vessels were shipwrecked when the swift current drew them into the narrow area where the rock was situated some seven meters under the surface. Finally, in 1958, a crew of engineers and miners plotted the destruction of Ripple Rock with great precision and lengthy preparations that involved tunneling through the rock to place explosives in such a way that the rock would be destroyed, but the resulting debris would not impede subsequent navigation. CBC television cameras positioned in several places along the shore recorded this explosion that, at the time, was the largest non-nuclear explosion the world had ever seen. We were able to view this massive display on a TV screen at the museum. The project was a great success and the now-open Discovery Passage has been a boon to the ever-growing shipping industry ever since.
Our tour, which was supposed to be a mere half-hour, lasted three times as long, and we enjoyed every minute of it! We thanked Boyd for his generosity and headed out — still in the drizzle — to the camper for a bite of lunch. Next to the Maritime Heritage Building is the Discovery Pier, that stretches out and runs parallel to the shore several feet out. People can rent fishing rods and fish from the pier, and a photo album near the rental office shows pictures of the amazing catches that have been had at that spot — salmon up to 40 pounds or more! On our visit, we saw some impressive wads of seaweed coming up at the end of some fishing lines, but that was all. I picked up a cup of hot chocolate at the snack stand to warm my hands and insides, while other customers walked away with newspaper cones filled with steaming fish and chips.
We thought we might take in a movie on this rainy afternoon, but after finding the theatre, which we had passed earlier in the day, we discovered that on weekdays in July and August there is only one matinee at one o’clock and we had arrived in time to see people leaving the shows. Oh well.
After a rest back at our campground, we donned our rain gear and walked over to the Salmon Point Pub and Restaurant for a lovely dinner of salmon with crab and shrimp sauce, baked potato and colourful veggies, followed by a Tiger Brownie (white and dark chocolate) drizzled in caramel and chocolate sauce and hot mugs of tea. A nice final dinner before we wrap up our holiday tomorrow, heading back to the mainland and flying home on Saturday.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Island hopping II
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
CAMPBELL RIVER — For the second time this trip, we left Vancouver Island aboard a ferry and headed for a couple of islands in the Strait of Georgia. This time we were visiting Quadra and Cortes (or Cortez, as it is sometimes spelled) Islands, just east of Campbell River.
The first hop was a 10-minute ride, after which we did some exploring of Quadra, the larger of the two islands. Both are known for their population of artists and artisans and for their rugged beauty. In addition, both seem to have a rainy northern half, and a drier southern half where most of the population is concentrated.
There are about 2,700 people on Quadra, and a lot of them, from what we could see, prefer to build their homes at the end of narrow, gravel roads well back in the woods, possibly with views of the water, and many with little orchards or patches of vegetable gardens. We followed the main road in the general direction of the ferry dock on the opposite side that would take us to Cortes, but we took a side road to look at Rebecca Spit and the provincial park that was at its tip. There was a lovely beach with rounded rocks, bleached driftwood and a serene feeling. A woman and her dog were wading in the water in the distance, and a couple of boats were moored to bouys off shore. Across the bay we could see Heriot Bay, where we were headed for the next ferry ride.
As we strolled back to our camper, a couple who had been walking their little dog were looking at our rig with some interest. They came from California, where they keep an Airstream trailer, but live part of the year on Quadra. They called their trailer The Empress when they first got it. Then their kids re-named it The Toaster because of its chrome exterior and rounded shape. Now that it’s older, they’ve taken to referring to it as The Tin Can, they joked. We gave them our blog address so they could read about our Alaska trek last year, after they told us how much they wanted to see that part of the world.
We headed on to Heriot Bay to line up for the next ferry. It only runs every other hour, and, not wanting to miss it, we ended up getting there well ahead of time. So we left the truck parked in line and strolled around a bit. There is a lovely inn near the ferry with nice flowerbeds and lawns, and Adirondack chairs overlooking the marina, plus a huge chess board about 10 feet square with pieces the size of traffic cones on the grass in front of the verandah. The place looked very welcoming.
