Campbell River, BC

Rain, rain, go away.

The walk up north was wonderful, beautiful, cold, wet and desolate.  Everyone said to watch out for black bears and cougars, and aside from seeing 2 black bears on my first day out, I never did run across any more -- which seemed to surprise a lot of people, including myself.  There were hardly no pull-out areas, or access roads, or areas for me to get off the road at, so I usually ended up camping on a logging road.  After 5 days of camping out and no showers, I was glad to finally get back into civilization again.

While I was out there, I saw a lot of logging trucks go by, including one that had only 3 very big logs on it.  That almost made me cry.  Also, while I was out there, I met up with Dharma, a bicyclist riding up to the tip of Vancouver Island.  He stopped to visit with me, and offered me a beer.  "Only if its cold!"  I said.  He assured me it was as he pulled it out of the icebox.  I must say, some  people do have their priorities in order!

I thoroughly enjoyed the walk down through the city of  Campbell River.  They have a wonderful walkway that goes right by the waters edge of the Strait of Georgia, making it a very enjoyable walk indeed.  Also along the walkway there are a lot of carvings and totem poles, and I got several pictures of those.  While I was walking along, I stopped a a convenient store to grab a sandwich, and a lady stopped and asked me if there was a baby in my cart.  Not yet, I said, but I've got just about everything else in there!  She sounded relieved.  I am too, actually.

I no more got my tent set up in a pleasant RV camp right next to a beautiful blooming rhododendron bush, when the storm arrived with a vengeance!  The winds were howling and the rain was pelting sideways, but I was tucked inside safe and dry.  The wind finally died down, but the rain kept coming, so I stayed put for a 2nd day.  Mark & Patty, staying in an RV near my tent, invited me in this morning for a hot cup of coffee, and now I'm updating my blog.  People are so kind!