Gabriola to South Pender Island Oct 5 2013

 A 20 minute ferry back to Nanaimo after a brief coffee stop at the Village. Who would want to miss out on that?Then the trip takes an hour and 45 minutes to drive down Vancouver Island to Swartz Bay, and a 40 minute ferry ride to North Pender which is connected to South Pender by a one lane bridge. 

Poets Cove on South Pender

Now that's my kind of boat

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Nanaimo to Gabriola Island October 3-5 2013

 In Nanaimo I caught the very small commuter ferry to Gabriola Island, often referred to as the "Queen of the Gulf Islands". It is certainly the most accessible one, taking only 20 minutes to reach it by ferry. 

Ferry to Gabriola Island - The "Gabe"

I camped at Descanso Bay Regional Park -  just a few moments from the ferry and only $10.00 per night. It has 3 beautiful coves and amazing reefs. I was the only camper - imagine... and it sure got dark at night...

Park reef

Looking from the park back to Nanaimo

Fire buckets in the park

Love the coffeeshops! I wonder if there is a job in which I could travel around and rate them?

Dinner! And I did not prepare this over my campfire

Everything is starting to feel damp and the windows are dripping. And my trailer battery is almost out of juice, time to move on...

Kelowna to Fort Langley, to Surrey, to White Rock

The weather changed in Kelowna almost overnight, from summer shorts to heavy grey clouds and even a thunderstorm. I was told that a cougar was seen in the neighborhood. Time to head to the coast and so I did, up and over the amazing Coquahalla highway where I burned through a quarter of a tank in the first hour going up, up, and up, passing semi-trailers that were travelling so slow they looked parked. The town of Fort Langley was my first stop, and the sun was shining when I arrived! So I headed out with Baloo, and we walked for miles along the river. Dinner was at the ever busy Wendel's bookstore and cafe, an unbeatable combination!

Bedford Channel

Wendel's at Fort Langley

During the night I woke up to the sound of rain hammering on the roof and it was pitch black. I immediately thought the fridge was not working because its light was off, and I scrabbled around behind me on the headboard looking for my flashlight until I realized I was in bed, in a real bed, in a real house. I smiled as I drifted back to sleep.

After Fort Langley, I headed to South Surrey and stayed in the second most expensive trailer park of my whole trip - $42.00 and some change per night. For a strip of gravel and a power cord, and a hose outlet. Almost enough for a room in a motel. Not the kind of place I would be happy in though. Although this one had some pretty crazy signs - notifying visitors that someone was leaving treats laced with antifreeze for pets, and that colouring hair in the sinks was not appreciated - that it made the washroom resemble a paint ball factory, and that bikes were not allowed on the roads. But at least the dog could walk along the road and didn't have to be carried out to the exit like the retired RV park in Vernon.

Crescent Beach, White Rock

After Surrey I headed out to Tsawassen Terminal and took the Coastal Inspiration Ferry, a lovely new one, up to Duke Point just south of Nanaimo. It was a lovely 2 hour ride and almost no one on board.

Leaving Tsawwassen, Vancouver

My truck looking nice and shiny in the car deck 

Riding the Trestles at Myra Canyon, Kelowna

Okanagan Lake and Kelowna behind me

You want to pay attention, the sides drop off pretty abruptly 

Telegraph wire poles still standing

Dark in the tunnels

S - shaped trestle

Imagine - home sweet home. It's difficult to imagine a more inhospitable place

This donkey engine was pulled up when the trestle was rebuilt after the 2003 fire

This is the last trestle that can be accessed, at the 7 km mark.  A large boulder fell on it last winter, you can see past the broken railings to a large dent in the centre, where the planks change direction. It was damaged so badly that it will have to be rebuilt, next spring apparently.