After making a few stops on the way up from Campbell River I arrived in Port Hardy around lunchtime. I bought some fast food at an establishment in town and took it down by the water to enjoy it in a small city park, under a shelter.
There was a pretty heavy marine layer (clouds close to the ground near the water) when I arrived. I could see there were some small islands out there but I waited a while for them to become a little more visible.
After I ate and enjoyed the solitude for a while I was going to start exploring the town. Just before I left to do that I saw a man standing not far from where I was, staring up into a tree. I walked around to take a look and saw this large hawk, hidden in the tree’s branches.
It didn’t take him long to spot me.
I left soon after that and drove around the little town. Not much to see, frankly, but there was a small park with some interesting items in it – like this:
Yes, that’s a 10-foot tall wooden carrot (which is located in Carrot Park). I will explain the significance of it in a moment.
I also saw a seaplane taking off from the water:
I came across this short, squat totem pole with its hand out. Not sure what the significance of that is but I will soon be doing some research on totem poles and hope to find out what the symbolism of the various portrayals are.
There was a nice memorial to soldiers from the town who lost their lives in various conflicts. I thought I had taken a photo of it but don’t see it in either camera.
I spotted this vehicle in town, getting ready to back out of the parking space it was in. Looks like they came prepared to have fun.
So now, the mystery of the carrot:
Remind me of someone in the US who is also referred to by the color that doesn’t rhyme with any other word.
As I was leaving town to head to my next destination I saw this bald eagle way up in the top of a tree by the city street I was on:
My last full day on Vancouver Island would take me to the northernmost tip of the island. Port Hardy is 145 miles northwest (the island slants from NW to SE) of my current base of Campbell River, and Google Maps said it would take 2 1/2 hours to get there. My goal when I planned this trip was to drive on ALL the major roads on the island (there aren’t many). Mission accomplished, save for the road out to Tofino which I skipped because of the alleged tsunami threat. There are several small towns along the Strait of Juan de Fuca on that route which are all along the coast, and facing that direction they might have experienced the full force of a tsunami had it held together, so I opted to listen to the authorities and stay inland that day. I will just have to wait and visit Tofino when I come back! From my pre-trip research it sounded like it had some interesting stops.
It was a beautiful morning when I started driving towards Port Hardy. I should have mentioned this earlier but as I have driven northwest from Victoria the entire time I have been on Vancouver Island I’ve encountered more and more mountains, not so much that I had to drive on since most of the main roads skirt both coasts (the exception being the ones I did yesterday, and the road out to Tofino) but every day I seemed to see more, and taller mountains.
Curiously I never saw the tallest mountain on the island, but it was probably obscured by smaller mountains, or trees, adjacent to the roads I was driving on. As I mentioned in an earlier post, it may well have been the mountain with the most snow on it which I could see from many other locations, but for all I know that mountain could have also be on the British Columbian mainland.
Before I got to Port Hardy I saw a sign for Alert Bay, which indicated it was the location of the world’s tallest totem pole, and well as a reference to a killer whale which was lost on me.
When I got to that point on the highway I turned right and drove a short distance to Port McNeill. There I found a small harbour, and there was a small ferry just getting ready to dock.
There were also some boats anchored out in the main waterway.
I’d like the one on the extreme right, please.
There is also a marine research facility out on one of the islands in Alert Bay and this is one of the boats used by their scientists.
As I mentioned, a small ferry which transports vehicles and people to some of the numerous small islands off the coast was just getting ready to dock:
And as I was leaving the dock to head downtown to the Visitor Center I saw this timely sign, given the events of the past few days:
As usual, the young ladies in the Visitor Center were extremely helpful in pointing out various things I could see and do as I continued north to Port Hardy, some of which were on my list but others, not. They also told me that getting out to Alert Bay to see the totem pole was a pleasant, but time consuming task. Yes, a short ferry ride out there, but the big blue sign didn’t mention that in order to get back to Port McNeill one had to ride the ferry to several other islands in the vicinity, and that would take more time than I had today. Add that to the to-do list when I come back.
