Skagway/Haines Alaska

After leaving Atlin BC we detoured southwest along the highway loop leading through Skagway and Haines Alaska.This route was both a pleasant surprise and a big disappointment. The surprise was how beautiful the route was, possibly the best scenery of the entire trip so far. The disappointment was Skagway and how much it had changed from our previous visit in 1980.  There were many fabulous sights along the way, especially this grizzly and her two cubs. I couldn't quite get the cubs in the picture because they were down the embankment, out of view and there was no way I was going to get any closer for the sake of a photo!

We travelled through Carcross, Yukon, a place loaded with historical significance, not expecting the town to have a beach like this....

Or, a real (very small) desert....

To counter all that dryness, there was also colourful Emerald Lake....

We didn't take any pictures of the drive down to Skagway, it was so stunning photos just wouldn't do it justice. We arrived in Skagway with memories of a sleepy, interesting, little backwater where we had arrived on foot, by ferry, to hike the Chilkoot Trail in 1980. My, how it's changed. It's now home to a display of mass tourism at its very worst. Each day, it's announced on the radio how many cruise ships and people will be in port for the day. The day we were there, it was four ships and almost 10,000 people! The passengers swarmed the town, most of the historical flavour of which has been wiped out by the arrival of jewelry shops. There must have been at least twenty, even a Cartier outlet. The passengers were pounding the pavement up and down, up and down, all doing that annoyingly slow 'shopping shuffle'. The ones that weren't shopping were partaking of various activities like sealife viewing on large, black RIBs where not much wildlife could have been seen as the boats were doing high-speed doughnuts in the harbour. There were groups of four helicopters at a time taking off to shuttle people to see the glacier. The White Pass and Yukon narrow-gauge railway, which is a legitimate, historical artifact, now runs right down onto the cruise ship dock, so, they can load people on more efficiently in only a few steps right off the boats. Watching all this manic activity was tiring and we were glad to be leaving town. Next day would bring five ships with even more people to do it all over again.

To get to Haines from Skagway, a 45 minute ferry ride is necessary. We didn't have a reservation, so had to go on a standby basis. It was touch-and-go, but, they squeezed us on and we were grateful as it would have been a long road trip retracing our steps back. Haines was much quieter than Skagway and seemed more like a 'real' community instead of existing solely for tourist consumption. The road north from Haines travels through Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park, a Unesco World Heritage site. It was spectacular and a very different landscape from what we've seen so far. This is a photo of the Alpine meadow at Haines Summit.

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Atlin BC

After leaving Whitehorse, we headed briefly south again, back into British Columbia, to visit the town of Atlin. It sounded like an interesting place, the most northwesterly town in BC, located on BC's largest, natural, freshwater lake, Atlin Lake, 145km long. Atlin was founded as a Gold Rush town in 1898 and is still producing a small amount of gold today. From a boomtown of 5,000 residents in 1898 it has shrunk now to about 350 residents. Today, it's accessed by a 95km dead-end road which is shared between Yukon and BC. There was no road until 1950. Before that, the town was accessed from the Inside Passage and from there through a series of lakes and rivers. The MV Tarahne brought visitors across the lake for the final leg, from Tagish Lake.

Tagish Lake was joined to Atlin Lake by a mini railway. One of the engines, the Duchess, on this line known as the Taku Tramway, is on display in Carcross, Yukon.

Atlin was intriguing for more than history. Today, it's a community entirely run by volunteers. It is an unorganized town, so, there is no local government, no mayor, no town council, no bylaws and no rules. Somehow, it seems to work! There are a couple of glaring examples where town planning and zoning rules would have helped the town, but, overall, it's a very enticing and different place, devoid of the suburban sterility and sameness of most of BC's northern mill towns. The residents come from all corners of the world, some are wealthy summer residents, others are wealthy only in life experience. The people we talked to had led the most interesting lives and ended up in Atlin for one reason or another. There are many artists and there is a cooperative gallery in town, located in the old courthouse building, right next to the volunteer library, not part of BC libraries, run independently and full of the latest titles. Fundraisers are held regularly for various community needs. They raised $25k recently in a plant sale, unbelievable for a community of just 350 people.

