Sunday ; Sunny and hot ... for the final time this summer, probably.
I asked Joanne if we could take advantage of the last hot weather day of the year to go for a picnic up in the Ashnola Valley. I wanted to try fly fishing in the Ashnola River. She used today's picnic as an opportunity to make Muffuletta sandwiches using the Muffuletta salad mix she bought at Surplus Herby's in Williams Lake recently.
We headed east on Hwy. 3 and just before reaching Keremeos we turned onto Ashnola River Road, crossed Red Bridge, and headed up into the Ashnola Valley following the Ashnola River. What a lovely wilderness area, and so close to home ! We stopped at Red Bridge Campground, a B.C. Forest Service Recreation Site. I waded into the Ashnola River and fished for fifteen or twenty minutes. I had three or four bites from small Rainbow Trout, but I was using a fairly large fly so as not to catch little ones. The fly was too big for the mouths of the little ones, but the water was so clear I could see them rush up from underneath and bite at the fly. And ... I quit after that short a period of time because ... my feet were freezing. The Ashnola River is much colder than the Similkameen.
We sat down at a picnic table and had the Muffuletta sandwiches Joanne had prepared. MMMMM ! ! ! Haven't had Muffuletta sandwiches since the last time we were in Lafayette, Louisiana, celebrating Mardi Gras, probably about ... < thinking > ... March, 2006.
As were having our picnic lunch wasps kept buzzing around my Diet Coke can, and just as we were finishing lunch ... OW OW OW OW OW ... a wasp stung me ! It crawled up the back of my leg, into the pant leg of my shorts, and stung me on the back of my thigh. OW OW OW OW OW ! DAMN ... that hurts !
Before we left home I put a large piece of Spring Salmon ( bought earlier in the summer at a grocery store ) and a large piece of Chum Salmon ( caught by me ) into the Sun Oven. I had marinated them overnight in my "secret special recipe" and had them dehydrating in the Sun Oven all day to become ( liquid ) smoked, maple syrup glazed, candied salmon. MMMMM !
For supper I barbecued Coho Salmon. First time we've eaten Coho, given to me by a friendly Native fisherman in Bella Bella recently. Joanne thought it was even better than Sockeye. I think Sockeye is better. HMPH ... now we've both become salmon snobs ! HA HA HA !
Monday ; Partially sunny, mostly cloudy, warm.
After lunch I headed into town for my haircut and beard trim appointment. Upon arrival ... precisely at 1:30 pm, I discovered that ... my appointment was for 11:30 AM. DUH ! How the hell did that happen ? ! ? Brain fart, I guess ! I rescheduled for Thursday, refilled a water jug in town, and headed home.
This afternoon I confirmed and tidied up loose ends on my upcoming trailer and minivan delivery jobs ; two trailers and one minivan from Osoyoos to Edmonton, and one trailer from Kelowna to Willowbrook. Very busy and profitable two weeks coming up ! Joanne did a lot of laundry, including laundering the sleeping bags that we use as bedding in the truck camper. With thanks to our Yuma Escapee friend Carol Mae, who gave the matching sleeping bags to us as a gift. I worked on both my fly fishing gear and my spinning gear, refurbishing the lines on both reels. Fishing for and catching salmon in shallow waters with rocky bottoms resulted in a lot of abrasion on my fishing lines.
I installed the fifth wheel hitch into the truck bed in preparation for the upcoming towing jobs.
Tuesday ; Overcast and warm.
Spent the day in Penticton running errands. Plan was to finish the day with a late afternoon / early evening flight, but ... weather / low clouds prevented that. Well ... not "low clouds" if flying over the prairies, but ... out here in the mountains, a 5000 foot cloud ceiling results in "cumulo-granite" clouds. HA HA HA ... mountain pilot humour. Let me correct that ; "still alive" mountain pilot humour !
Wednesday ; Cloudy, windy, warm, occasionally a bit of light rain.
A few days ago I provided a trailer delivery quote to transport a large fifth wheel trailer from Oliver to Vernon. This afternoon the client phoned to hire me ... to do the job ... this afternoon ! ! ! I applied a "rush surcharge" to the quoted price, which the client accepted, and off we went. We left home at 3:15 PM, drove to Oliver, met the client at 4:30 PM, picked up the client's extremely old and decrepit fifth wheel trailer, left Oliver at 6 PM, delivered it to Vernon at 8:30 PM, had supper in Kelowna from 9 to 10 PM, and drove home, arriving home at 12:30 AM. Tough but very profitable day.
Thursday ; Cloudy and mild.
Late this morning we headed into town. I went for a haircut and beard trim and Joanne went apple shopping. It's apple harvest time ! Then we headed to Osoyoos to pick up the fifth wheel trailer and minivan that we ( as Similkameen Trailer Towing ) are hired to transport to Edmonton. And as soon as we're finished that, we have to make another trip to Edmonton with the same client's second trailer.
We stopped at the bank in Osoyoos. We took Bo for a brief visit to his favourite park on Osoyoos Lake. We picked up the client's minivan and fifth wheel trailer at the storage yard in Osoyoos. We went to Lordco Auto Parts to buy some fluids the minivan required for the long trip. We drove back home to Keremeos / Riverside RV Park Resort.
We did a bit of maintenance work on the trailer, that I had promised the client I would take care of. And ... to make a long story short ... < sigh > ... I succumbed to the urgings / naggings of my dear wife and ... bought the client's minivan. HA HA HA ! The client wanted it brought back to Edmonton just so that she could sell it. As is the same with the two trailers. Joanne wanted the minivan. So ... Joanne gets the minivan. HMPH ... I guess we're now the proud owners of a 2002 Dodge Caravan.
I spent the evening trying to make hotel reservations for the next three nights. DAMN ... how frustrating. Now I know ... don't leave hotel reservations in Alberta until the last minute ! As a result of hotel reservation difficulties, I've had to completely alter the route we will take to Edmonton.
Friday ; Keremeos, British Columbia to Crossfield, Alberta ( just north of Calgary )
Cloudy, cool, intermittent light rain all day. Eleven and a half hours of driving, eight hundred kilometres / five hundred miles towing a 35 foot trailer through the Canadian Rockies. Too tired to type more !
Saturday ; Crossfield to Edmonton and back to Crossfield, Alberta
Cloudy and cold, especially up north at Edmonton ! BRRRRR !
We got up early this morning and headed north on Hwy. 2 towards Edmonton. At Leduc, a short distance south of Edmonton, traffic ground to a halt. The highway seemed to be temporarily closed due to construction. In an hour and a half we moved a couple of kilometres / a mile. And I think most of that progress came just because people were driving across the wide, wet, grassy median to get to the other side of the highway moving in the opposite direction. Which I could not do with a 35 foot trailer.
When I reached an emergency vehicle "u-turn" lane connecting both sides of the divided freeway, I drove across to the southbound side and we made our own detour, guided by Joanne with a map. Is there some reason the local ( useless ) law enforcement people couldn't have designed / executed the same detour rather than letting thousands of drivers sit with their thumbs up their asses for more than an hour and a half ? ! ? I can drive for twelve hours, but I do NOT have the patience to sit in a traffic jam for that long ! ! !
We arrived in Edmonton an hour and a half late ... obviously ! The client was understanding. We followed her to the farm / storage yard where the trailer was going, then spent a couple of hours with her unloading all her possessions out of the trailer, as we had previously agreed to do. How did she collect so much stuff in a trailer that she only spent a couple of months in this summer ?
We left the farm and drove back into Edmonton. I was desperate to refill with diesel. We refilled with diesel, drove around the city on the new ring road, then south back towards Calgary for a second night at the Country Inn in Crossfield. Another eleven and a half hour day !
Have I mentioned ... < whispering > ... I don't really like Alberta ? ! ?
DSK
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Sunday, September 21, 2014
September 14 to 20, 2014
Sunday ; Hope to home / Keremeos, B.C.
This morning we left the Trans-Canada Hwy. 1 rest area where we had boondocked overnight and drove into the city of Hope to refill with diesel. WOO-HOO ... found a Flying J. Didn't know there was a Flying J at Hope ! We headed east on Crowsnest Hwy. 3 until reaching Princeton where we stopped to replenish groceries at Cooper's Foods. We continued east on Crowsnest Hwy. 3, arriving home at Riverside RV Park Resort about supper time.
Welcome home. It was a great twenty-three day wilderness adventure !
Monday ; Sunny and very warm. Today was a long day of "return home" chores, not the least of which was giving a stinky dog a much needed bath.
Tuesday ; Mostly sunny and very warm. I was making ( liquid ) smoked, maple syrup glazed, candied salmon in the Sun Oven when the sun disappeared behind incoming clouds. DARN ! Today was another day of "return home" chores. Went into town to refill a water jug and buy some produce. I harvested our tiny vegetable garden this afternoon. HMPH ! Lot of effort this summer for a buck and half worth of green beans and one gherkin size cucumber ! At least my half dozen tomato plants are still very productive.
Wednesday ; Cloudy and warm. Joanne did a lot of laundry. We took the camper off the truck. We visited with neighbours.
Thursday ; Cloudy and warm. This morning we drove to Okanagan Falls where I had an aviation medical exam with an aviation medical examiner / doctor I had not seen before. Afterwards we drove to Penticton where I had an appointment with my gastroenterologist to review the results of my colonoscopy a few months ago. We spent the rest of the day running errands in Penticton.
Friday ; Sunny and warm. Got hired today to haul two trailers and a mini-van from Osoyoos to Edmonton, and another trailer from Kelowna to Willowbrook, between Okanagan Falls and Oliver. Will be busy the next two weeks !
Did some minor maintenance on the truck camper. Made fish tacos using Chum Salmon for supper tonight.
Saturday ; Sunny and hot. Second last hot day of the summer. Tomorrow should be the last.
After lunch we headed into town for the Similkameen Sizzle Pepper Festival, the annual celebration of the local pepper harvest. This is one of the very few areas in Canada hot and dry enough during the summer to grow peppers commercially. At the Princeton Traditional Music Festival a month or so ago I had arranged for a local soap maker / herbalist to sell me some tiny jars, the kind she uses for her herbal ointments and salves. I wanted a half dozen or so to make another batch of my pine sap salve this fall. She was selling at Similkameen Sizzle today, and I had arranged to meet her there today to buy the little jars from her. Thank you very much, Sylvia of Similkameen Soaps.
After returning home we did some minor maintenance on the truck camper. Around supper time I had a couple more items on my "to do" list for today, but ... the weather was so great, and supper was already cooked ... Joanne had made our favourite chicken and rice dish in the Sun Oven ... I decided to go fishing instead of doing my last two chores. HEY ... I'm retired ! Chores can wait !
I hiked about fifteen minutes upstream in the Similkameen River. The river is at its lowest point of the year, only about two feet deep in most places. Near my favourite fishing spot there was a lot of bear scat. I guess the bears like to fish there too. I cast my fly line out into the rapids there. First cast ... BAM ! A hit ! WHAM ! I set the hook ! And ripped it right out of the little trout's mouth. DARN ! Second cast ... BAM ! Another hit ! WHAM ! I set the hook ! And ripped it right out of the little trout's mouth ... again ! DARN ! I'm still in salmon fishing mode ! Third cast ... BAM ! < pause ... pause ... pause ... > I lifted the rod tip gently. THERE ... it's hooked !
WOW ... were the Rainbow Trout ever hungry tonight ! I set a new record, catching my limit of four Rainbow Trout in thirty-six minutes !
DSK
This morning we left the Trans-Canada Hwy. 1 rest area where we had boondocked overnight and drove into the city of Hope to refill with diesel. WOO-HOO ... found a Flying J. Didn't know there was a Flying J at Hope ! We headed east on Crowsnest Hwy. 3 until reaching Princeton where we stopped to replenish groceries at Cooper's Foods. We continued east on Crowsnest Hwy. 3, arriving home at Riverside RV Park Resort about supper time.
Welcome home. It was a great twenty-three day wilderness adventure !
Monday ; Sunny and very warm. Today was a long day of "return home" chores, not the least of which was giving a stinky dog a much needed bath.
Tuesday ; Mostly sunny and very warm. I was making ( liquid ) smoked, maple syrup glazed, candied salmon in the Sun Oven when the sun disappeared behind incoming clouds. DARN ! Today was another day of "return home" chores. Went into town to refill a water jug and buy some produce. I harvested our tiny vegetable garden this afternoon. HMPH ! Lot of effort this summer for a buck and half worth of green beans and one gherkin size cucumber ! At least my half dozen tomato plants are still very productive.
Wednesday ; Cloudy and warm. Joanne did a lot of laundry. We took the camper off the truck. We visited with neighbours.
Thursday ; Cloudy and warm. This morning we drove to Okanagan Falls where I had an aviation medical exam with an aviation medical examiner / doctor I had not seen before. Afterwards we drove to Penticton where I had an appointment with my gastroenterologist to review the results of my colonoscopy a few months ago. We spent the rest of the day running errands in Penticton.
Friday ; Sunny and warm. Got hired today to haul two trailers and a mini-van from Osoyoos to Edmonton, and another trailer from Kelowna to Willowbrook, between Okanagan Falls and Oliver. Will be busy the next two weeks !
Did some minor maintenance on the truck camper. Made fish tacos using Chum Salmon for supper tonight.
Saturday ; Sunny and hot. Second last hot day of the summer. Tomorrow should be the last.
After lunch we headed into town for the Similkameen Sizzle Pepper Festival, the annual celebration of the local pepper harvest. This is one of the very few areas in Canada hot and dry enough during the summer to grow peppers commercially. At the Princeton Traditional Music Festival a month or so ago I had arranged for a local soap maker / herbalist to sell me some tiny jars, the kind she uses for her herbal ointments and salves. I wanted a half dozen or so to make another batch of my pine sap salve this fall. She was selling at Similkameen Sizzle today, and I had arranged to meet her there today to buy the little jars from her. Thank you very much, Sylvia of Similkameen Soaps.
After returning home we did some minor maintenance on the truck camper. Around supper time I had a couple more items on my "to do" list for today, but ... the weather was so great, and supper was already cooked ... Joanne had made our favourite chicken and rice dish in the Sun Oven ... I decided to go fishing instead of doing my last two chores. HEY ... I'm retired ! Chores can wait !
I hiked about fifteen minutes upstream in the Similkameen River. The river is at its lowest point of the year, only about two feet deep in most places. Near my favourite fishing spot there was a lot of bear scat. I guess the bears like to fish there too. I cast my fly line out into the rapids there. First cast ... BAM ! A hit ! WHAM ! I set the hook ! And ripped it right out of the little trout's mouth. DARN ! Second cast ... BAM ! Another hit ! WHAM ! I set the hook ! And ripped it right out of the little trout's mouth ... again ! DARN ! I'm still in salmon fishing mode ! Third cast ... BAM ! < pause ... pause ... pause ... > I lifted the rod tip gently. THERE ... it's hooked !