I bid Port McNeill a fond adieu and drove back to the main road to continue my trek northwest.
After my morning road trip towards Gold River I returned to Campbell River to speak with someone who works at the Visitor Center but who wasn’t working the day before. She used to live in Stewart, Alaska, which borders northwest British Columbia, so is very knowledgeable about the roads up that way. I initially thought I would fly to Alaska but now I am pondering the long drive up and back. I had spoken with some young people near the original Starbucks when I was in Seattle and they had just driven down from Alaska via the southern edge of the Yukon Province and then south all the way through British Columbia!
The young lady at the Visitor Center gave me some great ideas on places to stop to see some unique scenery and wildlife, making an already long drive even longer, but hey, I’ve come this far…
I am still reviewing how and when I will get to Alaska, depending largely on exactly how long I am in Canada. I just read today that authorities are keeping an eye on a possible volcanic eruption due west (not very far by Alaska standards) of Anchorage AK, perhaps triggered by the rash of recent earthquakes, so that gives me one more thing to keep track of…
After speaking with her I had lunch in town, then headed to my next stop – Mount Washington Alpine Resort ski area. My Airbnb host was working there today (he is retired but helps out at the ski area a few days a week). I thought I would surprise him by showing up at the chair lift he was operating. I stopped for gas in Courtenay, then headed for the mountain.
Mt Washington Alpine Resort has year-round activities and there were a fair number of people up there. I chatted briefly with my host but he was working so I let him get back to it. I wandered around and took some photos, then headed back to Campbell River as I would have an even longer driving day tomorrow before taking a ferry from Nanaimo to Vancouver the day after.
Here are some of the things I saw up on Mt. Washington. The base elevation there is 3,558 feet so there were some pretty good views looking back towards Discovery Passage near Campbell River, and south towards Nanaimo. They get an average of 38 feet of snow each winter, which apparently is a pretty big deal and draws lots of skiers.
One of the more popular attractions during the summer is an extensive series of bike trails (bicycle, not motor bike). There was a canopy set up and a young man seemed to have his hands full with repairs on tires and such. Here are two lists of bike trails and the experience level needed to ride each.
I kind of dropped the ball on this one, folks. I didn’t realize at the time how big of a role the Bike Park had so the photos above weren’t straight on shots and I didn’t even take a photo of the canopy or ongoing bike repairs.
Here are some of the other activities available to folks at the resort:
Zip line training, to hone your skills before going big time much further off the ground. At the center of the photos is a kid kind of dangling from the zip line, and others with their helmets on waiting their turn.
A Water Tube, which didn’t seem to be in use the day I was there. I threw in a panorama shots while I was at it. And don’t forget, you can right click on any photos I took to save them to your computer. Then open them up on the biggest screen available. This is especially true with panorama shots.
I drove down to the Nordic Center on the advice of my Airbnb host but they were having a private event and the sign asked people to be respectful and not even proceed past it, so I left. There were lots of vehicles so it must have been a pretty big deal, whatever it was.
I went back to main lodge and took some photos of the views. This was the main road going in (which they are in the process of repaving)
This is looking towards Campbell River, I believe. The water you see in these photos is the Strait of Georgia, which separates Vancouver Island from the British Columbian mainland (and narrows to become Discovery Passage up near Campbell River):
And this is looking further south, towards Courtenay and Nanaimo:
I was originally planning a much longer drive on my first full day based in Campbell River but with the tsunami warning issued after the big earthquake in Russia the night before I decided not to go near the ocean. Authorities were still warning British Columbians to stay away from the coast, although those warnings were lifted after I was already on the road.
I chose another route which would take me about as far from the ocean as I could get. I took Route 28 out of Campbell River and headed west, up towards Gold River. It’s only about 55 miles but Google Maps said it would take about an hour and 15 minutes, though with all my stops to take photos it took a lot longer than that. I even turned around before I got to Gold River as I had other places I wanted to go as well.
