Tuesday, August 2 to Saturday, August 6, 2022 (Our Trip to Vancouver Island, BC - PART 3)

Tuesday (August 2) morning as we sat at the beach again just after 6 a.m. with our coffee, we watched this freighter now fully loaded with gravel leave...

The days usually start with some form of cloud in the morning but often clears quickly.

With the local stores open now that the long weekend is over, Steve headed into Port McNeill to the sporting goods store to see if he could find a new pair of boots for his chest-waders. He was successful in getting the very last pair in his size!

I had been researching geocaches in the area to see if there was one large large enough to hold a trackable that I have been hanging onto since we were in Arizona. What is a trackable, you ask?...

Trackables are geocaching game pieces that have a unique tracking code. The tracking code allows you to track its movement on Geocaching.com. Trackable owners can set a goal for their trackable. Trackables either stay with their owner, or move from one geocache to another, occasionally with a sheet that lists their goal. When another geocacher moves a trackable the owner gets a notification.

I found a "small" sized geocache that was about .5 km away (as the crow flies) that should have plenty of room for the trackable.  As I walked down this trail, I was whistling making lots of noise as there has been a bear sighting in the area.

The geocache was an easy find and the trackable fit in it no problem!

Steve and Rob spent most of the afternoon fishing...

Steve here...

A 2:04 minute video of Rob and I fishing. We are using light gear, 6 weight, 9' fly rods and floating line with an 8 lb leader. It takes anywhere from 4 - 7 minutes to land these fish which is a real workout. I should have brought a head band for my Go Pro camera as I had to hold my arms uncomfortably high and the lens was often wet from winding my reel. Surprisingly these fish don't jump a lot when caught but give a great fight.  

When they came in, I reminded them that rain was in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow...it might be a good idea to get the tarps up. Rob had a huge one that fit perfectly over the tent with a good overhang in front for our picnic table...

With ours taken care of, Rob and Steve put a smaller one up in front of their canopy and we moved their picnic table under it...perfect! All set for the rain!

And it was a good thing, because the forecast was right...we woke to a cloudy, rainy day Wednesday (August 3) morning. It didn't really pour buckets but was more of a light rain off and on all day...and much cooler!

So late morning, Steve and I decided to head into Port McNeill for lunch. Gus's Pub was a spot we always went to when I accompanied Steve on his annual north island sales trips...way back in the day! We enjoyed a beer and a delicious lunch...and a great conversation with our server who grew up in Lake Cowichan and lived on the same street as Steve's buddy from school...small world!

Since it was not really a very nice day, we decided to take a drive up to Port Hardy, which is about a 20 minute drive beyond the turnoff to Cluxewe. It was great seeing the area and how much it has changed since our annual sales trips up there.

That afternoon we all took a walk down to the river...such a pretty area!

We didn't see any fish this far up the river...

Rob dipping Bryce's hair in the water...too funny!

Time to warm up by the campfire!

Thursday (August 4) and another cloudy and cooler start to the day. Thankfully, it warmed up considerable by the afternoon.

Steve found that the fish were really jumping at around 7:00 a.m. so he got out there early.

Steve beached another fish...

Back in the water...

A 2:13 minute video...I lost a few, had a bad release, and beached a few...

There are so many bald eagles here...

A juvenile

That afternoon Rob prepared some salmon filets for smoking...he'll let it sit with his dry brine on it overnight and put it on in the morning to smoke...

With sun coming and going, Angie and the boys, along with Darcy's and Chris's kids, played in the river...

We thought this was a great picture that Bryce insisted Rob take of them playing...Mason, Bryce, Max and Marcus...

All the kids are over at Darcy's trailer watching movies and the adult's are enjoying a campfire! Me, Chris, Rob, Angie and Darcy...

Friday (August 5)...and our last full day here. Tomorrow we have to pack up and head home...such a fast week!

As usual, Steve was out fishing by 7:00 a.m. You can really see the fish jumping while Steve pulls in another one...

A 5:02 minute video...My last early morning of incredible fishing! 

This seal hung around all morning watching the fishers. Perhaps just curious or possibly waiting for a recently released fish that might be a bit sluggish...

Cruise ships pass by daily as they transition to and from Alaska, usually on the other side of Malcolm Island...

One thing about the ocean...there's always lots of activity...

Can you see three bald eagles?

Pulteney Point Lighthouse on Malcolm Island...

The salmon filets are now ready to go into the smoker...

Another cruise ship going past...Holland America's Kooingsdam...

A cool shot with Rob fishing as the cruise ship goes by...

A 6:56 minute drone video of Rob fishing. I didn't know it at the time but the video shows 3 different schools of fish just beyond Rob. I have numbered them. Also a little tour to the far end of the resort...

After 6 hours in the smoker, the salmon is ready. Rob vacuum-packed these... 

Saturday (August 6) was a very dewy morning...too bad because that meant the tarps and tent had to be put away wet. Steve dried all his equipment yesterday for travel day so didn't fish this morning. After our beachfront morning coffee, he took his drone out for one final (4:17 minute) video of the leaping  fish. Nobody really knows why these fish jump. Some think they are cleaning their gills and scales. Others think it's a hormonal change in the fish. 

With that done, we had a bite to eat for breakfast and then got busy packing up.

Before leaving, we had some final beachfront family pictures. We had such a good time and really want to thank Rob and Angie for making it possible! By making me comfortable in a big tent, complete with porta-potty...mom was happy! We plan to be back for the next Pink run in 2 years!

With big hugs to all, we said goodbye and hit the road...it was 9:30 when we pulled onto the highway and headed south. Rob, Angie and the boys leave today too, but don't have a long drive as they are stopping just north of Campbell River to camp for a couple of nights at Browns Bay with Angie's "island parents".

A short distance travelling south and we were out of the clouds and back into clear blue sky. Such beautiful scenery...

Our plan had been to catch the 3:15pm ferry back to the mainland at the Duke Point Ferry Terminal just south of Nanaimo. It was 1:30 as we passed a sign near the exit advising that the 5:45 pm sailing had a possible wait. The BC Ferry Corp. has been having trouble with staffing so have had to cancel numerous sailings on various routes....causing backlogs on all sailings. Sheesh!

So we decided to keep on driving and go to the Swartz Bay terminal near Sidney and hope we don't have any issues there. If all else fails, we could go back to Rob and Angie's house, spend the night and catch a morning ferry.

We arrived at Swartz Bay at 3:00 pm. There was no 4:00 pm sailing but we were told we would have no problem catching the 5:00 pm sailing. Yay!

Another gorgeous cruise on a BC Ferry!

We arrived home just before 7:30 pm...a long travel day but we are happy to be home after almost 3 weeks away.

Here is our route taken on Vancouver Island...

That was a fabulous vacation!