WOW ... were the Rainbow Trout ever hungry tonight ! I set a new record, catching my limit of four Rainbow Trout in thirty-six minutes !
DSK
Monday, September 15, 2014
September 7 to 13, 2014 ; Port Hardy, Vancouver Island to Hope, B.C.
Sunday ; Port Hardy
We boondocked overnight in Bear Cove Park, a marina near the ferry terminal where we arrived after midnight last night. Today was a beautiful, sunny warm day. We did a fun obedience and agility session with Bo before leaving Bear Cove Park. He's been a bit out of sorts the last few days because we've been leaving him in the truck or camper a great deal when we go out, because of the risk of encountering bears, both Grizzlies around Bella Coola and Black Bears around Bella Bella.
We drove from Bear Cove towards Port Hardy's airport, heading for Fort Rupert, a local First Nations "rez" village where there was a free sani-dump station by the curling club. As I connected the sewer hose to the camper ... DARN ... the bayonet mount connector on the end of the sewer hose broke. And I didn't have a spare < mumble grumble >. After dumping and refilling we went over to take a look at a lovely park on the waterfront behind the curling club. HEY ... Storey's Beach ... what a nice place to boondock tonight.
We drove into the small city of Port Hardy and stopped at Carrot Park, the lovely waterfront park where the Visitor Centre was located. It was closed. But we saw the poster in the window for this weekend's fall fair at the Civic Centre. So ... we went to the Port Hardy Fall Fair. First stop inside the fair building was the auditorium where there were a few food vendors and a children's pet parade and show about to begin on the stage. The pet parade and show were reminiscent of the same thing we used to sponsor / plan / organize / execute each year on Canada Day in a suburb of Ottawa when we owned and operated pet food and supply stores there. We had a not very good lunch while we watched the pet parade and show. After lunch we walked over to the adjacent ice rink which was the venue for the rest of the fall fair. We wandered around looking at commercial exhibitors' booths and the tables where the winning food and produce entries were exhibited. I bought some fishing lures ( Buzz Bombs ... much cheaper than in Shearwater ) and fishing flies ( cheaper than ANYWHERE ).
We drove to the local shopping mall where there was a large grocery store and replenished groceries now that we're back in civilization. I walked across the street to a hardware store and bought two new RV sewer hose bayonet mount connectors ... and paid a LOT more than if I had been able to buy them at a Wal-Mart ! We drove to the wharf and walked out to see what the local fishermen were catching. There were no commercial fishers on the wharf today, but some local old men and boys sport fishing. One of the men had a Chum Salmon about the size of the one I caught yesterday. One of the boys had just caught a flounder. Odd fish ! One sided ! It's a flat "circle" that swims along the bottom. The "top" side, with an eye, looks like a fish. The "bottom" side is white and ... no eye !
We drove back out to the village of Fort Rupert, home of the Kwakiutl band. Joanne wanted to drive through the village, renowned for the expertise of its wood carving artists. WOW ! Magnificent totems EVERYWHERE ! ! ! Even in residences' front yards. And we had two astounding experiences. We found a cedar totem in progress.
Thirty-five feet long, being carved out of a cedar log four feet in diameter. AND ... the local cemetery ! Many gravestones decorated with memorial poles / totems and other types of wood carvings. Joanne thinks it is the most astounding display of First Nations culture and art we've ever seen. Of course, I took no photos, in accordance with First Nations' beliefs of not photographing gravesites for fear of trapping their loved ones' spirits forever on film.
What the hell is that romping in the middle of the highway ? Minks ? TWO MINKS ? TWO WILD MINKS ROMPING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD ? ? ? Yes, indeed, this area has wild minks ! We had never seen wild minks before ! They seem to have about as much "street smarts" as those Ptarmigan a week and a half ago.
We drove back to Storey's Beach. While Joanne prepared supper I took Bo out to romp on the huge expanse of tidal flats that are exposed at low tide. It's not as if he could get any more stinky than he already is from this adventure trip. HA HA HA ! Especially the fish breath that he's had since I gave him some Chum Salmon sushi yesterday when we were butchering my fish. Joanne was planning to serve us wild Blackberries for dessert tonight, but when she removed them from the fridge ... they had gone mouldy already ! GEEEZ ... the high humidity of the rainforest climate has taken a toll on our fruits and vegetables in the last week or so.
I should stop typing now. Joanne has just requested my company for a late night moonlit walk on the beach !
Monday ; Port Hardy to Campbell River
Sunny and warm, another beautiful day.
This morning we dumped and refilled at the sani-dump station beside the Fort Rupert Curling Club before leaving beautiful Storey's Beach. We drove into the village of Fort Rupert to see if there was anyone working on the giant totem. We expected that it was being carved by more than one person. But ... there was only one person working on the carving. The artist ! He was reluctant at first to chat, but eventually warmed to us. Perhaps our questions weren't as stupid as he was expecting ?
He's fifty years old. He is one of only about twenty totem artists, and the youngest one. He was bemoaning the younger generation's lack of interest in totem carving as an art form. He learned from his father and uncles and older brother. He's trying to persuade a nephew to learn from him. He's carving the thirty-five foot totem for a wealthy, retired banker who lives on an island near Seattle. His fee is $2000 per foot, for a total charge of $70,000. I think he's undercharging ! If I was rich(er) I would gladly pay $70,000 for a thirty-five foot cedar totem. I wonder if Riverside RV Park Resort would permit me to mount a thirty-five foot totem in my yard ? HA HA HA ! It's going to cost his client another $100,000 to transport the totem by water, and mount it on his island property.
We drove south on Hwy. 19 to Telegraph Cove. We were eager to visit based on what we had read in tourist magazines. What a disappointment ! We never even got out of our truck ! Telegraph Cove is an artificial / manufactured / created community, all developed within about the last ten years or so for upscale, wealthy clients, very much like Shearwater. Part of why I was interested in seeing it is because eight years ago when we were buying a lot at Riverside RV Park Resort near Keremeos, I was considering a similar development at Telegraph Cove. We made the right decision by buying at Riverside !
Just after leaving Telegraph Cove we stopped at a roadside rest area to have lunch. It was perched on a cliff above a log sorting and grading mill on a sheltered bay. The logs were being graded and sorted by size on land, then bundled by size and grade on the water, for shipment by water. Very interesting to watch. Joanne prepared lunch and we ate outside at a picnic table when she noticed ... HEY ... look at that large Blackberry bush ... FULL of ripe berries waiting to be picked. WOO-HOO ! We picked a lot of Blackberries, consoling ourselves for the batch that went mouldy. And we got a lot of deep scratches on our arms and legs from the Blackberry bush thorns.
We continued south on Hwy. 19, the main highway that runs the entire north / south length of Vancouver Island. Our objective for tonight was Shoen Lake Provincial Park, but when we got to the turn to the provincial park, and realized it was a further 18 km. of rough gravel road to the campground, we decided to keep on driving south on Hwy. 19. We reached Campbell River, a small city about halfway down Vancouver Island. Joanne was disappointed in the northern half of Vancouver Island. Except for Port Hardy, the "North Island" didn't have much going for it !
GEEEEEZZZ ... I'm typing this at the camper's dinette table at 9:30 PM and Bo is fast asleep beside me, snoring loudly like an old man !
When we reached Campbell River I refilled with diesel, then we found our way to Elk Falls Provincial Park on the edge of the city. Very nice campground. I lit a campfire and ... < insert drum roll here > ... barbecued fresh Coho Salmon ( wild caught and given to me on Friday in Bella Bella ) on the open fire. It was wonderful, very similar to wild Sockeye Salmon. I fed the skin to Bo. HE APPROVED ! And I gave a small piece of barbecued salmon to Sully. HE APPROVED ! HA HA HA ! I approved of the fresh blackberries for dessert !
After supper we went for a walk around the campground and a short hike alongside the Quinsam River flowing beside the provincial park. The river is beginning to stink with dead salmon. I guess the closer the river is to the ocean, the sooner the salmon have returned, spawned, and died.
Tuesday ; Campbell River to Miracle Beach Provincial Park
Another sunny, warm day. Joanne was feeling quite ill today with a cold that started a couple of days ago. We spent most of today running errands and doing chores in Campbell River.
This morning we left Elk Falls Provincial Park on the edge of the small city of Campbell River and backtracked a very short distance on Hwy. 19 to a farm we saw yesterday that sells fresh produce, but it was closed when we drove by it yesterday. We bought some fresh produce and drove back into the city. We found our way to Tyee Mall which included, amongst other things, the Visitor Centre and a laundromat. Upon the recommendation of the Visitor Centre we walked a short distance to the waterfront and had lunch at Dick's Fish & Chips. Throughout this trip Joanne has wanted fresh halibut "fish & chips".
After lunch Joanne did laundry at the laundromat and I worked online using Wi-Fi at the Visitor Centre. I got my journal for last week posted to my blog, but text only. I wasn't able to upload all the photos that accompany last week's blog entry. We finished our afternoon in Campbell River by going Wal-Martin'.
We decided to leave the city by driving south along Hwy. 19A, the alternate route along the ocean. Campbell River is an impressive small city, with a lot of green space ; parks and walkways along the waterfront, etc. Lots of totems and wood carvings. Hwy. 19A wound its way along the ocean shoreline, passing through suburbs and bedroom communities. Looks like a nice place to call home. Less than an hour south of the city we stopped at Miracle Beach Provincial Park for the night. After getting set up in a site,
I lit a campfire and we had a wiener roast for supper.
Wednesday ; Miracle Beach Provincial Park to Courtenay / Comox by road, then to Powell River by ferry
Another sunny warm day ! We've always had good luck with great weather travelling in early September. I'm beginning this entry at 6 PM as we wait at the Comox ferry terminal for the ferry to Powell River. Our lack of having a Vancouver Island to Sunshine Coast ferry schedule resulted in a lot of waiting for us today.
We slept late. Joanne is ill. We did a fun obedience session with Bo before leaving the campground around noon. We continued south on Hwy. 19A, the "alternate" highway route along the ocean. And we did some back roads exploring on the way to the ferry terminal at Comox, arriving about 1:30 PM, only to discover that the next ferry was leaving at 6:50 PM. DARN ! We drove back to Courtenay and found our way to a large shopping mall. Courtenay and Comox are adjacent "twin" small cities. Well ... Courtenay is a small city, Comox is mostly just a ferry terminal and a large military base.
We parked at the shopping mall and had lunch in the camper. I used the ferry waiting time as an opportunity to have an afternoon nap with Sully. Joanne went into Real Canadian Superstore and bought some groceries. We left the mall at 5 PM and headed back to the ferry terminal. While waiting at the ferry terminal for an hour and a half we chatted with a busload ... twenty people ... of tourists from France. They were a family group ; four brothers, one sister, their spouses and families, on a B.C. exploration trip by chartered bus, in celebration of frรจre Jacques' sixtieth birthday. How novel ! The conversation started when one of the couples walked by and were admiring our truck camper, speaking in French. They were surprised when we spoke to them in French.
By the time the ferry arrived in Powell River ( at 8:20 PM ) it was dark. With just a bit of difficulty we found our way to the large shopping mall in town to have a very late supper ( at 9 PM ) and spend the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
HUH ? ? ? Why is there a doe and her fawn wandering around right in the city of Powell River ?
Thursday ; Powell River north to Lund then south to Saltery Bay Provincial Park
Another sunny, warm day. Gee, we've had great weather on this trip !
We left Powell River's Wal-Mart this morning and drove to the municipal campground at Willingdon Beach to use the sani-dump station before heading north on Hwy. 101 to Lund. The End Of The Road ! Hwy. 101 starts / ends in Lund. Can't go any further north on Hwy. 101. I think the other / south end of Hwy. 101, which follows the Pacific Ocean coastline through British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California, is near Los Angeles.
Lund is what Telegraph Cove is trying to be, but fails. A beautiful, small, seaside town with a waterfront boardwalk, lots of cute little stores and shops and restaurants. We wandered around for an hour or so. Heading back south on Hwy. 101 we stopped at Okeover Provincial Park to have lunch. The tide was low so Bo and I went for a short walk on the cobblestone tidal flats while Joanne prepared lunch. HEY ... OYSTERS !
I picked up an oyster to have as an appetizer for lunch. Joanne disapproves of me eating wild raw oysters. < shrug >
After lunch ... no, no, the oyster didn't kill me ... we continued south on Hwy. 101 back to Powell River. We drove around the "old townsite" built about a hundred years ago when the pulp and paper mill was developed. And I took a photo of "The Hulks Of Powell River", a series of concrete barges built during the First World War, sunk in the 1930's in front of the mill to serve as a breakwater.
We continued through Powell River and south for about 35 km. / 20 miles to Saltery Bay Provincial Park. We set up in a campsite then I went to nap with Sully for an hour. Afterwards we took Bo for a hike to the ocean / Mermaid's Cove where he and I explored tidal pools. What a lot of interesting little creatures in tidal pools ! I think Bo ate a teensy little Hermit Crab. We hiked a short distance along the waterfront Mermaid's Trail.
Back at the campground I lit a campfire and cooked an excellent meal of steak, fresh tiny potatoes, and Patty Pan squash on the barbecue. After supper at the picnic table we sat around the campfire and mused about what a wonderful trip this has been. And how excellent Elsie / the Lance truck camper has proven to be.
Friday ; Saltery Bay to Earl's Cove by ferry, then to Roberts Creek Provincial Park by road
And yet another sunny, warm day !
This morning we left Saltery Bay Provincial Park shortly before 11 AM and drove to the ferry terminal about a mile or so down the road to catch the 11:20 AM ferry to Earl's Cove. Immediately after getting off the ferry at Earl's Cove an hour later we turned off the road to head 6 km. to Skookumchuk Narrows Provincial Park to see "tidal rapids" and have lunch. We parked at what appeared to be the Skookumchuk Narrows parking area but turned out to be just a trailhead to Skookumchuk Narrows. Okay ... we hiked for about 15 minutes before reaching a sign advising that Skookumchuk Narrows was about another hour of hiking away. OH ... **** THAT ! We turned around and hiked back to the parking area to have lunch in the camper.
Right near the parking area was a "bakery & lunch cafรฉ ". Just a young couple baking in their house, but ... okay. Lots of signage touting "fresh baked daily ... local organic", that sort of thing. The sort of signage that can be interpreted to mean $6 loaves of bread and $12 egg salad sandwiches. When I went inside to buy a loaf of bread, there was only one loaf on the shelf behind the young woman behind the counter. I asked about buying it. She said it wasn't for sale, her husband needed it to make sandwiches for lunch customers, he had just put the loaf of bread there to thaw ! Really ? ! ?
After having lunch in the camper we drove another short distance to the very small village of Egmont, then returned to the highway and continued south. We stopped again at Sargeant Bay Provincial Park and went for a short hike along the sun drenched cobblestone beach around Sargeant Bay. It was too hot for Bo. He seemed a bit ill today. Maybe he shouldn't have drunk seawater yesterday at Saltery Bay ? Or eaten that Hermit Crab ?