These are photos of various lakes, mountains, and distant mountains with snow on them, even in early August. I apologize for not knowing the names of most of them – there were only signs in two places. I don’t know the lay of the land and, as I learned to my dismay in Victoria a few days earlier, I don’t even know which direction I am looking, or walking. This is one reason I don’t hike.
Just enjoy the views as I did. A lot of repetition I know, but everything is just gorgeous…
I suspect I am seeing the mountain above from various places on the island but I still don’t know which one it is!
I posted the photo above because, while I started using Google Maps to guide me to Gold River, it got to a point where it apparently didn’t know where I was, either!! Scary thought…
I will tell you again about an app which may also be useful in a situation like this. It is called What Three Words. Someone has plotted a 10-square-meter grid over the entire planet and assigned each grid section a unique three word designation. Like: bacon, lettuce, tomato. If you provide the EXACT three words for where you are, anyone with access to What Three Words can see your location, within 10 meters. Less confusing than GPS coordinates, but with either of them you MUST be precise or you might send your rescuers to the middle of some lake close to where you actually are, or to another continent… Plurals matter. Spelling very much matters.
As I write this I am at blatant.glided.snakeskin (which should take you to Cranbrook, BC, Canada). Use glided NOT gilded. If you made two errors and gave 911 blantantly.gilded.snakeskin it would send my rescuers to Kugluktuk, Nunavut – still in Canada but 2,044 km away from where I am, and I think we’d ALL be cranky.
I was without cell service for long periods while I was on Vancouver Island, and that will be the case once I get to the mainland, too.
If you note in the upper right hand corner of the photo above you will see a satellite icon next the 90 (showing that my phone is charged to 90% capacity). This is something new on Verizon. If you are out of cell service but get the satellite icon you may still be able to send a text message (ONLY, for emergencies most likely) but not voice calls or sending photos (like of the grizzly bear which is about to consume you). I tried it and it asked me to point the phone towards the satellite in the sky (like a divining rod…). Even on satellite it seemed that I only had a marginal signal and I didn’t send an actual text to anyone, but I did find the satellite in the sky using the image projected on my phone’s screen. Clever, IF it works….
OK – back to the photos:
That one I know (thanks to a sign pointing to it). Marble Peak, elevation about 5,800 feet.
The one just to the left of it from my scenic viewpoint is Mt. Phillips, just a few feet shorter:
Sorry about the tree. If I had tried to move just a tad to the left there was another obstruction blocking where I could stand.
The sign above was located just past Strathcona Park Lodge, a large, modern resort about halfway between Campbell River and Gold River (the towns). Just about every body of water in this post is Upper Campbell Lake, which covers a massive area.
I saw very little traffic as I ascended the mountain but there were lots more vehicles going up as I went back down later in the morning. Had I made it to Gold River its elevation is “only” about 524 feet but the mountains along the way are much higher than that.
FYI – the highest peak on Vancouver Island is Golden Hinde, which tops out at 7,201 feet. Who knows, it might be the mystery mountain with lots of snow on it…
Before I start posting about the two driving days I had once I arrived in Campbell River, let me show you a few miscellaneous photos.
As I was driving home from the Elk River Suspension Bridge the afternoon I arrived, I drove past this real sea plane mounted high off the ground between the north and southbound lanes of a divided highway.
The restaurant where I had lunch the second day I was in town had these words of wisdom from the Dalai Lama posted on the wall:
I’d say he’s a pretty smart dude.
And finally, after I long day of driving to three different destinations the first full day I was in town, my Airbnb hosts invited me to go with them to “Latin Night” downtown, in an outdoor area often used for music events and the like. There was a Latin band there (very good, I must say) and the place was overflowing with people – about 1/5 were there to dance and the rest were watching and/or socializing with their friends.