As we strolled back to the truck, we passed a car in which an elegant older lady was reading the paper as she waited in line. I remarked to Val how much she looked like Iona Campagnolo, (former Liberal cabinet minister and former Lieutenant Governor of BC) and he said that was because she was Iona Campagnolo! We had just seen her portrait a few days ago at the aviation museum in Comox.
The ferry ride to Cortes was 45 minutes, but it didn’t seem long at all, as we gazed at the mountains, islands, clouds and water around us. A couple of young men on the ferry asked us if we had space to take them to Manson’s Landing if we were headed that way, so we rearranged a couple of items in the truck to make room. They were working on the island for the summer. The older one, Patrick, was 19 and had just spent a year in England working with blind people while fitting in some travel around the UK and Europe. It was interesting chatting with them about the adventures of travel and how much you can learn from visiting different countries.
Cortes is much smaller, with about 1,000 residents, but a similar feel to Quadra. After we dropped off Patrick and his friend, we headed toward Smelt Bay to the south, and then Cortes Bay on the west side of the island. It would have been nice to spend more time exploring and following some hiking trails, but we were very conscious of the time and the need to make it back to the ferry so we could connect with the Quadra ferry back to Campbell River without ending up getting back to our campground after dark. We did see a good number of impressive pleasure boats moored in both the coves where we stopped, and guessed they belonged to the owners of the gracious estates we didn’t see at the end of the narrow gravel roads we had passed.
We also saw a lot of deep forests of tall pine trees with thick undergrowth of ferns and carpets of soft needles and moss on the ground. Everything is so green and lush!
It was a pleasant ride home after a lovely day of sun mixed with cloud, and not too chilly temperatures.
CAMPBELL RIVER — For the second time this trip, we left Vancouver Island aboard a ferry and headed for a couple of islands in the Strait of Georgia. This time we were visiting Quadra and Cortes (or Cortez, as it is sometimes spelled) Islands, just east of Campbell River.
The first hop was a 10-minute ride, after which we did some exploring of Quadra, the larger of the two islands. Both are known for their population of artists and artisans and for their rugged beauty. In addition, both seem to have a rainy northern half, and a drier southern half where most of the population is concentrated.
There are about 2,700 people on Quadra, and a lot of them, from what we could see, prefer to build their homes at the end of narrow, gravel roads well back in the woods, possibly with views of the water, and many with little orchards or patches of vegetable gardens. We followed the main road in the general direction of the ferry dock on the opposite side that would take us to Cortes, but we took a side road to look at Rebecca Spit and the provincial park that was at its tip. There was a lovely beach with rounded rocks, bleached driftwood and a serene feeling. A woman and her dog were wading in the water in the distance, and a couple of boats were moored to bouys off shore. Across the bay we could see Heriot Bay, where we were headed for the next ferry ride.
As we strolled back to our camper, a couple who had been walking their little dog were looking at our rig with some interest. They came from California, where they keep an Airstream trailer, but live part of the year on Quadra. They called their trailer The Empress when they first got it. Then their kids re-named it The Toaster because of its chrome exterior and rounded shape. Now that it’s older, they’ve taken to referring to it as The Tin Can, they joked. We gave them our blog address so they could read about our Alaska trek last year, after they told us how much they wanted to see that part of the world.
We headed on to Heriot Bay to line up for the next ferry. It only runs every other hour, and, not wanting to miss it, we ended up getting there well ahead of time. So we left the truck parked in line and strolled around a bit. There is a lovely inn near the ferry with nice flowerbeds and lawns, and Adirondack chairs overlooking the marina, plus a huge chess board about 10 feet square with pieces the size of traffic cones on the grass in front of the verandah. The place looked very welcoming.
As we strolled back to the truck, we passed a car in which an elegant older lady was reading the paper as she waited in line. I remarked to Val how much she looked like Iona Campagnolo, (former Liberal cabinet minister and former Lieutenant Governor of BC) and he said that was because she was Iona Campagnolo! We had just seen her portrait a few days ago at the aviation museum in Comox.
