British Columbia

Saturday August 3, Squamish to Vancouver BC

After two lovely nights in Alice Lake, and a relaxing swim this morning, we were told we could not stay another night in the emergency site.  So, feeling homeless, we headed in the afternoon into the melee of Vancouver.  Not being big city fans, we were not sure how this would be, with the huge events going on, and the trailer and truck being so big.  Well, it was pretty rough. The traffic was insane, and sightseeing hauling a trailer was a challenge. We tried Grouse Mountain but there was no parking anywhere for at least a km from the gates, and at the Capilano bridge the sidewalks had people 3 and 4 deep everywhere nearby, again with no parking.  Stanley park unfortunately was the same, no parking and swamped.  We saw the path where people rode their bikes, and they were literally riding in a huge line, one after the other.  If one bike had stopped, there would have been madness!
We eventually decided to abandon the plan and found a good neighborhood (we thought) where we could park the trailer for the night in a parking lot and start fresh in the morning.  We dined in the parking lot of a Save-on-foods and enjoyed their free wifi.  A local woman came over and suggested a parking lot nearby where she has seen trailers spend the night, and also told us of a park nearby where we could see the ocean and watch the fireworks from the shore.  We took her advice and had a nice evening at the park, and then made our way to a parking lot and tucked in for the night.  
The slug in the picture was in Alice Lake PP, the rest are from the window of the truck in Vancouver, and the fireworks from the shore.    I would love a chance to come here again some day and tour the city.  Trailer free next time!

 

Sunday August 4, Vancouver to Vancouver Island BC

After a long somewhat sleepless night, we left the parking lot and enjoyed a lovely hot breakfast at a local McDonalds then went to do laundry when they opened at 8 am.  The clothes and bedding got cleaned up and they had such a nice big laundry tub sink in their bathroom I washed my hair at the same time.  I felt closer to human then.  Really hot weather today, absolutely beautiful out!  We decided to abandon Vancouver and went to the ferry dock, and took the next ferry to the island.  For those interested, our 44 feet of vehicle plus the three of us cost $267 one way.  Newfoundland 2 years earlier was $810 for return, and the trip was three times the distance or more.  We had a couple of hours wait for the next ferry, so I kept busy washing dishes and cleaning in the trailer after making us some lunch.  Rob chatted with other travelers and Devon walked the dog a few times.  Rob's chatting often gets us travel hints and we got a few amazing ones this time.  The ferry was very efficient, quick and clean.  Dogs have to stay in their vehicles or on the upper vehicle deck, so Rob took Lily up on the deck to visit with the other dogs.  I napped in a quiet corner while Devon played games.  Off the ferry we headed north hoping for a campsite, and after a few tries, we got a spot in Miracle Beach PP near Campbell River.  No hydro or services at the site, but that shower felt good!

Monday August 5, Vancouver Island BC

We headed out early and found another McDonalds in Campbell River to have breakfast.  Rob again had a chat with a fellow in the parking lot and found out about a local attraction that had just put in a suspension bridge.  We stopped there at Elk Falls and enjoyed a nice hike early in the day, which was turning out to be a scorcher.  Poor Lily could not tolerate the steel mesh steps so we took turns sitting with her while the others walked around.  Our original goal for the day was to go to Strathcona Park as there was supposed to be a beautiful waterfall there.  We drove for hours only to discover the falls was a multi hour/day hike accessible from Tofino, on the other side of the island.  Not our day today!  Back on the road heading south towards Tofino, we made it to the Port Alberni area and managed to secure a piece of parking lot for a couple of nights at Sproat Lake PP.  Devon and I had a lovely cool off in the lake, it was bliss.    300 kms

 Tuesday August 6, Tofino/Ucluet/Pacific Rim National Park

After a nice breakfast, we headed off down the TC to Tofino, leaving the trailer behind at Sproat Lake.  There was a ton of signage around warning us of construction on Kennedy Hill up ahead, which to our southern Ontario perspective was a bit odd.  When we got there we understood.  The pictures tell the story.  We were stopped for at least a half hour for both construction and emergency access for a motorcyclist who was injured and needed transport through the construction site into the hospital in Tofino.

We had a lovely tourist visit to Ucluet, then Tofino, had an amazing lunch at Tacofino, a food truck in the back of a parking lot near Chocolate Tofino.  Probably our best meal of the trip.  We also tried setting the GPS to home from Tofino, and as you can see, we were a long way away. 

The highlight of the day was Pacific Rim.  We walked along the shore, and then did a 1 km boardwalk trail through the rain forest.  What an experience.  A million steps later, we got back in the truck and navigated the construction pass again, and back to the trailer for grilled cheese and Advil!  270 kms today.

Wednesday August 7, Port Alberni to Victoria BC

Today we set out to Victoria, stopping in Nanaimo for Nanaimo bars!  Unfortunately Rob took a corner in the parking lot of the grocery store a bit too tight and scratched a bumper on a woman's car with the corner of the trailer.  Still sorting it out...
We landed in Victoria, and tried to get into Goldstream PP, no sites available.  This must happen often because they had a print out of other campgrounds nearby, we took a chance and went to MacDonald Park in North Saanich as it is close to Butchart gardens, and found ourselves a site for 2 nights at this unstaffed self serve park.  The park has no hydro, no water, and no showers, so luckily we still had water in the tank from the last fill up and were fine.   Only $17 per night! 
A random Lily picture to make you smile, we didn't take any pictures today to speak of. Just 240 kms today.

Thursday August 8, Butchart Gardens

Today was one I have been looking forward to for the entire trip.  The gardens are known around the world, and with good reason.  We spent a lovely 4 hours or so wandering around, taking lots of pictures.  They are dog friendly so Lily was able to stay with us, and she got so much attention it was kind of embarrassing.  We tried to get in for high tea, but they were booked up.  If anyone ever visits there, go and reserve your spot as soon as you walk in the door!  Even at $42 per person, they fill up fast.

After the gardens we were pretty tired and hot, so we went into Victoria to explore in the truck, getting out for some pictures of the end point of the TC highway, a statue for Terry Fox, and a view of some very pricey homes along the ocean.  

A quick grocery stop and back to the campsite for the night.

Friday August 9, Victoria to Osoyoos and beyond

We decided to head back to the mainland today, so we packed up and drove 10 minutes from the campground to the ferry dock at Sidney.  We were expecting a long wait again, but we timed it perfectly and barely stopped in the loading area before getting on the ferry for 9 am.  The trip was a bit scary, the ship seemed to be scraping on something, rocks, submerged trees, whatever, and it made a horrible sound throughout the ship.  Lily was terrified below deck, despite being with Rob in a nice dog holding room away from the noise of the engines.  The trip was quick, we were soon on our way, heading east for the first time in weeks, taking a southern route across the bottom of BC. It was a busy well traveled road, but construction was a nightmare for the first 2 hours going east. We had plans to meet with another distant cousin once we were east of Vancouver so we started messaging her, but we never heard from her until hours later and we had waited as long as we could and then continued on our way.  I'm hoping some day to meet her and some more family in BC.  
The road was lovely, mountains and beautiful views.  As we kept moving east the terrain changed from mixed forest to dry forest and eventually to desert scrub.  We thought Osoyoos was a beautiful town, a nice lake with beaches, and such pretty shops.  It would have been a lovely place to stop and visit, but we had still so much to see so we pressed on and drove until both of us were too tired to go any farther.  We ended up at a small roadside campground called Boundary Creek or Border Creek, just minutes from the U.S. border.  Again no hydro, but there was at least a tap for fresh water so we used that to preserve the little that was left in our tank. 430 kms today