Artisan Dinners & Inside Passage Bliss

Saturday August 5 - Saturday August 12th 

On August 5th, we drove over to Prince Rupert where we stayed two nights in advance of our BC ferry ride down to Port Hardy, Vancouver Island. Prince Rupert is a charming seaside town with small brightly painted shops, an informative cultural history museum, and a fantastic artisan-style cafe. We also spent a few hours touring the historic Port Edward - North Pacific Cannery (which we had visited three years ago) complete with old rusty canning equipment and decrepit, but great photo-op buildings. The tour there is always fascinating! (Unfortunately, we would not choose to stay again at the Prince Rupert Campground there - but it was the only option in or near town - way too dense for our tastes.)

Tlingit ceremonial mask - Prince Rupert Museum 

Artsy downtown

Cow Bay Cafe - Scallops Provencale in a fennel cream sauce - yum!

Ernie chose lamb and a marvelous salad

Gorgeous day - what a perfect place to enjoy dinner!

Where did you three come from?

Port Edward - Cannery

Manana - Canada-style

Profit over quality service...hmmm

We rode the BC ferry to Port Hardy on  Monday, August 7th - and it was delightful. The boat is clean and modern, with plenty if comfortable places to sit and view the sites, easy access to several outdoor decks, and two good options for lunch and dinner. The passage was quite calm, the views of the coastline spectacular, we spotted at least eight Humpback whales, and were able to watch local First Nation people fish for Sockeye off their dock in Bella Bella as two bald eagles observed the action. It was a fabulous day! Well-done - BC ferries!

Our window on the world

Walking the deck

The past in view

Sunset over the passage

Well...maybe next trip!

Iconic vistas from the deck

Patiently waiting for the perfect moment!

Since we arrived at close to midnight, we spent the night in Port Hardy, then drove down to Campbell River where we camped for five nights at Parkside RV (just outside of Strathcona Provincial Park).  While we were there, southern BC was experiencing terrible wild fires all over the mainland and several had sprung up on Vancouver Island. The inundation of smoke combined with 90 degree temperatures definitely had a negative impact on our visit there and it ended up being one of our least favorite places of our trip.

We took day trips to Strathcona Park, McIver Lake, Elk Falls and the town of Campbell River, but mostly enjoyed the shade and tall trees in the little RV park where we stayed - it was so dry, crowded and hot elsewhere. We also discovered, to our disappointment, that in that area, there remains a substantial amount of open-pit mining (gold, copper and zinc - e.g. right inside Strathcona Park), massive clear-cut logging and gravel pit excavating, which are all big businesses there. Canada's economy is doing well, and that's good, but we just weren't expecting to see such dramatic change in the land on an island advertised as being so breathtakingly and naturally beautiful! We'll stick close to the north shore and on smaller islands nearby next time.

Tall Sitka Spruce cooled us - note the smoke from the mainland fires

Our cozy campsite in the woods

Strathcona Provincial Park - beautiful, but smoky vista

Rain was desperately needed and the grassy
picnic areas looked like California in August

Not for dogs - Kid's drinking fountain

Popular Elk Falls

Ernie's favorite suspension bridge over the falls - wheeee!!!

On Sunday, August 13th, we headed south toward Mussel Beach where we would spend six days in virtual isolation away from the maddening crowds.

Provincial Park Perfection

Friday July 25th - Friday August 4th, 2017

"The freshness, the freeness, the farness..."

Robert Service - The Spell of the Yukon

Mist over the Portland Canal 

The salmon glacier peeks quietly out of the fog for a moment

We were expecting to see you!

Salmon Heaven - Meziadin Lake

BC Provincial Parks - they continue to draw us back like a magnet simply because British Columbia knows how to provide camping perfection. This week, we spent eight wonderful days relaxing at Meziadin, Tyhee Lake and Lakelse Provincial Parks, as we worked our way down through northern BC on our way toward Prince Rupert and the ferry to Vancouver Island.