The ferry ride to Cortes was 45 minutes, but it didn’t seem long at all, as we gazed at the mountains, islands, clouds and water around us. A couple of young men on the ferry asked us if we had space to take them to Manson’s Landing if we were headed that way, so we rearranged a couple of items in the truck to make room. They were working on the island for the summer. The older one, Patrick, was 19 and had just spent a year in England working with blind people while fitting in some travel around the UK and Europe. It was interesting chatting with them about the adventures of travel and how much you can learn from visiting different countries.
Cortes is much smaller, with about 1,000 residents, but a similar feel to Quadra. After we dropped off Patrick and his friend, we headed toward Smelt Bay to the south, and then Cortes Bay on the west side of the island. It would have been nice to spend more time exploring and following some hiking trails, but we were very conscious of the time and the need to make it back to the ferry so we could connect with the Quadra ferry back to Campbell River without ending up getting back to our campground after dark. We did see a good number of impressive pleasure boats moored in both the coves where we stopped, and guessed they belonged to the owners of the gracious estates we didn’t see at the end of the narrow gravel roads we had passed.
We also saw a lot of deep forests of tall pine trees with thick undergrowth of ferns and carpets of soft needles and moss on the ground. Everything is so green and lush!
It was a pleasant ride home after a lovely day of sun mixed with cloud, and not too chilly temperatures.
The 50th Parallel
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
CAMPBELL RIVER — This is the northernmost point of our journey this year, we have concluded. With four days remaining in our holiday, we would have to spend most of them driving to reach Port Hardy, at the top of Vancouver Island, and then driving back to make the ferry back to the mainland on Friday. So we will save that portion of the trip for another time.
We’re comfortable with that decision. There is plenty to see around Campbell River, and we can start our journey home without pressure. It was a very short drive from our campground just north of Courtenay to the Salmon Point Resort and RV Park, where we will be stationed for the next couple of nights. So we stopped in to register at around two o’clock and then continued into town for a look around.
The resort is right on the water, with a small marina and a restaurant close by, and tall fir trees throughout the campground. There are lots of RV sites, plus cabins, a rec hall, a swimming pool and hot tub. When we arrived, the boats in the marina were near the bottom of a large square enclosure with sloped sides made of large rocks. The high water mark seemed a long way up from where the surface of the water was at that time, but when we returned later, the tide had filled the enclosure right up!
The town of Campbell River (which has a cairn noting the 50th parallel that passes through it) is only a few streets deep, but spread in length along the Georgia Strait for some distance. Lots of the beach area is visible from the highway and accessible to the public, with a long walkway for cyclists and joggers, and plenty of benches and little parks for strollers. There are several marinas along the shore full of boats of all sizes. On the other side of the strait is Quadra Island and, beyond it, the smaller Cortez Island and the mainland.
We made our customary first stop at the visitor centre to see what the highlights would be for the area — and today in particular, we were looking for some indoor activity, because the day was grey and rainy, with a stiff wind that was downright cold to be out in. The tourist advisor suggested a couple of museums and art exhibits and then said, "have you checked your e-mail lately?" At first we didn’t get it, but then realized this was a suggestion for an indoor activity!
We opted for the Museum at Campbell River, as it is called, and were not disappointed. It’s a small one, but beautifully laid out and it provides a comprehensive overview of the area’s early Aboriginal population as well as the fishing and logging activities that came along with the arrival of the Europeans. It was interesting to see some artifacts from the Pacific natives that incorporated white man’s objects, such as a ceremonial jingle dress decorated with rows of thimbles in place of the traditional metal cones.
We saw a slice of a Douglas fir that, at the time of felling, was 1,034 years old! There were reproductions of a logger’s cabin, and the lobby of one of the first hotels in the area, that predated most local buildings and catered to sport fishermen in search of the prized "tyee" salmon which teemed in the waters offshore. There was a black and white photo of a woman named Phyllis who had caught one that she was carrying on her back; its head was resting on her shoulders and the tail was flapping against her ankles!
We headed back to the campground for a rest, and to look around some more, and then returned to town for a restaurant dinner. Campbell River calls itself the salmon capital of Canada, so we felt it important to sample the local catch. It was a nice meal, but not spectacular. As we enjoyed the view over the harbour which our table by the window provided us, we caught sight of a number of small fish, about four inches long, leaping out of the water. Our waitress told us they were baby salmon, and from the wharf further down you could see schools of them through the water! We also watched the ferry crossing to Quadra Island. Tomorrow we’ll be on it, to do some more exploring.