The three of us were among the watchers, though my Airbnb hostess was actually down here the night before taking lessons. She says she isn’t quite ready to get out there yet but I somehow think it will happen sooner rather than later. Her husband loves the music but says he can’t dance worth a lick (well, he didn’t say that exactly).
As you can see in the top photo, we were very close to the action but were behind the barricade (alcohol control line). There were LOTS of people off to the sides and behind us, too. I was shocked how many people were there!
The dancers were REALLY into it and changed partners often. Young people dancing with other young people, young people dancing with older people, it didn’t matter. They were just there to have fun, and they clearly did.
No, I didn’t dance but I enjoyed watching everyone have a good time.
I have two video clips if anyone is interested. I also have some video of the various waterfalls at the Elk River bridge. Still photos of waterfalls make it difficult to appreciate the sound and sense the force of the water. I don’t know how to post videos on the blog but I can email them to anyone who asks. Click on “Contact” at the top of the home page to send me a request.
After spending a good, long while out on Discovery Pier, enjoying a beautiful summer afternoon after a busy driving day, I headed inland a few kilometers to check out this new bridge, built by BC Hydro, to allow visitors to walk down and get an up-close look at the powerful waterfall along the Elk River.
After following the well-marked path through the woods leading down to the bridge from the parking lot (the information center had closed for the day) I descended a long set of sturdy, metal stairs to arrive at the bridge.
From the platform on the other side of the bridge, this was the view looking left towards the river taking water to the main fall.
I then crossed back over the bridge and went down yet another set of sturdy, metal stairs to a viewing platform very close to the main fall. You can see the mist rising from the water after it dropped to the rocks below.
And the “natural” part of this attraction – the main fall itself.
Once the water has fallen it travels on to its ultimate destination, as seen from the extension bridge:
When I walked back up to the parking lot I took this “photo of a photo” which was on an information board explaining the bridge project, and the ongoing construction of yet another dam to back-up the water supply to Campbell River. It shows everything I just described from high above.
(Photo credit: BC Hydro)
My Airbnb host in Campbell River explained that BC Hydro ran a new set of pipes VERY far underground to channel water to the town (and others, I’m sure). This whole area sits atop a major fault line which runs up and down the west coast and their house, built 8 years ago, had to meet strict earthquake-proof standards. The fear is that if an earthquake occurs, the current water supply may get cut off.
After leaving Victoria my next three nights would be spent in Campbell River, about halfway up the eastern (inland) side of Vancouver Island. My first stop after I rolled into town? You guessed it – the Visitor Center. Once again, the young staff members were extremely helpful answering my questions and even suggested I return the next day to speak with another staff member who used to live in Alaska about some of the questions I had about roads up that way. I am now thinking about driving up to the top of British Columbia and passing into the extreme southern edge of the Yukon Province, then proceeding west to Alaska rather than flying.
This was a part of a totem pole, or perhaps a ship, which was just outside the entrance to the Visitor Center (located on the lower floor of a museum). I guess I should have read the sign!
When I walked back to my car before heading out on Discovery Pier, located behind the museum and adjacent to the city’s harbour, I saw this on the dashboard of a car which was also parked in the free parking lot.
I couldn’t determine by looking through the windshield who it was (I am still recovering from double cataract surgery right before I left home and have to wait another few weeks before getting new glasses to help my close vision) but I can only guess that it had to be Elvis.
This is Discovery Pier, so named because the body of water you see under it is Discovery Passage which runs between Vancouver Island and Quandra Island, which is the closer land mass you see on the other side (the mountains further away are on the British Columbian mainland).
This is the view from the walkway going out to the pier looking right (south).
This heron landed on the rocks just below the walkway as I was preparing to take the next photo.
This is the view looking from the pier to the left (north):
And turning further left you can see the masts of many of the boats docked in the harbour (from the walkway, close to the seawall and making it harder to see over it):
There was snow on the high mountains off in the distance looking northeast.
