Our July was fairly quiet – we golfed once or twice weekly, hiked a little, and took care of some items like haircuts, doctors, and dentist appointments. Portage was taken out for a dinner by the ocean one night which was quite fun, and we spent more time tweaking our bedding and storage which is a never-ending project. There were some spectacular sunsets that we were happy to enjoy on the beach.
We hiked to Dodd Narrows which is a deep narrow channel between Vancouver Island and Mudge Island where in high tide the water can run as fast as 9 knots. It is a short 2km. hike. We watched a cruiser pass through and then some small fishing boats. They had to get up speed before entering the narrows. Fun to watch.
I AM going with you !
With camping reservations being restricted to BC residents, we were able to book a ‘last minute’ camp-site for a birthday outing in August at the very popular Ruckle Provincial Park on Salt Spring Island. With only 4 reservable RV spots and 4 first-come spots (and 60+ walk-in tent sites) we were quite happy for the opportunity to check out the island.
After a quick ferry ride we were too early to check in at the campground, so decided to tour the island a bit. Being Sunday there was very little open in the small villages we passed through, and we soon drove one end to the other on the narrow, winding roads. We made a stop in the main, centrally located and largest village of Ganges and did a walking tour. The town has all the needed amenities as well as many restaurants and shops. Next, we headed to Burgoyne Bay Provincial Park to do a hike. Mistake! The road in to the park is very narrow and each time we met a vehicle coming the other way, we were brushing up against tree branches and unfortunately put some scratches on Portage. We lamented on our choice of RV a little at this point. Certainly we will need to choose our routes more carefully and maybe get e-bikes for exploring. At the parking lot we discovered a large group was having a celebration and we had a squeeze to get through and find a spot to park. The hike/walk was a gentle upward slope through a forest to a lookout over a bay with quite a few side trails off the main.
At Ruckle PP, we set up camp in site #2; a tiny, exposed, and muddy RV space. We soon discovered next to us were 7 young women camping in tents. We decided to see about moving to one of the 4 empty first-come sites and the park ranger we met said to just go ahead. Much better…… although all the sites are side by side and tiny. Ruckle is clearly better suited for the beautiful tent sites along the ocean with choice of wooded or open grassy sites -each with a picnic table.
Day 2 we hiked a trail around 5 bays that ended at Yeo Point – about 6 hours return and a really nice hike through forest, farmland, and rocky shores. Several of the bays have sandy beach areas that would be perfect to spend the day swimming and relaxing away from crowds.
Next day, we walked a trail along the ocean to the tenting area and then to the historic farm (established 1872) with the original buildings and interpretive boards. It is still a working farm owned and operated by the original homesteaded family descendants, although they now live in a newer home just up the road. Each evening for ‘happy hour’ we filled our camping ‘ie: unbreakable’ wine glass and walked a short trail to the ocean where we sat on one of the many benches. Ruckle overlooks the main BC Ferry route and the entrance to Sidney harbour. There was endless boat and ferry traffic to watch, along with the many birds, seals, otters, etc.
All your photos & stories are wonderful to go thru. It must have taken quit a bit of time & energy to search out the names of all the plants you checked out.
The photo of the rocks & the ocean that has a white shape in it, it looks as though someone is lying there. Did you two do that? It’s an odd thing to see in that photo. But kinda funny. As long as it’s not real that is.
I loved going thru your travels on the island. I’m so happy for the two of you. Thoroughly enjoying your retirements. Good for you two, enjoying life to its fullest. Bless you both. 🥰☺️Your buddy.