And so we ambled further along on Vancouver Island, in rain, southeast along BC Hwy 19 from Campbell River to Parksville, and then due west to the Pacific Coast along BC Hwy 4. The route meandered through unspoiled mountain wilderness, complete with sparkling lakes, narrow roads, and cliffs!
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A dramatic drive in the rain down narrow BC Hwy 19
to the west coast of Vancouver Island |
Our first stop was Ucluelet, a quiet fishing town of 1800 people, on the northern edge of Barkley Sound. Situated in a protected bay, the Nuu-chal-nulth people who lived here for centuries before contact with Europeans, called the community Ucluelet, which means “People with a Safe Landing Place”. A good description, for sure, as on the other side of that bay is found the wild, and I do mean WILD, Pacific Ocean! The hiking trail here is actually called “The Wild Pacific Trail” and gave us our first views of the huge cedars and other trees that grow along the west coast, and all that Hurricane Joaquin could throw at this rocky coast, already battered by the sea for eons! It took our breath away!
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First nations people lived on the west coast of Vancouver Island long before
European contact. |
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Bernie is thrilled with the power of the Pacific Ocean along
the Wild Pacific Trail near Ucluelet |
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| Big trees along the Wild Pacific Trail |
We spent a peaceful night on Ucluelet Inlet despite the maelstrom offshore, and awakened to sunshine and blue skies!! A miracle! We leaped into the truck and headed northwest, still on BC Hwy 4, but now referred to as the Pacific Rim Highway. This we drove to the Pacific Rim National Park which lies along a peninsula, encompassing a long narrow strip of coast dominated by rugged shoreline, dense rainforest, and the peaks of the Mackenzie mountain range—GORGEOUS! One can access the ocean beach at many places in the park and we did so, relishing the power of the sea, and searching the waves for the surfers this area is famous for. None. We thought that strange until we asked a ranger about it. “Are you kidding??!!”, she cried. "Not in surf as dangerous as this!!! Anyone out there today would have to be CRAZY!!!” Then she added wistfully, "Like my boyfriend…”
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| Wild ocean waves at Pacific Rim National Park |
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| Hurricane Joaquin added even more ferocity to the ocean's power |
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| No surfers here... |
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| Peggy tries to calm the seas! |
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| Finally, in a relatively "quiet" cove, one lonely surfer! |
Besides viewing the awesome surf, we thoroughly enjoyed hiking through the incredible old-growth forests of western hemlock and red cedar found here. This is reputed to be the world’s largest remaining coastal temperate forest, some 494,000 acres in size. The annual rainfall here is amazing—120 inches—heavy even when hurricanes are
NOT coming through! Mornings are foggy, but the fog generally clears by afternoon. In between there, as the fog is clearing and sun beginning to filter in, there is a quality of light in a rainforest such as this that evokes a deeply spiritual sense. Perhaps you can get a feel for it in these photographs.
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| Beautiful sunbeams through the rainforest mist of the Pacific Rim |
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| Hiking is a spiritual experience here! |
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| Especially when one sees a bear on the misty trail ahead!! |
After spending a couple days hiking, sea gazing, and learning about the ancient coastal cultures in the wonderful visitor’s center here, we drove the peninsula to its western terminus in the quirky town of Tofino. Now a virtual Mecca for surfers, sea-kayakers, and fishermen, Tofino was apparently one of the first points in Canada to be visited by Captain Cook in the 1770s, when native peoples called the Clayoquot lived here. Whaling was an important part of their culture as enormous gray whales migrate up the coast here each spring. More abundant are seals, porpoises, and sea lions; as well as tidal zone species such as anemones, shellfish and starfish of many colors.
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Diorama of first nations whale hunt at the beautiful
Wickaninnish Visitor's Center |
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| We visited a quiet cove toward evening en route to Tofino |
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| The tide was out but distant waves were pink from the light of sunset |
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| Peaceful sunset |
We also enjoyed seeing the enigmatic bull kelp strewn all over the sand, at times fooling us into thinking it was a mass of sea-snakes! Tofino Brewing Company seemed to have the best idea for what to do with it—incorporate it in their Bull Kelp Stout! We bought a growler of it home to the camper to enjoy over the next few days! It was a way to get a bit of the wild Pacific Ocean inside our bellies as well as in our hearts and minds!
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| Interesting shapes of huge bull kelp washed up on the snow white sand beaches |
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| Time to visit the local microbrew! |
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| And drink a glass of "bull kelp stout"!!! |
We were now approaching the second week in October, and simultaneous with the celebration of Columbus Day in the US, Canadians celebrate their Thanksgiving! As they say, “when in Rome…”, so we went to the grocery store and bought turkey legs, Brussel’s sprouts, cranberry sauce, and stuffing mix; cooked it up in Lily the camper, and toasted our gratitude for the very many wonderful things in our lives, chief among them—each other!