You can see vestiges of the past in the historic main street. We toured the restored (all by volunteers) Globe Theatre. Films are held regularly there and the stage acts as the main venue for the annual music festival.

A few other historic buildings were dotted around town. This was the old Nurse's Residence.

As nice as the historic buildings were, the star of the show is really Atlin Lake. It was spectacular, with stunning views of mountain peaks, islands and glaciers. We spent two nights camped on its shores. There is a large, water access only, provincial park at the south end of the lake which leads to a large icefield.

Another star was this unassuming little forest pond, outside town. The bubbles gave it away, it was a warm spring, 85F, about a metre deep and we had a long soak in its waters. It was magical, just what you'd want a natural spring to look like and we had it all to ourselves.

On the way back into town, we visited the Atlin cemetery.

The grave markers were fascinating as they marked not only a life, but how each person had died as well. The gold miners came from absolutely everywhere and many died far from home.

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Heading North Again

After being unable to get a ferry from Port Hardy to Bella Coola, as planned, we retraced our steps back to Nanaimo and back to the mainland, ending up right back at Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver, where we'd left on our Vancouver Island tour over three weeks ago. It was the last week of May and time to start heading north again. We needed to get to Whitehorse to reinstall our summer tires that we left there last fall when winter overtook us. To vary the terrain, we took a slightly different route than we'd done last year, north through Kamloops with a short side trip to see Mt. Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.

Once near the Rockies, we found ourselves on the RV/bus loop that circles endlessly through Jasper and area. Even through we were early in the season, there was an endless stream of rental RVs and an inordinate number of Australian coach tours in evidence. Once headed NW again, we left most of them behind and toured through many small mill towns before arriving in Fort Nelson. There were bright spots along the way, like this idyllic campsite at tiny, perfect, Heart Lake which we had all to ourselves.

The day we drove the Alaska Highway section from Fort Nelson to Watson Lake turned out to be a momentous day. It was May 28 and raining lightly when we left Fort Nelson. We were expecting just another day on the road. It turned out to be a nerve-wracking day. First, the snowstorm, on May 28! This is the view just short of Summit Pass. Through the murk you may just see the tractor trailer and uhaul truck that were stopped dead in the road, unable to make the hill. The snow piled up thick and fast in the half-hour or so, we sat there, not moving.

A snowplough came through from the other side and because we still had our snow tires on (we felt smug) we pulled out and made it to the top, only to be faced on the downhill side with two tractor trailers, side by side, blocking the entire road. Eventually, we made it down the other side, through conditions like this.

I don't know if they closed the road, but, we didn't see another vehicle behind us for hours. The next hurdle was road construction and lots of it. It was a long wait for this pilot car who led us through the rain and mud.

Eventually, we got back to summer conditions and enjoyed seeing wildlife again, like these Stone sheep (they look like goats, but, are actually sheep).

We've seen a lot of black bears so far, more than a dozen, even a group of three together on Vancouver Island. This one was too busy feeding to pay us much attention. Isn't it a beauty?

We duly arrived in Whitehorse with no further drama. We spent about a week there, getting our summer tires back on, selling the winter tires and dealing with a few other van details. We crashed our house battery in the van and had to replace it. We'd been using the propane furnace (the fan and thermostat are electrically controlled) a little too much and hadn't been paying attention to the battery charge. There isn't a good battery monitor onboard and only one measly 72Ah house battery, so, it was inevitable really. It seems like RV'ng isn't much different than sailboat cruising. You get to maintain and repair your vehicle in remote, exotic places and encounter unexpected weather dramas along the way. We've met others who've had flat tires, had to replace broken springs, transmissions, propane tanks etc.

