20030628                   Open new window with today’s pictures.

June 28, 2003
Saturday

Start:   Paradise RV Park, Parksville BC
End:     Ripple Rock RV Park, Campbell River BC
Miles:   89
Hi Temp: 84.0
Lo Temp: 54.3


We weren't going far today, so we got up late. Then we ate in, and hooked up, and eventually got on the road.

There are two roads going up the coast, 19 (which is a four-lane limited access thing), and 19A (which is the old two-lane road along the shore).  We took 19A so we'd see things.  No hurry anyway.

We fluttered along looking at little towns and views of the sound between Vancouver Island and the mainland or other islands.  We eventually reached Campbell River, a long narrow town oriented up-and-down the coastline.  It's the major town (29,000) up on this part of the island. 

Then we had to go 12 miles north, then turn off 19A onto a gravel road, which we followed for four miles. Then we went to the right of the entrance to the fish packing co-op, past the marina entrance, and up into the campground entrance.

The host came scurrying up and checked us in.  Then we entered through the gate, made a wide swing to the right and up a 20% grade to the upper campground.  We found our site, backed the trailer in, and unhooked. We have a great view of Seymour Narrows, the narrowest channel on the Inside Passage route to Alaska. We had sandwiches for lunch, then took it easy. There are a pair of eagles nesting a couple of hundred yards away across miniscule Brown's Bay.

The campground is entirely paved.  There's a big clubhouse on the lower level, and there are showers, etc., in a building on the upper level as well as the lower level.  Next to the clubhouse is a glass-enclosed hot tub.

We signed up for the pot-luck dinner tomorrow night. The results of the fishing derby will be announced.  The campground host is supplying beer and wine and beef; guests are bringing various dishes and we think some of the fish will find their way onto the grill.  Should be fun.

We determined the location in town of the church, then drove out that gravel road (very bumpy, two places are single-lane through the woods) and went to church. On the way there, we stopped to top off our fuel tank for the run to Port Hardy on the 30th.  After church we went to "Canada's Superstore", which appears to be an answer to Wal-Mart, and bought groceries and a couple of books.

On the way back to the campground, we looked up the Seymour Narrows and saw a cruise ship coming down.  Too far to get a good picture.

We continued north, out the gravel road, and back to the trailer to cook and eat dinner. We had chicken done in white wine, thyme, and dill weed with rice and salad and a blush wine from Santa Fe.  It was good.

We sat around after eating, hoping to see a cruise ship come down the narrows. None did, at that time. We did see one of the deer that's almost tame from hanging around the campground.

Later, as I was typing these notes (11:30pm), one came by with all the lights on, moving silently down the narrows. You could only hear a low hum from its ventilator fans. Absolutely spectacular.

20030629                   Open new window with today’s pictures.

June 29, 2003
Sunday

Start:   Ripple Rock RV Park, Campbell River BC
End:     Ripple Rock RV Park, Campbell River BC (actually Brown's Bay, 12 miles north)
Miles:   0
Hi Temp: 76.6
Lo Temp: 53.4


We arose at a leisurely time, did the ablutions, and headed down the hill. We checked out the site of the pot-luck dinner tonight (the clubhouse), then went to the office and got $10 worth of loonies (the Canadian $1 coin). Then we went to the marina restaurant for breakfast.

A bunch of the boys were whooping it up..... Nope, wrong place. A bunch of the charter boat captains were having breakfast and conversing.  It was windy this morning, the sound was choppy, and the fish weren't biting. One of the guys said, "I went out this morning, but it turned out I only went boating."

We had a good breakfast - the standard two eggs, meat, potatoes, wheat toast, coffee.  The small swells from the sound made the marina office (on another barge), the restaurant barge, and the floating docks all surge up and down a little, doing a strange dance. A couple came in by boat, had a cup of coffee, and left.

Some of the guys made to leave.  One said, "Well, I can't catch any fish in here.", to which another responded, "You're not going to get any out there, either!"  Laughs all around.

We walked back to the campground and then up the hill to our little house. We sat for a bit. The day warmed up a little but the high clouds started coming in (rain later is the forecast). I went back to the clubhouse and hooked up the modem and started (slowly - poor connection) receiving the e-mail.

A pair of ladies came in and arranged place settings on a table, sort of reserving a spot for the pot-luck tonight.  That sounded reasonable, so after the e-mail finally finished, I came back up the hill, got a pair of plates and went back down the hill to do the same.  Then I came back up the hill again.  If I live through all this hill-climbing, I'll be in terrific aerobic shape.

Then I made the devilled eggs for tonight, which takes more time than one might think. Then we did the laundry; I was dangerously low on jeans. All-in-all, it took $10.50CDN to do the four loads and dry them. After that, it was shower time and then sitting around until the festivities begin.  The eagles (the owner says he knows of four sitting pair close to the campground) are swooping around and picking food out of the water.

...... (later) ....

It started raining just before the dinner was to start.  We wound up driving the truck down the hill and parking it close to the clubhouse. We added our contribution to the "groaning board" of dishes.  I took some pictures so we can leave them for Pat & Val Ryan, the owners of the campground.

We ate well; there were many good dishes and the beef was also good. The prize awards were fun for the crowd; they could razz their friends who won (or didn't win). 

The people next to us talked for a while.  A guy they know was on his way to Alaska and stopped here.  After several days, he called the people he was to travel with and told them he couldn't make it.  Then he bought a boat and now he comes here every summer. The person talking was from Orange County CA and comes for two months every summer.

We ran into a couple from Springfield, VA. Dick is a retired Navy officer and Joan is his wife.  They travel about seven months a year in their motor home.  They're at home for the football season, Thanksgiving, and Christmas; then they hit the road for Florida.  Later, they come out here for a month. Now, they're headed for New York and Maine (Boothbay).  He formed a corporation so he could register the motor home in Montana (no sales tax) and saved $20k by avoiding Virginia sales tax (big motor home).

Everyone had a good time.

We came back to the little house to watch TV or read and settle in.  We move on tomorrow.