Wednesday, October 18 to Wednesday, November 1, 2023 (2 Weeks Away...North Saanich; Steve's Hunting Trip/Dianne's Trip to Coquitlam; and more)

Wednesday (Oct. 18) morning the car was packed and we were on the road by 10:30. We are heading down to Rob and Angie's...Steve and Rob are going on a week's hunting trip on Saturday and we are going down a few days early so that I can grocery shop for their trip as well as prep some food for them. When they leave on Saturday, I am taking the ferry over to Vancouver and visiting Chris, Angela and Isaac.

We stopped at our favourite spot in Qualicum Beach for lunch...the Shady Rest Restaurant and Pub. No clear blue sky and sunshine today, but still a beautiful view...

Thursday (Oct. 19) morning as we were leaving the house, this doe was in the yard...

After running a couple of errands in town, we were back home...where I dropped Steve off and I headed back into Sidney to grocery shop for the guys hunting trip.

With the shopping done, I organized things as best I could for them and then got to work on making a batch of chili to get into the freezer for the hunting trip...and spaghetti sauce for dinner tonight. 

Steve here: Rob and I really appreciate and thank you for shopping and preparing some of our meals for us! 💖💖 

After dinner, Steve got instructions from Conner on using his new Microsoft Flight Simulator... 

Angie had gone to a meeting and Rob and I just chilled...

Friday (Oct. 20) morning we met our friends, Rob and Nancy for breakfast...always great seeing and catching up with them. Afterwards, Steve and I decided to go into town and walk the Sidney waterfront...

Someone had set up these displays on the rocks along the path, very cool...

There were quite a few placed along the rocks...

Friday night...and a very happy Rob gets home from work...he's on vacation for a week and really looking forward to the week away in the bush. He had a few chores to get done before leaving in the morning...one of which was taking care of a batch of beer that he had made. But first, he and Steve packed all they could into the truck and cargo trailer and then hitched the cargo trailer to the truck. 

Rob recently purchased this BrewZilla and his first batch of beer, a lager was a great success! This makes beer from scratch.

Ready to keg his second batch, a slightly flavoured chocolate caramel dark beer that should be ready when they return from their hunting trip. (Update: We all had a mug on their return and it was fabulous!)

Saturday (Oct. 21) morning Rob, Steve and I were up early...well, Rob at his usual work time of 5:30. After his shower, he was down packing the food from the fridge and freezer into the cooler, while Steve showered. As soon as Steve was done, I said goodbye to them and got myself ready.

They left at about 6:45, heading up to Lake Cowichan...where they are meeting up with Steve's buddy Jim at A&W for breakfast, then carrying on to their hunting area. I left at 7:00 as I had a reservation on the 8:00 ferry over to the mainland. I'll tell you about my week first...and Steve can take over for his week.

The sunrise from the ferry...

I arrived at Chris and Angela's just before 10:30...and had a wonderful greeting from Isaac! Chris and Angela are having some work done in their front yard...a retainer wall added plus one replaced. So basically the front door is inaccessible, so the only way into the house is through the garage. 

After visiting for a bit, we all headed off to a local community centre where Isaac is having his first half-hour introduction to basketball. So fun watching a bunch of 4-5 year old kids trying to control a basketball!  Isaac is in the green t-shirt...

After basketball, we went to Angela's parents place in Burnaby and had a wonderful visit with them.

Sunday (Oct. 22) morning we went out for brunch at The Hard Bean Brunch Co. in Port Moody. It was a very cool restaurant with a unique menu...I had Yorkshire Benny. Delicious! Isaac "told" me to sit beside him, too funny!

With Angela and Chris across the table...

That afternoon, I left Chris and Angela to have a relaxing afternoon and went to pick up a good friend...Glenna is actually Steve's cousin's ex-wife. We have always tried to get together at least once a year but unfortunately, it has been a number of years now since we have physically been together...phone calls are good, but just not the same!

We made our way to Granville Island...chit-chatting along the way...and even managed to find a parking spot relatively easily on a busy Sunday afternoon. We wandered around a bit but there were so many people and it was quite chilly out, so we decided on The Keg Steakhouse and Bar for lunch (unfortunately, Granville Island Brewery had a line-up).