CAMPBELL RIVER — This is the northernmost point of our journey this year, we have concluded. With four days remaining in our holiday, we would have to spend most of them driving to reach Port Hardy, at the top of Vancouver Island, and then driving back to make the ferry back to the mainland on Friday. So we will save that portion of the trip for another time.
We’re comfortable with that decision. There is plenty to see around Campbell River, and we can start our journey home without pressure. It was a very short drive from our campground just north of Courtenay to the Salmon Point Resort and RV Park, where we will be stationed for the next couple of nights. So we stopped in to register at around two o’clock and then continued into town for a look around.
The resort is right on the water, with a small marina and a restaurant close by, and tall fir trees throughout the campground. There are lots of RV sites, plus cabins, a rec hall, a swimming pool and hot tub. When we arrived, the boats in the marina were near the bottom of a large square enclosure with sloped sides made of large rocks. The high water mark seemed a long way up from where the surface of the water was at that time, but when we returned later, the tide had filled the enclosure right up!
The town of Campbell River (which has a cairn noting the 50th parallel that passes through it) is only a few streets deep, but spread in length along the Georgia Strait for some distance. Lots of the beach area is visible from the highway and accessible to the public, with a long walkway for cyclists and joggers, and plenty of benches and little parks for strollers. There are several marinas along the shore full of boats of all sizes. On the other side of the strait is Quadra Island and, beyond it, the smaller Cortez Island and the mainland.
We made our customary first stop at the visitor centre to see what the highlights would be for the area — and today in particular, we were looking for some indoor activity, because the day was grey and rainy, with a stiff wind that was downright cold to be out in. The tourist advisor suggested a couple of museums and art exhibits and then said, "have you checked your e-mail lately?" At first we didn’t get it, but then realized this was a suggestion for an indoor activity!
We opted for the Museum at Campbell River, as it is called, and were not disappointed. It’s a small one, but beautifully laid out and it provides a comprehensive overview of the area’s early Aboriginal population as well as the fishing and logging activities that came along with the arrival of the Europeans. It was interesting to see some artifacts from the Pacific natives that incorporated white man’s objects, such as a ceremonial jingle dress decorated with rows of thimbles in place of the traditional metal cones.
We saw a slice of a Douglas fir that, at the time of felling, was 1,034 years old! There were reproductions of a logger’s cabin, and the lobby of one of the first hotels in the area, that predated most local buildings and catered to sport fishermen in search of the prized "tyee" salmon which teemed in the waters offshore. There was a black and white photo of a woman named Phyllis who had caught one that she was carrying on her back; its head was resting on her shoulders and the tail was flapping against her ankles!
We headed back to the campground for a rest, and to look around some more, and then returned to town for a restaurant dinner. Campbell River calls itself the salmon capital of Canada, so we felt it important to sample the local catch. It was a nice meal, but not spectacular. As we enjoyed the view over the harbour which our table by the window provided us, we caught sight of a number of small fish, about four inches long, leaping out of the water. Our waitress told us they were baby salmon, and from the wharf further down you could see schools of them through the water! We also watched the ferry crossing to Quadra Island. Tomorrow we’ll be on it, to do some more exploring.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Sails and wings
Monday, July 28, 2008
COURTENAY — Another sunny day greeted us this morning at our seaside campground. We have had so little rain this trip, which has been a joy to us as tourists, but has caused local authorities to ban fires of any kind in most places. Even with the sun, though, we have rarely if at all felt actually hot.
Our destination today was the two cities of Courtenay and Comox, which co-exist much in the way Halifax and Dartmouth do, separated by a couple of bridges and the Courtenay River but very much involved with each other. We stopped at the visitor centre for some recommendations as to what to see in the area, and got some good advice. Right behind the visitor centre was a looped walkway that we took to see the waterfront condos that overlook a small air strip and the river that separates the two cities.
