Vancouver Island to Banff, Alberta

The day after our Tofino trip was a warm and sunny one so Don and I took a drive north of Campbell River.  We stopped at a pretty little town called Sayward.The industry there is mostly logging, but I wish we would have done a little research before going as there are forestry tours and an estuary we could have visited as well.

                                              The breakwater is made of old rusty ships

These tug boat drivers are quite talented and also - for lack of a better word - fearless.  They push the log booms and it looks like they are going to tip over.  We watched them sort the logs, stack them in a holder to bind them together, then drop them down a log ramp into the ocean.  From there they are put in huge log booms and hooked together until a huge tug comes and takes them in the ocean to wherever they need to go.

             Hopefully this little video works, I have never tried putting one in a blog before.
On our way back to Campbell River we stopped at the trailhead for the ripple rock trail.  We only walked to the first look out.  The tide was out and the beach is always interesting.  I had forgotten the card to my camera which was annoying to me.  But Don thought it was great hiking along without stopping every 10 steps to get a picture of something.  

 I did shoot this one with my phone.  These pretty little wild bleeding hearts and coral bells were everywhere. The different types of flowers and flowering trees on the island is amazing.

One day we went to Campbell River and picked up some delicious crabs at a place called Crabby Bobs.  They did not have fresh shrimp or much else fresh as the fishing season has not quite started yet.  She said they would be putting the prawn traps out the next day.  That is one thing we would have liked to have seen but didn't was the commercial fishing.

All along the ocean there is so much to see.  Someone has a great talent and has made a few driftwood sculptures.  There are places to stop and buy eggs, plants etc.  I stopped and bought some beautiful peppers and tomatoes at a little wooden stand at the end of the person's drive.  Honor system, just drop your money in the box.   Love it!

             We got a kick out of this sign, there was another for organic firewood as well.

 I called this one the coolest seafood restaurant ever.  This stump was loaded with all kinds of shells.

 I was not the only one watching this eagle.  The crows and sea gulls were pretty interested in the catch, but none of them dared approach until he was out of sight.

 this is a juvenile eagle coming in for a landing.  I spent as much time on the beach as I could the last couple of days.  It is truly amazing how different the beach can be every single day.  The tide is always different and there are always eagles and herons and of course sea gulls to watch.  Mother nature sure knows how to put on a great reality show!

The sound and smell of the water is hard to explain.  I love the gentle lapping of the waves and a huge deep breath of  the sea air is like nothing else.

A woman who lives in the resort told me that they had seen whales in the evening so I went down every night but no luck.  We did see seals and sea lions tho.


We reluctantly packed up our RV and headed to Nanaimo to catch the ferry to Vancouver.  We had originally thought we would do some visiting along the way but with the flooding in the Okanagan and the logistics of who to visit and when was a little overwhelming, so we decided to head for home. Besides, it is time to see our family!!

 That is our ferry coming in to get us!
The day was sunny but very cold.  It was hard to stay outside on the sun deck for long and even harder to stay upright at the front of the moving ferry.  Again, I had hoped to see some whales, but nope!!

                                                  That is Vancouver off in the distance.

                    There was lots of action on the ocean.  All kinds of barges and container ships etc.

          No blog is complete without a picture of these beautiful smooth barked trees.  Right??

The drive from Vancouver to Hope B.C was beautiful.  We saw so many waterfalls spilling down from the mountains.

   We went through Abbotsford which apparently is the raspberry capital of Canada.  Who Knew??
After we got parked for the night we walked along the highway to a trail head for the Flood Falls.

It was about an hour hike in total and was a nice way to end the day.  It was a little late by the time we got back and a little dark in the forest.  Luckily for us Boo Boo and Yogi were down the road.

 The next day we headed out to Revelstoke.  We went on the Coquihalla highway and the views were amazing.  More waterfalls everywhere.

We stopped at this rest sight along the way, it is the site of the driving of the Last Spike at Craigellachie, signifying the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885.

Where's waldo?

 Today's drive from Revelstoke to Banff was fantastic.  We went over the Rogers Pass, and passed through three national parks, Revelstoke, Glacier and Yoho.  There is a lot of snow on those mountains and we saw a lot of parks Canada workers out checking the area, I suppose in preparation for parks opening.  Spring is a beautiful time to see the water running down from mountains and in the nearby rivers as the leaves haven't blocked the view yet.  
We saw a number of areas where they were cleaning up from mudslides as well as avalanches. 
There were a few flaky rain drops along the way - if you get my drift??  But no major precipitation.  We walked around by the Banff springs hotel and then into town for dinner and walk along the streets.  Its amazing how many people are here and even tour buses.  There was a wind and both of us felt quite chilled.  

Vancouver Island was a wonderful experience.  Although the weather could have been better, we saw so many things that you would not see in other seasons or conditions.  I enjoyed the spring flowers and blooming trees so much.  We were super lucky to have Rick and Janet to give us pointers and take us to so many interesting places.  Don got to go out fishing 3 times and although they didn't get many fish, we did eat it one night and it was amazing.
Janet introduced me to some really fun ladies and we had a few coffee dates after water aerobics and a couple of card nights with a lot of laughs.
We have tons of pine needles stuck to the RV and to the floor inside for that matter - and they make me smile. It was a losing battle trying to vacuum those up.  Walking on the grass in the resort is like walking on a thick carpet of moss and there are pine needles and cones and bark chunks everywhere.  
Everyone should go to Vancouver Island at least once.  It is truly a place like no other. 
 

e