And these two ferries were crossing the Passage in opposite directions:
They built nice, sturdy chairs which are securely attached to the pier, for fishermen and women to use while they wait for their catch to take the bait.
They each had a plaque in memory of some of the people who loved to fish here.
There were free buckets (and be sure to take a lid!) next to the stand selling ice cream, sherbet and other treats to the public.
I enjoyed a double scoop of rainbow sherbet, which I haven’t had in years.
After my stops in Duncan and Mount Prevost I arrived in Nanaimo (pronounced nuh-NIGH-mo). First stop, as it often is when I go to a town I haven’t been to before, was the Visitor Center. There were three very helpful young people working there and they gave me some great ideas of where to visit and where to have lunch (confirming my pre-trip research).
There was an amazing mural on the wall made from rocks! It was enormous, and must weigh a ton – literally.
My next stop was the marina next to the fashionable Nanaimo Yacht Club.
There was a large panel with an octopus on it as I walked towards the (public) dock:
The sign below it stated that it is an artwork depicting a Giant Pacific Octopus, which is found in nearby waters. The sign went on to say that this area has some of the best diving spots in the world, where divers may see this octopus, wolf eels (with a face only a mother could love), nudibranches (one of the most colorful fish I have ever seen, and available in MANY varieties), anemones and sea sponges.
Sometime when you’re bored Google “nudibranch” and look at the images. The variety will amaze you. But I digress. I’m here to take photos of the scenery.
Next stop – Pipers Lagoon.
I was born in Evanston, IL, the first suburb north of Chicago. As a kid growing up (we moved to Pennsylvania when I was 12) my parents would occasionally take me to a lagoon, located just off Lake Michigan. That is the only time I have ever seen or been to a lagoon until today, which is why I sought this one out.
This is the recently renamed Arrington Lagoon in Evanston, a great place to take young kids to feed the ducks or bring their toy boats.
(Photo credit: Businessyab.com)
(Photo credit: Karie Angell Luc)
THIS is Pipers Lagoon in Nanaimo:
A very different type of place because it is natural, not manmade. Of more interest to the locals is the beach, just out of frame to the right in the photo above.
And to rinse yourself or the kids off after having been in the water, this two-headed serpent:
And yes, I do have a strange obsession with taking photos of dead trees:
As I drove back towards town for lunch I caught this view as I was driving along a road at the top of a hill.
The restaurant I planned to go to was closed the day I was in town (that happens to me a lot). I was going to have REAL Ramen, not the $1 stuff college kids buy that is probably all salt. Instead, I went to the second place on my list and had a yummy bowl of Pho, along with two orders of spring rolls.
After two nights in Victoria it was time to head northwest, up the eastern (inland) side of Vancouver Island. Shortly after leaving the city I immediately I started to see huge highway signs warning of Elk. Not deer. ELK.
Oh, they have deer too, mind you…
… but Elk are much larger and pose a greater risk to motorists. Oh, and they bears up here too. Black bears AND grizzly bears. I brought two cans of bear spray for this trip. A small black bear ran across the road well ahead of me the other day at about 10 in the morning. One must always be vigilant when driving.
Soon after leaving town I stopped as a rest area near Malahat. I didn’t need to rest, but wanted to take in the scenic view.
And for those of you with eagle eyes, yes, that is snow on the distant mountains in the upper right corner of the photo.
When I texted that photo to friends and family members I said that it was the mountains in the Olympic National Park in northwest Washington State. That is not correct. It is actually Mount Baker, and other mountains, still in northwest Washington but further inland, up near the Canadian land border, looking east from this vantage point, not south.
Another lake I could see from another scenic overlook just a little ways up the road:
I got back on the highway and soon arrived in the little town of Duncan. Duncan is known for it’s totem poles. There were lots of them scattered around town but the visitor center there wasn’t open yet and I needed a map to find them all. It was also early in the morning and the sun angle was not conducive to taking great photos.
