Gullible's Travels: Days 5-8

Campbell River from the bay about 60 min north of Hilary

I have run into the dilemma that many of us have when we travel. Enjoying being where you are outweighs writing about it!  

Over the past few days:

• Both Hilary and Bruce have driven me around Courtney, Comox and Cumberland nearby reminiscing about the parts of their lives that have special meaning in each place.  Kay Bay on the north side of the Comox Peninsula was the place they first moved in to a little summer cottage on the tidal flats. 

  

  Canadian Air Force Snow Birds

• We caught glimpses of the Canadian Snow Birds precision jet team practicing their loops and rolls out of the airbase just south of Kay Bay. A Canadian astronaut took a stunning picture of them and us. According to the Comox Valley Record (where Bruce was a reporter for 20 years) "Col. Chris Hadfield, commander of the International Space Station (ISS) and former fighter pilot with the Canadian Forces, took the photo early Sunday evening as the ISS flew over Comox."  As they say, I was there.
• Each chauffeur has had their own specialty.  Hilary regaled me with stories of the family life and her career as an Occupational Therapist.  She took me to i-Hos the Native People's art gallery from which some of you will receive tokens of my appreciation and love.  Good my cash was

  

  iHos Folk Art Gallery of First Nations Art

  limited or I would have loved all over that place!  Incredibly beautiful Northwest Indian paintings, sculpture, jewelry, weaving, knitting and so much more and not at very bad prices.
• Bruce was a delightful chauffeur as well because he spent 20 years reporting for the Comox Valley Record.  He had some great stories about a local political boss named Bronco in the aging coal mining town of Cumberland who scammed the federal government into providing money for a senior center by claiming that he was restoring historic buildings.  Old Bronc then just put up the senior center and put these horrendously garish facade of olde timey saloon, stores etc. on the front of the two story structure. 

Foster joins Bruce and Stu for "men's lunch"

• So far I have had a couple of delightful meals and conversations with Stuart, my 32 year old nephew, who I met here for the first time.  He reminds me so much of my grandson Tony because he is a fanatic for any sport that is played in Vancouver from the White Caps (MLS) to the Canucks (NHL) and the Canadian Football league in between.  It is so unique to experience my family (father and mother) through the eyes of their grandchild.  He absolutely worships my dad whom he met twice during his later years.  Stuart is planning an adventure to the Motor City in the fall of this year and I look forward to introducing him to all of you.  BTW I will be looking for someone who can accommodate a 6'2" lumberjack!  We leave for Victoria on my way back tomorrow, Sunday, April 28 and then I will meet Grahame my other nephew (35) whom I last saw as an infant in arms in 1973!  He has a whole sightseeing itinerary for us to follow.
  

• I have become an oyster-aholic!  I not only love to eat them raw or cooked but I love finding them and shucking them.  Now to be honest this last 30lb. bucket of Fanny Bay beauties just about did me in because it took over an hour to shuck them.  They were GINORMOUS.  Hilary is going to keep this last load in the freezer and then will smoke them after marinating them and then will vacuum seal a batch to send to me.  Ginny, I don't think you share my enthusiasm for these beautiful cretaceous creature but I sure had fun finding them.  I have been told that you have to be careful not to pick up oysters on some one's "lease" which is a number of acres of shore and shallows in the bay that are used to farm the oysters.  Fanny Bay oysters, by the way, are some of the finest in the world because the shallows where they grow are fed by lots of sweet fresh water salmon streams running off the mountains behind us.  Curt, the game fishing here is to die for.

Hilary has done my last load of wash and I will attempt to squeeze all my souvenirs and gifts into my

Grahame MacInnis

little travel bag tonight ready for the 3 hour ride south to Victoria at the foot of the island.  We plan to spend Sunday night at a beautiful motel in downtown Victoria thanks to Beth and then Grahame will guide us around the lovely, historic provincial capitol Sunday and Monday.  I will then take off for Seattle on a seaplane (thanks to Hilary and Bruce) and land in early evening.  An 11:30PM red-eye will take me back across the continent to my lovely wife and family.

The Coal Hill Hikers, Riley the Mexican and sweet Karma

Gullible's Travels: Day Two

Monday, April 21, 2013

Had a nice sleep in till about 8AM and then started a busy day of sightseeing the coastal area between Fanny Bay and Courtney/Comox.  This area is both old and weathered because it was once the heart of a booming lumber industry and coal mining so there are lots of traces of these industries in the countryside and in the layout of the towns.  However, now the area is home to a large senior population and immigrants from Alberta (so I'm told) who have sold off their lucrative land rights to oil companies and other speculators and walked away with a ton of money. Why not?  These costal towns are wonderfully safe, cozy and picturesque with the sea in front of them and the incredible snow capped majesty of peak upon peak of the BC mainland mountain range.  Then behind them rise the stunning Beaufort Range of mountains that are the spiny backbone of the island.  The atmosphere is both wildly pristine and modern with all the latest technology available and Comox just to the north is home to the regional hospital as well as the Air Force base.