We also had to wait to get a new Visa card delivered. It took five days to get it from Toronto to Whitehorse. The old one had been locked up, yet again! No matter how many times we tell Visa that we are permanently travelling and that there will be weird charges made from remote places, our cards get locked up a regular intervals, sometimes at very unfortunate times. When you call, the perky voice on the phone dutifully chirps 'your card has been compromised', then refuses to say how. When you go over the charges with them, they're all valid, but, the card is locked nonetheless. Sometimes they just unlock the card, this time they forced us to get a new one. We're looking forward to getting back on the road.

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North Vancouver Island

After our Barkley Sound cruise at Port Alberni we headed north to complete our tour of the Island. We stopped for a few days at Campbell River, the most northerly large town. It was a good place, large enough to have everything you could want, but, small enough to avoid traffic gridlock and high real estate prices. It has about 31,000 people and claims to be 'the Salmon Capital of the World'. The town is strung out along Discovery Passage and had ocean views from everywhere. We spent an enjoyable couple of days, got the bicycles out for a tour and also splurged on groceries at the well-stocked stores before continuing north to Telegraph Cove.

Telegraph Cove is a former fishing and cannery village now turned into a resort. It used to be the northern terminus of the Campbell River telegraph line, hence the name. Today, it relies mainly on tourism and only has a few permanent residents. Most of the historic buildings are built on stilts at the water's edge and joined by a boardwalk.

The boardwalk was perfect for strolling and due to our early season visit, uncrowded.

Telegraph Cove is known as a whale watching centre, especially for Orcas, who spend the summer in the narrows of Johnstone Strait which separates the northern part of Vancouver Island from the rest of British Columbia. We'd hoped to take an Orca tour, but, were a little too early. The tours weren't starting for another week, so, we had to satisfy ourselves with just enjoying this early evening view out over the water instead.

We spent two quiet nights in Telegraph Cove and then pushed further north, on to Port Hardy, the ferry terminus at the north end of Vancouver Island. This is the jumping off point for ferries north through the Inside Passage. We'd planned to make a short ferry hop here, to Bella Coola, further up the coast where we'd rejoin the highway, saving a long loop back around through the mainland. It wasn't to be. We'd been too early for Orca tours, now, we were too late for the ferry. It was booked solid a month ahead.

There was nothing for it. The only way off the island now was to retrace our steps back to Nanaimo and catch the ferry back to the mainland from there. We reworked our plans and will now take the ferry in reverse, from Prince Rupert to Bella Coola, later in the summer. This time, we reserved well in advance!

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Barkley Sound - MV Frances Barkley

One of the special events we'd been looking forward to on this road trip was a voyage on the MV Frances Barkley from Port Alberni to Bamfield BC. She's shown below on arrival at the dock in Bamfield.

A quick Wiki search yielded some fascinating info about Barkley Sound and Frances Barkley. Barkley Sound/Alberni Inlet is 356 meters (1175 feet) deep and is about 40km (25 miles) long. In 1787, Captain Charles William Barkley of the Imperial Eagle, explored the sound and named it after himself. Barkley traveled with his 17-year-old bride, Frances Barkley, the first European woman to visit British Columbia. Frances was also the first woman to sail around the world without deception. Only two women are known to have sailed around the world before Frances: Jeanne Baré, disguised as a man, and Rose de Freycinet, wife of Louis de Freycinet, as a stowaway.

Frances Barkley, the boat, was built in Norway in 1958 and used to operate as a ferry in Stavanger (which we visited in our sailboat Black Sheep II in 2011) as the M.S. Hidle. For the technically minded, her specs are an overall length of 128 feet, a beam of 24 feet and a draft of 9.5 feet. She is powered by a 400 HP 8 cylinder Bergen diesel and gets 11 knots burning 18 gallons of diesel an hour. She can carry up to 200 passengers and 100 tons of cargo.