So wonderful catching up with Glenna...a great afternoon! We must do it more often!

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (Oct. 23-25) I basically saw Chris, Angela and Isaac off to work/school in the mornings and then enjoyed the days just wandering around shopping centres...Coquitlam Centre, Lougheed Mall, and Costco. So nice to just spend some time with myself...LOL!

Isaac just before leaving for school...

With everyone back home after work, we enjoyed dinners and spending time together! Wonderful!

Thursday (Oct. 26) morning I said goodbye to Chris, Angela and Isaac as they headed off to work (well, Angela does not work Thursdays but has to take Isaac to school and has appointments). I will be meeting Chris for lunch at his office at 11:30...they have various food trucks come to their parking lot every Thursday and since there really isn't much in the way of restaurants close by, we will get lunch from the food truck and go inside the lobby of the building where tables and chairs are available. Today the food truck is Shameless Buns..."WE ARE SHAMELESS BUNS, VANCOUVER’S FUNKIEST FILIPINO INSPIRED FOOD BRAND."

After they all left, I got myself cleaned up and suitcase packed...and was off at about 9:30. I wanted to stop at Brentwood Mall on my way to meet Chris. Brentwood has been transformed from an ordinary shopping mall to an indoor/outdoor shopping area with residential towers. I wandered around part of the inside mall but it's new with few stores open yet. I probably should have gone to the outside shopping area but at this point, I had had enough looking.

I met Chris in the parking lot of his office, we ordered our lunch, and took it inside. After a good hour+ of chatting over our lunch, I headed off and Chris went back up to work. Thanks for lunch, Chris!

A little early for my 3:00 sailing, I stopped at yet another shopping centre...Tsawwassen Mills. It is near the ferry and is huge! Next time I will allow more time to explore it. Truth is...I had totally forgotten about it.

A beautiful day for a ferry ride! After a big wind/rain storm went through Tuesday, it was nice to see blue sky and sunshine. Entering Active Pass...

Exiting Active Pass...

Friday (Oct. 27) and another beautiful sunny day. I went into Victoria to wander around a couple of more shopping centres and then managed a walk along the Sidney Waterfront, before my pedicure/manicure appointment.

I have really enjoyed my week away from Steve...but am looking forward to the hunters returning tomorrow! Steve here...😮

Over to Steve now to "relive" his week away....

WARNING: NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN ANY WAY DURING THIS HUNT! 😞😞😞

Saturday (Oct. 21)

We were just pulling over to get our rifles out when I spotted elk up ahead. When the car passed us he said there were about 30 of them that had just crossed the road. On Vancouver Island you have to apply for a Limited Entry Draw for elk which is like trying to win a lottery. Jim and I have been applying for over 30 years without success. 😠😠

After setting up camp we headed out for firewood. After a long hot summer the burn piles have lots of bone dry wood. That's Rob on top of the pile...

View of McClure Lake from the bridge as we head back to camp. We used to make camp at the lake but it has rapidly flooded us out too many times to chance it anymore...

Home sweet home for the next week. Jim's camp is in the distance...

Jim with his Bud at our first campfire...

Sunday (Oct. 22)

Our first morning hunt. After parking the truck, Rob headed up a mountain road and I headed off in the opposite direction. There were fresh elk tracks and poop everywhere here but nothing standing in them. I also saw old wolf and bear scat but no signs of deer. The only thing seen this morning was a scrawny grouse...

Rob and I made our main meals of the day at lunch...chicken fajitas coming up!

Views from my evening hunt...

Our camp is on that distant road but hidden from view by that stand of trees. The mountainside I'm on has a huge clearcut. At around 9:30 later that night we watched from camp, pit lampers driving the roads that zigzag their way to the top of the this mountain shining a powerful spotlight back and forth. This is the third year in a row that Rob and Jim have witnessed this and twice for me! (I reported this to Report A Poacher on our return.)

Monday (Oct. 23)

The morning hunt in a new area. Rob is up there near the timber somewhere while I watched a clearcut below the road... 

Before returning to camp we went to the lake to get water for showers... 

