Truckin' Across the North East Coast of Vancouver Island

Day 53 - Wednesday, May 15

Well, we have now traveled 6,255 miles to get to the Canadian Border in British Columbia! Believe it or not it was a super easy border crossing!! Whew!  We crossed on semi-busy Interstate 5. He asked us the last time we visited Canada. Ron said 2 years ago. He then said it looked we had been there in the year 2017. Guess I'm glad we're in the system with no black marks against us! After the normal questions about liquor, fresh vegetables, eggs, chicken, guns, tobacco we said "Have a great time!"

We planned a Costco run to restock the freezer and get some fresh vegetables.  That didn't work out so well.  I plugged in the one nearest us which kept taking us deep into downtown Vancouver, which looked like downtown Houston.  Not fun.  Then The Rambler balked when the entrance took us into a parking garage. The Captain got the rig turned around. We found a grocery store later that was close to the RV Park we were staying at, but still had a problem parking the rig. Dang city!

Day 54 - Thursday, May 16

Tonight I'm sitting here listening to a light rain on the roof reminiscing about our day.

We had a ferry to catch this morning that would take us Nainamo on Vancouver Island. I scheduled us for an 11:25 departure.  We arrived at 9:50, Enjoyed visiting with a couple that were on their way to Port O'Neil for the summer on their boat. Easy crossing. Stopped for a few groceries on our way to Little Qualicom Falls Provincial Park.  These waterfalls are beautiful and serene.

Beautiful campsite!

Right on the edge of the river

Just a tumbling

One view of the falls

Another view of the falls

After a great dinner, the showers started. But we had our firepit under the awning.  A great way to end the day. And so thankful we aren't in the city!

Day 55 - Friday, May 17

This is the start of a 3-day Canadian Holiday. Our only choice for camping was at a full service - Thunderbird RV Park in Campbell River. I have to say we scored a nice site. We're backed up on the Campbell River estuary. We have a great view, a lot of birds to watch. Saw an eagle carrying a crab with a crow chasing him

Not a bad back porch view!

Day 56 and 57 - May 18, 19

There's a super nice trail from the park to the harbor and a Canadian Tire store. The waterfront Robert V. Oster Park is near a lot of shops.  There are beautiful gardens, totems and walkways. The Campbell River is located at the entrance to the Discovery Passage, a popular route for marine traffic. Cruise ships and freights that are in transit to Alaska use it. There's also an interesting First Nation Cemetery with a lot of totems. The other side of the trail traverses the Tyee Spit.

Elk Falls Provincial Park was a short drive from the RV park. Man oh man was it beautiful! And loud and roaring!  And the old growth forest is hard to beat - so lush. The park is also known for great year round salmon fishing.  It's one of the most popular parks on the island. There are lots of forest trails here. Nearby is Quinsam salmon hatchery.

Pictures don't do it justice

Suspension bridge was cool

The Campbell River area has been a great mid-Island stop! Now we're cooking up some ribs on the bbq pit for Sunday dinner!

Our eagle visitor this evening. Looking for a rib!

Beautiful sunset!

Day 58 - May 20 - Monday

Destination today is Port Hardy, the most north we are traveling on the north east Vancouver Island!  I have to say it was a little disappointing driving here.  Nothing but tall, tall trees obscuring the views of any beaches on one side or lakes on the other. We took a detour to Telegraph Cove, reputed to be quaint with a boardwalk and lovely views.  How would we know.....there were "no parking" signs everywhere. Or pay to park at the Resort. Oh well. I did snap a few pictures.  I asked one of the workers...."Is this all there is to the town?" He laughed and said yes. It was a bumpy 9 miles in one way.

Had an eagle fly down and land. Scroll in.

Logging industry

Port Hardy. Maybe it's beautiful here. Everything was closed today (Monday and a Holiday weekend) so maybe we just didn't get the tips of where to go and what to see.  There are a lot of trails here. Started raining this evening.

Back of our campground

Racoon working on catching dinner

Tomorrow we have to back track to be able to cross the island and go on the southwest side. Stay tuned.

Truckin' North Through Idaho, Oregon and Washington

Day 44 - May 6

The destination today was Ashton, Idaho. Not too far from West Yellowstone. And we woke up to snow flurries. Temps are in the upper 30's. It's a blustery, windy day. We did have a decent campground at Eagle Peak Lodge and RV Park. But with the weather, well we had to make a pot of chicken soup.

Another wintry looking day!

 Day 45 - May 7

We woke up to snow flurries. Our agenda today was Mountain View RV Park in Arco, Idaho. And we would take a trip to Craters of the Moon National Preserve. Our first time here. But what we didn't realize that the barren land on Highway 20, our route today, was where the first nuclear plant in the US was. We stopped by the EBR-I - World's first nuclear power plant and of course the museum was closed! It stands for "Experimental Breeder Reactor - 1." The facility is a national historical landmark where usable electricity was first generated from nuclear energy in 1951. This pioneering reactor operated for 12 years before being shut down for the last time in 1963.   President Lyndon Johnson dedicated EBR-1 as a National Historical Landmark in 1966.