Courtenay has a lovely downtown, Fifth Street, where small shops line either side of the road, and the streetscape includes bright hanging flower baskets, benches, and slanted parking spaces for busy patrons. The buildings are all one storey high, so it has a nice bustling, small town feel.
The street culminates at one end in a bridge across to Comox, which we took and then turned along the waterfront on that side. That road is the town’s main street, and all the lampposts are painted blue and decorated with white triangular banners that look like the sails of boats all down the street. Brightly coloured flower beds line the curbs on either side. It’s lovely.
We turned toward the town’s marina and stopped to eat our lunch in the parking lot before taking a stroll to look at the many boats moored there, with rows of masts standing like soldiers side by side. I always enjoy reading the interesting names people give to their boats; we saw the Kathryn Gail, Nonsuch, and Obsession. There were other neat ones but I can’t remember them!
The municipality built a wide, raised boardwalk between the marina and the waterway with thick sturdy boards and railings that we walked along. There were memorial benches placed every few feet with little plaques. One noted that this was granddad’s favourite spot, and the bench was placed there by the family as a memorial.
We wanted to have a look at the Canadian Forces Base and its aviation museum. It was housed in a low building right next to the airfield, and we passed a number of old planes on display in the field near it, which we checked out afterward. Inside were displays from the two World Wars, with photos, posters, uniforms, badges and personal belongings from aviators of days gone by. An interesting booklet was on display from a nurse in the Second World War, who insisted that every patient had to write a message or draw a picture before he could be released from her care. There were some very artistic renderings of the soldier’s life, as well as silly poems and comments.
One section of the museum had a reproduction of an airport control tower from the early days, with all the old equipment and a diorama of the airfield set out beyond the slanted windows of the tower. It was well done.
We strolled around the airplanes on display outside, and Val took pictures of a Voodoo fighter, a MIG, a Starfighter and one of the planes used by the Snowbirds.
On our way back, we meandered through a couple of well-heeled neighbourhoods with beautiful landscaping and views of the snow-topped mountains across the water. We couldn’t get over the profusion and beauty of the many flowers that grow so well in this province. Anyone with even a hint of a green thumb can do wonderfully in a climate like this.
We enjoyed the fruits — literally — of one such green thumb at a roadside stand not far from our campground, where we picked up a container of local raspberries, BC cherries and some Okanagan peaches. The raspberries were our dessert after supper today, and we simply ate them straight out of the container till they were all gone. Absolutely delicious! We plan to stop by again on our way out tomorrow for more — and to try the local blueberries as well.
COURTENAY — Another sunny day greeted us this morning at our seaside campground. We have had so little rain this trip, which has been a joy to us as tourists, but has caused local authorities to ban fires of any kind in most places. Even with the sun, though, we have rarely if at all felt actually hot.
Our destination today was the two cities of Courtenay and Comox, which co-exist much in the way Halifax and Dartmouth do, separated by a couple of bridges and the Courtenay River but very much involved with each other. We stopped at the visitor centre for some recommendations as to what to see in the area, and got some good advice. Right behind the visitor centre was a looped walkway that we took to see the waterfront condos that overlook a small air strip and the river that separates the two cities.
Courtenay has a lovely downtown, Fifth Street, where small shops line either side of the road, and the streetscape includes bright hanging flower baskets, benches, and slanted parking spaces for busy patrons. The buildings are all one storey high, so it has a nice bustling, small town feel.
The street culminates at one end in a bridge across to Comox, which we took and then turned along the waterfront on that side. That road is the town’s main street, and all the lampposts are painted blue and decorated with white triangular banners that look like the sails of boats all down the street. Brightly coloured flower beds line the curbs on either side. It’s lovely.
We turned toward the town’s marina and stopped to eat our lunch in the parking lot before taking a stroll to look at the many boats moored there, with rows of masts standing like soldiers side by side. I always enjoy reading the interesting names people give to their boats; we saw the Kathryn Gail, Nonsuch, and Obsession. There were other neat ones but I can’t remember them!