Hilary and Bruce took me to their first home here on the island in Royston just south of Courtney where they lived and raised the two boys right on the sea shore.  With good reason my nephew Stuart declared that he would never leave this kind of natural beauty behind for the big city lights…and pollution, crime and crowding.  

Speaking of Stuart one of the highlights of the day was meeting this wonderful giant for the first time in person.  We had a lovely lunch together at a local pub near their old house in Royston and, true Canuck hockey fan that he is, he presented me with a Vancouver Canuck #33 hockey jersey (H. Sedin, the captain.)  My grandson Anthony and he would have a wonderful time dissing one another's teams and loving it.  He also presented me with a Vancouver prof soccer shirt. I am looking forward to spending more time getting to know both Stuart and Grahamme when we are returning to Victoria next Sunday.

Saw lots of the sites and panoramas surrounding Courtney including a distant shot of the glacier that sits high above the Comox Valley.  Even better views of the mainland coast and majestic peaks that line the horizon.  The Royal Canadian Snow Snowbirds are performing out of the Comox Air Base and are a sure harbinger of spring for the locals.  Hope to see their show tomorrow.

Also took a walk on my own down to the beach at low tide.  It is all rocks and boulders, no pretty sand beaches stretching for miles.  Loved the walk through the pine forest along the shoreline. The air is so pure and scented with heavenly pine perfume.  Sleeping comes easily after a long day in the car and walking around this lovely neighborhood.

Spring is beginning to pop up everywhere although it is still early.  Temps are in the low to mid-50's during the day and down to the upper 30's at night. Find myself wearing a sweater all the time, glad I packed it.

Gullible's Travels: Day Four

Boat ride Port Alberni to Bamfield, BC

Port Alberni, BC with Mt. Arrowsmith

The Voyageur

The Hostess with the Mostess Hilary

Hilary and I departed Fanny Bay at 6:30 AM. We drove south past Nanaimo and the took a mountain highway over the hump of the island to Port Alberni where we caught the Frances Barkley for the four hour ride down the Alberni Inlet to Bamfield on the Pacific Ocean.

Frances Barkley

Our Scottish captain was most accommodating in pointing out various  landmarks including a secluded cove in the wilderness owned by "a church in Michigan"!  Some very wealthy person owns the $6 million property and arrives at the dock in a Cadillac Escalade to pick up groups of church officials and children for camping in the summer. I assured him it was not our church!

We made a number of stops to drop people off and to visit the only floating post office in Canada at Kildonan, BC. The postmistress has served there for 32 years. A few weeks ago her husband shot two cougars trying to kill his dogs...on his front porch!  (For the record, Google Maps is wrong.  It shows the post office inland when it is actually in the river and not back up the mountain the woods as show on Google Maps. I let them know!)

One of our passengers was the owner of a dive shop in the wilderness not far from where the inlet opens into the wide Pacific. He told us that this sea, far from being a frigid barrenness, is a temperate sea that is teaming with all sorts of aquatic life including a number of variety of whales, sea lions and colorful sea life.  For the fishermen in my family the whole inlet is one of the premier places in the world for sport salmon fishing.

The banks are lined in certain remote areas with RV trailers that have been hauled in over the logging roads and serve as summer camps for fishing.  There are also pockets of massive summer "cottages" (if that is what you can call a chalet with three stories and two decks in the middle of nowhere.  All the supplies have to be brought down the inlet on the Frances Barkley and dropped at strategic places.  

It might also be mentioned that the good ship Frances Barkely also provides the valuable service of hauling  garbage back out to Port Alberni for recycling and disposal. (I love the general sense of cleanliness I see all over Canada.)  Propane powers a lot of household utilities like dryers while lumber in abundant supply seems to be the main method of heating except for the floating cottages, for obvious reasons.  Solar power can be seen in a lot of places along with satellite dishes and our friend from the remote dive shop was trying to figure out how to bring in a wind-powered electrical system.

Bamfield, BC Landing

At the end of the out-bound journey we arrived at the settlement of Bamfield, BC.  It is home to the Bamfield Marine Sciences Center, a major marine biology research center created by a Canadian philanthropist.  One of the buildings on the compound of the BMSC is the original Trans-Pacific telegraph line that was laid to Hawaii and then to Australia in the early 1900's.

RHIOT Training Team

A group of 11th graders road down the inlet with us and disembarked at the MBSC for an overnight stay as part of their course work!  How would you like that for a field trip?

Bamfield is also the home of Canadian Coast Guard´s specialized Rigid Hull Inflatable Operator Training or RHIOT School.  According to one old wag we talked with, everyone from Canadian Special Forces to our Delta Forces and European elite troops get their intense training here.  One of the classes was coming back into the harbor just as we were docking.

