Last night we went to sleep earlier than usual, at 10:30 PM. AND ... < sputter > ... it was still daylight. I guess we're pretty far north already.
Today was mostly sunny and mild.
This morning we left Co-op Lake and continued west on Yellowhead Highway 16. At the town of Burns Lake we used the municipal sani-dump station to dump our waste holding tanks and refill our freshwater tank. Around lunch time we turned south off the highway near the town of Houston onto a good condition gravel Forest Service Road and drove about 18 km. / 11 miles to a remote wilderness campground on the Morice River. We had lunch, then I fly fished in the Morice River for an hour, catching nothing. Joanne and Bo went hiking and exploring, finding some berries that Joanne initially thought were Saskatoons, but ... were not. The leaves of the bush were different than Saskatoon berry bushes, the berries were a bit darker, and the flesh was "shiny".
I don't know what they were. They did not taste as sweet as Saskatoons, they had a more tart, sour taste.
We returned to the highway and continued west. At the city of Smithers we stopped at Safeway to refill our five gallon water jug and buy some milk. At the western edge of Smithers we turned south and followed a steep Forest Service Road about 10 km. / 6 miles uphill to Twin Falls trailhead parking lot and very small campground. We parked in one of the two unoccupied campsites in the four site campground, then went hiking up to see Twin Falls.
WHEW ! What an angina inspiring uphill hike ! The Twin Falls are fed by glacial melt. A bit of the glacier can be seen, but not much. Either much of the glacier is hidden from view, or ... there's not much glacier left. Which might explain why the right hand side of Twin Falls is almost dry. We hiked to the top of the trail ... < PANT PANT > ... and back down. By the time we got back down to the campground it was 7 PM and we were hungry.
A hiker who was leaving the trailhead parking lot offered us his remaining food, since he was headed to the airport to catch a return flight home to Victoria. I barbecued his "smokies" sausages ( pork ... which I can't eat ) for Joanne, and a couple of turkey sausages for me, and we ate them hot dog style in the buns the hiker also gave us, along with a fresh salad made with lettuce, tomatoes, and green onions from our own garden back home. After supper we went for a walk with Bo and discovered interesting wild mushrooms. While I worked on the computer, doing today's credit card accounting and writing this journal entry, Joanne worked on identifying the four different types of wild mushrooms we picked. One of them was HUGE !
She thinks we found ; a Honey Mushroom, a Bolete, a Fly Agaricus, and a Green Spored Lepiota. The Honey Mushroom is edible. The Bolete might be edible, but there are many types of Boletes and she couldn't narrow it down to which type of Bolete it was.
Monday ; Twin Falls / Smithers to Exstew River BCFSRS
Sunny and chilly in the morning, sunny and very warm in the afternoon.
This morning we left the Twin Falls BCFSRS ( British Columbia Forest Service Recreation Site ) campground and drove back down the mountain to the city of Smithers. At the Visitor Information Centre sani-dump station we dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank, then I went inside the Visitor Information Centre to use their free Wi-Fi. I retrieved some month end banking data, then uploaded my weekly journal to my blog. And offered some travel information to travellers when the staff were unable to do so < rolling eyes >. Such as ... "Can you tell me the best route to get from here back to the state of Washington ?"
While I was inside giving information to tourists, Joanne was outside walking around with the dog ... and pointing out to American RV'ers that they probably shouldn't be refilling their freshwater tanks with the contaminated rinse hose at the sewage dump station when there was a clean "potable" water refill hose across the road from the sewage dump station < rolling eyes again >.
It was noon by the time we left Smithers, continuing west on Yellowhead Highway 16. Just before reaching New Hazelton, we turned off the highway and travelled a few km. to Ross Lake Provincial Park to have lunch. While Joanne prepared lunch in the camper I walked to the shore line of Ross Lake with Bo ( off leash ). Where we found ... HUH ? Millions and millions of teensy little frogs congregated a few feet back from the water's edge. They were so thick they formed a band of black along the shore line a few feet back from the water. Were they hatching ? Do frogs hatch from eggs ? I thought frogs laid their eggs in the water and the eggs became tadpoles before forming into frogs. In any case ... there was just enough of an odour emanating from the millions of teensy little frogs that Bo thought ... he should roll on them. F****, BO ... GET UP ! ! ! < rolling my eyes yet again > How am I supposed to explain THAT to your "mother" ? ! ?