Here are a few that I was able to find:
And I spotted this big guy across an intersection, in front a round office building.
It is called Cedar Man, and is the widest totem pole in the world, measuring 5 feet, eleven inches across. The carver is a man whose “English name” is Richard Hunt. He is a member of the Kwagu’l indigenous tribe and his given name is actually Gwe-la-y-gwe-la-gya-les. I got that information from the small sign at the base of the pole, which is present at each pole in town.
Indigenous words are all presented in a very elaborate font which I can’t replicate here, but when I start posting more photos of totem poles and their carvers after I have researched them in more detail I will show you photographic evidence of what I’m talking about.
A little further north of Duncan I turned off to head over to Mount Prevost, which promised fantastic views of the area.
I left the house in the photo to give viewers some reference of just how tall the mountain is (2,585 feet). I drove up the road towards the parking area but the road was closed before I got to it and I could tell it was still quite a climb to the top. I am not a hiker so I turned around and left. There is quite a view, though, based on photos I found online.
As I was driving back to the main highway I saw this sign which shows the current fire level risk in Vancouver Island.
I read this morning that the fires in Manitoba province are getting worse and even more have been detected in just the last week. They have already experienced three times the average amount of land loss to wildfires, and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated, mostly by air (not many roads up north). Think about that. Tens of thousands. There are still large, out of control fires in northern Saskatchewan province, too. All of them are producing dangerous smoke and there are health warnings in many areas well south of the actual fires.
This area has been under a huge high pressure dome the entire week I’ve been here. That’s good for me, nice clear days and pleasant temperatures, but bad for residents of those two provinces because high pressure keeps the smoke close to the ground. The weather forecast indicates that that situation is fixin’ to change here in a few days and hopefully that will help clear some of the smoke out.
I am going to resume booking my Airbnb’s along my original route and will make a bee line for Saskatchewan province and get that portion of the trip done so I can focus on Alberta and British Columbia. There are always new fires popping up and the situation can still change on short notice. Canada has excellent resources for monitoring all of the various fires so I will be well informed as to their status.
Toward the end of the day Monday I set off from the Inner Harbour in search of this city park which was said to contain several large totem poles. The pictures didn’t turn out very well as they were almost all taken looking towards the setting sun. I will be making another post specifically about totem poles later, as I have seen many in different locations during my journey but want to do more research into their meaning and significance to the indigenous people who create them before I share it with you.
Thunderbird Park, once I finally found it, is located very close to Beacon Hill Park, a huge city park which offers many types of activities and open spaces. I went in it and walked around a bit. At one point I was approached by these two friendly black squirrels, undoubtedly looking for a handout:
Unfortunately I had nothing to offer them.
When I decided I was getting tired and had better get back to my car is when things went awry. Although I hadn’t walked all that far to get to the Park from the Inner Harbour I got very confused about my sense of direction and ended up way off course. And I mean WAY off course. At one point I walked toward what appeared to be the harbour only to find that it was where the enormous cruise ships dock (and I STILL don’t know exactly where that is!).
I walked and walked through nice residential neighborhoods with pretty landscaping and flower gardens. My knees were beginning to let me know they weren’t happy with me (a repeat performance after a long day of walking around Seattle only a few days earlier) and you don’t know how happy I was to see a sign near a hotel for the Water Taxi, many of which I had seen buzzing around the harbour during the day.
I got on board and when I told the operator that I wanted to go to the government buildings near the harbour. He told me that it would be a while before he could do that as he had to take other customers to other locations first. I said that was fine, just so I didn’t have to walk anymore!
I ended up with just over 27,000 steps for the day, which I believe eclipses my earlier high numbers in Quebec City and Ottawa in eastern Canada back in 2019. My total just three days earlier in Seattle was just over 18,900.
I was one tired buckaroo when I finally got home, and slept very well that night!
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