Parked in Prince Rupert - Ferry Home on Tuesday

After nearly 10,000 miles since we left Juneau on November 11, 2010 we are nearly at the end of our trip.  We had a good trip up to Port McNeil where we stayed on the water for two days and took a side trip to Alert Bay.  The weather was outstanding, with warm sunshine and great views of the totems and wildlife of the area.  Alert Bay is a 50-minute ride on the Quadra Queen BC ferry from Port McNeil.  We were also able to take in several hocky games, with my buddy Jim rooting for the Canadians, and me the US teams (Blackhawks and Bruins).

Welcome Sign at Alert Bay on Cormorant Island

We had been there before in 2003 with Neil's brother Bruce and his wife Sandi.  We were on our way up the island with our new (at that time) VW Passat.  We visited the new cultural center, had a picnic on the beach, and walked their Ecology Trail through the forest and wetlands.

Pamela, Elaine and Jim on the Boardwalk Trail

Alert Bay Totem

From Port McNeil, it was only about twenty miles north to Port Hardy, where we spent several hours before getting in line for the ferry to Prince Rupert.  We visited some bookstores, had some hot drinks, and had lunch.  Weather was again beautiful and we had a wonderful time in Port Hardy.  We were among the first in line at the ferry terminal and wound up waiting several hours before we were boarded.  It was a bit daunting to drive the fiver into the cave mouth of the ferry, but all went well.

Port Hardy Welcome Sign with Ferry in the Background

Fiver in Line at Port Hardy

Our ferry was the Northern Expedition, which was built in Germany in 2009 and is a very nice ship.  Our friend Jim Beedle, who recently retired as head of the Alaska Ferry system had "ferry envy" because of the quality of the ship.

Northern Expedition at the Port Hardy Dock

We had a great overnight trip north to Prince Rupert, where we were welcomed by light rain and fog--we must be getting closer to home!

Entrance Tunnel to Ferry

Thanks for visiting!

Neil and Pamela

Cluxewe Resort and Port McNeil

Another wonderfully sunny day for travel north on Vancouver Island.  We left our RV park near the water south of Campbell River about mid morning and drove about 90 miles north up highway 19 to the Cluxewe RV Resort on the waters of Johnstone Strait on the east side of Vancouver Island.

On the way north, we stopped at the overlook above Seymour Narrows and the tide rips through that area of the Inside Passage.  All four of us have traveled aboard the Alaska State Ferries through this area and have learned the history of Ripple Rock and the 1958 blast that blew the top of the rock off to make navigation safer. It was the largest non-nuclear explosion in history.  Neil remembers his Dad talking about his travels through this area with the US Coast Guard.

The road narrowed to two lanes north of Campbell River, but there was not much traffic and we made good time on the way north.  Pamela had booked us into the Cluxewe RV Resort just north of Campbell River and we pulled in around 1400 hours and quickly set up and drove back to Port McNeil for gas, groceries and a wonderful dinner at the Haida Way Lodge.  We all four had the seafood grill, and we watched the Montreal hocky team loose to the Boston Bruins.  The Canadians weren't happy with that, and it got worse--as in the later game, the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Fiver Parked at Seymour Narrows Overlook

Tomorrow (Friday) is Good Friday, and an official holiday in Canada, and we are planning on taking the truck on the ferry over to Alert Bay on Cormorant Island and visit the Native village there.  It will be the third ferry trip so far for Pamela and I, but this one is a little one (see below).

Ferry to Alert Bay--Our Good Friday Excursion

We are right on the water here at Cluxewe, and we will stay here two nights and drive the short distance up to Port Hardy to catch the BC ferry to Prince Rupert on Saturday morning.  We hope that you are having as much fun as we are, where ever you are! 

Fair winds and calm seas,

Neil and Pamela

Terrific Tofino and Heading North

Tofino Welcome Sign

We had a good drive to Tofino from our campground in Ladysmith and had a wonderful time exploring Pacific Rim National Park and the Tofino area.  The weather really improved and we had sunshine every day and some wonderful sunsets along the beach.  We stayed at a condo right on Cox Beach and we walked the beach every day.  We also had some great meals, including back to back dinners of fresh salmon (sockeye followed by king) that we barbecued at the condo.  It was great for Pamela and I to visit Tofino again, and our friends Jim and Elaine enjoyed their first visit.

Sunset at Cox Beach, Tofino, BC

One of the more unusual signs that we saw was on the men's room door at Sobo Cafe in downtown Tofino--a life-sized geoduck clam was mounted to the door.  On the women's was a pregnant mermaid.  Not sure what the entire story was, but there was no confusing which door was which!

Nuff Said?