After lunch, and a trip to the shore line for Joanne to see the frogs ... with Bo waiting in the camper ... we returned to the highway and continued west. The highway was following the mighty Skeena River. And salmon season has begun ! Frequently there were fishermen standing in the river fly fishing for salmon. And we stopped for a few minutes at Moricetown, an Indian village, to watch the Natives dip netting for salmon in a narrow canyon where the Sockeye have to jump up in the air to get upstream in the rapids.
We refilled with diesel in Terrace. And about half an hour west of Terrace we turned off the highway and drove about 10 km. / 6 miles up a very rough, one lane dirt road to a BCFSRS remote wilderness campground on the Exstew River. It was difficult to get there. And when we arrived ... < SPUTTER > ... the place was filled with trucks and trailers and boats and ATV's and dirt bikes. Where the hell did all these people come from ? And what the hell are they all doing here ? Apparently not fishing ! ! ! Just ... making a lot of noise as they drive around and around on the very sandy shoreline of the Exstew River !
< sigh > We were too tired to leave. And ... I wanted to fish ! The Exstew River was gorgeous ! Fast flowing, clear blue water ! Hopefully filled with trout. Or salmon ! We selected a campsite away from the river, back in the bush. I went fly fishing. For half an hour. Caught nothing. One can only stand ( shin deep only ) in ice water for so long before one's legs go numb ! GEEEEEZ, that was a cold river !
Tuesday ; Exstew River BCFSRS to Prince Rupert
Sunny and warm.
This morning we left the Exstew River campground ( such as it was ! ) and drove the 6 km. / 3½ mile donkey trail back to Yellowhead Highway 16 and continued west. We were only a couple of hundred km. away from Prince Rupert so we stopped and checked out every rest area and Provincial Park and Forest Service Recreation Site. We stopped for lunch at Diana lake Provincial Park.
Just before reaching the small coastal city of Prince Rupert we turned south off the highway to the small town of Port Edward. In the town we refilled our freshwater holding tank and dumped our waste holding tanks at the municipal sani-dump station. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon touring the North Pacific Cannery, a late 1800's fishing cannery, the last one of five that had been in this area, now restored to be a museum.
We took two guided tours, one of the fish processing plant and equipment and processes, and another of the people and their housing and their lives. It was a racially segregated society ; Chinese factory workers doing the worse of the cannery jobs on the bottom of the hierarchy, then the local Indians doing slightly better jobs in the cannery, then the Japanese fishermen, and finally the white European bosses. And we watched a movie about salmon canneries, made by the BC government in the 1940's. The movie and the two tours, all together, made the history story complete. And just before leaving home last week we watched the Amazing Race Canada episode filmed on Haida Gwaii and in Prince Rupert. The pit stop at the end of the episode was here at North Pacific Cannery.
We left North Pacific Cannery about 5 PM and drove the remaining short distance to Prince Rupert. We found the Wal-Mart, decided that it was a viable overnight boondocking location, then drove a few blocks to the Cow Bay area, the tourist area of Prince Rupert. With a bit of difficulty we found a street parking location, parked Lanoire and Elsie, then walked through the waterfront shopping district. Most stores had already closed, but we were able to check out the restaurants. Because ... we wanted fresh Halibut "fish & chips" for supper.
I saw from the elevated walkway above the wharf that fishermen were cleaning their daily catches. I was interested in seeing that so we walked down to the docks to take a look. Charter boat captains were cleaning today's catches of Coho Salmon for their waiting, eager clients. I was envious !
We selected Dolly's Fish Market as our choice for dinner. It was both a fish market and restaurant. And we knew the fish were fresh. We watched a fisherman bring a wheel barrow of fish from the docks to Dolly's ! We each had Halibut fish & chips. I had an extra piece of Ling Cod to compare it with the Halibut. The Ling Cod was excellent. The Halibut was even better than that ! HA HA HA !
After supper we walked ( uphill all the way ) back to where the truck and camper were parked, and drove back to Wal-Mart. Joanne wanted to phone her sister. Our cell phone wouldn't work. I found a Wi-Fi signal and was able to set up our Skype "home phone" enabling Joanne to have a chat with her sister.
Wednesday ; Prince Rupert
Cloudy, cool, intermittent light rain all day. We had a lazy day of resting and exploring Prince Rupert and surrounding area. There was less to see and do around here than I had anticipated.
