Saturday, August 18, 2012

Cruising South in Beautiful British Columbia~

As we headed south we were impeded in our progress by FOG...  One time we were three hours late leaving our anchorage because of heavy ground level fog.  Another day, we left our anchorage on a bright, clear morning and wound up driving right into pea soup fog out in Queen Charlotte Strait!
Dorothy and Alice went to Bishop Bay Hot Springs, our third hot springs stop. This springs had a nice shelter built over it and many cruisers had hung memorabilia on the roof and walls to commemorate their visits.  When we were done soaking we conned Bill into taking us to the boat to decorate an old flag and then back to nail it to the wall!
As we traveled down the channel by Campbell River, Dorothy noticed some activity in the water near shore~ as we looked more carefully we saw several orcas playing around! This was such a treat, as the previous 3,000 miles we had seen NO orcas... unfortunately, the photos do not show pristine forests in the background- just houses near the beach~
Ocean Falls is at the end of a long inlet in an out-of-the-way spot in central British Columbia.  Once a thriving mill town of 8,000, there are 35 fulltime residents now.  The dam still operates, providing electric power to four small towns. Like the town, it has seen better days, with damage to the catwalk above the dam. We walked as far out as we could~ 
The last night before we crossed the border in the United States we stayed in  Chemainus, 30 miles north of Victoria on Vancouver Island.  It has a touch of  English influence, and a healthy art and theater atmosphere.  The weather was glorious as we left there to travel on to Roche Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington!  We have traveled 3,156miles since May 15...