We stopped again in the upscale town of Sechelt and bought a loaf of bread. A bit south of Sechelt we stopped for the night at Roberts Creek Provincial Park. After getting set up in a campsite we went for a long slow walk around the entire campground. I lit a campfire and cooked a couple of pieces of ( caught by me ) Chum Salmon on the open fire, along with sweet potato fries. First time eating Chum Salmon. It was okay, not as good as Sockeye or Coho, but on a par with Pink Salmon. HMPH ... I've become a salmon snob. HA HA HA ! Bo thought open fire barbecued Chum Salmon steak was pretty good. Sully thought it was GREAT ! HA HA HA ... now we know what to cook him if we ever run out of cat food.
Saturday ; Roberts Creek Provincial Park to Gibsons by road, to Vancouver by ferry, to Hope by road
Sunny and warm again. This morning we dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank at the sani-dump station at the campground before departing. We drove the short distance remaining on Hwy. 101 on The Sunshine Coast south to Gibsons. We parked downtown ( not easy ! ) and wandered around the village and Gibsons Landing / the harbour for a couple of hours. Very scenic, very serene ... everything outrageously expensive, somewhat typical for The Sunshine Coast, but especially for Gibsons. HEY ... Molly's Reach is advertising for a dishwasher.
RELIC ... QUICK ... TELL NICK ... HE'S DOWN AT THE PERSEPHONE.
HA HA HA ! For my American friends ... sorry ... that was an "inside joke" for Canadians over the age of fifty.
We left Gibsons and drove the short distance remaining to the ferry dock where we had lunch while waiting for the 2:45 PM ferry to Vancouver. The scenic ferry ride across to Horseshoe Bay got us to the outskirts of North Vancouver about 3:30 PM. We drove across the Vancouver and Lower Mainland area heading east on Trans-Canada
Hwy. 1. Between Abbotsford and Chilliwack we detoured to Cultus Lake. Joanne wanted to see what was the outcome of an RV resort property that we went so see in 2005, contemplating the purchase of a lot there. At that time it was just an empty piece of land with a developer's dream and site plan blueprints. Well ... now it's a huge waterslide park. Guess the RV resort development idea never got beyond the dream and blueprint stage.
Since we were already nearby we went to look at Cultus Lake Provincial Park's campground. YIKES ! Huge campground, thirty bucks a night, and crowded, most sites occupied, most by multiple vehicles / campers. I'm SO glad we don't live close to the congested Vancouver / Lower Mainland area. We returned to TCH 1 at Chilliwack and continued east, stopping to have supper and boondock overnight at a rest area near Hope.
Home tomorrow !
DSK
We boondocked overnight in Bear Cove Park, a marina near the ferry terminal where we arrived after midnight last night. Today was a beautiful, sunny warm day. We did a fun obedience and agility session with Bo before leaving Bear Cove Park. He's been a bit out of sorts the last few days because we've been leaving him in the truck or camper a great deal when we go out, because of the risk of encountering bears, both Grizzlies around Bella Coola and Black Bears around Bella Bella.
We drove from Bear Cove towards Port Hardy's airport, heading for Fort Rupert, a local First Nations "rez" village where there was a free sani-dump station by the curling club. As I connected the sewer hose to the camper ... DARN ... the bayonet mount connector on the end of the sewer hose broke. And I didn't have a spare < mumble grumble >. After dumping and refilling we went over to take a look at a lovely park on the waterfront behind the curling club. HEY ... Storey's Beach ... what a nice place to boondock tonight.
We drove into the small city of Port Hardy and stopped at Carrot Park, the lovely waterfront park where the Visitor Centre was located. It was closed. But we saw the poster in the window for this weekend's fall fair at the Civic Centre. So ... we went to the Port Hardy Fall Fair. First stop inside the fair building was the auditorium where there were a few food vendors and a children's pet parade and show about to begin on the stage. The pet parade and show were reminiscent of the same thing we used to sponsor / plan / organize / execute each year on Canada Day in a suburb of Ottawa when we owned and operated pet food and supply stores there. We had a not very good lunch while we watched the pet parade and show. After lunch we walked over to the adjacent ice rink which was the venue for the rest of the fall fair. We wandered around looking at commercial exhibitors' booths and the tables where the winning food and produce entries were exhibited. I bought some fishing lures ( Buzz Bombs ... much cheaper than in Shearwater ) and fishing flies ( cheaper than ANYWHERE ).
We drove to the local shopping mall where there was a large grocery store and replenished groceries now that we're back in civilization. I walked across the street to a hardware store and bought two new RV sewer hose bayonet mount connectors ... and paid a LOT more than if I had been able to buy them at a Wal-Mart ! We drove to the wharf and walked out to see what the local fishermen were catching. There were no commercial fishers on the wharf today, but some local old men and boys sport fishing. One of the men had a Chum Salmon about the size of the one I caught yesterday. One of the boys had just caught a flounder. Odd fish ! One sided ! It's a flat "circle" that swims along the bottom. The "top" side, with an eye, looks like a fish. The "bottom" side is white and ... no eye !
We drove back out to the village of Fort Rupert, home of the Kwakiutl band. Joanne wanted to drive through the village, renowned for the expertise of its wood carving artists. WOW ! Magnificent totems EVERYWHERE ! ! ! Even in residences' front yards. And we had two astounding experiences. We found a cedar totem in progress.
Thirty-five feet long, being carved out of a cedar log four feet in diameter. AND ... the local cemetery ! Many gravestones decorated with memorial poles / totems and other types of wood carvings. Joanne thinks it is the most astounding display of First Nations culture and art we've ever seen. Of course, I took no photos, in accordance with First Nations' beliefs of not photographing gravesites for fear of trapping their loved ones' spirits forever on film.
What the hell is that romping in the middle of the highway ? Minks ? TWO MINKS ? TWO WILD MINKS ROMPING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD ? ? ? Yes, indeed, this area has wild minks ! We had never seen wild minks before ! They seem to have about as much "street smarts" as those Ptarmigan a week and a half ago.
We drove back to Storey's Beach. While Joanne prepared supper I took Bo out to romp on the huge expanse of tidal flats that are exposed at low tide. It's not as if he could get any more stinky than he already is from this adventure trip. HA HA HA ! Especially the fish breath that he's had since I gave him some Chum Salmon sushi yesterday when we were butchering my fish. Joanne was planning to serve us wild Blackberries for dessert tonight, but when she removed them from the fridge ... they had gone mouldy already ! GEEEZ ... the high humidity of the rainforest climate has taken a toll on our fruits and vegetables in the last week or so.
I should stop typing now. Joanne has just requested my company for a late night moonlit walk on the beach !
Monday ; Port Hardy to Campbell River
Sunny and warm, another beautiful day.
This morning we dumped and refilled at the sani-dump station beside the Fort Rupert Curling Club before leaving beautiful Storey's Beach. We drove into the village of Fort Rupert to see if there was anyone working on the giant totem. We expected that it was being carved by more than one person. But ... there was only one person working on the carving. The artist ! He was reluctant at first to chat, but eventually warmed to us. Perhaps our questions weren't as stupid as he was expecting ?
He's fifty years old. He is one of only about twenty totem artists, and the youngest one. He was bemoaning the younger generation's lack of interest in totem carving as an art form. He learned from his father and uncles and older brother. He's trying to persuade a nephew to learn from him. He's carving the thirty-five foot totem for a wealthy, retired banker who lives on an island near Seattle. His fee is $2000 per foot, for a total charge of $70,000. I think he's undercharging ! If I was rich(er) I would gladly pay $70,000 for a thirty-five foot cedar totem. I wonder if Riverside RV Park Resort would permit me to mount a thirty-five foot totem in my yard ? HA HA HA ! It's going to cost his client another $100,000 to transport the totem by water, and mount it on his island property.
We drove south on Hwy. 19 to Telegraph Cove. We were eager to visit based on what we had read in tourist magazines. What a disappointment ! We never even got out of our truck ! Telegraph Cove is an artificial / manufactured / created community, all developed within about the last ten years or so for upscale, wealthy clients, very much like Shearwater. Part of why I was interested in seeing it is because eight years ago when we were buying a lot at Riverside RV Park Resort near Keremeos, I was considering a similar development at Telegraph Cove. We made the right decision by buying at Riverside !
Just after leaving Telegraph Cove we stopped at a roadside rest area to have lunch. It was perched on a cliff above a log sorting and grading mill on a sheltered bay. The logs were being graded and sorted by size on land, then bundled by size and grade on the water, for shipment by water. Very interesting to watch. Joanne prepared lunch and we ate outside at a picnic table when she noticed ... HEY ... look at that large Blackberry bush ... FULL of ripe berries waiting to be picked. WOO-HOO ! We picked a lot of Blackberries, consoling ourselves for the batch that went mouldy. And we got a lot of deep scratches on our arms and legs from the Blackberry bush thorns.
We continued south on Hwy. 19, the main highway that runs the entire north / south length of Vancouver Island. Our objective for tonight was Shoen Lake Provincial Park, but when we got to the turn to the provincial park, and realized it was a further 18 km. of rough gravel road to the campground, we decided to keep on driving south on Hwy. 19. We reached Campbell River, a small city about halfway down Vancouver Island. Joanne was disappointed in the northern half of Vancouver Island. Except for Port Hardy, the "North Island" didn't have much going for it !
GEEEEEZZZ ... I'm typing this at the camper's dinette table at 9:30 PM and Bo is fast asleep beside me, snoring loudly like an old man !
When we reached Campbell River I refilled with diesel, then we found our way to Elk Falls Provincial Park on the edge of the city. Very nice campground. I lit a campfire and ... < insert drum roll here > ... barbecued fresh Coho Salmon ( wild caught and given to me on Friday in Bella Bella ) on the open fire. It was wonderful, very similar to wild Sockeye Salmon. I fed the skin to Bo. HE APPROVED ! And I gave a small piece of barbecued salmon to Sully. HE APPROVED ! HA HA HA ! I approved of the fresh blackberries for dessert !
After supper we went for a walk around the campground and a short hike alongside the Quinsam River flowing beside the provincial park. The river is beginning to stink with dead salmon. I guess the closer the river is to the ocean, the sooner the salmon have returned, spawned, and died.
Tuesday ; Campbell River to Miracle Beach Provincial Park
Another sunny, warm day. Joanne was feeling quite ill today with a cold that started a couple of days ago. We spent most of today running errands and doing chores in Campbell River.
This morning we left Elk Falls Provincial Park on the edge of the small city of Campbell River and backtracked a very short distance on Hwy. 19 to a farm we saw yesterday that sells fresh produce, but it was closed when we drove by it yesterday. We bought some fresh produce and drove back into the city. We found our way to Tyee Mall which included, amongst other things, the Visitor Centre and a laundromat. Upon the recommendation of the Visitor Centre we walked a short distance to the waterfront and had lunch at Dick's Fish & Chips. Throughout this trip Joanne has wanted fresh halibut "fish & chips".
After lunch Joanne did laundry at the laundromat and I worked online using Wi-Fi at the Visitor Centre. I got my journal for last week posted to my blog, but text only. I wasn't able to upload all the photos that accompany last week's blog entry. We finished our afternoon in Campbell River by going Wal-Martin'.
We decided to leave the city by driving south along Hwy. 19A, the alternate route along the ocean. Campbell River is an impressive small city, with a lot of green space ; parks and walkways along the waterfront, etc. Lots of totems and wood carvings. Hwy. 19A wound its way along the ocean shoreline, passing through suburbs and bedroom communities. Looks like a nice place to call home. Less than an hour south of the city we stopped at Miracle Beach Provincial Park for the night. After getting set up in a site,
I lit a campfire and we had a wiener roast for supper.
Wednesday ; Miracle Beach Provincial Park to Courtenay / Comox by road, then to Powell River by ferry
Another sunny warm day ! We've always had good luck with great weather travelling in early September. I'm beginning this entry at 6 PM as we wait at the Comox ferry terminal for the ferry to Powell River. Our lack of having a Vancouver Island to Sunshine Coast ferry schedule resulted in a lot of waiting for us today.
We slept late. Joanne is ill. We did a fun obedience session with Bo before leaving the campground around noon. We continued south on Hwy. 19A, the "alternate" highway route along the ocean. And we did some back roads exploring on the way to the ferry terminal at Comox, arriving about 1:30 PM, only to discover that the next ferry was leaving at 6:50 PM. DARN ! We drove back to Courtenay and found our way to a large shopping mall. Courtenay and Comox are adjacent "twin" small cities. Well ... Courtenay is a small city, Comox is mostly just a ferry terminal and a large military base.
We parked at the shopping mall and had lunch in the camper. I used the ferry waiting time as an opportunity to have an afternoon nap with Sully. Joanne went into Real Canadian Superstore and bought some groceries. We left the mall at 5 PM and headed back to the ferry terminal. While waiting at the ferry terminal for an hour and a half we chatted with a busload ... twenty people ... of tourists from France. They were a family group ; four brothers, one sister, their spouses and families, on a B.C. exploration trip by chartered bus, in celebration of frรจre Jacques' sixtieth birthday. How novel ! The conversation started when one of the couples walked by and were admiring our truck camper, speaking in French. They were surprised when we spoke to them in French.
By the time the ferry arrived in Powell River ( at 8:20 PM ) it was dark. With just a bit of difficulty we found our way to the large shopping mall in town to have a very late supper ( at 9 PM ) and spend the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
HUH ? ? ? Why is there a doe and her fawn wandering around right in the city of Powell River ?
Thursday ; Powell River north to Lund then south to Saltery Bay Provincial Park
Another sunny, warm day. Gee, we've had great weather on this trip !
We left Powell River's Wal-Mart this morning and drove to the municipal campground at Willingdon Beach to use the sani-dump station before heading north on Hwy. 101 to Lund. The End Of The Road ! Hwy. 101 starts / ends in Lund. Can't go any further north on Hwy. 101. I think the other / south end of Hwy. 101, which follows the Pacific Ocean coastline through British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California, is near Los Angeles.
Lund is what Telegraph Cove is trying to be, but fails. A beautiful, small, seaside town with a waterfront boardwalk, lots of cute little stores and shops and restaurants. We wandered around for an hour or so. Heading back south on Hwy. 101 we stopped at Okeover Provincial Park to have lunch. The tide was low so Bo and I went for a short walk on the cobblestone tidal flats while Joanne prepared lunch. HEY ... OYSTERS !
I picked up an oyster to have as an appetizer for lunch. Joanne disapproves of me eating wild raw oysters. < shrug >
After lunch ... no, no, the oyster didn't kill me ... we continued south on Hwy. 101 back to Powell River. We drove around the "old townsite" built about a hundred years ago when the pulp and paper mill was developed. And I took a photo of "The Hulks Of Powell River", a series of concrete barges built during the First World War, sunk in the 1930's in front of the mill to serve as a breakwater.