McClure Lake is such a beautiful area to camp at. Too bad it's prone to flooding this time of year. Many summers ago when Rob was a wee lad he caught a 5 lb. brown trout. That shocked the heck out of us as the lake was never known for fishing! Years ago I harvested 3 deer and my brother Dave got one on that mountain when that second growth of trees was just an open clearcut...

Earlier when Rob and I arrived back at camp there were 6 young geese in camp. When Jim arrived he scared them up but they soon returned...

Then made themselves comfortable. They stayed with us the entire trip which made for quite the minefield in camp by the end of our trip!

Once again nothing was seen, not even a track!  Rob and Jim...

Enjoying a rotating smoky fire before lunch and showers.

The evening hunt was a bust! The forecast said rain later in the day and all day Tuesday with a major temperature drop and snow at higher elevations. So we moved inside Rob's shelter with the wood stove...toasty warm and dry!

Tuesday (Oct. 24)

The forecast was dead on. As we drove up the mountain the rain turned to snow and got heavier the higher we went. The loggers left these logs on the road so we had to turn around...

Camp is just below the snowline. We were getting on again off again slushy rain...

Perogies with kielbasa sausage, onions and sour cream. My meals were lasagna, chili, and hamburgers... 

Wednesday (Oct. 25)

Our remaining morning hunts were very cold, at one point -5C/23F but usually -4C/25F! This is unusually cold for this time of year as we normally get lots of wind and rain here...

Rob getting a fire going. 

That clearcut on the right is where we saw the pit lampers...

Because the days after awhile seem to run together this may have been the day I spotted a bear about 300 yards away and Rob later saw 6 elk feeding about 400 yards away on our evening hunt.

Thursday (Oct. 26)

With no luck so far we are trying a couple of different areas. Rob dropped me off where we got our firewood and he headed further down the valley. As I walked up the road I noticed these huge stumps from an old growth first cut, and next to them the tiny stumps from a recent clearcut. None of them were any larger than 20 inches across at most!

Nice sunrise this cold morning with the fog continually rolling in and out from the lake below...

I was eventually enveloped in fog so gave up and headed back down to meet up with Rob...

The day ended with no deer sightings again but Jim finally saw some fresh deer tracks. 

Friday (Oct. 27)

I forgot to mention that I think it was our second morning out that I was walking towards this bridge in the dark when I noticed the landscape light up in the distance. I moved about 20' off the road then a pickup work truck with a very bright light bar passed by. I proceeded across the bridge making it almost to the end when another vehicle came flying around the corner. I barely had enough time to jump to the right side just beyond the tires and grabbed onto the striped reflector...the truck missing me by about 2 feet! Because of the roaring water below the bridge I hadn't heard a vehicle and didn't see any headlight reflections. I bet it scared him as much as me! Many of the bridges now have tires on them which we have never seen before and don't know why...

I made it back to the area where all the elk tracks were then made my way up to the top of the clearcut. That's not snow but a heavy frost this morning! I think this was the -5C/23F morning. 

Thankfully we had Rob's woodstove made from a 30 lb propane tank. It's very light and works great! We never had another outdoor fire as it was just too cold....

As I said at the start...no animals were harmed on this hunt! 😂

Rob got in for a selfie...

The geese hanging around Rob's trailer, lower right...

Rob removing ice from the bucket...

We don't understand why these geese aren't with adults or a flock heading south. With them being so friendly we're concerned that their days could be numbered by the next group of hunters in the area...not that there's a shortage of them.

A 38 second video of the geese not wanting us to leave...

It was disappointing ending our trip unsuccessful, however we always treasure our Bro time and getting game is the gravy on a hunt. We had fun! The weather was much better than we are used too however, being mostly cold and clear and not windy and rainy. We may have been a week or two too early for the rut but can't help thinking that having pit lampers in the area may be the reason for not seeing any deer, very little track, and not even any old deer droppings...

Back to Dianne...

Steve and Rob arrived home on Saturday (Oct. 28) afternoon. They unpacked the bare necessities...and then both headed for showers!

We spent the rest of the afternoon catching up...and then Angie and Rob made delicious fish and shrimp tacos for dinner! So good!