We slept late this morning. All of the other half dozen or so RV rigs that had boondocked here at the Wal-Mart overnight were gone this morning, all to the 5:30 AM ferry through the Inside Passage to Vancouver Island I presume. We drove around exploring around Prince Rupert and out to Port Edwards. At Port Edwards we refilled our freshwater holding tank and dumped our waste holding tanks again at the municipal sani-dump station. On the way back to Prince Rupert we stopped at a municipal park on a small lake and had lunch in the camper. And ... < whispering > ... Bo and I napped briefly.
He gave us a bit of a health scare today. After napping briefly, he seemed ... neurologically ill. His face was hot, as if he had a headache. He repeatedly kept having short seizures. His balance seemed off, he was having difficulty jumping in or out of the camper and truck. His eyes looked "sleepy", as if he was very tired and falling asleep, even after napping. After a few hours he was back to normal. At first we thought perhaps he had experienced some manner of stroke. But ... maybe he's just getting old !
We refilled Lanoire with diesel on our way back into the city, then parked in the Cow Bay area and once again wandered around, browsing in the tourist shopping area and walking along the wharf, admiring large boats ; pleasure boats / yachts, fishing boats, sail boats. Parked alongside the wharf today were two very large, old fashioned, wood masted sailing ships, used by a BC based sailing education organization to train groups of youth.
Late in the afternoon we shopped for groceries at Safeway and other necessities at Wal-Mart before settling once again into our overnight parking spot, and making and having supper.
Thursday ; Prince Rupert to Haida Gwaii / Queen Charlotte Islands by ferry
I am typing this at 10 AM Thursday morning, as the BC Ferry M.S. Northern Adventure is pulling away from the Prince Rupert ferry dock, en route to Haida Gwaii. The weather is partially sunny and mild.
We got up early this morning, Joanne walked the dog, and we headed to the ferry dock for our 8 AM check in time even before taking care of routine morning chores ; showering, breakfast, etc. Once we were checked in at the ferry terminal, and in line to board the ferry, we showered, had breakfast, etc.
We are now passing the Prince Rupert container port, where large ships are loaded and unloaded with containers full of ... whatever, for shipment to / from Asia. The container ship Clementine Maersk is being loaded / unloaded right now. WOW ! What a lot of "sea cans" !
Now, a few minutes later, at 10:15 AM, Joanne has just pointed out to me that a rail line is running alongside the shore line, and a very long train is bringing many more "sea cans" to the Prince Rupert container port. I guess it's an endless process of "sea cans" in and out by rail, to be loaded on and off ships coming and going.
Now, at 10:20 AM, we are passing the Prince Rupert bulk port, where bulk commodities like grain and coal are loaded onto ships. The PACNAV ship Atlantic Maya, which for the last two nights has been sitting within our view at the Wal-Mart parking lot, waiting for its load time slot, is now at the port being loaded.
Until it was time for lunch, I sat at a table in the ferry's dining room, with my laptop plugged into an electrical outlet on the wall, and worked on downloading and processing photos. I can tell from the conversations taking place around me that the ferry has many musicians / performers, headed to the Edge Of The World Music Festival, on Haida Gwaii, starting tomorrow. As are we !
There are two main islands of Haida Gwaii, the more populated northern Graham Island, and the less populated southern Moresby Island. The ferry arrived at the town of Skidegate ( pronounced something like "Skiddygat" ) on Graham Island, at 5:15 PM. Once off the ferry we headed north directly to the Village of Port Clements. We had a reservation at their municipally operated campground, Sunset RV & Camping Park. Port Clements is about half an hour north of Tlell, where the Edge Of The World Music Festival will be held over the next three days. Port Clements also has one of the very few sani-dump stations on Haida Gwaii, a huge bonus for us.
We arrived in Port Clements about 6:30 PM. We dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank at the very windy, very cold, ocean front sani-dump station. BRRRRR ! By 7 PM we were in the campground. WOW ! Great place ! Only six RV sites. All very private, well separated from one another. Only a couple of hundred feet from the ocean, but protected by thick rainforest from the cold wind coming in off the ocean. Port Clements is on the west coast of Graham Island, so a lot of wind coming in off the ocean, and much colder than the villages on the other / eastern side of the island.