We continued through Powell River and south for about 35 km. / 20 miles to Saltery Bay Provincial Park. We set up in a campsite then I went to nap with Sully for an hour. Afterwards we took Bo for a hike to the ocean / Mermaid's Cove where he and I explored tidal pools. What a lot of interesting little creatures in tidal pools ! I think Bo ate a teensy little Hermit Crab. We hiked a short distance along the waterfront Mermaid's Trail.
Back at the campground I lit a campfire and cooked an excellent meal of steak, fresh tiny potatoes, and Patty Pan squash on the barbecue. After supper at the picnic table we sat around the campfire and mused about what a wonderful trip this has been. And how excellent Elsie / the Lance truck camper has proven to be.
Friday ; Saltery Bay to Earl's Cove by ferry, then to Roberts Creek Provincial Park by road
And yet another sunny, warm day !
This morning we left Saltery Bay Provincial Park shortly before 11 AM and drove to the ferry terminal about a mile or so down the road to catch the 11:20 AM ferry to Earl's Cove. Immediately after getting off the ferry at Earl's Cove an hour later we turned off the road to head 6 km. to Skookumchuk Narrows Provincial Park to see "tidal rapids" and have lunch. We parked at what appeared to be the Skookumchuk Narrows parking area but turned out to be just a trailhead to Skookumchuk Narrows. Okay ... we hiked for about 15 minutes before reaching a sign advising that Skookumchuk Narrows was about another hour of hiking away. OH ... **** THAT ! We turned around and hiked back to the parking area to have lunch in the camper.
Right near the parking area was a "bakery & lunch cafรฉ ". Just a young couple baking in their house, but ... okay. Lots of signage touting "fresh baked daily ... local organic", that sort of thing. The sort of signage that can be interpreted to mean $6 loaves of bread and $12 egg salad sandwiches. When I went inside to buy a loaf of bread, there was only one loaf on the shelf behind the young woman behind the counter. I asked about buying it. She said it wasn't for sale, her husband needed it to make sandwiches for lunch customers, he had just put the loaf of bread there to thaw ! Really ? ! ?
After having lunch in the camper we drove another short distance to the very small village of Egmont, then returned to the highway and continued south. We stopped again at Sargeant Bay Provincial Park and went for a short hike along the sun drenched cobblestone beach around Sargeant Bay. It was too hot for Bo. He seemed a bit ill today. Maybe he shouldn't have drunk seawater yesterday at Saltery Bay ? Or eaten that Hermit Crab ?
We stopped again in the upscale town of Sechelt and bought a loaf of bread. A bit south of Sechelt we stopped for the night at Roberts Creek Provincial Park. After getting set up in a campsite we went for a long slow walk around the entire campground. I lit a campfire and cooked a couple of pieces of ( caught by me ) Chum Salmon on the open fire, along with sweet potato fries. First time eating Chum Salmon. It was okay, not as good as Sockeye or Coho, but on a par with Pink Salmon. HMPH ... I've become a salmon snob. HA HA HA ! Bo thought open fire barbecued Chum Salmon steak was pretty good. Sully thought it was GREAT ! HA HA HA ... now we know what to cook him if we ever run out of cat food.
Sunny and warm again. This morning we dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank at the sani-dump station at the campground before departing. We drove the short distance remaining on Hwy. 101 on The Sunshine Coast south to Gibsons. We parked downtown ( not easy ! ) and wandered around the village and Gibsons Landing / the harbour for a couple of hours. Very scenic, very serene ... everything outrageously expensive, somewhat typical for The Sunshine Coast, but especially for Gibsons. HEY ... Molly's Reach is advertising for a dishwasher.
RELIC ... QUICK ... TELL NICK ... HE'S DOWN AT THE PERSEPHONE.
HA HA HA ! For my American friends ... sorry ... that was an "inside joke" for Canadians over the age of fifty.
We left Gibsons and drove the short distance remaining to the ferry dock where we had lunch while waiting for the 2:45 PM ferry to Vancouver. The scenic ferry ride across to Horseshoe Bay got us to the outskirts of North Vancouver about 3:30 PM. We drove across the Vancouver and Lower Mainland area heading east on Trans-Canada
Hwy. 1. Between Abbotsford and Chilliwack we detoured to Cultus Lake. Joanne wanted to see what was the outcome of an RV resort property that we went so see in 2005, contemplating the purchase of a lot there. At that time it was just an empty piece of land with a developer's dream and site plan blueprints. Well ... now it's a huge waterslide park. Guess the RV resort development idea never got beyond the dream and blueprint stage.
Since we were already nearby we went to look at Cultus Lake Provincial Park's campground. YIKES ! Huge campground, thirty bucks a night, and crowded, most sites occupied, most by multiple vehicles / campers. I'm SO glad we don't live close to the congested Vancouver / Lower Mainland area. We returned to TCH 1 at Chilliwack and continued east, stopping to have supper and boondock overnight at a rest area near Hope.
Home tomorrow !
DSK
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
August 31 to September 6, 2014 ; Hagensborg / Bella Coola to Bella Bella to Port Hardy, Vancouver Island by ferry
PHOTOS ADDED SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
Sunday ; Hagensborg
Today was cloudy with intermittent rain during the day, steady rain in the evening. Well ... DUH ... we're in a rainforest !
This morning we refilled our fresh water tank and dumped our waste holding tanks before departing Gnome's Home RV Park for a day of exploring around Hagensborg. First stop was the weekly Bella Coola Farmer's Market at the fairgrounds on Hwy. 20 halfway between Hagensborg and Bella Coola. Another Bella Coola area disappointment. More of a flea market than a farmer's market. And not even a very good flea market, at that. We stopped at a farm gate with a self service produce table at the roadside and bought some tomatoes.
Hagensborg is a Norwegian community, having been settled by a group of about 100 Norwegians about 110 years ago. They settled here because the nearby fjord coastline reminded them of "home". So Hagensborg is still very much a Norwegian community. The locals even have a Norwegian accent still. Bella Coola is a Native community.
We stopped at the Norwegian homestead that is now the local Visitor Centre, next door to Gnome's Home RV Park. It was closed, but their Wi-Fi was still operating, so we parked in their parking lot and I worked online for a couple of hours, trying to make ferry arrangements, and posting my weekly journal entry and photos to my blog. Outside, Joanne patiently befriended a stray cat. Named her Lola. Fed her a buck and a half worth of Sully's "gourmet" canned Fancy Feast < rolling my eyes >.
We had lunch. We drove to Shop Easy and bought some groceries. Well ... and I bought some fishing flies. Including a honkin' huge thingy for catching salmon. We drove to Snootli Creek Regional Park to hike into the Great Bear Rainforest and view old growth cedar trees. And see if we could find the "culturally modified" old growth cedar trees. We weren't even sure what that was ! A very long time ago, the local Nuxalk Indians removed sections of wood from live cedar trees to use in the construction of sacred and ceremonial objects. We weren't even sure what we were looking for, but we knew it when we saw it ! Giant, old growth cedar trees with large chunks cut out. Looked like doorways cut into the trees. And the trees survived and flourished. And still do !
As we entered the hiking trail to see the old growth cedar trees in the Great Bear Rainforest there was a handwritten sign warning of the presence of a Grizzly sow and two cubs. And not very far along the trail was ... "evidence". We backtracked and took another trail !
After viewing the cedar trees we drove to adjacent Walker Island Park, the local sports field / playground / picnic ground. We had left Bo in the truck when we hiked to the old growth cedar trees because of the risk of encountering Grizzlies, so we thought some Bo-gility in the playground would make it up to him. For the first time in ten years of eagerly sliding down children's slides in playgrounds, today he got hurt on a slide. Poor Bo ... I'm so sorry. I carried him up to the top of an old fashioned spiral slide, and without hesitation he jumped onto the slide. Which was wet from rain. So he slid down very fast. And halfway down the spiral the momentum threw him against the edge of the slide ... and over ! THUMP ! He cartwheeled over the edge of the slide and fell to the ground below, landing on his side and knocking the wind out of himself. < sigh > No serious harm done ... we hope ... but he probably has some bruising and perhaps sore ribs.
We returned to Gnome's Home RV Park. Joanne did laundry. I worked on photos on the computer.
Cloudy, cool, intermittent rain. That seems to be the norm here. Today was a day of seeing and doing fascinating things in a fascinating place.
This morning we dumped and refilled, then left Gnome's Home RV Park. We drove next door to the Norwegian Heritage House / Visitor Centre to use Wi-Fi to check e-mail. I wanted to check if I got a response to my ferry reservation request. I did, although it was not as favourable as I had hoped. B.C. Ferries has confirmed a reservation for us from Bella Coola to Bella Bella on Thursday, but the connecting ferry from Bella Bella to Port Hardy on the northern tip of Vancouver Island on Saturday is fully booked. We're on a waitlist.
From Bella Coola to Bella Bella on Thursday is a "small" ferry that services Bella Coola and a few other small, remote villages along the "Inside Passage". We wanted to spend two days ( not more ) at the tiny Native village of Bella Bella before connecting to the "large" ferry that sails the Inside Passage from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy. One of that ferry's stopping points is Bella Bella, so we can connect there. However ... Bella Bella is a very tiny, remote Native village. We could not find much information on Bella Bella, so obviously it's not a prime tourist destination ! We certainly don't want to be stuck there for longer than the two days we had planned.
While I worked on Wi-Fi Joanne went outside to visit with her stray / feral cat friend, named Lola yesterday, renamed Lila today < rolling eyes >. Lila's sociability would suggest that she is more likely a stray "dumped" cat than a true feral. She was eager to "lead" Joanne to see her "bed" of leaves in the forest, and her "home", the little bridge over the little creek. Joanne rewarded her with another can of Sully's food. I sure hope when I die Joanne doesn't turn into some kind of weird, old cat lady. HA HA HA ! Says the guy who never met a stray dog he didn't rescue. HA HA HA HA HA !
We drove east out of Hagensborg heading about 50 km. / 30 miles back to Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. On the way we stopped to view a beautiful, large piece of Native art on the side of the road. It was a "Memorial Pole", erected by the family of a 68 year old man who died a few years ago, drowned while fishing there. A few miles later, there was another piece of art on the side of the road. A fairly recently carved cedar totem pole. Beautiful work ! Nothing to identify who carved it, or why it was there.
We stopped to have lunch at a roadside picnic area at the western edge of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. The location was a fascinating piece of history. It was where Alexander Mackenzie began the final day of his journey, on July 22, 1793. By the end of that day, he had reached Bella Coola, and had completed his search for an overland trans-continental trading route to the Pacific Ocean. It was the first recorded crossing of continental North America, and ( for my American friends ) many years before Lewis and Clark did the same.
The picnic site was at the confluence of Burnt Bridge Creek and the Bella Coola River. There was a short hike uphill to the lookout where Mackenzie viewed down the Bella Coola River. The final day of his journey ... that day ... was by canoe down the Bella Coola River from that point to Bella Coola. The last time his expedition had used canoes was coming up the Fraser River, near what is now the city of Williams Lake, so ... Hwy. 20 from Williams Lake to Bella Colla follows approximately the same route as the famed Mackenzie Trail.
We have been leaving Bo in the truck quite a bit because of the risk of encountering Grizzlies, so he was very eager when we offered him a "hikey". There was a path through the forest that we thought would lead to the nearby Bella Coola River. Well, it did, but ... it also led to another path that intrigued us. At the beginning of the second path was a sign with Native art, and instructions to leave the area by 4 PM, and do not take any photographs, in accordance with Nuxalk "law". HUH ? ? ? We hiked down the path and found ... the gravesite of a Nuxalk chief who died four years ... and one day ... ago. There was evidence that a memorial service had been conducted there recently, probably yesterday. His grave was circled by rocks. Herbs had been planted on top. There was an unfinished / work in progress cedar totem at his head. Various sacred icons adorned his grave, including a solitary eagle feather. His final resting place in the Great Bear Rainforest was surrounded by thick moss and lichen covered ground, and large cedar and spruce and fir trees, near the Bella Coola River. What a wonderful, serene place. I felt honoured and privileged to be able to visit his grave, and pay my respects.
After hiking and lunch, I napped briefly with Sully. He was very happy to cuddle under the covers for an afternoon nap. After I napped we continued east to the Belarko Bear Viewing Station, open today for the first day of its thirty day annual season. We parked, and walked to the bear viewing station, a large wooden deck, surrounded by an electrical fence to keep tourists safe from the Grizzlies < rolling my eyes >, overlooking the Atnarko River. There were about a half dozen tourists from Germany already there. There seems to be a considerable number of tourists from Germany in this area. After waiting around for about half an hour or so, around the corner of the river came ... < blink blink > ... a Grizzly Sow and her triplet cubs. WOW ... three cubs ! That's pretty rare. Over a period of half an hour or so the four of them wandered along the opposite shoreline of the river from as far as we could see downstream to as far as we could see upstream. Mama Bear was searching the river for fish. The cubs just goofed around behind her. They were surprisingly small for this late in the year. They were quite a bit upstream ... not as close as I would have liked ... when I finally got to cross off another bucket list item. Mama Bear leaped into the river, splashed around for a few seconds, and came out with a huge salmon, which she carried back to the shore for the family to eat.
WOW ! < blink blink >
I was really glad that Joanne was able to view these four Grizzlies. I was worried, after seeing a Grizzly the other day, that she was not going to get the opportunity to view a Grizzly.
Late in the afternoon we drove to Fisheries Pool Campground where we were planning to spend the night. When we arrived there was a small group of Native families having a picnic. A small group of Native boys, perhaps ten to twelve years of age, were romping in the Atnarko River. Around the bend came a Grizzly viewing drift boat from nearby Tweedsmuir Lodge, filled with German tourists. HA HA HA ! It was very amusing to see young Native boys in swimming trunks romping in the river ( on a day much too cold to be doing so, in our opinion ) with a boatload of German tourists drifting by, all of them dressed as if it were the middle of winter, wearing down pilled parkas, mittens, and toques ( wool watch caps for my American friends ). The Native boys and the German tourists all looked at one another, each group obviously thinking "why are you dressed like THAT ?". HA HA HA HA HA !
After the boatload of German tourists unloaded and were taken back to Tweedsmuir Lodge, and the Native families finished their picnic and left, we walked down to the river's edge and I fished for about fifteen minutes. I now had a honkin' huge Coho Salmon fly ... I think it's called a "streamer". BUT ... not what the salmon wanted tonight ! Oh, well ... < shrug >. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. This afternoon at the Belarko Bear Viewing Station I met a man from Calgary who is a fly fisherman, and his fished for salmon in this area a few years ago. We made tentative plans to meet tomorrow afternoon at the airport for some fly fishing for salmon in the Bella Coola River.
