Retreat Heaven

Sunday August 13th - Wednesday August 23rd

Did you ever dream of having the perfect campsite - right on the beach - away from other campers, with just your family and plenty of bears and eagles to observe all day - complemented by the night's black sky and a brilliant milky way? Well we had that perfect campsite at Mussel Beach, on the west coast of Vancouver Island (a far cry from the famous Muscle Beach of Southern California). To get there, we had to drive for 30 minutes over a challenging dirt road, but once we arrived, we were assigned the perfect campsite - private and completely removed on our very own patch of sandy wilderness.

We stayed there six days and hardly moved. How did we spend our time? Reading, observing the tides, watching a pair of bald eagles hunt and feed their two fledglings, and observing the daily morning and evening ritual of a black bear mother and her cub hunting for food by digging beneath rocks and seaweed for crabs. All were observed with binoculars from our campsite. Camping couldn't get any better! This is the Vancouver Island experience we had longed for!

Another day in paradise!

Looking south and watching the bald eagles swoop down to catch fish

Watching the tides roll in and out

Our observation point!

Sunset creeps in quietly

One day, we decided to drive over to Tofino (highly recommended by Sunset for its perfect surf-friendly beaches) and Ucluelet (you-clue-let; not less) located on the spit across from us. There, we were caught in three traffic jams (the 30-minute delay variety), could not find a place to park our truck, (because of the crowds and our truck size - Tofino), could not turn off the road to walk the beaches (many of the trails and parking lots were marked "full" - Tofino), and had to wait 45 minutes in line for a place to sit for lunch (Ucluelet). It was packed with tourists. We did have a very nice lunch at the Blue Room Cafe there and hiked a beautiful section of the Wild Pacific Trail near the lighthouse. The scenery was dramatic and packed with visitors from around the world. How did they all know about this place? The lodgings in this area are typically high-end and charming and the beaches are spectacular, but we'll typically pick the quieter option to avoid the crowds!

The day we left the coast, signs saying "accommodations full" were plastered everywhere! We were so glad we had selected quiet, unassuming little Mussel Beach! And we chuckled when we heard several tourists at the Visitor's Center asking which guide service to use to see the bears and bald eagles (we had been so lucky to chose the campground we did)! Vancouver Island as a very busy place to visit in high-season summer!

Lighthouse at tip of Uclulet spit

Views from the Wild Pacific Trail

They served a generous lunch at the Blue Room Cafe in Ucluelet

Back in Mussel Beach - Our bear's hunting ground

Walking the plank

Low tide color

Hmmm - how did those rocks get there?

Driftwood creations

Checking out the buffet

Mama bear turning over rocks in her search for crabs

Dusk

We were sad to leave this lovely place

On Saturday, August 19th, we drove south to Victoria where we stayed one night at the Fort Victoria RV Park - a huge but very well managed park. We took a quick drive through Victoria that evening (it was absolutely packed with visitors celebrating a summer in style), so we quickly escaped to enjoy a modest dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. The ferry building was ideally located across from the Empress Hotel and next to Parliament. We rode the ferry (on Sunday) across to Port Angeles, Washington and then drove into the Olympic National Park where we found a lovely campsite at the Crescent Lake- Fairholme Campground. We camped there for two relaxing days.

Our cute campsite overlooking the lake

Strange shadow patterns of ferns on pavement during the solar eclipse

Lake Crescent - clear and clean!

Our special treat this week was a two-night stay at the lovely, historic 1929 Lake Quinault Lodge. We slept in the old lodge and thoroughly enjoyed its charms (the creaky floors, the lopsided old staircase, the Quinault Native American storyteller, the original black and white photos, the beautiful sloping lawns down to the lake, and the solid 1940's style furniture). What a delight and a perfect respite/contrast to camping for 3 1/2 months! We toasted our wonderful vacation and reminisced on our favorite places.