Sunday (Oct. 29) Rob and Steve finished unpacking the truck and cargo trailer. Angie took the boys out pumpkin shopping and next thing we knew, the kitchen table had been transformed into a jack-o-lantern making place. 

With the "guts" removed, it was time to decide on the face...

Carving their masterpieces!

Done! Conner's...

Bryce's...

Earlier in the day, Rob had prepared a pork roast for the slow cooker...now Angie was making coleslaw. We're having pulled-pork sandwiches for dinner! 

The pulled-pork for dinner was delicious...especially in the fresh Portuguese buns! Rob and Angie have made some wonderful dinners for us! 

Monday (Oct. 30) morning Bryce stayed home from school because he wasn't feeling that well. It worked out good that we were visiting, and had nothing planned, so that Rob would not have to take the day off work. I did have an appointment for a knee injection but the doctor's office called yesterday afternoon to reschedule. I can't make it next Friday, so I will have to try for an appointment in December. So Steve stayed home with Bryce while I went into Sidney, stopped at the bank and then picked up a few groceries for dinner. I figured after the last 2 fabulous meals Rob and Angie cooked for us, that it was my turn to cook dinner.

Tuesday (Oct. 31) morning Steve and I were down at the bottom of the driveway at 6:00 a.m. Our friends, Rob and Nancy, picked us up promptly in their truck and we were on our way to the ferry terminal. We are on our way over to the mainland...and Chilliwack...to pick up the travel trailer we are buying from my brother, Doug. Since we still don't have a pick-up truck of our own, we asked Rob and Nancy if they would take us over to get it. It was a big ask because after delivering it to our storage area they have another 2:40 hour drive home. We have sold both of the quads, but no one seems to be interested in our truck...yet.

Steve, Nancy, Rob and me...breakfast on the ferry...

Beautiful sunrise over Pender Island...

We arrived at Doug and Jean's place just before 10:30. After taking care of the paperwork, we went into Chilliwack to have ownership transferred over to Steve and I...and also purchase a 2-day temporary permit to transport it. That didn't go as smoothly as we thought it would but after a quick trip back to Doug's to re-do the form to make ICBC (Insurance Corp. of BC) happy, we were back and hitching the trailer onto Rob's truck.

All ready to head out...Steve, me and Doug. It's a hardly used 2018 Outdoors RV Creekside 18RBS that measures 23' from tongue to ladder with a ton of storage, solar and inverter. Thanks for the great deal Doug and Jean! You'll have a place to stay when you visit! 😉

We managed to catch the 3:00 p.m. ferry sailing back to the Island. Rob and Nancy dropped us off at Rob's and took our trailer home to spend the night in their driveway.

Wednesday (Nov. 1) morning we had the car all packed up and were on the road about 7:10 to be at Rob and Nancy's at 7:30. After a quick good morning, we were on our way up to Courtenay...Rob and Nancy towing our trailer and us following in our car.

Top of the Malahat Drive...

We stopped in Duncan for coffee at Starbucks and sat inside the trailer. Thanks for bringing muffins too, Nancy! Nice that we can use the table with the slide room pulled in!

We arrived at the storage place at around 12:30. It had been difficult to find a place to store our trailer and the spot we found is not ideal but it is secure. It is a side-business of a company that has a big fenced storage area. It is also the reason why picking up our trailer had to be a 2-day affair. They are only open 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday to Friday; closed weekends. There is no way that we could have made it to Chilliwack and back up to Courtenay by 5:00 pm. We have our name in at another storage place in Courtenay but of course, every place here is full. 

Rob got the trailer backed in to place, unhitched...and after big hugs, they were off back down to Victoria. It is Nancy's birthday today and they have dinner reservation tonight. We cannot thank you both enough for doing this for us! Enjoy your birthday dinner tonight! We later called the restaurant and purchased a gift certificate to cover their dinner as a thank-you.

With the trailer all tucked in, we headed home and unpacked the car and our suitcases. We needed to go back out to get storage insurance for the trailer, so we did that, went to Boston Pizza for lunch, picked up some Damp-Rid at Canadian Tire...and visited our new trailer again. It's going to be hard not having a pick-up truck to take it out camping...next Spring!