Tuesday ; Bella Coola area
WHAT A DAY ! ! ! ! !
Mostly sunny, warm, a bit windy at times. This morning we left Fisheries Pool Campground in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park and headed west on Hwy. 20 back towards Hagensborg and Bella Coola.
As we were driving, a Bald Eagle suddenly swooped across our windshield, diving towards the Bella Coola River running beside the highway. I slammed on the brakes and did a U-turn as quickly as I could. By the time I had turned around and stopped, the Bald Eagle was standing on the shoreline of a small creek flowing into the Bella Coola River, on top of a large salmon gripped in its talons. < blink blink >. Beside it was a juvenile Bald Eagle voraciously devouring another salmon. Mama Eagle and offspring ? I took some photos, although they were a bit too far away for my camera.
Eagle catching salmon ; cross that off the bucket list !
We drove into Hagensborg and stopped at the Norwegian Heritage house again. While Joanne prepared lunch I refilled our freshwater tank and connected to Wi-Fi to check e-mail. Our Bella Bella to Port Hardy ferry on Saturday status is still "waitlist". Wish us luck ! After lunch Joanne went outside to locate her stray / feral cat friend Lila. Lila wasn't there today. Nice weather, she was probably out hunting.
I phoned the nearby Snootli Creek Fish Hatchery and arranged a tour for tomorrow afternoon. It's a Federal Government Fisheries & Oceans Department salmon hatchery.
We drove to Bella Coola Airport and parked on the east side. The people from Calgary that we met yesterday at the Belarko Bear Viewing Station gave us instructions / directions to find where they would be fly fishing for salmon today on the Bella Coola River on the north side of Bella Coola Airport. Sure enough, as they had advised us, there was a trail into the forest on the east side of the airport. It led north behind the airport's single runway, following Nooklikonnic Creek to where it flows into the Bella Coola River. When we reached the Bella Coola River there were our new friends. They were just finishing a day of fishing, having been there for about five hours already. Perry had caught and released three Pink Salmon which are currently closed to fishing in this region.
We chatted briefly, then Perry and his wife left. Since we could see Pink Salmon were spawning in the shallow Nooklikonnic Creek, I decided to try my hand at catching a salmon using my fly road and reel, with the honkin' huge salmon fly lure I bought a couple of days ago. I waded into the creek and began fly fishing, slightly distracted because all around my legs and feet the salmon were spawning. HA HA HA ... what an odd experience. I could cast and use the current to direct my fly in front of, over, and behind spawning Pink Salmon. They were too busy to be interested in what I was offering.
Suddenly, after about fifteen minutes of slightly distracted fishing ... BAM ! WOW .. a hit ! WOW ... it's hooked ! I'VE CAUGHT A SALMON ! ! ! ! ! I wondered if my five pound line intended for Rainbow Trout would survive a salmon's fight. I played and fought the fish as carefully as I could, trying not to worry too much about losing it because ... if it was a Pink Salmon I would have to release it anyway. Although I really wanted the satisfaction of catching and landing my first salmon caught. AND ... on a fly, at that !
As I fought the fish I slowly worked my way back onto shore, and after a few minutes managed to get the fish pulled up on shore. I didn't have a net with me. HOLY SHIT ! IT'S A CHINOOK ! ! ! ! ! I CAN KEEP IT ! ! !
I'VE CAUGHT MY FIRST SALMON ! ON A FLY ! IT'S A CHINOOK AND I CAN KEEP IT. WOO-HOO ... WOO-HOO ... WOO-HOO ! ! ! ! !
Daniel catching salmon ; cross that one off the bucket list !
Daniel catching salmon ... on a fly ; cross that one off the bucket list !
< blink blink > WOW ! With my right hand I wrestled my camera out of my pocket and took a picture of the fish, holding it with my left hand. I walked back a few hundred feet to where the truck and camper were parked and asked Joanne to come help me clean the fish. Following instructions I've read elsewhere posted in this area I "stripped" the fish ( removing head and guts ) and threw the offal into the fast flowing creek. Within seconds Gulls were swooping down to feed on it. Disposing of fish heads and guts in garbage cans risks attracting Grizzlies. < shrug > Okay !
After getting the fish cleaned I asked Joanne if it would be okay for me to fish for about another fifteen minutes. She said ... "sure" ! I fished for about fifteen more minutes, and I was just about to pack it in when ... BAM ! HOLY SHIT ... ANOTHER ONE !
I wondered whether it would be another Chinook that I could keep or a Pink that I would have to release. This fish fought much harder and longer than the first. I was really worried that my light line would not tolerate it. Eventually I got it pulled up on shore. The whole time I was fighting the fish Joanne was snapping pictures with my camera.
HOLY MOLY ! ! ! ! ! IT'S A HUGE DOLLY VARDEN TROUT ! ! ! ! ! And it took my honkin' huge salmon fly ! WHAT A DAY ! I got the Dolly Varden "stripped" and we left, heading into Bella Coola to buy some groceries at the Co-op store, planning to fillet both fish later.
In Bella Coola we shopped at the Co-op but didn't buy anything. The Shop Easy at Hagensborg is a better grocery store. We went to Kopa's, a local sporting goods store that I wanted to visit. Didn't buy anything there either. We drove back towards Hagensborg, stopping on the Four Mile Reservation at a Native art gallery that we read about and wanted to visit. I bought a glass Christmas ornament, painted on the inside through a small hole on the top, with a Native image of a salmon. Every Christmas it will remind me of the first ( and probably only ) time I caught a salmon. I also refilled with diesel at the Native fuel station, where fuels were a LOT cheaper than in town.
When we had been at Gnome's Home RV Park previously, we had noticed "no fish cleaning" signage. So ...before returning there we drove to Walker Island Park where Bo got injured on a children's slide the other day. I sat at a picnic table and filleted the two fish, throwing the waste into a bear proof garbage can in the park. We returned to Gnome's Home RV Park and checked in. I barbecued Chinook Salmon for supper. It wasn't as good as we had expected. Certainly not in the same league as Sockeye, and not even as good as Pink. Perhaps that's why we have never seen Chinook for sale in grocery stores ?
Wednesday ; Bella Coola area
Sunny and warm, very nice.
This morning after refilling and dumping we left Gnome's Home RV park and headed west on Hwy. 20 towards Bella Coola, a distance of about 16 km. / 10 miles. On the way we stopped at Shop Easy in Hagensborg to buy some groceries. We drove through Bella Coola, out to the harbour where the ferry docks, and beyond that a few km. to the B.C. Hydro Power Generating Station. B.C. Hydro has developed a lovely picnic area on the ocean and a hiking trail to Clayton Falls, located a short distance behind their station. We hiked up to the falls taking Bo with us. He has been feeling left out of a lot of what we've been doing lately, because we've been leaving him behind due to the risk of encountering Grizzlies. After hiking back down from viewing the lovely falls Joanne prepared lunch and we ate at a picnic table looking out over Bentinck Arm, the fjord that Bella Coola is located on. Green-blue water surrounded by tall, forested mountains, sunny, warm day, small seals frolicking, a couple of small commercial fishing boats putt-putting back to Bella Coola ... very serene.
After lunch we drove back through Bella Coola and halfway back to Hagensborg to the Snootli Creek Fish Hatchery, a salmon hatchery operated by Canada's Federal Department of Fisheries & Oceans. I had arranged a tour there for 2 PM today. Our tour was conducted by a young scientist, born and raised locally, educated in Victoria, B.C. in a university degree program of fisheries and aquaculture. He was very knowledgeable, and very pleased to be able to pursue his chosen career right here at "home" where he was born and raised. He's a direct descendant of the Norwegians who settled in this area about 110 years ago. The work being done at the hatchery is amazing ! Very interesting tour !
After the tour I succumbed to the temptation to go fishing some more. We have quite enough fish in our freezer so I committed to "catch & release" today. We drove to the airport, parked behind the east fence, and walked a very short distance ( right behind the runway ) to Nooklikonnic Creek. Well ... my well-intentioned plan to "catch & release" turned into a humiliating exhibition of "catch & lose", with Joanne ( and my camera ) as an audience. In about an hour and a half of fishing I hooked four fish. Three were salmon, probably Pinks. One was a trout, probably a Dolly Varden. Two of the salmon I played / fought for over ten minutes each. And I lost each of the four fish just a few feet away from netting them < shaking head in despair >. I think my ineptitude was due to impatience < sigh >. But hooking and playing them was fun nevertheless. And I was going to release them anyway !
While I was fishing Joanne said she had to urinate and was going to walk back to the camper. Since we’re in the middle of nowhere I suggested she just drop her pants and squat right beside the river. She declined my suggestion. Good thing. About fifteen seconds after she walked away, Pacific Coastal's daily flight into Bella Coola came screaming over the bushes at an altitude of about 25 feet directly above us, close enough that we could smell the exhaust. Scared the dickens out of both of us. Good thing she wasn't squatting beside the river, pants down around her ankles. HA HA HA !
On the way back to Gnome's Home RV Park I had to stop at Shop Easy again. < sigh > To replace the honkin' huge salmon fly lure that I bought there a few days ago and lost in Nooklikonnic Creek today. After fishing yesterday and today, a total of six fish hooked and played, two landed, in the shallow river / creek, my fly fishing line is extremely abraded. I'll have to do some work on it ... soon.
Back at Gnome's Home for our final night, I lit a campfire and cooked yesterday's Dolly Varden ( and potatoes and onions ) on the campfire. The Dolly Varden was very good, better than Rainbow Trout I thought. I spent the evening working on the computer, mostly on the last few days' photos. Joanne is sad about leaving Lila. I understand. It's difficult to not be able to save one that has tugged at your heart strings.
Thursday ; Bella Coola to Bella Bella by ferry
Sunny and warm. I am starting this journal entry at 1:15 PM, aboard the M.V. Nimpkish, the smallest ferry operated by BC Ferries. We left Bella Coola at noon and will arrive at Bella Bella at 8:30 PM tonight. Our journey will take us through long fjords and then the "Inside Passage" along B.C.'s coast. Endless forest covered mountains. Green water. Gulls and seals. Dolphins and Humpback Whales !
Sometimes ... our affinity for "those who cannot speak for themselves" ... is difficult to articulate. Joanne shed a few tears this morning as we were leaving, so deep was her sadness at not being able to do more for, and having to leave behind, her stray cat friend Lila. And it pains me greatly to see the love of my life feel so sad.
We left Gnome's Home RV Park this morning for the last time, refilling and dumping before leaving. On the way to Bella Coola Ferry Terminal ( such as it is ! ) we stopped to have a propane tank refilled. Pretty expensive out here ! We drove through Bella Coola and out to the harbour, arriving about 10:30 AM for our 11 AM check in. WELL ! They require the ferry customers to arrive by 11AM, but the crew shows up between 11:15 and 11:45 AM ! The check in and loading process was very disorganized, but ... the ferry departed only five minutes late. There were only six vehicles on the ferry, and about a dozen people in total.
After we had a late lunch in the camper, the ferry passed through an area filled with dolphins. For at least half an hour small groups of two to four dolphins amused themselves by racing alongside the ferry, surfing in its wake. I took dozens of photos of them leaping out of the water beside the ferry, and in front of the ferry, and I'll be extremely lucky if any of the pictures actually captured the image. I'm amazed that the dolphins seem to have no problem matching the ferry's speed of eleven knots. I went to nap with Sully for about an hour, and after my nap, took Bo for a walk on the ferry's car deck. He was asking to go outside to relieve himself, but he refused to urinate anywhere on the ferry car deck, so ... I guess he'll just have to wait until we arrive in Bella Bella in a few more hours. While walking around the ferry's car deck with Bo I was watching Humpback Whales about a half a mile away blow tall clouds of mist up into the air out of their blow holes.
Because of the good weather the ferry was able to take a "shortcut" through a shallow "narrows" area, and we arrived in Bella Bella an hour early, at 7:30 PM. We drove off the ferry and a couple of miles to "town". What a scruffy little "rez" town. No commerce at all except for a tiny grocery store. No accommodations or restaurants or shops of any kind. There's a tiny "hospital" and an RCMP station. I'll bet that if a Mountie anywhere in Canada misbehaves, he or she gets posted to Bella Bella. We drove through town and out to the airport on the other side, then turned around and drove back through town and out to the ferry dock again. The ferry had departed and the terminal staff were just locking up and leaving. I asked for permission to boondock overnight beside the small ferry terminal building. They allowed that, asking that we leave by about 10 AM to get out of the way of passengers arriving for the noon ferry tomorrow.
We had a very late, small, simple supper. Joanne and the animals were in bed by 9:30 PM.
I have grossly underestimated the costs of this trip. Today's ferry trip cost $400 ; $75 for each of us, and $250 for the truck and camper. The ferry from Bella Bella to Port Hardy on the northern tip of Vancouver Island will cost $600.
Friday ; Bella Bella and Shearwater
Sunny and very warm, a really lovely day.
When we took a quick drive through Bella Bella yesterday evening when we arrived I was convinced today was going to be a long and boring day. I could not have been more wrong !
This morning we left the ferry terminal about 10 AM, as planned. From the ferry terminal there was a small dirt trail leading into the bush. We had been told that it led a short distance to a good fishing spot where a small river empties into McLoughlin Bay. So ... down the dirt trail we went ! < blink blink > The small bay was filled with salmon jumping up into the air. There was a small pleasure boat in the bay, with four Native fishermen aboard, two men and two boys. They were close enough that we could speak to one another. I asked them what kind of lures they were using ( Buzz Bombs ), where could I buy them ( marine supply store in nearby Shearwater ), and what kind of fish were they catching ( Coho Salmon ). It was immediately apparent that they were having a lot of success. Very generously, they gave me a Buzz Bomb so that I could fish, AND ... they gave me a large Coho Salmon. WOW ! THANK YOU !
I don't have a filleting knife in the camper ! I used Joanne's serrated edge bread cutting knife to fillet this ten pound fish. On a rock at the water's edge ! It wasn't pretty ! Nevertheless, we packaged five meals worth of beautiful, red meat Coho Salmon fillets. Then ... I began fishing. Well, it wasn't very long before I snagged the bottom and was not able to free the lure. I had to break the line. DARN ! And so ended my morning of fishing.
We drove into town intending to visit both wharfs / harbours, the grocery store, and look for a water spigot where we could refill our freshwater tank. We parked at the grocery store and went inside to look around. Not much of a grocery store. Six bucks for a gallon of milk out here ! Outside the grocery store a friendly local pointed out to me that I had parked our truck beside a Blackberry bush. < blink blink > WOW ! While Joanne prepared lunch I picked wild Blackberries.
We walked down a short hill to the "new" harbour / dock to look around. While there we discovered that there was a SeaBus ( an old tugboat converted to a water taxi ) that went to Shearwater on an hourly basis all day. We decided to go to the "old" dock / harbour and look around, then return to catch the 3 PM SeaBus to Shearwater.
