BC Versus The Mills

August 23rd-Sept 5th
I arrived in Seattle about 2 days before Mom and Dad for their annual vacation. Shadow had made plans for Beulah's hospital stay while we were gone. Her hydraulics are not working properly so when she's on the road, her slides stick out about 5 inches. This problem doesn't help our gas mileage. Before dropping Judy of at the pet resort she also needed to be seen by a doctor. A wort on her front left leg was bothering her and she had begun to pick at it. If the dose of antibiotic don't work we will have to resort to the cone of shame. I'll be sure to take plenty of humiliating photos if that happens.
After picking my parents up we enjoyed an amazing dinner before beginning our world-wind 3 ferry and 1,400 mile week tour of Vancouver Island and British Columbia.
Victoria was are first stop. The town has a European style flare with seaplanes flying all around. By evening we found ourselves 100 miles North on the island at the Captains Inn overlooking a peaceful bay and watching people dig for Gooey Ducks during low tide and bald eagles at the morning sunrise. Next stop was the Pacific Rim National Preserve which is a magical place laced with deserted beaches and a rainforest as a back drop. On our way across the island we spotted a black bear lumbering along the river that follows the road. The North tip of this peninsula lays the town of Tofino, BC. A quaint fishing town that is famous for their ocean waves which in turn draws many surfers.

For those of you that are interested in seeing what British Columbia has to offer, I would highly recommend driving the Coastal Mountain Circle Route. After exploring Victoria and a large part of Vancouver Island we set our eyes on the Circle Route which starts in Vancouver. We spent the next morning walking in the tree tops at the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Next stop was Whistler which is your typical ski village on steroids. The summer months are just as busy there with mountain bikes. The Circle Route continues North to Lillioet, BC with a day full of unbelievable sights that give Yosemite a run for its money. Glaciers, Salmon swimming up streams, and log dammed crystal lakes make this part of Canada another world. The old mining town of Lillioet is were you cross the Coastal Mtns and end in high dessert. First Nation people still have fishing rights here and hang their catches to dry by the rivers edge. There were only 3 hotels in town and our choices for the dinner were limited. The Reynolds Hotel, where we stayed, also included the town grocery, restaurant, and wild west bar. We had made it so far North that the Canadians no longer wanted our US dollars.

With surprisingly nice rooms we started the day with a Wild West Breakfast. I had the Little Partner. A quick stop off at a tourist trap gondola ride over the Fraser River and we made it to the cute town of Hope, BC. I guess I shouldn't use the word cute being that it was the setting for the movie Rambo. Shadow narrated a hike we took through an old train track that is now a walking trail from the scenes he remembered from the movie. You walk through 5 tunnels that were blown out of the rugged mountains. When you weren't in a tunnel, you were on the old trestle bridge overlooking the river below. The first five years after the train began service, this section was travelled at night as to not scare the passengers.
Our next spot on the route was Harrison Hot Springs. The lake stretches 40 miles and people would travel to Lillioet that way versus the raging Fraser Rivers. Legend has it that a ship capsized and instead of the people freezing, they found the water warm from a hot spring. Another legend of this town is their claim to have started the Bigfoot story. The First Nations spoke of this to the white man and the fable continues today.
BC does an amazing job promoting local products. Every town we passed had a informative visitor center where you could find the local Circle Farm Tour. Its brochure highlighting local products with an easy to use map. We spent the day sampling varieties of goat cheeses, honey, hazelnuts, and ice cream before heading back to the States and our final destination of Orcas Island.
It was an early rise to catch the first ferry for one of the San Juan Islands. Being Labor Day weekend, there wasn't a place to stay so we were little stressed to tour the island and hit the ferry back. We were so busy looking around and taking photos on the ferry ride, that we almost missed our stop. This island is a little more low key than the main San Juan island. We toured the shops in town and drove every mile of the island. A few of the highlights were the Moran Mansion, Mt. Constitution, looking for Gooey Ducks, and having homemade pie for lunch.
It was a great time. We all missed Haley and hope that she can catch next years vacation.



Country Mouse and Shadow