Saturday to Monday, April 27 to 29, 2019 (Oceanside RV Resort, Saanichton, BC)

With huge hugs, we said goodbye to Deb and Ray...our time together went by so quickly! But it was so relaxing and we loved every minute of it...thanks so very much for your hospitality!

Our route home is one that I have never taken but Steve had about 40 some odd years ago on his motorcycle when it was just a gravel logging road. We've always wanted to take it now that it's paved and were happy to finally have the chance since we're up this way and have a rental car. It's now called the Pacific Marine Rd., and runs from Mesachie Lake, just west of Lake Cowichan, and goes through to Port Renfew, on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

We had a beautiful day for our drive home...

We stopped to take a look at this...

Harris Creek...

Above and below from the bridge...Harris Creek in Harris Canyon...

The road became quite narrow and windy...

Lizard Lake Campground was still closed but walk ins were camped in tents...

These campgrounds can be found on sites and trails bc.

We continued on past Fairy Lake Recreation Site but it was also closed. A couple more river crossings...

San Juan River...

San Juan River Bridge at Port Renfrew...one of the things Port Renfrew is famous for, other than fishing, is the West Coast Trail and more recently, the addition of the Juan De Fuca Trail...

History
The 75-kilometre (47-mile) West Coast Trail is part of the ancient paths and paddling routes used for trade and travel by first nations. Huuay-aht, Ditidaht, and Pacheedaht villages and camps were well established before the foreign sailing ships started to arrive off this coast over 200 years ago. As the years passed and the number of ships sailing the Juan de Fuca Strait increased, so too did the number of shipwrecks and drownings along the coast. In time, the coastline became known as “the Graveyard of the Pacific.”

In 1906, when the steamship Valencia went down with the horrific loss of more than 125 lives, the public outcry prompted the Canadian government into further action: Pachena Lighthouse was constructed in 1907; lifesaving stations were established at Cloo-ose and Bamfield; the telegraph route was upgraded to become the Dominion Life Saving Trail, complete with six shelters stocked with provisions for both shipwreck victims and their rescuers. As navigation technology improved, many of these measures became obsolete and were abandoned.

In 1970, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve was established and in 1973, the lifesaving trail was included in the national park reserve as a recreational hiking trail, beginning a new chapter in its history. Today, over 7,500 backpackers hike the West Coast Trail every year. They come to see the beauty, experience the challenges, and walk the path of those that came before them.

Steve did 7 miles of this trail when he was a young lad in Air Cadets back in the early 70's. Apparently it was very rugged and wasn't much of a trail back then...it took them all day to go that short distance!

The River flows into the bay at Port Renfrew. Steve said that one time when he was here many many moons ago the sun was behind the surf and when the large waves were almost ready to crest they became translucent and they could see seals body surfing within the waves! Very cool...

We're at the Pacheedaht First Nation's Campground on San Juan Beach. I guess we didn't drive in far enough, but from what we saw, the road and beach access parking area was full of huge potholes and the outhouse was disgusting. Apparently they have sites with power, water, and a shower building which we never saw...

Looking towards our destination for lunch...The Renfrew Pub...

View of San Juan Beach as we drove down to the Pacific Gateway Marina

Bridgemans West Coast Eatery at the marina...

The Renfrew Pub...

Port Renfrew Community Dock...

Wild Renfrew Gift Shop and Cottages...

Studio cottages along the dock. They also have larger cottages and a lodge...

Steve initially thought those were stacked fish containers but they are actually the floating sections of the marina taken out for the winter...

Looking back towards the pub...

Okay...lets go eat!

Just as we were ready to go inside about 30 people walked in first...great...going to be a wait now!

We found it a little too cool and windy to sit out on the deck...gorgeous view from it, though!

We had a great lunch then headed off to check out Botanical Beach. Steve had his heart set on checking out the variety of sea life in the tidal pools. We were here decades ago, before it was developed. You used to be able to drive much closer to the beach on a really rough road but now there's a paved road to a parking lot and a 2.7 km loop trail to the beach. Unfortunately I can't hike that far with my knees. Also Ray and Deb gave us their old 30 gallon Blue Boy which we'll need when staying in Qualicum in July (thanks guys!). So that's taking up most of the space in the trunk so our luggage, camera bag and lap top are in the back seat and signs say thieves take advantage of valuables left in vehicles. We could put the lap top and camera bag in the trunk but that still left our luggage in view. Too bad...this is a really cool beach to explore and wave watch :(

View across Salish Sea looking towards the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. Rough seas out there. It's been very windy since we got to Port Renfrew and we've gone through intermittent rain. We later learned  BC Ferries cancelled their sailings Victoria/Vancouver sailings. One ferry had to turn back in Active Pass and another was damaged trying to dock.