After our long weekend in Tofino, we drove back to Ladysmith (with a stop at the Goats on the Roof general store in Coombs, BC) and overnighted in Ladysmith.  Then today (Wednesday) we drove about 100 miles up the coast to Campbell River.  The roads were great, but we had rain and snain (snow/rain) in the passes.  We checked in to the Salmon Point RV Park and Marina where we have a wonderful site overlooking the water.  The marina is a small keyhole in the coast and you have to have about five feet of tide to get a boat in and out.  It looks right out on the Straits of Georgia with great salmon fishing and whale watching.  We might have to come back here with a boat of our own some day!

Salmon Point Marina--Plenty of Room for Our Boat

Tomorrow (Thursday) we head north to Port McNeil where we will spend two nights and make the final run on Saturday to board the BC ferry at Port Hardy for our second of three ferry trips home--this one to Prince Rupert, BC.  We are starting to get some warmer and better weather and are still having a wonderful time.  Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

Laid in at Ladysmith--Travel to Tofino

It has been a long time between posts as we were in Victoria for several days without good internet access.  We had a good visit with Neil's folks in Silverdale while we parked at the Escapee park north of them, and then last Sunday we took the Black Ball ferry MV Coho from Port Angeles to Victoria.

We had a great RV park right on the Inner Harbor and we watched the ferry coho come and go along with the Victoria Clipper catamarans and lots of float planes.  We were backed in right above the water and saw river otters, lots of geese and ducks, cormorants and other neat things.  It was a tight squeeze getting in and out of the West Bay RV Park in Esquimalt, but the view could not be beat.

West Bay Marina and RV Park from the Coho Ferry on the Inner Harbor

We met up with our good friends Jim and Elaine from Juneau and toured the Butchart (and other) Gardens, and had several memorable meals and walks, including Beacon Hill Park where the blue herons were nesting in the trees.

Lots of Wildlife this Trip!

The Princess Mary Restaurant is at West Bay Marina--It is the Superstructure from the Old Ship

Today (Friday) the four of us drove up the island about sixty miles to Ladysmith and the Rondalyn RV Park.  We will spend the night here and then take the truck over to Tofino on the West Coast of Vancouver Island at Pacific Rim National Park.  We return here in a few days and will head up the island to near Campbell River.  We visited a couple of ciderys already and have found lots of great food and drink to take with us.

We are disappointed that the weather continues to be cool and wet--we were hoping for Spring, but everyone on the West Coast seems to have the same complaint.  All is well and we are still enjoying our travels and looking forward to getting back to Juneau.  More later.

Thanks for visiting, 

Neil and Pamela

On Our Way to Victoria, Canada

The Escapees Mailbox at Chimcum, Washington

We are at the Escapees RV Clubs Coho RV Resort here in Chimcum, Washington getting ready for our trip across the Straits of Juan de Fuca from Port Angeles to Victoria tomorrow.  Yesterday was sunny, and we had a good trip up I-5 yesterday, just missing a large accident near Chehalis.  Fortunately, we were ten minutes behind the accident so did not get caught up in it, but got delayed for about thirty minutes.

After setting up camp here in Chimacum, we drove into Port Townsend and had dinner on the waterfront.  Pamela had crab cakes, and Neil had a great dish of fresh halibut.  While there, we watched a flock of small, geese-like birds called brants foraging along the waters edge while Friday evening sailors sailed by in fleet of sailboats.

A Flock of Brants in Port Townsend

Sailboats on a Friday Evening Sail

 Today, we visited with Neil's folks in Silverdale and caught them up on our 7,000 mile RV adventure (so far).  We had a great lunch with them at The Olive Garden, and visit with them at their place in Silverdale.  It was a good visit, and they are one of our regular readers of our blog.

Bridge from Kitsap Peninsula to Olympic Peninsula

Tomorrow, we drive about forty miles to Port Angeles where we take the Black Ball Line ferry, the Coho to Victoria, British Columbia.  We have a RV park reserved right on the Inner Harbor of Victoria where we will be for several nights before we head up the island with our friends from Juneau, Jim and Elaine.

Our First of Three Ferries on the Way Home to Alaska

We will be visiting gardens, hard cider mills, and other points of interest on our way "up island".  We will also be taking a side trip to the West Coast of the island to Tofino, where we will be spending a couple of nights.  We are looking forward to the trip and spending time with our good friends.  Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

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Last Few Days in Oregon

It has been a very wet and cool Spring in Oregon so far, but there are a lot of flowers and trees in bloom.  Evening temperatures will be getting down to thirty four degrees this week.  We have been spending the time here doing some sorting and re-packing.

Neil sees the oral surgeon on Thursday for his one week checkup, and we are doing some minor repairs and maintenance on the Fiver and GMC while we are here.  Friday is supposed to be a sunny and warmer day for our trip up to Port Haddlock, Washington.  We will spend two nights there while we visit Neil's folks.  From there we will travel to Port Angeles to take the Blackball ferry to Victoria, British Columbia.

We are looking forward to heading north and arriving back home to Juneau.  We are not sure how good our web access will be during our trip through British Columbia, so we may not have too many blog posts until we get back to Juneau.  Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela