As we approached the longest day of the year and what should have been the warmest weather, it's actually been the coldest June-uary in awhile! Stowing some extra warm gear in my bag, I'm going for the never-failing layering technique. This first day looks really promising - and at least I hope the trip will avoid forest fires!
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| Scout watching me getting ready. Not amused... |
An early-morning departure was accomplished with the help of getting the car packed the night before. Scout had his morning plate, and some stand-by crunchies, and will have daily (and sometimes twice-daily) visits from Debbie and Kevin, who took such good care of him for me last summer. He was not happy being left!
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| Lots of green, and empty roads! |
The first leg of the trip was a very smooth ferry ride to Duke Point - with nothing more than crosswords and Joni Mitchell to occupy my mind; everything else is on the back burner for a bit. The drive up-Island was accomplished in three hops; a stop near Bulkley Bay to drop off four big boxes of music for Fiona, a stop for lunch in Campbell River, and then the LONG leg up to the Northeast coast. Highway 19 is a really well-engineered bit of road-building - but it's like driving up a canyon of trees! It's not too bad up to Campbell River, but after that it's mostly a two-lane highway with green on both sides - and where it's not trees, it's cliffs, where the road cuts through. I like green, and I like trees - but it was really good to get back to the water again!
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| Telegraph Cove marina |
It was a 400k trip to get to
Telegraph Cove, which was my first real stop. Where Hwy 19 meets the coast, I turned right instead of left, and followed the road along to Beaver Cove, where trees are still being processed onsite, and then beyond to Telegraph Cove. The village is one of the last boardwalk settlements in BC, and has been really well maintained, with information about its history and its original inhabitants.
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| Boardwalk village |
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| Paddleboarders heading out to explore |
It's named for a coastal telegraph station built a century ago, but is now better known as a centre for ecotourism - excursions to see grizzly bears, and a lot of whale-watching. Johnstone Strait is rich in marine life because of the way the tides past through the narrow passage, and many marine biologists come here to study. I spend a fascinating hour at the
Whale Interpretive Centre.
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| All you ever need to know about whales! |
From there I retraced the road to Hwy 19 again, and went on to Port McNeill. It was a gorgeous evening, with a breeze off the water, and I'd booked at a waterfront motel. I have to be at Port Hardy early Friday morning, and there were no vacancies there, so it'll be a really early start. I had dinner at the neighboring pub, and then a walk to shake it down. The ferries to Sointula and Alert Bay leave from Port McNeill.
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| Port McNeill |
Early night tonight, I hope! - at least, that's the plan, if my neighbors will allow....
It sounds like you're taking the ferry up the Inside Passage. We've done that -- it's amazing! The drive back south (if you do it) is pretty spectacular, as well. Here's the very spectacular grizzly-bear day trip we went on, from Prince Rupert: https://www.tripadvisor.ca/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g154939-d665665-i26140479-Khutzeymateen_Grizzly_Bear_Sanctuary-Prince_Rupert_British_Columbia.html
ReplyDeleteIf you can get on it, I highly recommend it. HAve fun! -- Charles