Days 36-40 – July 3-7 – Wandering Retirees

A running commentary on July 3rd to the 7th

Tonight we’re resting in Kamloops, British Columbia, in a hotel that has WiFi (at last) that enables us to post again. Our last post took us through our arrival in Nanaimo, Victoria Island on the 2nd. On the 3rd, it was decided that everyone needed a break. So we all took one, each in our own way. Connie, Pat and Judy did a few errands and then lounged around the cute cabin we’d rented. They report it was perfect, with lots of chances to talk and shmooze and whatever. I am very happy for them to be sure. I set off on a solo ride along the north shoreline, and then cut across to Port Alberni on the west coast. On the way I stopped at Cathedral Grove, a small park within MacMillan Provincial Park on Rt. 4. The oldest Douglas Firs are more than 800 years old and create a towering canopy that is both quiet and vibrant. People walk quietly and speak in hushed tones. It truly has the feel of a sacred space.

Port Alberni has been an important outlet for the logging industry since the mid-1800’s. It also was an important safe haven for merchant vessels during the 2nd World War from Japanese and German submarines. The town is proud of its heritage, though it’s not quite so busy these days. There is an inviting shipboard B&B docked on the quay with 7 staterooms available. I think it’s very cool. Anyway, it was a great day’s ride and very relaxing.

On Thursday, the 4th, (Happy Independence Day – belated) Pat and Connie went to Pipers Point and walked the shore. Then they hung around Georgia Park waiting for Judy and I to return. Judy and I went to Newcastle Island, traditional home to the First Nation people, the S’nanaimo, who call it Saysutshun. The island does double duty as a Provincial Marine Park, and a sacred space for the S’nanaimo. We took a guided tour of the island, and our guide, a member of the tribe, shared a ton of history and important stories from their past. It was fascinating and fun. We all met for supper I downtown at a Thai restaurant while a city fair was going on around us. It was a wonderful day.

On Friday the 5th, we went to Victoria to visit the Royal Museum which has a fabulous First Nation exhibit; then we took a whale watching cruise and saw a number of pods of Orcas (killer whales) and one humongous humpback whale. We feasted in town and got home late. Long day but really good.

Yesterday, the 6th, we had to part ways again. Connie and I took a ferry for Vancouver while Judy and Pat caught a ferry to Tsawassen – Pat to catch her flight and Judy to drive home to Eureka, CA. It was sad to part ways, but we had such a good time being together and sharing our experiences. Pat we’ll see again soon; Judy we hope to see next in November.

So, we spent the night in Vancouver , BC, just next to Stanley Park on the west side. The city is beautiful, though we didn’t see a lot of it. We met Gloria who lives near the hotel where we stayed, and she gave us wonderful ideas for a walk and some dining spots. We wound up having sushi on the water and it was fabulous, I’ve never had better. Our hotel was a turn of the century pension (last century) and had fairly awful WiFi, hence no post yesterday.

Today, Connie and I were up and at’em some time before the sun came up in Hawaii and on our way north, deep into the Canadian Rockies. Our goal was Kamloops via Whistler and Lilooet on BC Rt 99. An amazing road with amazing scenery at every turn. Didn’t matter that it rained most of the way up: boiling rivers cutting through narrow, steep canyons; waterfalls on both sides and clouds steaming from illside forests like the Great Smokey Mountains in NC. The only hitch was a wrong turn in Lilooet that led us down a lonely road deep into a First Nation reservation. We spent an hour going out of our way through a lot of pristine beauty. We suffered nobly.

Along the way we saw a huge Canadian National Railway train moving along a beautiful lake but in the shadow of a 2,000 foot cliff. A striking view that we saved for a family train lover.

Another note: we saw a lot of evidence of avalanches on our ride. The warning signs prohibiting stops in highly dangerous areas, huge retaining walls, and numbers of rocks that rolled onto the roadside were also valuable hints. It’s a reminder that these mountains are relatively young, and still going through periods of fairly quick erosion. Which has an effect on human-type activity. There are a lot of provincial road crews out there all the time making repairs, and the infrastructure shows some savvy decisions. For example, on our ride along several back roads, we crossed wooden bridges in avalanche zones. We thought this odd until we realized a wooden bridge can be repaired or replaced a lot quicker and more cheaply than a steel and concrete structure. An unexpected local answer that works.

To our rider friends, we have found no better riding than here. Put this on your list.

Well, tomorrow it’s north and east to Jasper, Alberta for a three night stay. Our route will take us through more mountains. Oh, can we stand the strain.

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Hank’s meander while the women did chores and chilled out.