Port McNeill / Port Hardy: Orcas!

We are at campground just outside Port McNeill BC, which is almost as far as we can go on Vancouver Island.

Yesterday we took a whale-watching trip that was loads of fun. We saw a lot of Orcas, many close to the boat. At one point several of them started surfing in the boat’s wake and I was able to get a couple of photos of them.





They are not supposed to do that because the Orcas are a protected species and any human interaction that alters their behavior is against the law. The Orcas don’t know that of course but the boat captain does and had to stop. It was fun for both us and the Orcas while it lasted.

Today we drove up to Port Hardy which is the northern-most city on the island, We saw and photographed a couple of black bears along the highway but not much else exciting.

Tomorrow we head back south.

Campbell River BC

Back on the east side of the island we found a terrific RV resort called Ripple Rock, on Brown’s Bay just north of Campbell River.



It is called Ripple Rock because there used to be a submerged rock formation in the water that created a large ripple. The rock was blown up with a huge demolition charge about 40 years ago to clear the channel for shipping.

The narrow strait we are on is a used by the big cruise ships sailing between Vancouver and Alaska, and they pass by just a few hundred yards in front of our site. Last night five in a row passed by, only about 15 minutes apart. The water is so shallow that they have to wait for peak high tide, which is the reason they all come through at the same time. It was a spectacular sight.

From here we will continue toward Port McNeil and Port Hardy at the north end of the island.

Tofino BC

We have crossed over to the west side of Vancouver Island, to the very end of Highway 4, to Tofino. We were a little bit concerned about the highway because we had heard tales of how narrow and winding it is but it turned out to be not bad – no worse than some of the coast highways in California and Oregon. There was one grade that was marked 18% but it was short and we made it just fine.

Tofino is a neat little town with lots of outdoor adventure activity including kayaking and whale watching, and is adjacent to Canada’s Pacific Rim National Park. The coastline here reminds me of Oregon.



We camped for two nights in the national park, which is beautiful. It is a rain forest environment, very densely wooded so most of the camp sites never get any sun, but there is a beach that is nice, especially now that we are getting sunny days again.

Nanaimo BC

This is a pretty little city on the west coast of Vancouver Island, about 75 miles north of Victoria. Timber and fishing are the main commercial activities and it is known for a local confection called the Nanaimo Bar; a layer of milk chocolate and a layer of creme filling topped with a layer of chocolate and coconut. Yummy! We found a terrific RV site on a bluff overlooking the water and the town. The rain has stopped and we are enjoying beautiful sunny weather.

The modern downtown marina has a large park, some nice shops and coffee houses and a little floating seafood bar that has the best fish & chips we have had anywhere.



We will spend a couple of days here and then continue north along the coast.

Chemainus BC

Chemainus, another timber town, has a population of only about 3,500. The buildings are decorated with over 30 large murals like this one, depicting the history and culture of the town.



We happened to be here on the weekend of the local fall festival with an outdoor art show and flea market that was fun, especially since weather has decided to play nice again.

Rainy Day In Victoria

It rained most of today but we still enjoyed our visit to Victoria. The city has an abundance of museums and historic buildings that provide rainy day entertainment, and we had a good lunch at the historic Empress Hotel.

The downtown area is dressed up with dozens of fiberglass Orca statutes that have been decorated by local artists. The one Joani is posing with below is one of several around the harbor.

Crossing To Victoria BC

On Wednesday we loaded our house on wheels onto the ferry at Port Angeles and crossed over the Strait of Juan De Fuca to Victoria BC.



It took about an hour and a half and was a smooth trip, starting out sunny and ending in the rain at Victoria.

We made camp at a commercial RV park about 40 minutes out of city. It is very secluded and peaceful with a nice view of the Strait and the Victoria skyline.

Going to Vancouver Island BC

We have spent the past few days in the Olympic Rain Forest on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. It is an awesome place with spectacular beaches and lush spruce forests, and provided us with the full spectrum of weather from rain to blue sky. Rain is part of the experience here of course. The annual total is 12 to 14 feet per year. That is about 10 times what we get in Southern California.

We found a beautiful campsite on the bank of the Hoh River. The photos show a our view of the river on a rainy day and of the campsite on a sunny one.

Leaving Long Beach

The past few days have been spectacular here at Long Beach Washington, with blue skies and good kite winds.

One of the unique things about Washington beaches is that they are part of the state highway system and you can drive on many of them. There are places where you can drive for miles, often with few other cars or people around.



Driving on the beaches around Long Beach is easy because they are wide and flat with no rocks. Having a 4WD vehicle helps, but we have seen regular passenger cars and even RVs on the sand. The main thing to watch out for is the tide, which has trapped many unwary tourists.

Today we are finally leaving Long Beach and heading north to the Olympic Peninsula and then across to Victoria BC on the ferry from Port Angeles. We will lose the wireless high-speed Internet access we have enjoyed here and I don't know when we will be able to update this blog again, but stay tuned.

Labor Day Weekend

It is Labor Day weekend and we are still in Long Beach Washington. We have stayed longer than planned because Joani had an infection in her leg that flared up and required some extensive antibiotic treatment. Happily it is much better now.

Since the kite festival we have had a lot of rain, mostly light but a few heavy downpours that sounded really loud on the roof of the motorhome.

The rain has kept us indoors a lot and I needed something to do so decided to build a kite train based on a Japanese kite design called the Wave. It is a very simple little kite. The Japanese make them from paper and bamboo but I decided to use Tyvek, which is a material used to provide a moisture barrier in home construction. You might be familiar with it in the form of the envelopes that Priority Mail sometimes comes in, you know - the kind that you can't tear open. I tried to buy some of the construction Tyvek locally but the builder's supply store sells it only in 100 foot by 10 foot rolls, which is about 99 feet more than I need. I found a much cheaper solution in the form of some discarded mail envelopes. They just happen to be about the right size so worked out nicely. I used some small wooden dowels for sticks and added tails made of a kind of vinyl tape called Flag Tape, which is also a builder's material.

Here is a photo of the train of 15 kites:



The weather is perfect today, with blue skys and good winds, so I think I will go down to the beach and fly the kites.