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

Gullible's Travels - Day One

Day One

A short, restless night lead to waking up before both alarms at 5:11 AM. You'd think I was an anxious kid about to take a vacation trip! Dan Keller picked me up and deposited me at the airport at 6:30.  Drove off with his bacon covered sweet roll birthday treat.

TSA

TSA was like jumping in a flimsy raft and being hurtled down a white water canyon.  Everything rushing toward the machines….Hurry, get stuff out and into bins…so many bins.  Excuse me sir you need to put your laptop in a separate bin! Oooops. Get through the big machine which is like getting stuck in some space age revolving door.  Wooosh and I step out only to have an older TSA agent ask if he could pat down my belly in case it actually was the housing for a pressure cooker filled with explosives.  I HAVE to lose those 25 lbs I put on since chemo last year!!!! Then the embarrassing dance at the end of the white water raft ride to get back into my shoes, collect all my items and not be in everybody's way.  KInd of felt like a rock in the middle of a fast running stream with water rushing around me.

Delta to the Coast

I am old enough to remember the fascination with jet planes at O'Hare Airport in Chicago or Billy Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee where we flocked to see these heavier than air marvels.  Stop marveling; it's just miserable being inside one of those flying sardine cans.  The seat I so carefully selected weeks before the flight turned out to be a fraud.  There was little or no leg space even though the seating plan showed no one in front of me.  The free in-flight meal was a ridiculous can of pop and a couple of dry cookies wafers that reminded me of the British terms "biscuit".  Can't complain because I could have had the alternative, a small bag pretzels, not even peanuts with protein!  Then my leg started to cramp badly and I spent most of the flight jumping up and down to the bathroom to gain a little relief.  On the positive side we arrived in Seattle on time.

Seattle

The wait in this mid-sized airport was pleasant because these west coast people know how to relax and eat.  The food court is the main terminal to all intents!  Even found wonderful power charging stations under the chairs in the Air Alaska gate area while waiting for the connecting flight to Victoria, BC.  Couldn't help myself when I checked my watch and discovered that my Internet Advisor radio show was about to start and I called in just to be on the first few minutes of the show and greeting my cohorts and audience.  Had a nice lunch and called Ginny for the last time in the US because you can't use your phone or wireless in Canada over a telco or you they rape you publicly with charges.

Short 25 min. flight from Seattle to Victoria, BC

Vancouver Island

Hilary and Bruce greeting me.

First of all let's be clear Vancouver Island is not the same as the charming BC town of Vancouver which sits on the mainland of Canada about 90 miles from the island. So wonderful to see Hilary again after three years and Bruce, my brother-in-law for the first time in nearly 40 years.  Here is a link to a description of Fanny Bay and the surrounding area. 

You need to understand that Vancouver Island is full of peninsulas, fjord-like inlets, islands and loooong detours.  So instead of backtracking to Victoria at the base of the island, we took a half hour ferry boat almost right away that cut out about 45 min. of driving.  We then drove for over 2 hours slowly up the old coast road and the newer inland highway to Fanny Bay just south of the bigger cities of Courtney and Comox just 10 Km to the north.

Ferry ride from Brentwood Bay to Mill Bay

Cottage Sweet Cottage

The MacInnis homestead is part of a lovely little subdivision built on the wooded hills between the Inland Highway and the old beach road.  The ocean is just three blocks away and, although they are hidden by the trees behind the house,are the mighty snow-capped Beaufort Range of mountains which form the spine of this wild island.  Hilary and Bruce provided me with a lovely little cottage in their yard that used to be home to their oldest son Grahamme who now lives in Victoria, the provincial capitol and main city at the southern tip of the island about three hours away.  

MacInnis homestead

My cottage home

All hooked up to wireless

Snug as a bug

I have all the comforts of home: a snug bed, lots of light, a desk and chair and a good WiFi signal once we got that figured out.  Initially I was feeling pretty cocky about dealing with the jet lag until we ate dinner around 9 PM and I began to ache an hour later.  It was then that I realized my body was working on a day that had started at 5AM EDT and it was now 1AM by my internal clock.  Slept like the dead with the wonderful scent of absolutely pure air and pines; like camping in the UP of Michigan.