Family, Friends and Vancouver Island

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 12)

From Grand Coulee Dam, our travels took us to North Cascades NP, where we camped before continuing to northwest Washington.

We visited Pat’s cousin in Sedro-Wooley, northeast of Seattle, and a Florida camp friend in nearby Lynden,  ‘moochdocking’ in their driveways for the night.  Their gracious hospitality was very much appreciated.

_{Enjoyable visits with family and friends}

There are large berry farms near Lynden.  It’s too bad we were too early to enjoy the blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and more that will be ripe later in the season. 

Snow-covered Mt. Baker dominates the eastern skyline and our camp friend and her little dog Bentley took us on an afternoon drive a ways up the mountain, where we visited often photographed Picture Lake and attempted a slippery hike on the snow.

Ferry Crossing to Vancouver Island

The next day we rose at 4:30 for early border crossing into Canada and a two-hour ferry to Nanaimo, a town on Vancouver Island.  The island, off the west coast of Canada, is 250 miles long and 50 miles wide, with snow covered mountains, waterfalls and rugged beaches.

Our plans were to explore the island for a week, and we started with a visit with the Burians, also friends from camp.  We spent a day in the Parksville area driving to the scenic Little Mountain Lookout and touring the North Island Wildlife Recovery and Discovery Center. 

All’s Fine in Tofino

From Parksville, we bypassed Victoria, a beautiful city on the southern tip of the island, and instead crossed the island midway to Tofino.  The small town is on the Pacific side of the island and is said to be the surfing capital of Canada. 

We didn’t surf but did enjoy fish and chips at a small boardwalk eatery and a couple Nanaimo bars at a coffee shop.  That evening we camped in Pacific Rim NP where we walked along Long Beach and watched wetsuit-clad surfers ride the waves.

^{A single serving of fish and chips was enough for both of us, but we had to have our own Nanaimo Bars!}

Nanaimo Bars

In case you haven’t heard of them, three-layer Nanaimo bars are a yummy dessert named after the local town.  They have a base of graham crackers and shredded coconut, a middle of butter icing and hardened chocolate on the top.  For those who can’t get enough, more than three dozen Nanaimo businesses serve up their version of the dessert on the Nanaimo Bar Trail!

Tall Trees and Goats on the Roof

From Tofino, we drove back across the island and stopped to see Cathedral Grove, a magnificent stand of huge old growth cedar and fir trees, many several hundred feet tall.  From there, we had to stop to see the goats on the grass-topped roof of Old Country Market.  Inside the charming market is an assortment of groceries and gifts, and wonderful fresh donuts!

_{Goats on the roof of the Old Country Market; photo of two old goats}

A Waterfall Suspension Bridge

At Campbell River, a half day north, we camped at Elk Falls Provincial Park. Although no elk were to be seen, we did visit the falls.  The falls plunge 75 feet into a deep pool and can be viewed from a suspension bridge overhead.  The trail also includes a nice view of the bottom of the falls.

_{Elk River Falls (suspension bridge at top of right photo)}

Before leaving Campbell River, we made our first stop of this trip at Tim Horton’s, Canada’s ubiquitous coffee and donut chain.  ‘Timmy H’ brought back tasty memories of our visit to Newfoundland last year.

Our visit concluded with another early morning ferry ride back to the mainland.  We will have fond memories of our time visiting family and friends in the area, and touring Vancouver Island.  

(Since leaving the island, we learned that the road across the island to Tofino has been closed for nearly two weeks due to a forest fire near the Cathedral Grove.  As the only road across the island, Tofino residents and visitors are stranded until the road reopens.  Had we visited a week later, we would probably still be there!  We praise God for the timing of our visit and pray the road will reopen soon!)

Next week: 

North to the Cassiar Highway and the Watson Lake Sign Forest.