Vancouver Island Adventures

 We were stuck at home till mid-June, waiting for an inconvenient dentist appointment.  The minute that was done, we headed west as soon as possible.  A logging road just on the west side of Yoho National Park provided a primitive BC rec site for the first night.

When working, I used to patrol this area on occasion - but there are huge new clear cuts, and many new spur roads since I was last in the area.

 

It rained a bit overnight, and the next morning was a slow start as we continued west through Golden and Revelstoke on the Trans Canada Highway #1.  After an overnight stop near Kamloops we kept on westbound to Cache Creek, then picked up the scenic, and often steep highway 99 towards Pemberton and Whistler.

 

 Alongside Cayoosh Creek I parked at a spot I have stayed previously.  However, a very polite but firm native fellow showed up to advise me that it was private land (despite no signs), and I could stay as long as I wanted, just not overnight!  

 

A few km further up the road, another equally attractive spot lured us in with the sound of rushing water to send us off to sleep.

This area is completely devoid of cell service, but with the trusty Starlink set up beside the bed in the camper, it was not a problem staying online and keeping the satellite view on the truck's screen as we motored along.
 Whistler has become a zoo, with traffic, condos, and pay parking.  Managed to stop briefly to have some food, but not pay for parking.  There do not seem to be any paper permits to display on your windshield, so I assume enforcement is done by scanning licence plates.  Pretty sure with no front plate (Alberta), and rear plate under tailgate, and a parking spot backed into trees, rocks, or benches, it would discourage all but the keenest parking lot enforcers.  Not a problem though, as we were soon back on the road - down through Squamish.  Mid-day, so I knew my friends in town would be hard at work, so we just kept going down the very scenic and winding Sea to Sky highway, and got ourselves in line for BC ferries.

 

We opted to go up the Sunshine Coast,just for a change, and it proved to have not changed very much!  Still mostly narrow, tree-lined, busy road with only a few brief ocean views, unless you are going to a resort or park beach.  Caught the next ferry at Earl's cove, which had us going through Powell River in early evening.  A couple of possible camp spots did not work out, so we were stuck roadside with an ocean view on a dead-end road - where we have previously spent the night.

 

For some reason, I was not in the mood to explore much in the area, though there is plenty to explore.  Tried to check the ferry schedule over to Comox on Vancouver Island without success, so decided to just go and get in line.  I don't really mind waiting a bit, with a camper, food, entertainment, and a cat.  Turns out we were 2nd in line - for those without a reservation.  After a 3.5 hour wait, we were the very last vehicle to get on the boat.  Felt kind of sorry for the people in the grey pickup patiently waiting behind us who were blocked by ferry staff.  Check out the video below! 

Once on the island proper, we both wanted to get to a scenic waterfront camp spot where I have stayed before a couple times.  We settled in there just in time for a sunset parade of cruise ships, all headed for slack tide in Seymour narrows to the south.  I don't get these cruise ships! They tend to leave one city after a visit, then sail all night through some of the most spectacular terrain - in the dark - only to dock at yet another city in the morning!  Who wants to see another city - most of which you can drive to?  I'd just want to see all the beautiful spots between.  Isn't that the whole point of a 'cruise'!  

We spent a few days here, before the urge to explore somewhere new got us mobile again.

Our next destination was a fair bit further north and west of where we were; a place on the remote NW coast of the island, called Side Bay.  Most people would consider Port Alice to be fairly remote, but this is another 80km on a maze of logging roads with few signs and possible washouts.  This time, at least, Google did an awesome job of getting us there - with the reassurance of being online the whole time with Starlink.  I think it was a weekend, so there was no logging truck action, but the road conditions varied a lot - from freshly built and graded road to overgrown grassy trails, while some places squeezing through the brush, and everything in between.  Conditions weren't bad for a logging road, but you are driving blind in spots, going from intense sunlight on the windshield, and then entering a very dark shaded section where you can see nothing.  It took us over 4 hours to make the 80km, without shaking the camper completely to bits!

But, we made it, and were rewarded by spectacular scenery, cloud banks, and quiet camp spots on the beach.  Bailey got to meet some other camping cats, and enjoyed exploring the area.