Arriving in Jordan River...

Jordan River Regional Park Campground comes into view so thought we would check it out...

It's awning to awning and exposed to the wind...

It's popular with windsurfers...

An empty spot but very little room...

The windsurfer moving quickly along the shoreline...

We used to camp at French Beach Provincial Park in our 17 1/2' trailer but after taking a drive through, found no big rig friendly spots in the loop that was open...

Scotish Broom is beautiful to look at in full  but is very invasive...

Scotch broom is native to the Mediterranean areas of Europe. It was intentionally introduced to B.C. in 1850 by Captain Walter Grant who planted broom at his farm on Vancouver Island. Regrettably, few realized the invasiveness of this perennial as it quickly spread up the east coast of Vancouver Island before invading the Gulf Islands and mainland. Humans encouraged its continued spread as highway departments planted Scotch broom as a bank stabilizer because of its deep root structure and rapid growth. Nowadays, Scotch broom can be spotted with its brilliant yellow flowers in open areas such as roadsides, power lines, and natural meadows. This weed is a strong competitor with various native plants including those within declining Garry oak ecosystems as well as newly planted coniferous forests. It competes with native species for available light,moisture and nutrients, especially on disturbed sites. So far there are no known natural predators for this weed, therefore allowing it to spread throughout southern B.C. and other parts of North America. It does particularly well in recently disturbed areas, and for this reason it continues to increase in areas of Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland where land development is intensive. Despite these detriments, Scotch broom is quite spectacular with its striking array of bright yellow flowers in spring.and for this reason it continues to increase in areas of Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland where land development is intensive. Despite these detriments, Scotch broom is quite spectacular with its striking array of bright yellow flowers in spring.and for this reason it continues to increase in areas of Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland where land development is intensive. Despite these detriments, Scotch broom is quite spectacular with its striking array of bright yellow flowers in spring.


Crossing the Sooke River in Sooke...

This is the route we took today...

We got home just after 3:00...a fabulous road trip and for the most part sunny. After unloading the car and unpacking our suitcases, it was time to relax for the rest of the afternoon. 

Sunday was a pretty lazy day. I downloaded all of the pictures taken over the last few days and after a 40 minute power walk to Island View Beach, Steve got to work on editing them. 

I headed out in the car to run a couple of errands...first of all, I stopped for a quick visit with Rob, Angie and the boys and then took my time doing some grocery shopping.  When I got home, I worked on a blog post detailing our visit up island. And that was pretty much our day....

Monday was a sunny beautiful day. I headed out just after 10:00 to meet a friend for lunch...but first of all, I stopped at Costco to pick up a few things. Again, it never ceases to amaze me how busy all Costco stores are! I lucked into a great parking spot not far from the entrance...bonus! The line ups at the cashiers were crazy long...so I quickly picked up the few things I needed and went to stand in line.

I met Linda at Milestones in Langford and we enjoyed a wonderful hour and a half chatting and catching up over lunch. So good seeing you! Unfortunately, I completely forgot about taking a picture...sheesh!

I got home shortly after 2:00 to learn that Steve had just gotten home after another power walk to Island View Beach. I'm really finding it difficult not being able to join him...after all, that is such a part of our lifestyle. Hopefully, I don't have to wait too terribly long for the knee replacement surgery. I guess we'll find out more at my appointment on Wednesday. I'm going to take Steve with me as an extra pair of ears...plus with our lifestyle, it's not easy to just be at the hospital without some pre-planning.

At 3:00 we drove into Sidney to our Blood Donation appointment. We used to give regularly before we retired and since we are stationary for a couple of months, I checked to see if there was a clinic in Sidney. Today was the day...perfect! Turns out I was able to give, but Steve needs some clarification from doctors if it's safe for him to give blood with his heart block condition.

We were just about to have a bite to eat before going out to watch Conner at his soccer practice when I received a text from Rob saying that Conner was sick so they wouldn't be going tonight. Ah, poor little guy...maybe next week.