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| Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving! |
And so we headed back to the east now, retracing BC Hwy 4 to the town of Port Alberni which sits at the head of Vancouver Island’s longest deep ocean fjord. This is a town of 17,000, with an economy centered around the forest industry, specifically lumber and paper. Living as we do in Wisconsin with its rich logging history, and Bernie having spent his entire working life in the lumber business, we found being in British Columbia, which provides half of Canada’s marketable wood and 25% of the inventory of all of North America, quite fascinating! On our journey, we drove past sawmills on the mainland with lumber stacked as far as the eye could see, and visited indoor and outdoor logging exhibits at numerous museums and city parks. Logging here and in Wisconsin has a proud heritage, and we enjoyed learning more about it.
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| Wisconsin and British Columbia share of proud logging history |
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The growth rings near the center of this crosscut tree were laid down at the time
Shakespeare was writing sonnets in the 1500s |
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Imagine how the early loggers felt about the size of trees and the
density of the woods they found here! |
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| The need to transport logs helped open the continent to railroads |
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| Later, logging trucks came on the scene |
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| We learned a lot about the history of logging at the McLean Mill near Port Alberni. |
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Steam donkeys were portable winch platforms used in the early 1900s
to drag logs up and down the hillsides of British Columbia, moving them
from the forest to the log landing yard where they could be
loaded for transport to sawmills. |
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The McLean Mill National Historic Site is the only steam-powered sawmill
in Canada still in operation for demonstration purposes |
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| Careful, Bernie!!! |
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| We saw lumber stacked as far as we could see on the British Columbia mainland |
We also encountered active logging going on in many locations, and had to be
VIGILANT for logging trucks, especially on the narrow gravel roads all over Vancouver Island. Like they say in the tourist guidebooks, “logging trucks don’t give way—
YOU DO!!
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Logging operation on British Columbia hillside. All the trees harvested
these days are second growth |
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| Important roadside sign not to be ignored! |
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| These are intimidating sights to see barreling along narrow, curvy roads! |
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| Sign on an unpaved logging road made us smile |
As the world population soars, it is an increasingly delicate balancing act, to say the least, to preserve precious old growth forests and habitat, but supply the world’s need for lumber. British Columbia, more than any place on our continent, if not the world, is at the heart of it. Even as the BC economy is dominated by forest industries, the province provides abundant access for the public to view old growth trees and forests, and this experience can’t help but evoke reverence for these ancient giants. Near Port Alberni we visited the Cathedral Grove, where a short trail leads through a stand of Douglas fir as old as 800 years and standing 250 feet from the forest floor. We also had unforgettable tree-watching at the Harris Creek Spruce and Avatar Groves along what is called the Pacific Marine Circle Route, which begins near the town of Lake Cowichan. The size and splendor of these trees, tucked deep into the greenest, most moss- and fern-festooned forest that you can imagine was to be in the presence of the very “gods" of the woods.
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| The two of us tucked between two giant firs in the Cathedral Grove |
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| Bernie poses in Cathedral Grove |
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| Bernie balances on a huge "nurse log" in the Cathedral Grove |
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| The Harris Creek Spruce was so huge Bernie just had to pull out his tape measure |
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| But he ran out of "tape" at 35 feet of diameter |
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| A tree too big to hug! |
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| Even Lily got into appreciating the size of these trees! |
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| Talk about craning one's neck! |
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| Tree pose in Avatar Grove |
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| Avatar Cedar Grove |
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| Avatar Cedar Grove |
The Pacific Marine Circle Route allowed us to traverse the southern fourth of Vancouver Island, meet up with BC Hwy 14, travel it along the southern coast, and reenter the city of Victoria. When we visited here eight years ago the route was just a maze of unpaved logging roads which were so difficult to navigate that we had to give up. This time, though quite narrow in places, the paved road allowed us to penetrate the wilderness with relative ease and enjoy grand mountain vistas, numerous fast-flowing rivers, small fishing hamlets, and ocean beach views, in addition to the stands of old growth described above. It was a dream-come true to get to drive it!
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| Driving along the Pacific Marine Circle Route |
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| Numerous narrow bridges on the route |
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| Spectacular views of waterfalls and clear rushing rivers |
And speaking of this, it was in a campground near here eight years ago that we first dreamed of owning a truck camper. We remember it being a rainy, rainy night following a rainy, rainy day of hiking on the island. We left our little (wet) tent during a brief lull in the storms to walk around the campground, quite chilled and damp. What do we see but a truck camper, with the interior light revealing a couple seated at their dinette table, warm, dry, and actually
TOASTING each other with two glasses of wine! We have a vivid memory of looking at each other right then and simultaneously uttering a singe word..."