Here's a new, radical improvement in off-grid communication.  Rogers is my cell phone provider, and I don't know if this is somehow exclusive to their service?  Last year, they announced that I could send txt messages direct to satellite.  I think I had to somehow select that option, then stand outside, with a clear view of the sky, while holding the phone up and turning to align it to some satellite?  If someone replied right away, and you were still standing there holding your phone, it might just get a reply.  Despite the fact that I have Starlink, which works great, it is usually turned off to save power.  So it was a bit of a surprise when my phone began receiving Facebook messenger messages, some with images, some e-mails, all while the phone is in my pocket and/or in the camper!  It would send messages, some even with images!  It would usually show a banner across the screen saying that there was now a satellite connection.  Not quite a replacement for Starlink or cell service, but encouraging new development.

After Side Bay, we returned to Elk Bay rec site for a few more days, before moving a bit south on the island.

Back in Campbell River, despite finding the cheapest diesel in town, we set a new record fill up at $262.!  I'm sure I could have squeezed a few more litres into the tank, but knowing we were headed for cheaper fuel down the road, there was no need. Fortunately, this truck gets well over 20 mpg (imperial gallons) average driving, and with the large tank, the range is impressive, between these crazy expensive fill ups!

We spent a few days further south down island, visiting friends and relatives, then jumped on the ferry in Nanaimo for the trip back to the mainland.

Summer Travel to Reunions! In British Columbia, and Saskatchewan.

 Looking back, it appears that our last post was some time ago, and we had just returned home to leafless trees and a few small snow patches.

One of the first items on our summer agenda, was to apply for a brand new 10-year passport - Done!

 Next, was to put the truck camper on, as we had places to go - done.  Of course, whenever he was outside, Bailey would run to the door of the 5th wheel, and ask to be let inside - so he could check it out, and make sure no mices had taken up residence.  For the first time, some red squirrels apparently found the entry point into the 5th's basement, no doubt following on the trails of the California pack rats!  Took some serious deterrence to get rid of them.

 Winter was not about to give up it's grip on the area, and a few days later over 6" of fresh snow was deposited on everything.  Thank goodness for the hot tub!

 

Despite bouts of winter-like weather, more and more birds keep arriving, and passing over on their way further north.  My large flock of resident (under my eaves) Cliff Swallows began arriving about the 12th of May.  Perhaps as a result, I rarely see a mosquito here!

 

But just prior to that was our first summer excursion, starting with a celebration of life of a gal I used to work with in Jasper, back in the day.  We stopped in Lake Louise, where I also used to reside and worked for 15 years, to get some water to go.  While most of the area was clear of snow by this time, the campground, though open had huge piles of snow throughout.  The RV dump was plowed clear, but the water was not turned on yet!  Luckily, I remembered a tap on the front of the shower building to get my fill.

Not in a rush to get anywhere, the next night was spent on the west boundary of Yoho National Park, along the Beaverfoot river.

Still ahead of schedule, we went up Revelstoke lake for a couple of nights at one of our usual spots.  Water was still cold, of course, but I made it in waist deep. 

 

Still lots of snow in the high country. 

Cupboard cat.

Bailey, 'helping' with this post!

 

A good time was had in Salmon Arm, with a bunch of old retired Park Wardens! Several days of chatting reminiscing, and enhancing old stories, and a performance by our house band, The Wardens!

 

 

After that, we headed up the west side of Shuswap Lake to Seymour Arm. That involved some exploration, and the discovery of a couple of 'new to us' camp spots along the lake

 

We were a bit beyond cell phone service, but my Starlink wanted to send me a txt before it would connect...   So, I strapped my phone to the drone, sent it up a couple hundred feet, and it came down with the required txt code - and we were online!

Around that time after we got home, it was very hot, and the winds were howling from the NW.  A presumed lightning-caused fire broke out in the bush to the west.

It appears pretty close in these pics, but it was actually 23 km away at that time.  But if the wind had changed direction a few degrees it could have gotten interesting in a hurry.  As it was, there were a lot of bombers working the fire perimeter, as well as helicopters bucketing, cat lines being constructed, and night helicopters working around the clock.  After a few days of intense action, they had it under control.

Next trip was up to Abraham Lake for a week, where friend Don joined me with his 5th wheel.  We did some hiking and exploring and watched a few hockey games on TV.

Back at home again, Bailey took on this grizzly - on the TV!

Next, we were off to Saskatchewan for two more reunions!  The main one was for mostly retired Conservation Officers, and our college class had a small 50 year (must be some mistake?) get together the night before.  And the very next day I got together with a whole bunch of family who live in Saskatoon.  Twelve of us enjoyed a great meal and some good visiting.  Of course, Bailey was a hit with all the young kids involved.

Back home for a few days to mow the grass, and we're off again, this time to Vancouver Island!