Meziadin Lake Provincial Park is a mecca for fisherpeople and the sockeye salmon were definitely biting while we visited there (Wednesday, July 26 - Saturday, July 29th). The place was booked-up and many had success catching what they wanted. Even the grizzlies were wandering into the park to give it a try (though fortunately, we did not see any in our campsite). Even though it rained consistently while we were there, we had fun - it's just such an incredibly beautiful place and the Canadian people are very friendly and nice!

Our first campsite - loved the foliage

Dusk settles in on a rainy evening

Daybreak and the fisher people are heading out!

Colorful red foliage - an early sign of fall?

Natural landscape bouquets

Our second campsite at Meziadin. Ideal for watching the fishing action!

Stewart and Hyder - On Friday, July 28th, we drove down again to Stewart and on through Hyder, AK to see the Salmon Glacier - one of the largest glaciers in BC. We had visited here three years ago and enjoyed it. The tiny ghost town of Hyder, AK sits next to Stewart and is the first Alaskan town you can see on your way heading north. It is definitely a true Alaskan town, complete with the authentic run-down ambiance and old-junker-car yard art. The biggest success story there appears to be the bar. We always enjoy Stewart, since, in spite of its remote location and small size, it demonstrates an artistic spirit and rugged resilience to whatever happens, and it's an interesting place to explore for a few hours.

Along the path on the Portland Canal

Portland Canal boardwalk

Hometeader's cabin

Hyder memory of more popular days

Fish Creek - Waiting for the Coho Salmon and Grizzlies

Downtown Hyder - yesterday...

Massive Salmon Glacier peeks out of the fog

Portland Canal misty moisty morning

Summer blooms at Meziadin

Tyhee Lake Provincial Park, where we stayed Sunday, July 30 - Wednesday, August 2nd continues to be one of our favorites, simply because it is a small park ideal for families. The lake is lovely and warm for swimming and the setting is quiet - with plenty of grass and fun things to do for families. The campsites are huge and very private and we love sitting under the Aspens and listening to them chatter in the breeze. It's just so simple and nice there and we always hate to leave! The sun was able to finally break through the clouds while we were there and then it started to get hot - 70's to 80's to 90's! Yikes! This is more like the August we expected!

The aspens and blue sky were a treat

Quiet and privacy - an ideal site

Relaxing lakeside

Perfect for families

We spent just one day at Lakelse Provincial Park and and drove down to see Kitimat Thursday, August 3rd. We had hoped to stay here a couple of days longer, but the requirement to reserve and pay for a site for the full 3-day holiday weekend (even though we would not be using all of those days) did not match up with our needs. So, instead, Ernie treated me to a hotel night out in Terrace, which was a clever way to indulge in multiple showers in one day (Comfort Inn) -  ta daah! We also visited the Heritage Center in town that day, a good way to visualize what it must have been like to live during the early 1800's in a homesteader's log cabin. These old buildings were moved to the Heritage site for conservation. It was in the 90's - nice to have shade when you need it!

Lakelse inflated SUP

In Kitimat - Flowers were everywhere!

Lakelse campsite - set in the rainforest

Another idyllic lake

Life in the 1890's

A vintage one-room schoolhouse

The following day, Saturday, August 5th, we headed on to Prince Rupert where we would catch the ferry for Vancouver Island.

Note: We do want to apologize to folks who have been following this blog. We have had quite a difficult time finding reliable internet service that enables us to maintain a blog in northern BC and Vancouver Island. Because we like to camp in the more remote areas, fast, reliable, available internet service is virtually non-existent and when it is available, we are only provided 30 minutes time per day to write and send emails - all without photos. We've been frustrated that we haven't been able to communicate regularly to all our friends and family. Thanks so much for your understanding and patience. Now that we are back in the states, our own hot spot will help a bit when Verizon service is available in the area.