For the third day in a row ; clear sky sunny, cool in the morning, hot in the afternoon, cold in the evening. Joanne got a bit too much hot afternoon sun today at the music festival and is feeling a bit ill tonight because of that.
This morning we drove from the Sunset Campground into the Village of Port Clements and dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank at the municipal sani-dump station. How convenient ! Then we drove about 24 km. / 15 miles south to the Edge Of The World Music Festival at Tlell.
This was the last day of the three day music festival. Perhaps by design, or perhaps due to last night's late finish, with a party atmosphere, today's performers and music were more mellow, more subdued than the previous two days. The music festival ended today around 6 PM, closing ceremony performed by the same Indian / Native / First Nations / Aboriginal / Indigenous ( take your pick of terminology ) female dance group as performed the opening ceremony. Throughout the music festival I marked in the festival guide my "evaluation" of each performer / group, on a scale of zero to five. Throughout the festival there were a few fours, but no fives. The last act of the festival, I gave a ... minus one !
Back at home at our campsite I started a campfire and cooked supper over it, then we sat around the campfire, doing some travel planning, until it was too cold to remain outdoors, even with a fading campfire. As I am typing this at 11:30 PM some little dog is snoring loudly on the bed.
Monday ; Queen Charlotte City and Skidegate, Haida Gwaii
Cloudy but warm, a few drops of rain.
Again this morning we left the Sunset Campground, drove into Port Clements, dumped our waste tanks and refilled our freshwater tank. From the sani-dump station I could see a couple of women fishing off the town's large wharf. We drove over to the wharf and parked, and I walked out on the wharf to talk to the women. WOO-HOO ! THE HUMPIES ARE COMING ! ! ! Last year the "Humpies" ( Pink Salmon ) arrived for their migration up the Yakoun River on August 7, so this year ... on August 8, the local women are anticipating Humpies at any moment ! I certainly hope they show up within the next few days and I can try my luck at catching one !
We drove south all the way to the southern end of Graham Island ( 75 km. / 47 miles ), through the city of Skidegate to Queen Charlotte City, to run errands. I dropped Joanne off at the laundromat, and I went to the Visitor Information Centre to use Wi-Fi to retrieve e-mail and post my weekly blog entry. There were about half a dozen washers and half a dozen dryers in the laundromat. One of each worked, the rest were out of order. Meanwhile ... over at the Visitor Information Centre, I was about 99.8% finished my online work after about an hour, when the Wi-Fi signal abruptly disappeared.
I approached the counter and asked what happened to the Wi-Fi signal ? The very rude and passive aggressive woman at the counter advised me ... "You're done !". She had decided that I was using their Wi-Fi for too long, so she simply turned off their router. WOW ! What a shitty tourism centre attitude !
Suffice to say ... neither one of us was very impressed with Queen Charlotte City !
I returned to the laundromat to pick up Joanne. We went to a nearby grocery store and bought some very expensive groceries. We explored Queen Charlotte City by driving and by walking. I bought some pink Buzz Bombs at a local sporting goods store. You know ... to catch the Humpies ! Apparently ... only pink Buzz Bombs work here. And the three Buzz Bombs in my tackle box, from Bella Bella a couple of years ago, are not pink.
On the way out of town, I parked on the street outside the Visitor Information Centre, sat in our camper, turned on my laptop, connected to the Visitor Information Centre's Wi-Fi, and finished my online work. So there ! Eat shit, bitch !
We drove a very short distance back to the city of Skidegate, where we did more grocery shopping at the Co-op store. Five bucks for a water jug refill. Eight bucks for a jug of milk ! I did not buy any, but the price of diesel was $1.379 per litre. Everything has to come to Haida Gwaii by ferry or barge, so prices are extremely high. We drove around Skidegate, exploring, finding some of the renowned Haida Gwaii totem poles.
We drove back north towards "home" at Port Clements. At Tlell we went to view Misty Meadows Campground in Naikoon Provincial Park. We might stay there in a few days. We did not go in to see the campground during the music festival because it was full.
Back at home, at Sunset Campground, I barbecued a thick marinated steak, mushrooms, and baked potatoes for supper. Joanne made a salad with the expensive Romaine lettuce ( grown by Tanimura & Antle in Yuma, Arizona ) that she bought today. We ran out of our own garden's lettuce yesterday. After supper we went for a walk to the bird watching tower on the Yakoun River Estuary waterfront behind our campsite. At high tide ... it looks like ocean !
On a cloudy day, with no wind, it was much warmer this evening than it has been on previous evenings.