We walked down a short trail through the rainforest to the ocean. BRRRRR ! We returned to our campsite, I chopped some ( free ) firewood, lit a campfire, then cooked supper on the fire ; shrimp in barbecue sauce for me, Cajun seasoned pork chop for Joanne. Don't think I've ever cooked over a campfire of Sitka Spruce before. Inside the camper Joanne made a fresh salad and a rice pilaf. After eating supper outdoors at the picnic table in our campsite we walked over to the adjacent tent campground and picnic area. Very nice ! But less sheltered than the RV campsites, so colder / windier.
When it finally got dark ( at 10:30 PM ) and our campfire was almost burned out we went inside the camper to have hot chocolate. Bo was eager to have his bed time snack and head to bed. He was SOOOOO tired ! HA HA HA ! Poor little dog ! These ferry rides are stressful for a little dog, having to stay alone in the camper for over seven hours, with strange noises, and strange motion.
Friday ; Port Clements to Tlell ; Edge Of The World Music Festival
Haida Gwaii has rapidly changing weather. Today was sunny, with temperatures ranging from hot to cold.
We slept late this morning. We left our campsite about noon and headed north on a gravel road about ten km. / six miles looking for a somewhat obscure local tourist attraction. Never found it ! HMPH ! We drove back to the campground, then into the Village of Port Clements. We stopped at the village office to ask a question about the campground.
We headed south on the highway towards Tlell, about 25 km. / 15 miles from Port Clements. On the way we stopped at Davis Lake Provincial Park, a day use / picnic area, to have lunch. After lunch we continued into Tlell, and the fairgrounds where the Edge Of The World Music Festival is held. We parked and had our folding chairs set up in front of the stage just in time for the 3 PM opening ceremonies.
Today was day one of three of the music festival. We were there today for eight hours. And it was a bit disappointing. None of the entertainers was all that great. Some were downright terrible.
Each performer or group of performers is given about forty-five minutes to perform, with about a fifteen minute changeover time between performers. And you would think that fifteen minutes would be enough time for one performer to leave and the next to set up. But NOOOOO ... most of the performers are obsessed with fiddling endlessly with the sound system and seem far more concerned with entertaining / satisfying themselves then the audience. It's not just here ! We have that opinion of most "amateur" or "semi-professional" musicians we have seen perform over the last decade or so. It seems to be an "evolution" in the live music performance business.
Shortly after the music festival started, I had to return to our truck and camper in the parking to change from a black t-shirt, long pants, and shoes, to light coloured t-shirt, shorts, and sandals. A few hours later I had to change back again. And then a couple of hours after that, I needed a sweater. Then a heavy jacket !
We stayed at the music festival until it became ( almost ) dark at 10:30 PM, so that we could view the lantern parade, a tradition at this music festival. After the lantern parade we left. It was just too much agony to bear any more listening to the completely self-absorbed duo from Vancouver that was on stage at that time. We drove about half an hour north back to Port Clements and our campground ... dodging two deer on the way.
Saturday ; Port Clements to Tlell ; Edge Of The World Music Festival day two
Today was lovely weather, sunny and warm, a very light breeze during the hottest part of the afternoon while sitting in the sun at the music festival.
This morning before heading to Tlell for the music festival we walked down to the wildlife viewing tower on the waterfront a few hundred feet behind our campsite. The waterfront here is actually the Yakoun River Estuary, where the Yakoun River runs into the ocean. At low tide it is a lot of "mud flat" with a river running through it. At high tide it looks like ocean. We drove into Port Clements and used the municipal sani-dump station again to dump our waste holding tanks and refill with freshwater, a daily chore
( for us ... I'm a "water hog", demanding a daily full shower ) with the limited capacity tanks of the truck camper.
We arrived at the music festival at 2 PM, just in time for me to attend a juggling workshop in the "activities" area. GEEEEEZ ... my juggling skills are extremely rusty !
I did, however, receive instruction in juggling bowling pins, although I did not work at it long enough to master the technique. Today's musical performers were more to our liking than yesterday's. The late night headliner was Buffy Sainte-Marie, a renowned Canadian Indian social activist and folk singer from the 1960's and 1970's. My old Canadian friends / readers will know her. My American friends / readers likely will not. She was "blacklisted" by the Johnson and Nixon administrations, as being "subversive". I'm not a great fan of her, but her astounding vibrato / tremolo musical voice is as strong as ever, and she still has powerful social and political messages to deliver through song.
Just before arriving back at Sunset Campground we came across a small doe standing in the road, protecting her very small fawn who was grazing in the ditch.
DSK
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