The day dawned bright, warm and glorious and we arrived at the dock expecting a lovely, leisurely cruise. That was until we saw the fifty or so ten year olds, all with overnight gear, waiting to board with us. It's a small ship and they overran it with a noise level that had to be experienced to be believed. Luckily, we left them all at Bamfield as they were going to be visiting overnight at a Marine Research Centre located there.

We've spent a lot of time on boats, but, this trip was more than just another day cruise. MV Frances Barkley is a working boat and a vital lifeline for isolated homes and camps that line the shores of Barkley Sound. It delivers mail, groceries and freight to these communities and on each trip you'll never know exactly where you will be stopping. On our trip we made five stops delivering mail to Kildonan, stopped at Green Cove to drop a couple of people and a dog off, delivered what looked like an entire summer's worth of groceries to a cottage, delivered a new fridge to another cottage and a load of a lumber and a golf cart to Bamfield. Later in the summer, stops may also be made to drop off kayakers on the Broken Group of Islands near Ucluelet.

Here, we are docking at Kildonan BC to do the thrice weekly mail drop.

I don't envy this woman having to unpack all these groceries after lugging them up the ramp...

Where the water was too shallow to get in close, freight recipients had to come to us. These people were probably happy to receive their new fridge even though it was quite an effort to get it.

Another unique sight we saw was logging by helicopter. Can't think how this can possibly be cost-effective, but, it must be worthwhile as the helicopter kept going back and back and forth continuously picking up and dropping a log at a time into the boom.

We spent a couple of hours at Bamfield, a most delightful community, before making the return trip to Port Alberni. Bamfield has had some problems in recent years with a rogue developer letting buildings deterioriate, like the abandoned Bamfield Inn. What a waste of a beautiful building. Surely someone could make a go of it in such a beautiful location.

There were many traditional maritime-style homes in Bamfield.

Bamfield also has a thriving Marine Research facility and a very impressive, newly refurbished Coast Guard Station.

Bamfield also had fabulous ice cream which we felt entitled to after an hour's walk to Brady's Beach. A small, sandy, beach, a long view and tide pools to explore made for a perfect little beach and we had it all to ourselves.

Best of all, Brady's Beach tidepools had many starfish to marvel at!

Even a starfish 'huddle'....

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World Parrot Refuge - Coombs BC

British Columbia has a lot of wildlife and we've been seeing it along our travels so far: deer, bear, all types of marine life and bird life. We didn't expect the bird life to include parrots, but, on a trip to the World Parrot Refuge in Coombs, BC, we saw hundreds of them, up close and in some cases, very personal!

The World Parrot Refuge is unfortunately located at the end of an extremely tacky strip of tourist traps in Coombs, BC. We avoid places like this like the plague and especially if it involves animals used to make a profit. We'd read that it was a sanctuary for abandoned pet birds and their mandate posted outside the entrance seemed to support this. In addition to a reasonable entrance fee, there is a thrift shop on the premises to help raise money. The place looked very down at the heels as well, so, not the usual tourist trap for sure.

We went in, not knowing what to expect. Immediately on entering, it was a shock. The noise and the smell took us aback. There were about 800! parrots all screeching and many squawking 'hello' at us. Earplugs are provided.

The birds are housed in three large 'rooms', where they are free-flying and allowed to form territorial flocks. Many perches and toys are provided. The rooms have chain link across the front to keep parrots and people apart, but, there is a room where you can interact with many of the 'friendlier' birds, more on that later. There are windows and the rooms are well-lit, but, the birds live under fluorescent lights with concrete floors underfoot and it was a very sad sight to see such magnificent creatures living like this. Apparently, forty-five or so new birds arrive every month. They are all former pets that people have surrendered to the facility once they realize that parrots do not make good pets. Birds that are isolated and kept by themselves in houses often develop psychological problems manifested mostly by feather plucking and behavioural issues. This fellow is an example. Most of the breast feathers are missing and he just sat and trembled on his perch. The surrendered birds obviously cannot be returned to the wild as most were bred in captivity. The wild caught birds often have one wing purposefully broken during their capture to prevent escape.

