So this is the last leg of my Island visit. This is me - preparing to leave Tan's house on Saltspring Island, and a sunset at Vesuvius on the night before. The next morning, I'm on the ferry to the main island.
The next stop was Garbriola Island - so it was a two ferry day! There I visited my cousin Tom and his wife Elizabeth who have a farmlot on the island. They are working towards self-sufficiency and the house and yard are a very busy place.
Tom feeds the goats veges which are past their human use. Grapes and baby carrots! The love them! They also have chickens and ducks. Their house is cosy with a big wood stove and produce drying beside it. Somehow I got away without a picture of Elizabeth, but we had a lovely walk on the beach and lots of chatting. Tom cooked homemade pizza and we shared lots of great stories.
Then it was off to meet sister Barb and her husband Chris at a B & B in Comox. While it was advertised as a farm based B & B their was a little more involvement than we bargained for. The owner backed my trailer into a field next to the actual B & B. It's right next, and has been used by, a floc of turkeys as well as dogs! I'll have to watch where I step. Their dog got loose, had a turkey by neck while a couple of sheep and some huge geese got into the act. Barb straitened it all out like a pro and got all the animals back where they belonged - three times - until she finally tied the dog up instead of trying to put him in various buildings. Me? I'd have let the whole lot of them sort themselves out. One less turkey no doubt.
Roosters woke us at 330 and 430 AM. This morning a rogue turkey was pecking at my trailer! But the company and the walks to the beach were good. We had dinner with Chris' brothers - four of the six got together, and their two spouses. Lovely dinner. Must have been quite a family to grow up in.
It was rainy but a lovely walk to the beach!
We had a lovely lunch together at a restaurant, and I tried a local brew.
I really love Comox! Don't think I've spent much time here in the past. Has all the mod. cons. including an airport where you can fly WestJet to Edmonton or Vancouver! It feels much less cramped and populated than the island south of Nanaimo, and is equally charming.
The walk to the river from our campsite - and the lake beyond - Buttle Lake.
The lichen and mosses are varied - I've no idea what they are called, but the colours are amazing.



And the size of the trees! If this place was ever logged, it was a long time ago. Chris spotted a stump with footholds cut in them, so it must have been logged at one time, but there are very few left, and the trees are massive. It sometimes takes a series of photos to actually capture them.
Our campsite - the tarp was up when the thunderstorm it - and it was a good thing! A lot of water in a short time.
The next day we took a hike to Myra Falls which flow down into the lake.
The bottom of the tree:
The top of the tree:
The mouth of the falls:
And of course, growing everywhere, salal - with berries which make wonderful jelly. Barb and I recalled picking them in our backyard and using them to dye our faces - and likely our clothes too!
Massive tree in our campsite:
And then it was back on the ferry - this time from Comox to Powell River on the Sunshine Coast.
I toured Powell River - which was a mill town, although the mill is now shut. It still has the feel of a very hard working town. I headed down the coast towards the next ferry, but stopped for the night at a private RV site - with no one in it! The difference this week to last is remarkable, and in fact some of the campgrounds are closed for the season. I certainly hope that's not true across the province. It will make finding places to stay a challenge. I was told that once the students go back to school, there isn't the personnel available to keep the campgrounds open.
The next ferry trip down the coast:
Visited old friends - Bernice and Len - who live in Gibsons. It was so good to see them - and they brought coffee to the camper in the morning! They were my first breakfast coffee guests!
And then my final crossing on a ferry. This time cloudy, but still so very beautiful. I calculate that I've taken 10 ferries so that's almost equivalent to a cruise! And I saw a whale spout from the window of the crossing to Powell River, so that's whale watching too! Not sure if it was a humpback or grey - but it was pretty spectacular. I didn't have trouble with missing ferries or having to wait a long time - despite what the locals report. So I coined myself the 'ferry fairy'. I thoroughly enjoy it. It really takes me back to travelling the province in the 70's and early 80's. Of course, back then, the food was a whole lot better - there were actual dining rooms with edible food - but the scenery is still fantastic, and I still get that little rush of excitement as I drive on and off.
Now I'm parked back in Barb and Chris' driveway in Delta for a couple of nights. Laundry, groceries, and a birthday celebration involving a trip to the Bard on the Beach to see some Shakespeare performed down by the harbour. And then I begin my trip east.
Time to start planning the next trip!
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