The municipality built a wide, raised boardwalk between the marina and the waterway with thick sturdy boards and railings that we walked along. There were memorial benches placed every few feet with little plaques. One noted that this was granddad’s favourite spot, and the bench was placed there by the family as a memorial.
We wanted to have a look at the Canadian Forces Base and its aviation museum. It was housed in a low building right next to the airfield, and we passed a number of old planes on display in the field near it, which we checked out afterward. Inside were displays from the two World Wars, with photos, posters, uniforms, badges and personal belongings from aviators of days gone by. An interesting booklet was on display from a nurse in the Second World War, who insisted that every patient had to write a message or draw a picture before he could be released from her care. There were some very artistic renderings of the soldier’s life, as well as silly poems and comments.
One section of the museum had a reproduction of an airport control tower from the early days, with all the old equipment and a diorama of the airfield set out beyond the slanted windows of the tower. It was well done.
We strolled around the airplanes on display outside, and Val took pictures of a Voodoo fighter, a MIG, a Starfighter and one of the planes used by the Snowbirds.
On our way back, we meandered through a couple of well-heeled neighbourhoods with beautiful landscaping and views of the snow-topped mountains across the water. We couldn’t get over the profusion and beauty of the many flowers that grow so well in this province. Anyone with even a hint of a green thumb can do wonderfully in a climate like this.
We enjoyed the fruits — literally — of one such green thumb at a roadside stand not far from our campground, where we picked up a container of local raspberries, BC cherries and some Okanagan peaches. The raspberries were our dessert after supper today, and we simply ate them straight out of the container till they were all gone. Absolutely delicious! We plan to stop by again on our way out tomorrow for more — and to try the local blueberries as well.
From shore to shore
Sunday, July 27, 2008
COURTENAY — This morning we listened to waves coming in from the Pacific; tonight we go to sleep to the sound of waves on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island, just north of Courtenay and Comox.
Today was mostly a travel day to accomplish this. The distances we have to cover are relatively small on the island, compared to the great stretches of territory we covered last year, crossing the North American continent. We only traveled about 150 kilometers today, from Tofino to the Bates Beach Resort and RV campground.
It’s a bit of a contrast to our previous location’s manicured flower beds, gravel sites that are raked daily like a Japanese garden, groomed lawns and staff purring by in electric golf carts. This campground is a rumpled, homey place where most of the campers seem to know each other and dented boats lie upturned near the beach next to the fish cleaning table. It’s been here since the 1970s, and the lovely view of the Gulf islands and the mainland beyond are a strong drawing card.
On the blackboard on the wall of the washroom and shower building the weather is scrawled in chalk, as well as the hours of the high and low tides and what cruise ships we may expect to see sailing through today. We got here after most of today’s sailings and tides occurred, but we’ll have to check out what’s going to transpire tomorrow.
Our trip here took us back across the island through some winding roads. From time to time, Val would pull off to the shoulder to let a string of faster cars go by. He did this one time, only to see the string of cars pull off just ahead of us — and then we saw why: a small black bear was calmly grazing on a grassy knoll by the highway just ahead! It was at the same spot where Val had caught sight of him on the way in.
Not long after, we arrived at Port Alberni, where we picked up a few supplies. We’re trying to scale it down quite a bit so our groceries are sufficient for the week but not beyond, as we will have to either leave or pack in our luggage anything we don’t consume! However, we did buy a small hockey bag to help us accomplish this, as we do want to take the nice camp stove that we bought home with us, plus a couple of other small things.
We passed through the beautiful Cathedral Grove one more time, still awed by the amazing height of the fir trees on either side of the highway. Our drive through Parksville and Qualicum Beach felt like familiar territory, as did the highway north of those two towns that we had traveled earlier when we took the ferry to Denman and Hornby Islands.
Courtenay and Comox were only a short distance beyond the ferry dock. We didn’t linger there, but rather headed straight for the campground for a leisurely afternoon with some time to get the last couple of loads of laundry done for our final week here. We’ll do more exploring tomorrow.