The SeaBus ride was about half an hour long. Shearwater was ... somewhat "artificial". It is a very expensive fishing resort village. The marina was filled with very expensive fishing boats, some private, some charter operators, and ... a couple of multi-million dollar yachts. I found the marine supply store and went in to buy some Buzz Bombs. I was surprised at how expensive they were, at about seven bucks apiece. I bought three.
There was not a Native in sight at Shearwater. All the store staff were white, and most with accents from Australia or New Zealand < shrug >. All the customers / patrons were white. We spoke briefly with an obnoxious and ignorant "ugly American" who was eager to tell us how terrible it must be for us Canadians to have a government funded ( "free" ) health care system and what a third world hell hole Mexico is, although he's never been there himself. My tolerance for his ignorance was pretty low, so I rudely walked away before too long. Joanne is much more polite than I am, so she lasted awhile longer. Well ... at least he pumped about $60,000 ( so he claimed ... he was eager to show me his $20,000 credit card receipt from the lodge ) into our economy over his six week visit to Canada, so ... thanks, pal. The taxes you paid will go a long way to funding our health care system. HA HA HA !
After an hour we caught the SeaBus back to Bella Bella. Once there, as we drove back to the ferry dock I noticed another Blackberrry bush on the side of the road. I stopped and we picked more wild Blackberries. MMMMMM ! Back at the ferry dock we refilled with freshwater from a spigot on the side of the terminal building. We drove down the little dirt trail again, so that I could spend the evening fishing. When we arrived at the bay ... the tide was low. WOW ... I could walk across the river, then along the opposite shore to fish where the fish jumping action seemed to be most intense. I hooked one of my three Buzz Bombs onto my traditional / spinning outfit and cast it out there. After just a few minutes of casting ... BAM ! WOO-HOO ... a five pound Pink Salmon. I released it. A few minutes later ... BAM ! WOW ... a ten pound Pink Salmon. I released it. What fun ! But what I really wanted was a Coho Salmon. A Bald Eagle kept swooping down from a tree behind me, over my head, and out over the water. I think it was unhappy with me for intruding on its fishing space.
Joanne hollered loudly at me from across the bay. WHAT ? OH ... the tide is rising. HOLY SHIT ! ! ! The shallow river that I walked across was now looking pretty deep ! SHIT ! I walked back along the shoreline, and crossed the river while I was still able to do so, although it was quite a bit deeper by then.
I continued fishing on the side of the bay where we were parked. BAM ! ZING ... ZING ... ZING ... ZING ... ! ! ! A large fish ... a Coho, I'm certain ... was hooked, and ran ... and ran ... and ran ... and ran ... ! ! ! Soon, most of the line on my reel was gone. And I've got a hundred yards of line on the reel ! ! I was afraid that I was going to run out of line soon. And the fish wouldn't stop running. I estimated that I had a 25 pound Coho hooked ! I tightened the reel's drag slightly to slow down the run. SNAP ! The line broke ! < sigh > GEEEEEZZZZZ ... that was twenty pound line. So the fish had to have exceeded that ! Another Buzz Bomb gone, two to go !
I continued fishing until it was almost dark ( at 8:30 PM ). At one point, my Buzz Bomb dragged along the bottom, and fortunately did not snag. BUT ... when I finished the retrieve ... there was a baby starfish on my hook. HA HA HA ... how odd ! Just at dusk, as it was time to quit and go inside for supper, I snagged the bottom and lost another Buzz Bomb ! DARN ! Only one left for tomorrow.
Wasn't a boring day at all ! ! ! And ... after what I learned today ... I am very reluctantly willing to concede that the salmon I caught at Bella Coola likely was a Pink, not a Chinook.
Saturday ; Bella Bella to Port Hardy, Vancouver Island by ferry
Sunny and hot ! We're a bit surprised by that !
This morning we drove up the little dirt trail from "my fishing spot", where we spent the night, back to the ferry terminal and refilled with fresh water. The BC Ferries office was open, so I went inside to check if our "waitlist" status had changed. It had ! WOO-HOO ! We're confirmed on the 6 PM ferry to Port Hardy. Because we're "oversize", they asked me to check in at 3:30, a half a hour before "normal" check in time. No problem, see you at 3:30 PM.
We drove into town and went to the grocery store to buy toothpaste. The grocery store is two sections on two storeys. Don't ask ... it's Bella Bella ! I couldn't find toothpaste downstairs so headed upstairs. As I climbed the stairs, the one employee from upstairs was coming down and said "upstairs is closed ... I'm going for lunch ... be back in about an hour". HEY ... don't ask ... it's Bella Bella ! As we drove away we noticed there was a small convenience store in town. We stopped there and I bought a tube of toothpaste. Five bucks ! BUT ... no taxes on the rez !
We drove back to "my fishing spot" and I told Joanne I was going to fish for about an hour, until it was time for lunch. I tied on my last Buzz Bomb and started to fish. After about an hour ... BAM ! ZING ... ZING ... ZING ... ZING ... ! ! ! OH, NO ! Dรฉjร vu !
I wanted this fish SOOOOO badly ! As it ran I very gently kept adjusting the drag tighter and tighter until the fish was barely able to pull line off my reel. And then I leaned back and waited. Every time it stopped running, I tried to reel it back in as much as I could, usually only succeeding to bring it back a few feet at a time. < sigh > Looked like this was going to be a LOOOOONG fight ! And I just kept hoping my fishing line would survive the ordeal.
Half an hour later ... Joanne stuck her head out the camper door and hollered at me to come in for lunch. I hollered back ... " BRING MY NET ! ! !" I had the fish almost to shore and knew that I would need help to land it. By the time she got my net and brought it down to the water's edge, I had the fish within about 15 feet of shore. I could already see the bright orange Buzz Bomb, and attached to it ... a large fish ! A few more minutes and I had it right at the shoreline, but was unable to pull it up onto shore without help. I instructed Joanne to try to slip the net over the fish and help pull it out of the water.
Well ... talk about a tool inadequate for the job ! My net is designed for one to two pound Rainbow Trout. Not this thing ! She made a number of stabs at the fish which was now squirming at the water's edge. She finally got some of the net over some of the fish, and pulled, as I did on the line. WOO-HOO ! It's out of the water. AND ... as it came out of the water ... my line snapped ! ! ! I dropped my rod and reel and kind of kicked the fish a bit further up on shore !
HOLY SHIT ! ! ! WHAT A BIG SALMON ! ! ! Now I had to figure out what kind. My "B.C. Wild Salmon Identification Chart", which Joanne had brought along with the net ( good thinking, dear, thank you ) was not much help. It shows the five different types of salmon, and this thing didn't look like any of the pictures. Which, actually, pretty much look all the same ! This thing was ... beautiful ! Red and black blotches all along its green body. Huge, mean looking teeth.
Just then a three generation Native family showed up to fish. GREAT ! I asked them what kind of salmon it was. It's a Chum ! My very old, perhaps inaccurate fish weight scale in my tackle box said it weighed fifteen pounds ! Now ... what do I do with it ? ! ? It seemed much too large to fillet with Joanne's serrated bread knife. I decided to try carving it into salmon steaks. HMPH ... easier said than done, when my work table is a rock on the water's edge, and I'm using the serrated bread knife. Once again, it wasn't pretty ! And I needed a lot of help from Joanne. And I was being "supervised" by the young boy who was about six years of age that was there fishing with his family. He kept asking me questions about "why are you doing ( fill in the blank ) like THAT ? ! ?" Obviously, he thought I was some kind of white man moron. HA HA HA ... sorry, kid ... I've never dealt with something like this before !
I was sweating by the time I got the fish cleaned and chopped up into large steaks. We returned to the camper, and by trial and error, Joanne discovered that she could cut the large steaks into two smaller ones, and debone them at the same time. Well done, dear ! By the time I had finished cleaning and cutting it into steaks, then Joanne cut and deboned the steaks, an hour had passed. Lunch time was forgotten ! There were now eleven meals of Chum Salmon steak in our freezer ! It was time to clean up ... A LOT ... and head for the ferry dock for our 3:30 PM check in.
As we were preparing to leave, I noticed on the ground ... HEY ... an eagle feather ! It wasn't there a few minutes before ! Maybe it's a "sign" for me from "The Creator" ? ! ?
I was so tempted to pick it up, BUT ... I know it's illegal for a white man to be in possession of an eagle feather, sacred to our First Nations people. Overcoming temptation, I left the eagle feather lying there. The family's grandfather picked it up a few minutes later. He was very happy to have it. Said when he goes to Manitoba to visit his Native in-laws, he could sell it for a hundred bucks, because Manitoba Natives can't get eagle feathers locally. I learned from the old man that the fish that I hooked last night that broke my line likely wasn't a Coho, but probably a Chum. Cohos "dance" when hooked, jumping and twisting and turning. Chums just run and run and run in a straight line.
We drove the very short distance to the ferry dock and checked in. The "little" ferry from Bella Coola and Shearwater arrived about 4 PM and departed about 4:30 PM. The large ferry arrived about 15 minutes late, about 5:30 PM. I put our three hours of waiting time to good use, doing three small repairs on the camper. We loaded onto the ferry about 6:30, one of three "oversize" vehicles getting on, and the ferry departed almost an hour late at 7 PM. Most of the additional delay was caused by the ineptitude of yesterday's obnoxious, ignorant, "ugly American" in backing his motorhome down the ferry ramp and onto the ferry. The ferry crew didn't even allow him to try to do it with his boat attached. They used their own truck to back his boat trailer down onto the ferry.
Goodbye, Bella Bella, what an exciting adventure you were ! My first impression certainly was wrong. Never in a million years would I have expected that I would be fishing for salmon here, let alone catching fifteen pounders !
The ferry arrived about half an hour late at Port Hardy on the northern tip of Vancouver Island at midnight. By the time we were off the ferry it was about 12:30 AM. We drove just a mile or two from the ferry terminal and saw a large parking lot at Bear Cove Park, a marina. A few RV's that were off the ferry before us had already pulled in to spend the night, so we did the same.
DSK
Sunday ; Hagensborg
Today was cloudy with intermittent rain during the day, steady rain in the evening. Well ... DUH ... we're in a rainforest !
This morning we refilled our fresh water tank and dumped our waste holding tanks before departing Gnome's Home RV Park for a day of exploring around Hagensborg. First stop was the weekly Bella Coola Farmer's Market at the fairgrounds on Hwy. 20 halfway between Hagensborg and Bella Coola. Another Bella Coola area disappointment. More of a flea market than a farmer's market. And not even a very good flea market, at that. We stopped at a farm gate with a self service produce table at the roadside and bought some tomatoes.
Hagensborg is a Norwegian community, having been settled by a group of about 100 Norwegians about 110 years ago. They settled here because the nearby fjord coastline reminded them of "home". So Hagensborg is still very much a Norwegian community. The locals even have a Norwegian accent still. Bella Coola is a Native community.
We stopped at the Norwegian homestead that is now the local Visitor Centre, next door to Gnome's Home RV Park. It was closed, but their Wi-Fi was still operating, so we parked in their parking lot and I worked online for a couple of hours, trying to make ferry arrangements, and posting my weekly journal entry and photos to my blog. Outside, Joanne patiently befriended a stray cat. Named her Lola. Fed her a buck and a half worth of Sully's "gourmet" canned Fancy Feast < rolling my eyes >.
We had lunch. We drove to Shop Easy and bought some groceries. Well ... and I bought some fishing flies. Including a honkin' huge thingy for catching salmon. We drove to Snootli Creek Regional Park to hike into the Great Bear Rainforest and view old growth cedar trees. And see if we could find the "culturally modified" old growth cedar trees. We weren't even sure what that was ! A very long time ago, the local Nuxalk Indians removed sections of wood from live cedar trees to use in the construction of sacred and ceremonial objects. We weren't even sure what we were looking for, but we knew it when we saw it ! Giant, old growth cedar trees with large chunks cut out. Looked like doorways cut into the trees. And the trees survived and flourished. And still do !
As we entered the hiking trail to see the old growth cedar trees in the Great Bear Rainforest there was a handwritten sign warning of the presence of a Grizzly sow and two cubs. And not very far along the trail was ... "evidence". We backtracked and took another trail !
After viewing the cedar trees we drove to adjacent Walker Island Park, the local sports field / playground / picnic ground. We had left Bo in the truck when we hiked to the old growth cedar trees because of the risk of encountering Grizzlies, so we thought some Bo-gility in the playground would make it up to him. For the first time in ten years of eagerly sliding down children's slides in playgrounds, today he got hurt on a slide. Poor Bo ... I'm so sorry. I carried him up to the top of an old fashioned spiral slide, and without hesitation he jumped onto the slide. Which was wet from rain. So he slid down very fast. And halfway down the spiral the momentum threw him against the edge of the slide ... and over ! THUMP ! He cartwheeled over the edge of the slide and fell to the ground below, landing on his side and knocking the wind out of himself. < sigh > No serious harm done ... we hope ... but he probably has some bruising and perhaps sore ribs.
We returned to Gnome's Home RV Park. Joanne did laundry. I worked on photos on the computer.
Monday ; Tweedsmuir Provincial Park
Cloudy, cool, intermittent rain. That seems to be the norm here. Today was a day of seeing and doing fascinating things in a fascinating place.
This morning we dumped and refilled, then left Gnome's Home RV Park. We drove next door to the Norwegian Heritage House / Visitor Centre to use Wi-Fi to check e-mail. I wanted to check if I got a response to my ferry reservation request. I did, although it was not as favourable as I had hoped. B.C. Ferries has confirmed a reservation for us from Bella Coola to Bella Bella on Thursday, but the connecting ferry from Bella Bella to Port Hardy on the northern tip of Vancouver Island on Saturday is fully booked. We're on a waitlist.
From Bella Coola to Bella Bella on Thursday is a "small" ferry that services Bella Coola and a few other small, remote villages along the "Inside Passage". We wanted to spend two days ( not more ) at the tiny Native village of Bella Bella before connecting to the "large" ferry that sails the Inside Passage from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy. One of that ferry's stopping points is Bella Bella, so we can connect there. However ... Bella Bella is a very tiny, remote Native village. We could not find much information on Bella Bella, so obviously it's not a prime tourist destination ! We certainly don't want to be stuck there for longer than the two days we had planned.
While I worked on Wi-Fi Joanne went outside to visit with her stray / feral cat friend, named Lola yesterday, renamed Lila today < rolling eyes >. Lila's sociability would suggest that she is more likely a stray "dumped" cat than a true feral. She was eager to "lead" Joanne to see her "bed" of leaves in the forest, and her "home", the little bridge over the little creek. Joanne rewarded her with another can of Sully's food. I sure hope when I die Joanne doesn't turn into some kind of weird, old cat lady. HA HA HA ! Says the guy who never met a stray dog he didn't rescue. HA HA HA HA HA !