Approaching Bamfield

From the boardwalk back toward ship

Boardwalk lines the harbor.

Bamfield is a remarkable and quaint village that is primarily made up of houses along the boardwalk that borders the harbor.  The houses are generally really well kept and are the summer homes to the super wealthy (think extremely remote, beautiful and quiet).

$135,000 Interested?

One old shack had a for sale sign so we asked what the going price was and one of the residents (about 100 in the off season) said that the hovel was worth around $135,000.  Think what it would cost to completely rebuild in this remote outpost and you are looking at a summer cottage worth about $250,000 in the end.  I'll stick with a couple of nights at the local BandB with Ginny!

The trip back was even prettier than the outbound because the sun came out in full and produced a great place for a lovely warm nap on the after deck as well as sightseeing  the rugged shore.

Pick up mid-river.  Driver owns dive camp

We even picked up one of our passengers in mid-river.  She was the house sitter for our friend the dive shop owner.  

Unloading Dumpster!

Once back in the harbor the Frances Barkley deposited its precious if smelly cargo and we headed back across the mountains to Nanaimo and then north along the shore for an hour to home. Along the was we got to see the second highest peak on the island Mt. Arrowsmith which is visible from Port Alberni.  The highest peak called the Golden Hind (around 7,000 ft.) is north of us here.

Time to call is a night.  Hope you are all enjoying these rambles and pictures.  Ginny, the only thing that would be better would be to share all this beauty and these adventures with you.  Thanks again to Beth for making this possible and to Hilary and Bruce for all they are doing to make this one of the most memorable trips of my life.

Bamfield Marine Research Center and Old Telegraph building (center white)  

Approaching Bamfield Dock

Log "boom" or raft of cut and peeled logs awaiting float to mills in Port Alberni

Drop off dive shop owner and pick up trash!

Floating "cottage" for sports fishing.

Nice breakfast and lunch served on board.

Flying the colors on the Alberni Inslet on the way home.

Mt. Arrowsmith behind Port Alberni

Gullible's Travels: Day Three

MacInnis Homestead

Had a nice sleep in till about 8AM and then started a busy day of sightseeing the coastal area between Fanny Bay and Courtney/Comox.  This area is both old and weathered because it was once the heart of a booming lumber industry and coal mining so there are lots of traces of these industries in the countryside and in the layout of the towns.  However, now the area is home to a large senior population and immigrants from Alberta (so I'm told) who have sold off their lucrative land rights to oil companies and other speculators and walked away with a ton of money. Why not?  These costal towns are wonderfully safe, cozy and picturesque with the sea in front of them and the incredible snow capped majesty of peak upon peak of the BC mainland mountain range.  

Beaufort Range of Vancouver Island

Then behind them rise the stunning Beaufort Range of mountains that are the spiny backbone of the island.  The atmosphere is both wildly pristine and modern with all the latest technology available and Comox just to the north is home to the regional hospital as well as the Air Force base.

Hilary and Bruce took me to their first home here on the island in Royston just south of Courtney where they lived and raised the two boys right on the sea shore.  With good reason my nephew Stuart declared that he would never leave this kind of natural beauty behind for the big city lights…and pollution, crime and crowding.  

Speaking of Stuart one of the highlights of the day was meeting this wonderful giant for the first time in person.  We had a lovely lunch together at a local pub near their old house in Royston and, true Canuck hockey fan that he is, he presented me with a Vancouver Canuck #33 hockey jersey (H. Sedin, the captain.)  My grandson Anthony and he would have a wonderful time dissing one another's teams and loving it.  He also presented me with a Vancouver prof soccer shirt. I am looking forward to spending more time getting to know both Stuart and Grahamme when we are returning to Victoria next Sunday.

Hilary and Bruce at the bird sanctuary in Comox looking back at the Island interior.

Saw lots of the sites and panoramas surrounding Courtney including a distant shot of the glacier that sits high above the Comox Valley.  Even better views of the mainland coast and majestic peaks that line the horizon.  The Royal Canadian Snow Snowbirds are practicing out of the Comox Air Base and are a sure harbinger of spring for the locals.  Hope to see their show tomorrow.  They are Canada's ace pilots who perform with remarkable precision all over the world like the American Blue Angels.

Also took a walk on my own down to the beach at low tide.  It is all rocks and boulders, no pretty sand beaches stretching for miles.  Loved the walk through the pine forest along the shoreline. The air is so pure and scented with heavenly pine perfume.  Sleeping come easily after a long day in the car and walking around this lovely neighborhood.  Spring is beginning to pop up everywhere although it is still early.  Temps are in the low to mid-50's during the day and down to the upper 30's at night. Find myself wearing a sweater all the time, glad I packed it.

Background Beaufort Range

Brook Emily runs near home.

Hilary's artist friend created this Ocean garden.

Sign explains the Ghost Ships of Royston

Ghost ships sunken as barrier reef

Another perspective on Ghost ships