After supper we sat on benches facing the water and watched the waves, the seagulls and a pretty rainbow that the light showers mixed with sunshine had produced over the water. A couple of anglers proudly came by to weigh their catch at the scales near our seats. They had caught a small red snapper and a silvery salmon that weighed nearly nine pounds! The seagulls became very vocal and curious as one of them scaled the fish and cut them into fillets. He tossed the tails and heads onto the beach for them to fight over.
We struck up a conversation with one of the camp owners, who had also come down to see the catch of the day, and he said there were a couple of bald eagles who would probably soon be by as well. Sure enough, we heard one cry out a few minutes later, and I spotted him high on a tree overlooking the water. The owner went down and picked up the salmon head, waved it high in the air, placed it on the concrete boat ramp and walked back up to our viewing point. Minutes later the eagle swooped over our heads, stretched out his feet and grabbed the salmon’s head lying on the shore. Suddenly there was a second eagle vying for the same prize and not too pleased to see he had come too late! This early bird got more than a worm this time.
COURTENAY — This morning we listened to waves coming in from the Pacific; tonight we go to sleep to the sound of waves on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island, just north of Courtenay and Comox.
Today was mostly a travel day to accomplish this. The distances we have to cover are relatively small on the island, compared to the great stretches of territory we covered last year, crossing the North American continent. We only traveled about 150 kilometers today, from Tofino to the Bates Beach Resort and RV campground.
It’s a bit of a contrast to our previous location’s manicured flower beds, gravel sites that are raked daily like a Japanese garden, groomed lawns and staff purring by in electric golf carts. This campground is a rumpled, homey place where most of the campers seem to know each other and dented boats lie upturned near the beach next to the fish cleaning table. It’s been here since the 1970s, and the lovely view of the Gulf islands and the mainland beyond are a strong drawing card.
On the blackboard on the wall of the washroom and shower building the weather is scrawled in chalk, as well as the hours of the high and low tides and what cruise ships we may expect to see sailing through today. We got here after most of today’s sailings and tides occurred, but we’ll have to check out what’s going to transpire tomorrow.
Our trip here took us back across the island through some winding roads. From time to time, Val would pull off to the shoulder to let a string of faster cars go by. He did this one time, only to see the string of cars pull off just ahead of us — and then we saw why: a small black bear was calmly grazing on a grassy knoll by the highway just ahead! It was at the same spot where Val had caught sight of him on the way in.
Not long after, we arrived at Port Alberni, where we picked up a few supplies. We’re trying to scale it down quite a bit so our groceries are sufficient for the week but not beyond, as we will have to either leave or pack in our luggage anything we don’t consume! However, we did buy a small hockey bag to help us accomplish this, as we do want to take the nice camp stove that we bought home with us, plus a couple of other small things.
We passed through the beautiful Cathedral Grove one more time, still awed by the amazing height of the fir trees on either side of the highway. Our drive through Parksville and Qualicum Beach felt like familiar territory, as did the highway north of those two towns that we had traveled earlier when we took the ferry to Denman and Hornby Islands.
Courtenay and Comox were only a short distance beyond the ferry dock. We didn’t linger there, but rather headed straight for the campground for a leisurely afternoon with some time to get the last couple of loads of laundry done for our final week here. We’ll do more exploring tomorrow.
After supper we sat on benches facing the water and watched the waves, the seagulls and a pretty rainbow that the light showers mixed with sunshine had produced over the water. A couple of anglers proudly came by to weigh their catch at the scales near our seats. They had caught a small red snapper and a silvery salmon that weighed nearly nine pounds! The seagulls became very vocal and curious as one of them scaled the fish and cut them into fillets. He tossed the tails and heads onto the beach for them to fight over.
We struck up a conversation with one of the camp owners, who had also come down to see the catch of the day, and he said there were a couple of bald eagles who would probably soon be by as well. Sure enough, we heard one cry out a few minutes later, and I spotted him high on a tree overlooking the water. The owner went down and picked up the salmon head, waved it high in the air, placed it on the concrete boat ramp and walked back up to our viewing point. Minutes later the eagle swooped over our heads, stretched out his feet and grabbed the salmon’s head lying on the shore. Suddenly there was a second eagle vying for the same prize and not too pleased to see he had come too late! This early bird got more than a worm this time.
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