We drove east out of Hagensborg heading about 50 km. / 30 miles back to Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. On the way we stopped to view a beautiful, large piece of Native art on the side of the road. It was a "Memorial Pole", erected by the family of a 68 year old man who died a few years ago, drowned while fishing there. A few miles later, there was another piece of art on the side of the road. A fairly recently carved cedar totem pole. Beautiful work ! Nothing to identify who carved it, or why it was there.
We stopped to have lunch at a roadside picnic area at the western edge of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. The location was a fascinating piece of history. It was where Alexander Mackenzie began the final day of his journey, on July 22, 1793. By the end of that day, he had reached Bella Coola, and had completed his search for an overland trans-continental trading route to the Pacific Ocean. It was the first recorded crossing of continental North America, and ( for my American friends ) many years before Lewis and Clark did the same.
The picnic site was at the confluence of Burnt Bridge Creek and the Bella Coola River. There was a short hike uphill to the lookout where Mackenzie viewed down the Bella Coola River. The final day of his journey ... that day ... was by canoe down the Bella Coola River from that point to Bella Coola. The last time his expedition had used canoes was coming up the Fraser River, near what is now the city of Williams Lake, so ... Hwy. 20 from Williams Lake to Bella Colla follows approximately the same route as the famed Mackenzie Trail.
We have been leaving Bo in the truck quite a bit because of the risk of encountering Grizzlies, so he was very eager when we offered him a "hikey". There was a path through the forest that we thought would lead to the nearby Bella Coola River. Well, it did, but ... it also led to another path that intrigued us. At the beginning of the second path was a sign with Native art, and instructions to leave the area by 4 PM, and do not take any photographs, in accordance with Nuxalk "law". HUH ? ? ? We hiked down the path and found ... the gravesite of a Nuxalk chief who died four years ... and one day ... ago. There was evidence that a memorial service had been conducted there recently, probably yesterday. His grave was circled by rocks. Herbs had been planted on top. There was an unfinished / work in progress cedar totem at his head. Various sacred icons adorned his grave, including a solitary eagle feather. His final resting place in the Great Bear Rainforest was surrounded by thick moss and lichen covered ground, and large cedar and spruce and fir trees, near the Bella Coola River. What a wonderful, serene place. I felt honoured and privileged to be able to visit his grave, and pay my respects.
After hiking and lunch, I napped briefly with Sully. He was very happy to cuddle under the covers for an afternoon nap. After I napped we continued east to the Belarko Bear Viewing Station, open today for the first day of its thirty day annual season. We parked, and walked to the bear viewing station, a large wooden deck, surrounded by an electrical fence to keep tourists safe from the Grizzlies < rolling my eyes >, overlooking the Atnarko River. There were about a half dozen tourists from Germany already there. There seems to be a considerable number of tourists from Germany in this area. After waiting around for about half an hour or so, around the corner of the river came ... < blink blink > ... a Grizzly Sow and her triplet cubs. WOW ... three cubs ! That's pretty rare. Over a period of half an hour or so the four of them wandered along the opposite shoreline of the river from as far as we could see downstream to as far as we could see upstream. Mama Bear was searching the river for fish. The cubs just goofed around behind her. They were surprisingly small for this late in the year. They were quite a bit upstream ... not as close as I would have liked ... when I finally got to cross off another bucket list item. Mama Bear leaped into the river, splashed around for a few seconds, and came out with a huge salmon, which she carried back to the shore for the family to eat.
WOW ! < blink blink >
I was really glad that Joanne was able to view these four Grizzlies. I was worried, after seeing a Grizzly the other day, that she was not going to get the opportunity to view a Grizzly.
Late in the afternoon we drove to Fisheries Pool Campground where we were planning to spend the night. When we arrived there was a small group of Native families having a picnic. A small group of Native boys, perhaps ten to twelve years of age, were romping in the Atnarko River. Around the bend came a Grizzly viewing drift boat from nearby Tweedsmuir Lodge, filled with German tourists. HA HA HA ! It was very amusing to see young Native boys in swimming trunks romping in the river ( on a day much too cold to be doing so, in our opinion ) with a boatload of German tourists drifting by, all of them dressed as if it were the middle of winter, wearing down pilled parkas, mittens, and toques ( wool watch caps for my American friends ). The Native boys and the German tourists all looked at one another, each group obviously thinking "why are you dressed like THAT ?". HA HA HA HA HA !
After the boatload of German tourists unloaded and were taken back to Tweedsmuir Lodge, and the Native families finished their picnic and left, we walked down to the river's edge and I fished for about fifteen minutes. I now had a honkin' huge Coho Salmon fly ... I think it's called a "streamer". BUT ... not what the salmon wanted tonight ! Oh, well ... < shrug >. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. This afternoon at the Belarko Bear Viewing Station I met a man from Calgary who is a fly fisherman, and his fished for salmon in this area a few years ago. We made tentative plans to meet tomorrow afternoon at the airport for some fly fishing for salmon in the Bella Coola River.
Tuesday ; Bella Coola area
WHAT A DAY ! ! ! ! !
Mostly sunny, warm, a bit windy at times. This morning we left Fisheries Pool Campground in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park and headed west on Hwy. 20 back towards Hagensborg and Bella Coola.
As we were driving, a Bald Eagle suddenly swooped across our windshield, diving towards the Bella Coola River running beside the highway. I slammed on the brakes and did a U-turn as quickly as I could. By the time I had turned around and stopped, the Bald Eagle was standing on the shoreline of a small creek flowing into the Bella Coola River, on top of a large salmon gripped in its talons. < blink blink >. Beside it was a juvenile Bald Eagle voraciously devouring another salmon. Mama Eagle and offspring ? I took some photos, although they were a bit too far away for my camera.
Eagle catching salmon ; cross that off the bucket list !
We drove into Hagensborg and stopped at the Norwegian Heritage house again. While Joanne prepared lunch I refilled our freshwater tank and connected to Wi-Fi to check e-mail. Our Bella Bella to Port Hardy ferry on Saturday status is still "waitlist". Wish us luck ! After lunch Joanne went outside to locate her stray / feral cat friend Lila. Lila wasn't there today. Nice weather, she was probably out hunting.
I phoned the nearby Snootli Creek Fish Hatchery and arranged a tour for tomorrow afternoon. It's a Federal Government Fisheries & Oceans Department salmon hatchery.
We drove to Bella Coola Airport and parked on the east side. The people from Calgary that we met yesterday at the Belarko Bear Viewing Station gave us instructions / directions to find where they would be fly fishing for salmon today on the Bella Coola River on the north side of Bella Coola Airport. Sure enough, as they had advised us, there was a trail into the forest on the east side of the airport. It led north behind the airport's single runway, following Nooklikonnic Creek to where it flows into the Bella Coola River. When we reached the Bella Coola River there were our new friends. They were just finishing a day of fishing, having been there for about five hours already. Perry had caught and released three Pink Salmon which are currently closed to fishing in this region.
We chatted briefly, then Perry and his wife left. Since we could see Pink Salmon were spawning in the shallow Nooklikonnic Creek, I decided to try my hand at catching a salmon using my fly road and reel, with the honkin' huge salmon fly lure I bought a couple of days ago. I waded into the creek and began fly fishing, slightly distracted because all around my legs and feet the salmon were spawning. HA HA HA ... what an odd experience. I could cast and use the current to direct my fly in front of, over, and behind spawning Pink Salmon. They were too busy to be interested in what I was offering.
Suddenly, after about fifteen minutes of slightly distracted fishing ... BAM ! WOW .. a hit ! WOW ... it's hooked ! I'VE CAUGHT A SALMON ! ! ! ! ! I wondered if my five pound line intended for Rainbow Trout would survive a salmon's fight. I played and fought the fish as carefully as I could, trying not to worry too much about losing it because ... if it was a Pink Salmon I would have to release it anyway. Although I really wanted the satisfaction of catching and landing my first salmon caught. AND ... on a fly, at that !
As I fought the fish I slowly worked my way back onto shore, and after a few minutes managed to get the fish pulled up on shore. I didn't have a net with me. HOLY SHIT ! IT'S A CHINOOK ! ! ! ! ! I CAN KEEP IT ! ! !
I'VE CAUGHT MY FIRST SALMON ! ON A FLY ! IT'S A CHINOOK AND I CAN KEEP IT. WOO-HOO ... WOO-HOO ... WOO-HOO ! ! ! ! !
Daniel catching salmon ; cross that one off the bucket list !
Daniel catching salmon ... on a fly ; cross that one off the bucket list !
< blink blink > WOW ! With my right hand I wrestled my camera out of my pocket and took a picture of the fish, holding it with my left hand. I walked back a few hundred feet to where the truck and camper were parked and asked Joanne to come help me clean the fish. Following instructions I've read elsewhere posted in this area I "stripped" the fish ( removing head and guts ) and threw the offal into the fast flowing creek. Within seconds Gulls were swooping down to feed on it. Disposing of fish heads and guts in garbage cans risks attracting Grizzlies. < shrug > Okay !
After getting the fish cleaned I asked Joanne if it would be okay for me to fish for about another fifteen minutes. She said ... "sure" ! I fished for about fifteen more minutes, and I was just about to pack it in when ... BAM ! HOLY SHIT ... ANOTHER ONE !
I wondered whether it would be another Chinook that I could keep or a Pink that I would have to release. This fish fought much harder and longer than the first. I was really worried that my light line would not tolerate it. Eventually I got it pulled up on shore. The whole time I was fighting the fish Joanne was snapping pictures with my camera.
HOLY MOLY ! ! ! ! ! IT'S A HUGE DOLLY VARDEN TROUT ! ! ! ! ! And it took my honkin' huge salmon fly ! WHAT A DAY ! I got the Dolly Varden "stripped" and we left, heading into Bella Coola to buy some groceries at the Co-op store, planning to fillet both fish later.
In Bella Coola we shopped at the Co-op but didn't buy anything. The Shop Easy at Hagensborg is a better grocery store. We went to Kopa's, a local sporting goods store that I wanted to visit. Didn't buy anything there either. We drove back towards Hagensborg, stopping on the Four Mile Reservation at a Native art gallery that we read about and wanted to visit. I bought a glass Christmas ornament, painted on the inside through a small hole on the top, with a Native image of a salmon. Every Christmas it will remind me of the first ( and probably only ) time I caught a salmon. I also refilled with diesel at the Native fuel station, where fuels were a LOT cheaper than in town.
When we had been at Gnome's Home RV Park previously, we had noticed "no fish cleaning" signage. So ...before returning there we drove to Walker Island Park where Bo got injured on a children's slide the other day. I sat at a picnic table and filleted the two fish, throwing the waste into a bear proof garbage can in the park. We returned to Gnome's Home RV Park and checked in. I barbecued Chinook Salmon for supper. It wasn't as good as we had expected. Certainly not in the same league as Sockeye, and not even as good as Pink. Perhaps that's why we have never seen Chinook for sale in grocery stores ?
Wednesday ; Bella Coola area
Sunny and warm, very nice.
This morning after refilling and dumping we left Gnome's Home RV park and headed west on Hwy. 20 towards Bella Coola, a distance of about 16 km. / 10 miles. On the way we stopped at Shop Easy in Hagensborg to buy some groceries. We drove through Bella Coola, out to the harbour where the ferry docks, and beyond that a few km. to the B.C. Hydro Power Generating Station. B.C. Hydro has developed a lovely picnic area on the ocean and a hiking trail to Clayton Falls, located a short distance behind their station. We hiked up to the falls taking Bo with us. He has been feeling left out of a lot of what we've been doing lately, because we've been leaving him behind due to the risk of encountering Grizzlies. After hiking back down from viewing the lovely falls Joanne prepared lunch and we ate at a picnic table looking out over Bentinck Arm, the fjord that Bella Coola is located on. Green-blue water surrounded by tall, forested mountains, sunny, warm day, small seals frolicking, a couple of small commercial fishing boats putt-putting back to Bella Coola ... very serene.
After lunch we drove back through Bella Coola and halfway back to Hagensborg to the Snootli Creek Fish Hatchery, a salmon hatchery operated by Canada's Federal Department of Fisheries & Oceans. I had arranged a tour there for 2 PM today. Our tour was conducted by a young scientist, born and raised locally, educated in Victoria, B.C. in a university degree program of fisheries and aquaculture. He was very knowledgeable, and very pleased to be able to pursue his chosen career right here at "home" where he was born and raised. He's a direct descendant of the Norwegians who settled in this area about 110 years ago. The work being done at the hatchery is amazing ! Very interesting tour !
After the tour I succumbed to the temptation to go fishing some more. We have quite enough fish in our freezer so I committed to "catch & release" today. We drove to the airport, parked behind the east fence, and walked a very short distance ( right behind the runway ) to Nooklikonnic Creek. Well ... my well-intentioned plan to "catch & release" turned into a humiliating exhibition of "catch & lose", with Joanne ( and my camera ) as an audience. In about an hour and a half of fishing I hooked four fish. Three were salmon, probably Pinks. One was a trout, probably a Dolly Varden. Two of the salmon I played / fought for over ten minutes each. And I lost each of the four fish just a few feet away from netting them < shaking head in despair >. I think my ineptitude was due to impatience < sigh >. But hooking and playing them was fun nevertheless. And I was going to release them anyway !
While I was fishing Joanne said she had to urinate and was going to walk back to the camper. Since we’re in the middle of nowhere I suggested she just drop her pants and squat right beside the river. She declined my suggestion. Good thing. About fifteen seconds after she walked away, Pacific Coastal's daily flight into Bella Coola came screaming over the bushes at an altitude of about 25 feet directly above us, close enough that we could smell the exhaust. Scared the dickens out of both of us. Good thing she wasn't squatting beside the river, pants down around her ankles. HA HA HA !
On the way back to Gnome's Home RV Park I had to stop at Shop Easy again. < sigh > To replace the honkin' huge salmon fly lure that I bought there a few days ago and lost in Nooklikonnic Creek today. After fishing yesterday and today, a total of six fish hooked and played, two landed, in the shallow river / creek, my fly fishing line is extremely abraded. I'll have to do some work on it ... soon.
Back at Gnome's Home for our final night, I lit a campfire and cooked yesterday's Dolly Varden ( and potatoes and onions ) on the campfire. The Dolly Varden was very good, better than Rainbow Trout I thought. I spent the evening working on the computer, mostly on the last few days' photos. Joanne is sad about leaving Lila. I understand. It's difficult to not be able to save one that has tugged at your heart strings.
Thursday ; Bella Coola to Bella Bella by ferry
Sunny and warm. I am starting this journal entry at 1:15 PM, aboard the M.V. Nimpkish, the smallest ferry operated by BC Ferries. We left Bella Coola at noon and will arrive at Bella Bella at 8:30 PM tonight. Our journey will take us through long fjords and then the "Inside Passage" along B.C.'s coast. Endless forest covered mountains. Green water. Gulls and seals. Dolphins and Humpback Whales !
