A nice day again today. Yesterday,talking to the folks at the The Four Mile House Restaurant - we heard about the loop out to Port Renfrew and Lake Cowichan. So - that is what we did today. It was already hot as heck when we left Victoria - but by the time we got out to the Strait of Juan de Fuca - it got very cool - and there was a fair bit of fog. In places - the mist was so heavy - that it condensed on the trees - and you would drive through a mini rainstorm for a100 meters and then back in to the sunshine.It was neat. Just past Sooke - you climb up quite high - and get a great view of Olympic National Park across the straight - very pretty. Huge mountains. I did not get a picture - no place to stop. The entire drive to Lake Cowichan was very pretty - and a really fun road to drive - tons of corners and elevation changes - lots of 30 kph warning signs where they mean it. A really great drive.I think the drive to Tofino is better -but this is really god.There were a ton of bikes out from Victoria and area enjoying it. One of the lads we talked to said that Sunday morning a lot of sport bike riders like to set a brisk pace before the rest of the traffic shows up. I imagine that at times this results in a high pucker factor. We stayed with a calm touring pace and really enjoyed the day. A couple of pictures of Port Renfrew.
A place called Harris Canyon - very pretty
So - that is it for today. We went back to Four Mile House for more of the great beer and food. Tomorrow - we head back to Courtney to catch the ferry to Powell. It will be a late night - we could only get a reservation on the 7:15Pm ferry - so we will not be to the hotel until about 10:00 PM - so likely no blog post tomorrow. Cheers - until next time.
So, there we go - yesterday (Saturday) we made it to Victoria! We have therefore completed the primary goals of the trip - all three oceans, and all 12 provincial / territorial capitals that you can get to by road. For me - I am not done until I get back to Ottawa.
A very nice cenotaph -the first one I have seen which mentions Afghanistan.
A historic plate about Fort Victoria.
Very nice looking harbour
After we checked in to the hotel - we walked up to the "local"- a really cool place called The Four Mile House Restaurant. Great food, great beer - all brewed right there - and a ton of nice people. Hello to Luke, Barb, Dianna, Carlile, Mike, Ed, and Mitch - and maybe we will cross paths again. We really liked this pub - and enjoyed watching CFL (Darn, would have prefered to see Toronto beat Saskatchewan, and was embarrassed for Hamilton the way they got pulverized by Calgary)
This is my 1st blog post since Tuesday (the 25th) evening. Been a busy few days!
Wednesday was a long day of sitting on the boat! We road the MV Northern Expedition from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy along the Inner Passage. The weather was so-so - so had to sit inside with the occasional stick your head out to see the fabulous views of the mountains and some of the historic buildings such as lighthouses. We also got to see several pods or Orcas - with a couple of them jumping - which was really neat.We also saw one humpback - and there were supposed to be a few others - so that was pretty nice. We did not get checked in to the hotel until midnight - and that is why you are not hearing about this until today. Some pictures:
Thursday we got up and had a look around Port Hardy. Nice town.
We talked to a lady in the tourist info centre - and she told us that the gravel road to the "wild west coast beach" at Cape Scott Provincial Park was in good shape -so we decided to go for it. That was our 1st mistake. As soon as we had gone the 1st 5km on this shitty 60km section of gravel - I really should hd said "Let's turn back" - but I did not - would'a could'a should'a!
We ended up going out to the end of the Palmerston Beach Rd - half way between our intended destination at Cape Scott and Raft Cove Provincial Park. So - a slight navigational error - and thus our 2nd mistake.
We ended up with a very short hike to Palmerston Beach - and missed the turn to the "good trail" - and ended up on the "bad trail" down by the creek. Our 3rd mistake - and this one resulted in Laurance having a fall. Luckily - only minor damage - a small cut to the knee, a bruised thumb, and a good soaking in the creek.
So, we turn around and head back out the road. Someplace past Holberg - the bike's handling degraded badly. I thought it was because I was really getting tired - and the gravel was freshly graded and I was just having a hell of a time. When I finally stopped - after about 10 or 15 km of this - I found out I had a flat rear tire - and had managed to ding the rim by driving on a flat tire for likely 10 or 15 km. The 4th mistake of the day - and the one that I thought was going to be the disaster - not having the wherewithal to recognized the flat and stop before damaging the rim. And - at this point we were still about 3 km from the end of the gravel - and another 3 km back to Port Hardy
A guy and his girlfriend stopped and offered a can of the Canadian tire puncture seal stuff. I thanked him profusely, offered to pay for the can of stuff, he refused payment, I thanked him again, and off they went. Darn - I wish I had caught his name - anyway - thanks again.
Limped the bike into Port Hardy, nobody in Port Hardy services motorcycle tires, found out the closest Yamaha motorcycle dealer was Courtenay Motorsports, found out that my CAA membership covered about half of the towing charge, gotta tow truck, and off we went. I think the drive from Port Hardy to Courtney is pretty - but frankly - I did not give a shit at the time. I was pretty frustrated and tired.
So - ended up with good news - the dealer was confident the new tire would seal properly- and warned me to watch for vibration. So - at noon yesterday(Friday) - we were off and headed for Tofino along the Pacific Rim Highway - wow - what a pretty ride!
On the way back - we stopped at Cathedral Grove - old growth Douglas Fir - wow - very cool.
Then - back to Nanaimo - and several beers and a bite to eat. Today - we are back on track - and will head to Victoria shortly - to bag the final provincial capital! Look for an update either later today or tomorrow.
Had a nice breakfast at the hotel, had a look around Kitimat, washed the vehicles - and then headed out from Kitimat to Prince Rupert.
The star of the day was the Skeena River valley - wow - so pretty. A couple of videos and some pictures - but they do not really do it justice - so much to see - and not safe to stop for all of the potential pictures. This is another highway that is well worth driving - it is very very pretty.
The Skeena River
Exchamsiks River Provincial Park
Some pictures as well. A few shots of the kitimat area. I liked Kitimat - big enough - but not too big - and tons of mountains river and ocean.
We went for a look at the Kwinitsa Railway Museum. It had lots of interesting stuff. One thing that caught my eye - this model of the Prince George. In about 1959-61 - when I was about 3-4-5 - we road on a ship that looked a lot like this from Bella Coola to Ocean Falls. I wonder if this is the same ship? Mom was not sure.
Another pictures of the harbour.
We drove around a bit and got the lay of the land. Also - Laurance got the oil changed on the Chev by the local Chev dealer. So - we are ready to go! We need to be at the docks at 05:30 - so pitter-patter - up and at 'er! Until tomorrow - ciao!