Tuesday ; exploring from Port Clements to Skidegate
Cloudy and warm in the morning, sunny and hot in the afternoon, cloudy and cool in the evening. As I begin typing this at 9:30 PM, Joanne is washing dishes and we are both laughing at Bo. He is fast asleep on the bed, snoring loudly. He was SOOOOO tired after a day of exploring. And drinking saltwater from tidal pools. And eating kelp ! And drinking spring water.
This morning we dumped and refilled, as usual, at the Port Clements municipal
sani-dump station, then refilled with diesel at Angela's Place, a café and fuel station in Port Clements. A hundred and nine bucks for half a tank of diesel ! ! !
We drove south towards Skidegate, stopping at Halibut Bight Rest Area to have lunch. I'll have to remember to go online and research what exactly is a "bight". While Joanne prepared lunch in the camper Bo and I explored the pebble beach and tidal pools. When we got to Skidegate we went to the Haida Museum, planning to spend the afternoon there. BUT ... as we entered, and checked the program schedule, we decided that we would rather return tomorrow morning so that we could attend a guided tour of their totem poles.
We spent the afternoon exploring from Skidegate back to "home" at Port Clements. We stopped at each roadside rest area and explored. Some were pebble beaches. Some were sand beaches. We explored Balance Rock. All three of us drank spring water at St. Mary's Spring, a local "shrine". Legend has it that a drink of spring water at St. Mary's Spring will ensure your return to Haida Gwaii. We explored the town of Tlell. Such as it is ! Not really much there ! Late in the afternoon, on the last part of our drive, from Tlell to Port Clements, there were many deer, all does with fawns, as there have been every late afternoon / early evening as we've driven "home".
Back at Sunset campground I made a campfire and cooked supper on it.
Wednesday ; Haida Heritage Centre / Museum at Skidegate
Sunny and warm at Skidegate, cloudy and warm at Port Clements, even in the evening.
This morning we left "home", the Sunset Campground near Port Clements, at 10 AM and arrived at the Haida Heritage Centre / Museum in Skidegate at 11 AM, just in time for the totem pole tour. There are six large totem poles behind the Haida Museum, all "raised" in 2000 when the museum opened. Every day a museum staff member conducts a tour, explaining the story contained within each pole's carving. Today's tour guide was a young woman who is Garner Moody's niece. Garner Moody is a renowned Haida artist / carver, about our age. One of the six poles at the Haida Museum was carved by him, as was the new pole raised on the Skidegate waterfront two weeks ago. I have a Garner Moody framed art print given to me as a gift about twenty-five years ago by our friend Sep.
The tour continued into the carving shed, where a very old Bill Reid totem pole is lying in repose, awaiting a decision on what should be done to / with it. It had been standing in front of what is now a seniors' centre, but was at risk of falling over due to age and deterioration. The last part of the tour was at a three dimensional diorama of Skidegate Village of 130 years ago.
After the tour we returned to our camper in the parking lot and had lunch. After lunch we returned to the museum to attend a classroom presentation on Gwaii Haanas, the remote wilderness land and Haida culture preserve of southern Moresby Island, the mostly uninhabited island to the south of Graham Island where we are now. When that was done we wandered around the museum for awhile, then attended another presentation on the intricate art of Haida weaving. The Haida people are famous for their cedar bark weavings, particularly their cedar bark woven hats. The price of Haida cedar woven hats starts at about $500 ! For a hat woven from Sitka Spruce roots, the price starts at about $8000 and ranges upwards to about $30,000 ! < sputter >
We continued wandering the museum's many exhibits on Haida culture and history until I got museum burn out about 4 PM. I went back to the camper to nap until Joanne came back to the camper about an hour later. We left Skidegate and drove about an hour north back to Port Clements, dodging deer on the way, as usual. We dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank then parked at Rainbow Wharf, the large / long village wharf. We walked to the end of the wharf where a father was fishing ( unsuccessfully ) with his young son. It seems as if the Pink Salmon have not yet arrived. DARN ! And I spent fifteen bucks on those two pink Buzz Bombs the other day in Queen Charlotte City! HA HA HA !
We returned to our "home" at Sunset Campground for our final night there. I started a campfire and cooked sausages on the fire while Joanne prepared a salad and a noodle side dish inside the camper. I have been having some campfire cooking difficulty the last few nights, since I have been making our campfire with the hemlock wood available at the campground. After supper we went for a walk around the small campground and then to the waterfront bird watching tower. Bo was pleased to have another opportunity to eat kelp. HA HA HA !
Thursday ; Port Clements to Massett and Old Masset to Tow Hill
Cloudy and mild, with misty light rain all day long. Typical Haida Gwaii weather. Today we saw many Black Tailed Deer, many Bald Eagles, and a Peregrine Falcon.
This morning we departed Sunset Campground for the last time, and dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank in Port Clements. We headed north on the only highway on Graham Island, the final segment of Yellowhead Highway 16.
I only learned that today when I saw the sign at the Masset Visitor Information Centre proclaiming "Mile 0 of the Yellowhead Highway". So now we have driven the Yellowhead Highway from end to end ; Masset, Haida Gwaii, BC to Portage La Prairie, Manitoba.
When we arrived in Massett, we drove through the village and out a few more miles to Old Massett. Massett is the "white" town, and Old Massett is the Native town. In Old Massett we drove around the small town, stopping to browse at three of the Haida art galleries. At Sarah's Haida Arts & Jewellery I bought a couple of small items. I decided to pass on the carved, bejewelled, walrus tusk at ... wait for it ... $175,000 ! ! !
Since arriving a week ago Joanne has been searching for a restaurant that serves traditional Haida meals. You wouldn't think that would be hard to find, but it was ! We got a recommendation at the art gallery that the best Haida food in town was at ... wait for it again ... Sherrie's Gas Bar & Grill. Who would have thought that a gas bar would be the place to have a great, traditional Haida meal ? ! ? Joanne ordered a Halibut burger served with Huckleberry salad. I ordered a bowl of seafood chowder, and smoked Chinook Salmon (a.k.a. Spring Salmon a.k.a. King Salmon a.k.a. Tyee Salmon) served on a Caesar salad. We each ate half of our meal then switched. WOW ! Great meals ! This was the first time I had eaten Chinook Salmon. Now I have had all five types of Pacific Salmon. The seafood chowder was made with Chinook Salmon, Halibut, Dungeness Crab, and Octopus. It was very good ! And likely won't be served at Tim Hortons any time soon. HA HA HA ... ( inside joke ).
We returned to the village of Masset, and I stopped at a custom fish processing business to inquire about purchasing Chinook Salmon. YESSSSS ! ! ! It wasn't cheap, but ... HEY ... you only live once ! And you only drive by a custom fish processor on Haida Gwaii once, as well ! HA HA HA ! I bought about two pounds of Chinook Salmon and about four pounds of Coho Salmon. We stopped at the Visitor Information Centre and while Joanne browsed travel information I quickly checked e-mail using their free Wi-Fi. In my e-mail was a request for a trailer towing quote that I had to decline because they wanted their trailer towed before we return home in a couple more weeks.
We drove northeast out of Masset following the good condition gravel road along North Beach all the way to the end of the road at Tow Hill, about 25 km. / 15 miles. On the way we stopped at a beach access spot and wandered around beachcombing on the sandy beach. A short distance later we found Moon Over Naikoon Bakery. Oh, boy ... fresh bread maybe. Moon Over Naikoon Bakery was ... a decrepit old school bus in the woods, with a hippie baker baking products that were overpriced and not all that appealing. < rolling eyes >
At the end of the road at Tow Hill we found an oceanfront campsite in Agate Beach Campground, part of Naikoon Provincial Park. We went for a long walk on Agate Beach, aptly named, and beachcombed many beautiful agates of various sizes. We had to lay them all out on the picnic table in our campsite, and cull them, keeping only the nicest. Otherwise we would have ended up carrying a lot of pounds of rocks back home with us.
It was too wet for a campfire. Joanne cooked supper inside the camper. Once again, Bo was exhausted after a day of exploring ... and beachcombing.
Friday ; Graham Island from north to south, then ferry to Moresby Island
Very foggy this morning at Agate Beach Campground, slowly lifting around noon at Masset, sunny and warm as we drove south to Skidegate, and for the rest of the day.
We left Agate Beach Campground and drove west through the spooky, foggy, rainforest road following North Beach, back to Masset. We stopped in Masset to shop at the weekly farmer's market. Joanne bought fresh string beans, and a home baked apple pie for tonight's after supper dessert. I bought ... < blink blink > ... home made sushi, made with local seaweed wrap, and ... wait for it ... < blink blink > ... fresh Sockeye Salmon !
OMIGAWD it was good ! ! ! I had it for lunch.
We dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank at the sani-dump station at the Masset Visitor Information Centre. From Masset we continued south. We stopped in Port Clements to refill with diesel ... again ! We stopped at Mayer Lake picnic area ( part of Naikoon Provincial Park ) to have lunch. At Skidegate we stopped at the Haida Heritage Centre so that I could buy a small art item at the gift shop. I saw it when we there a few days ago, and was going to buy it before we left, but I forgot. We arrived at the Skidegate ferry terminal at 4 PM to catch the 4:30 PM ferry from Graham Island to Moresby Island.
The ferry from Skidegate on Graham Island to Aliford Bay on Moresby Island, the M.V. Kwuna, is a small, open deck ferry. We were the first vehicle onto the ferry, and consequently the first vehicle off the ferry. That also means we were positioned right at the edge of the ferry's on / off ramp. While waiting for the ferry to depart Bo was looking out the truck window, and I suppose he thought we were just ... in some sort of a parking lot. When all of a sudden ... HOLY SHIT ! ... the parking lot began to move. HOLY SHIT ! ! ! IT'S MOVING ACROSS THE WATER ! HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT WE'RE GOING TO DIE ! ! !
Poor little BoBo Dog ! He was frantic ! I guess ... with all the ferries we've been on, including some small, open deck ones ... we've never been the first vehicle on, parked right at the edge of the exit ramp, facing the water, with the open water in front of the ferry visible to Bo. His entire life we have laughed at him about BONOGO docks, but now ... < snicker > ... we have to worry about BONOGO ferries. HA HA HA ! On the way back to Graham Island on Sunday, if we're the first vehicle onto the ferry we will put Bo into the camper before the ferry leaves the terminal.
Once on Moresby Island after the half hour ferry ride we drove the 10 km. / 6 miles of paved road from Aliford Bay to the only village on Moresby Island, Sandspit. We drove around Sandspit, checking out the little town, then headed south to the most remote wilderness campground we have ever been to. It was about 25 km. / 15 miles of very rough gravel road into the Kunxalas Heritage Site & Conservancy, to the campground at Gray Bay. As we drove into the campground a black bear was blocking the road in front of us. As we drove towards it, it ambled off into the forest. Because of that we were afraid to allow Bo to be off leash in our campsite, despite its remoteness. He was not happy to have to be on his leash or tie out / tether all evening.
We selected a campsite, then immediately wandered down to the beach behind our campsite to look around. When we returned to our campsite, the "next door neighbours" announced that they were leaving, and asked if we wanted to take over their campsite since they already had a campfire going. We accepted, with gratitude. The family left, we moved over to their campsite, and I cooked supper on the campfire. Joanne cooked the fresh beans on the camper stove while I baked potatoes and grilled a thick, juicy steak over the campfire. MMMMM ... supper was good ! And finished off with the freshly made, home baked apple pie !
We sat around the campfire for awhile, then walked down to the beach around 10 PM, still half an hour until darkness on the beach, although it already seemed quite dark at our campsite in the thick rainforest.
Saturday ; Gray Bay, Moresby Island, Haida Gwaii
Cloudy but warm, intermittent light rain.
I'm typing this at 3:20 PM. Bo is fast asleep, snoring loudly beside me on the dinette seat. He's very tired. And wet ! We have just finished a rousing session of beach doughnut fetch in the Pacific Ocean. HA HA HA ... and Joanne said he was too old to play beach doughnut fetch ! HA ! Proved her wrong !
For the first time since we left home sixteen days ago we are having a "no drivey" day. We slept very late this morning, then I made brunch. Sort of a wilderness camping version of Eggs Benedict. HA HA HA ! Maybe I'll declare it my own recipe and name it Eggs Haida Gwaii. HA HA HA !
Before playing beach doughnut fetch with Bo I put on a pair of shorts and went walking along the beach in ankle deep water, to see how cold / warm the water was, and to give my feet a saltwater soak in preparation for a pedicure. The water was surprisingly warm, so I decided to take Bo for a beach doughnut fetch play session. Joanne sat at our picnic table and gave herself a manicure. A Quebecois couple moved into the site next door, put up a tent, squabbled in both of Canada’s official languages for awhile, took down their tent, and left ! HA HA HA ! Nice to know that we're not the only couple that squabbles, and makes bad decisions as a result. This place is way to hard to get to, to cancel a camping trip because of a squabble. Especially if you've driven 5000 km. / 3000 miles to get here, as they probably did.
We had a leisurely afternoon and evening. I read. I napped. We went for a very long walk up and down the beach, walking in ankle deep water, beachcombing and exploring. When we returned to our campsite around 7 PM I lit a campfire and cooked chicken legs over the campfire while Joanne prepared a salad and some perogies as a side dish.
Nice supper ! Nice evening ! Nice day !
DSK
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