Sometimes ... our affinity for "those who cannot speak for themselves" ... is difficult to articulate. Joanne shed a few tears this morning as we were leaving, so deep was her sadness at not being able to do more for, and having to leave behind, her stray cat friend Lila. And it pains me greatly to see the love of my life feel so sad.
We left Gnome's Home RV Park this morning for the last time, refilling and dumping before leaving. On the way to Bella Coola Ferry Terminal ( such as it is ! ) we stopped to have a propane tank refilled. Pretty expensive out here ! We drove through Bella Coola and out to the harbour, arriving about 10:30 AM for our 11 AM check in. WELL ! They require the ferry customers to arrive by 11AM, but the crew shows up between 11:15 and 11:45 AM ! The check in and loading process was very disorganized, but ... the ferry departed only five minutes late. There were only six vehicles on the ferry, and about a dozen people in total.
After we had a late lunch in the camper, the ferry passed through an area filled with dolphins. For at least half an hour small groups of two to four dolphins amused themselves by racing alongside the ferry, surfing in its wake. I took dozens of photos of them leaping out of the water beside the ferry, and in front of the ferry, and I'll be extremely lucky if any of the pictures actually captured the image. I'm amazed that the dolphins seem to have no problem matching the ferry's speed of eleven knots. I went to nap with Sully for about an hour, and after my nap, took Bo for a walk on the ferry's car deck. He was asking to go outside to relieve himself, but he refused to urinate anywhere on the ferry car deck, so ... I guess he'll just have to wait until we arrive in Bella Bella in a few more hours. While walking around the ferry's car deck with Bo I was watching Humpback Whales about a half a mile away blow tall clouds of mist up into the air out of their blow holes.
Because of the good weather the ferry was able to take a "shortcut" through a shallow "narrows" area, and we arrived in Bella Bella an hour early, at 7:30 PM. We drove off the ferry and a couple of miles to "town". What a scruffy little "rez" town. No commerce at all except for a tiny grocery store. No accommodations or restaurants or shops of any kind. There's a tiny "hospital" and an RCMP station. I'll bet that if a Mountie anywhere in Canada misbehaves, he or she gets posted to Bella Bella. We drove through town and out to the airport on the other side, then turned around and drove back through town and out to the ferry dock again. The ferry had departed and the terminal staff were just locking up and leaving. I asked for permission to boondock overnight beside the small ferry terminal building. They allowed that, asking that we leave by about 10 AM to get out of the way of passengers arriving for the noon ferry tomorrow.
We had a very late, small, simple supper. Joanne and the animals were in bed by 9:30 PM.
I have grossly underestimated the costs of this trip. Today's ferry trip cost $400 ; $75 for each of us, and $250 for the truck and camper. The ferry from Bella Bella to Port Hardy on the northern tip of Vancouver Island will cost $600.
Friday ; Bella Bella and Shearwater
Sunny and very warm, a really lovely day.
When we took a quick drive through Bella Bella yesterday evening when we arrived I was convinced today was going to be a long and boring day. I could not have been more wrong !
This morning we left the ferry terminal about 10 AM, as planned. From the ferry terminal there was a small dirt trail leading into the bush. We had been told that it led a short distance to a good fishing spot where a small river empties into McLoughlin Bay. So ... down the dirt trail we went ! < blink blink > The small bay was filled with salmon jumping up into the air. There was a small pleasure boat in the bay, with four Native fishermen aboard, two men and two boys. They were close enough that we could speak to one another. I asked them what kind of lures they were using ( Buzz Bombs ), where could I buy them ( marine supply store in nearby Shearwater ), and what kind of fish were they catching ( Coho Salmon ). It was immediately apparent that they were having a lot of success. Very generously, they gave me a Buzz Bomb so that I could fish, AND ... they gave me a large Coho Salmon. WOW ! THANK YOU !
I don't have a filleting knife in the camper ! I used Joanne's serrated edge bread cutting knife to fillet this ten pound fish. On a rock at the water's edge ! It wasn't pretty ! Nevertheless, we packaged five meals worth of beautiful, red meat Coho Salmon fillets. Then ... I began fishing. Well, it wasn't very long before I snagged the bottom and was not able to free the lure. I had to break the line. DARN ! And so ended my morning of fishing.
We drove into town intending to visit both wharfs / harbours, the grocery store, and look for a water spigot where we could refill our freshwater tank. We parked at the grocery store and went inside to look around. Not much of a grocery store. Six bucks for a gallon of milk out here ! Outside the grocery store a friendly local pointed out to me that I had parked our truck beside a Blackberry bush. < blink blink > WOW ! While Joanne prepared lunch I picked wild Blackberries.
We walked down a short hill to the "new" harbour / dock to look around. While there we discovered that there was a SeaBus ( an old tugboat converted to a water taxi ) that went to Shearwater on an hourly basis all day. We decided to go to the "old" dock / harbour and look around, then return to catch the 3 PM SeaBus to Shearwater.
The SeaBus ride was about half an hour long. Shearwater was ... somewhat "artificial". It is a very expensive fishing resort village. The marina was filled with very expensive fishing boats, some private, some charter operators, and ... a couple of multi-million dollar yachts. I found the marine supply store and went in to buy some Buzz Bombs. I was surprised at how expensive they were, at about seven bucks apiece. I bought three.
There was not a Native in sight at Shearwater. All the store staff were white, and most with accents from Australia or New Zealand < shrug >. All the customers / patrons were white. We spoke briefly with an obnoxious and ignorant "ugly American" who was eager to tell us how terrible it must be for us Canadians to have a government funded ( "free" ) health care system and what a third world hell hole Mexico is, although he's never been there himself. My tolerance for his ignorance was pretty low, so I rudely walked away before too long. Joanne is much more polite than I am, so she lasted awhile longer. Well ... at least he pumped about $60,000 ( so he claimed ... he was eager to show me his $20,000 credit card receipt from the lodge ) into our economy over his six week visit to Canada, so ... thanks, pal. The taxes you paid will go a long way to funding our health care system. HA HA HA !
After an hour we caught the SeaBus back to Bella Bella. Once there, as we drove back to the ferry dock I noticed another Blackberrry bush on the side of the road. I stopped and we picked more wild Blackberries. MMMMMM ! Back at the ferry dock we refilled with freshwater from a spigot on the side of the terminal building. We drove down the little dirt trail again, so that I could spend the evening fishing. When we arrived at the bay ... the tide was low. WOW ... I could walk across the river, then along the opposite shore to fish where the fish jumping action seemed to be most intense. I hooked one of my three Buzz Bombs onto my traditional / spinning outfit and cast it out there. After just a few minutes of casting ... BAM ! WOO-HOO ... a five pound Pink Salmon. I released it. A few minutes later ... BAM ! WOW ... a ten pound Pink Salmon. I released it. What fun ! But what I really wanted was a Coho Salmon. A Bald Eagle kept swooping down from a tree behind me, over my head, and out over the water. I think it was unhappy with me for intruding on its fishing space.
Joanne hollered loudly at me from across the bay. WHAT ? OH ... the tide is rising. HOLY SHIT ! ! ! The shallow river that I walked across was now looking pretty deep ! SHIT ! I walked back along the shoreline, and crossed the river while I was still able to do so, although it was quite a bit deeper by then.
I continued fishing on the side of the bay where we were parked. BAM ! ZING ... ZING ... ZING ... ZING ... ! ! ! A large fish ... a Coho, I'm certain ... was hooked, and ran ... and ran ... and ran ... and ran ... ! ! ! Soon, most of the line on my reel was gone. And I've got a hundred yards of line on the reel ! ! I was afraid that I was going to run out of line soon. And the fish wouldn't stop running. I estimated that I had a 25 pound Coho hooked ! I tightened the reel's drag slightly to slow down the run. SNAP ! The line broke ! < sigh > GEEEEEZZZZZ ... that was twenty pound line. So the fish had to have exceeded that ! Another Buzz Bomb gone, two to go !
I continued fishing until it was almost dark ( at 8:30 PM ). At one point, my Buzz Bomb dragged along the bottom, and fortunately did not snag. BUT ... when I finished the retrieve ... there was a baby starfish on my hook. HA HA HA ... how odd ! Just at dusk, as it was time to quit and go inside for supper, I snagged the bottom and lost another Buzz Bomb ! DARN ! Only one left for tomorrow.
Wasn't a boring day at all ! ! ! And ... after what I learned today ... I am very reluctantly willing to concede that the salmon I caught at Bella Coola likely was a Pink, not a Chinook.
Saturday ; Bella Bella to Port Hardy, Vancouver Island by ferry
Sunny and hot ! We're a bit surprised by that !
This morning we drove up the little dirt trail from "my fishing spot", where we spent the night, back to the ferry terminal and refilled with fresh water. The BC Ferries office was open, so I went inside to check if our "waitlist" status had changed. It had ! WOO-HOO ! We're confirmed on the 6 PM ferry to Port Hardy. Because we're "oversize", they asked me to check in at 3:30, a half a hour before "normal" check in time. No problem, see you at 3:30 PM.
We drove into town and went to the grocery store to buy toothpaste. The grocery store is two sections on two storeys. Don't ask ... it's Bella Bella ! I couldn't find toothpaste downstairs so headed upstairs. As I climbed the stairs, the one employee from upstairs was coming down and said "upstairs is closed ... I'm going for lunch ... be back in about an hour". HEY ... don't ask ... it's Bella Bella ! As we drove away we noticed there was a small convenience store in town. We stopped there and I bought a tube of toothpaste. Five bucks ! BUT ... no taxes on the rez !
We drove back to "my fishing spot" and I told Joanne I was going to fish for about an hour, until it was time for lunch. I tied on my last Buzz Bomb and started to fish. After about an hour ... BAM ! ZING ... ZING ... ZING ... ZING ... ! ! ! OH, NO ! Dรฉjร vu !
I wanted this fish SOOOOO badly ! As it ran I very gently kept adjusting the drag tighter and tighter until the fish was barely able to pull line off my reel. And then I leaned back and waited. Every time it stopped running, I tried to reel it back in as much as I could, usually only succeeding to bring it back a few feet at a time. < sigh > Looked like this was going to be a LOOOOONG fight ! And I just kept hoping my fishing line would survive the ordeal.
Half an hour later ... Joanne stuck her head out the camper door and hollered at me to come in for lunch. I hollered back ... " BRING MY NET ! ! !" I had the fish almost to shore and knew that I would need help to land it. By the time she got my net and brought it down to the water's edge, I had the fish within about 15 feet of shore. I could already see the bright orange Buzz Bomb, and attached to it ... a large fish ! A few more minutes and I had it right at the shoreline, but was unable to pull it up onto shore without help. I instructed Joanne to try to slip the net over the fish and help pull it out of the water.
Well ... talk about a tool inadequate for the job ! My net is designed for one to two pound Rainbow Trout. Not this thing ! She made a number of stabs at the fish which was now squirming at the water's edge. She finally got some of the net over some of the fish, and pulled, as I did on the line. WOO-HOO ! It's out of the water. AND ... as it came out of the water ... my line snapped ! ! ! I dropped my rod and reel and kind of kicked the fish a bit further up on shore !
HOLY SHIT ! ! ! WHAT A BIG SALMON ! ! ! Now I had to figure out what kind. My "B.C. Wild Salmon Identification Chart", which Joanne had brought along with the net ( good thinking, dear, thank you ) was not much help. It shows the five different types of salmon, and this thing didn't look like any of the pictures. Which, actually, pretty much look all the same ! This thing was ... beautiful ! Red and black blotches all along its green body. Huge, mean looking teeth.
Just then a three generation Native family showed up to fish. GREAT ! I asked them what kind of salmon it was. It's a Chum ! My very old, perhaps inaccurate fish weight scale in my tackle box said it weighed fifteen pounds ! Now ... what do I do with it ? ! ? It seemed much too large to fillet with Joanne's serrated bread knife. I decided to try carving it into salmon steaks. HMPH ... easier said than done, when my work table is a rock on the water's edge, and I'm using the serrated bread knife. Once again, it wasn't pretty ! And I needed a lot of help from Joanne. And I was being "supervised" by the young boy who was about six years of age that was there fishing with his family. He kept asking me questions about "why are you doing ( fill in the blank ) like THAT ? ! ?" Obviously, he thought I was some kind of white man moron. HA HA HA ... sorry, kid ... I've never dealt with something like this before !
I was sweating by the time I got the fish cleaned and chopped up into large steaks. We returned to the camper, and by trial and error, Joanne discovered that she could cut the large steaks into two smaller ones, and debone them at the same time. Well done, dear ! By the time I had finished cleaning and cutting it into steaks, then Joanne cut and deboned the steaks, an hour had passed. Lunch time was forgotten ! There were now eleven meals of Chum Salmon steak in our freezer ! It was time to clean up ... A LOT ... and head for the ferry dock for our 3:30 PM check in.
As we were preparing to leave, I noticed on the ground ... HEY ... an eagle feather ! It wasn't there a few minutes before ! Maybe it's a "sign" for me from "The Creator" ? ! ?
I was so tempted to pick it up, BUT ... I know it's illegal for a white man to be in possession of an eagle feather, sacred to our First Nations people. Overcoming temptation, I left the eagle feather lying there. The family's grandfather picked it up a few minutes later. He was very happy to have it. Said when he goes to Manitoba to visit his Native in-laws, he could sell it for a hundred bucks, because Manitoba Natives can't get eagle feathers locally. I learned from the old man that the fish that I hooked last night that broke my line likely wasn't a Coho, but probably a Chum. Cohos "dance" when hooked, jumping and twisting and turning. Chums just run and run and run in a straight line.
We drove the very short distance to the ferry dock and checked in. The "little" ferry from Bella Coola and Shearwater arrived about 4 PM and departed about 4:30 PM. The large ferry arrived about 15 minutes late, about 5:30 PM. I put our three hours of waiting time to good use, doing three small repairs on the camper. We loaded onto the ferry about 6:30, one of three "oversize" vehicles getting on, and the ferry departed almost an hour late at 7 PM. Most of the additional delay was caused by the ineptitude of yesterday's obnoxious, ignorant, "ugly American" in backing his motorhome down the ferry ramp and onto the ferry. The ferry crew didn't even allow him to try to do it with his boat attached. They used their own truck to back his boat trailer down onto the ferry.
Goodbye, Bella Bella, what an exciting adventure you were ! My first impression certainly was wrong. Never in a million years would I have expected that I would be fishing for salmon here, let alone catching fifteen pounders !
The ferry arrived about half an hour late at Port Hardy on the northern tip of Vancouver Island at midnight. By the time we were off the ferry it was about 12:30 AM. We drove just a mile or two from the ferry terminal and saw a large parking lot at Bear Cove Park, a marina. A few RV's that were off the ferry before us had already pulled in to spend the night, so we did the same.
DSK
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