Some of the other birds seemed more well-adjusted like these beauties...

There were many cheeky birds....

Going into the free flight room there were many warnings to remove shiny things from your person and to expect a few bites. They weren't kidding. One cockatoo that had 'man' problems (probably abused by a man) continually went after G's Achilles tendon with a very sharp beak. I'm not sure how the parrots can tell men and women apart, but, I was completely untouched by the cockatoo ankle-biter. A huge, blue, Hyacinth macaw loved trying to pluck the few remaining hairs on G's head! I ended up with about five smaller birds on me and they were very curious and quite aggressive. I felt like I was in a Hitchcock movie. They went after my glasses and the clips on my purse. They were very intrigued with my shirt and managed to chew off and drop to the floor five buttons and introduce two holes. When I tried to dislodge the birds, I got a sharp nip and the keeper came to my rescue.

No, parrots definitely do NOT make good pets. However, you can't help but be moved by the plight of these birds and we felt compelled to make a donation to their cause. See their website at:
http://worldparrotrefuge.org/

or their Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/World-Parrot-Refuge-355357451219652/

P.S.: The day after writing this post it was on the CBC news that the World Parrot Refuge might now face an uncertain future. The original founder, Wendy Huntbatch, has recently died and the birds may be evicted if the “For the Love Of Parrots Refuge Society” (FLOPRS) board cannot come to an agreement with the new property owner.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-island-parrot-refuge-faces-uncertain-future-1.3586839

P.P.S.: June 24, 2016
The World Parrot Refuge closed its doors a few weeks ago. Since then, a huge parrot rescue mission has been launched. After the Refuge folded, a group of volunteers formed WPR Community Support Central as a place to coordinate news, fundraising, adoption  and rescue efforts. See their Facebook Page for updates on this ongoing drama at https://www.facebook.com/WPRSupport/?fref=ts

Primary players in the rescue are the Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary http://greyhaven.bc.ca/ and Vancouver's Night Owl Bird Hospital http://www.nightowlbirdhospital.ca/. Donations to these two organizations are greatly needed to cover food, medical and vet costs. Unfortunately, the birds will no longer be kept together in flocks, but, will be adopted out individually. A sad end to what was a noble, but, probably unrealistic ideal, given the costs involved, of keeping the birds together.

Donations can be made at:
https://www.youcaring.com/greyhaven-exotic-bird-sanctuary-night-owl-bird-hospital-581879#.V1brQSH_i00.facebook

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Botanical Beach - Port Renfrew

We travelled from Victoria up the west coast of Vancouver Island, through Sooke, to the most northerly point on the road, Port Renfrew. Port Renfrew is in an enviable position. It's the connector between two very popular hiking trails. It's the southern terminus for the world famous 75 km West Coast Trail  (originally known as the Dominion Lifesaving Trail). It was built in 1907 and is now part of the Pacific Rim National Park. It's also the northern terminus for the lesser-known 47 km Juan de Fuca Trail.  Another gem located in Port Renfrew is Botanical Beach in Juan de Fuca Provincial Park. It's an easy hike down to the 'beach' and it's a geographical wonder. Smooth sandstone has been carved out over time by water action into innumerable tidal pools. As the tide goes out, these pools become accessible, tiny, perfect, little aquariums.

Each pool was different and contained different life forms. We spent a few early morning hours fascinated by the sights. It was like scuba diving from the surface.

Not much life in this one...

This one had a multitude of purple sea urchins and sea anemones in it...

Many more purple sea urchins in this crevasse. They actually end up digging a hole into the sandstone to keep themselves attached to the rock.

The big picture looked like this...

We were able to see many types of crab, sculpins, limpets, sea anemones and urchins among other things, but, alas there were no starfish to be found on this morning. Maybe next time.

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