SOMEDAY.” Just for fun, we went back to that campground on our trip this year, camped at the very campsite that couple occupied, and, you guessed it, lifted a glass of wine to each other at dinner! Let’s hear it for dreams coming true!!!
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| Camped near Cowichan Lake in "historic" (to us) site |
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| We toast to dreams coming true!! |
And now....on to Victoria! Ah, VICTORIA!!! The capitol of British Columbia, “more English than England”, it is said about its decidedly British flavor. This city of 80,000 has its British origins in 1843 with the establishment of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s "Fort Victoria” here, in honor of the queen. For many years, along what is now historic Wharf Street, Hudson’s Bay Company furs were loaded onto ships bound for England. Our minds thrilled to think of it. Then, in the late 1850s, the Fraser River Gold Rush commenced, and as described in a previous blog posting, virtually overnight 30,000 gold miners came to this city, the only port and source of supplies in the region, from all over the world. It was a wild time for the quaint and proper Victoria! After the gold rush, instead of sliding into ghost town oblivion, Victoria remained a center for military, economic and political activity. It was officially incorporated as a city in 1862, and in 1869, after the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia were united, Victoria was made the capitol. And so it remains, despite the obvious inconvenience of being located on an island accessible only by sea or air!
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| Victoria's downtown visitor's center |
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Large bronze statue of Captain George Vancouver graces
Victoria's inner harbor |
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| Mural depicts wild times in Victoria during the 1850s gold rush |
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| Victoria has a decidedly British flavor in architecture and culture |
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| Elegant Empress Hotel where high tea is served every afternoon |
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| B.C. Parliament Building in Vitoria |
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| Beautifully trimmed in strings of lights at night |
As much as we love wilderness, we also love some of the things that cities have to offer, and decided to have a ringside seat for the three days we spent in Victoria! We camped right on the harbor, and as such were able to enjoy cityscape views both day and night, right from camp. We were also able to walk a shoreline bicycle trail from camp to the heart of downtown each day. We had lots of fun in Victoria, enjoying a wide variety of activities as these photos attempt to show.
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| View from our campsite of Victoria and the harbor |
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| with ferry boats, fishing boats, kayaks, and float planes coming and going |
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| A wonderful campsite in a wonderful city |
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| We walked a shoreline bicycle trail every day to downtown Victoria |
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| Though cute tugboat-taxis and busses provided other transportation options |
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| We toured Craigdarroch Castle |
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| Built with extravagance in 1890 |
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For coal baron Robert Dunsmuir and his family, Canada's richest citizens.
(See comments about Finnish Sointula in Vancouver Island--Part I blog posting) |
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We visited the world-class Royal British Columbia Museum which contains a natural
history gallery, an "Open Ocean" exhibit, as well as modern history
and 20th century galleries. |
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Our favorite exhibit was the First People's Gallery. Here was found a
beautiful collection of artifacts from Vancouver Island's first human inhabitants.
We especially enjoyed an exhibit called "Raven Speaks" |
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| Which utilizes stunning, carved masks to explain First Nations' spirituality. |
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| The totem pole collection was outstanding |
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Also very moving was an exhibit detailing the magnitude of loss of first nations peoples from smallpox
introduced by European contact. Thirty to ninety percent of various tribes were decimated
by the disease to which the people had no immunity. |
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| We enjoyed a visit to Victoria's Chinatown, one of Canada's oldest Chinese enclaves |
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Victoria's Chinatown was established by Chinese prospectors
and laborers in the 19th century, and offers elaborate architecture,
bright colors, and interesting shops and cafes to explore. |
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| One of the most unique things we did was participate in a "Ghostly Walk" |
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Offered year 'round, rather than just at Halloween, Ghostly Walk tour guides lead
groups through the alleys and side streets of Old Victoria, |
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Telling tales of illicit romance, murders, disappearances,
and things that go "bump" in the night! |
But the day finally came when it was time to leave not only Victoria, but our dearly, dearly beloved Canada...and come home. It was with sadness in our hearts that we boarded our ferry boat to Port Angeles, Washington, and said good-bye. The weather was soupy with fog which suited our mood to a “T”, and equally fitting, we were unable to see the U.S. coast until we were just about on top of it!
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| Ferryboat MV Coho waits to take us from Victoria to Port Angeles, Washington |
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| It was with sadness that we bade good-bye to Victoria and Canada |
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| Somewhere out there in the fog is the coast of the United States and HOME! |
And then, yes, then we remembered we'd soon be seeing our wonderful families and precious friends back home that we’ve missed so much! We remembered that although we’d seen incredibly beautiful places in British Columbia, Yukon, and Alaska, that we live in the northwoods of Wisconsin, a place equally as beautiful and with an equally fascinating history!
OKAY! No sadness here—we are on our way
HOME! We will see you yet in one final blog posting—dashing across the continent to get there!