The Visitor Center at Craters of the Moon was closed today but we headed down the scenic loop. It was windy chilly, sleet and snowflakes, but we did two trails.  The trails are nice and paved. There is lots of signage to not get off the trail, almost to a bad extreme.  Guess there are too many "tourons" that don't realize the damage they create if they leave a trail.

Views from the road

Beautiful scenery

Peering into a hole and there's snow!

Look at the arch!

Day 46 - May 8

It wasn't a long drive to our camp at Mountain Home, Idaho. It's a very nice park. Made a stop at Three Island Crossing State Park. The Visitor Center is all about the Oregon Trail and how they crossed here. It was really interesting. we finally have some sunshine but it's still so very windy. We're located in Glenn's Ferry. The Snake River is wide and rushing this time of year.

Day 47 - May 9

We turned the Rambler west, northwest and headed towards Bend, Oregon. Our destination was Tumalo State Park which is north of Bend. My oh my.....I think Bend is not the Bend we remember. So much traffic and congestion really turned us off. But we did drive 362 miles today, which is a lot. We crossed into the Pacific time zone, so we are now 2 hours behind our loved ones at home. It was a very pretty drive. Most of the drive was through the high desert with lots of sagebrush. Closer to Bend, it changes to a whitewater river, pines, great views of the Three Sisters, Mt. Washington and Mt. Jefferson. 

Our campsite was great here.  Full hook up. weather is good enough that we enjoyed a campfire.

Day 48 - May 10

We booked a Harvest Host site tonight at Honeymoon Farms in Aurora, Oregon. Let me tell you.... the drive into the Willamette Valley is so beautiful! Spring has sprung here and we get to see it. It's so beautiful!  The bloom colors are vibrant! Orchards, Christmas tree farms are abundant. And it's warm. Almost hot. They are having a heat wave.  We're going from one extreme to another.

Our spot at Honeymoon Farms

Our site here is nice. We paid for a little electricity. And we keep getting weather alerts pertaining to the "extreme geothermic conditions and storm."  This means maybe we see the Northern Lights and maybe we lose satellite service.

And Praise God. We saw the Northern Lights.  The naked eye had a hard time seeing them but the camera got them!

It's hard to capture the words!

Day 49 - May 11

Today is a good day!  We're getting to visit with friends Jim and Randa Weber whom we first met when we volunteered at LBJ National Historical Park. They live in Canby, Oregon. We got to their house about 10 and she prepared a tasty brunch for us. Swedish Mama, scrambled eggs and fruit. We spent a good 3 hours catching up with them before going to our campsite which was another Harvest Host - Paradis Vineyard located in Silverton, Oregon. So pretty here. The gardens, orchards and vineyards are beautiful. Enjoyed a glass of wine and sitting here enjoying the views.

Jim and Randa

Swedish Mama

The Rambler

We ordered Starlink, had it shipped to Jim and Randa. Got it set up. Easy peasey. And it works. Much better than the weBoost. And we enjoyed a warm day. It's a heat wave here. Into the 90's.

Day 50 - May 12

We slept good at the vineyard!  We packed up and said good-bye Oregon, Hello Washington State! Unfortunately our route now has us on interstates - 205 then 5. More industrial along the Columbia River area. Saw a good view of Mt. Hood. Then as we neared our destination at Seaquest State Park, there were beautiful view of Mount Saint Helen's. There's a visitor center here across from the park. My oh my....that was a scary eruption back in 1980! An earthquake on May 18, 1980 caused the entire north face to slide away. This caused a blast of volcanic ash to rise high and deposit ash in 11 states. There were mud slides almost 50 miles away.

Our campsite feels like we're in the Pacific Northwest Rainforest. Tall, big trees, lush undergrowth and moss.

Moss

Looking up into the tree canopy

There's the Rambler in all the rainforest

Day 51 - MAY 13

Today we headed The Rambler north!  On interstate 5 through Seattle and all of that headache. Ron did a great job of maneuvering us down the  and the 405 and back on 5.  We're staying at Bay View State Park for the next 2 nights. It's on Padilla Bay. The tide's out so it looks more like mud flat. We've enjoyed visiting with neighbors over our camp fire.

Day 52 - May 14

Well, sometimes you have to take a laundry day. That's today. But we did it in Anacortes, Washington. A beautiful town. And we rewarded ourselves with an awesome lunch at Anthony's . Their chowder was top notch. We also picked up a few groceries. Filled the propane. Getting ready for a border crossing tomorrow.  Enjoyed visiting with campground friends again.

My first time to see an electric boat. Hope it works well for them.

Delicious

So, wish us well as we travel and cross the border tomorrow!