Dates: August 5-15, 2014
Additional Challenges Met:
1/5 places we've never been to before
2/5 involving water/snow (just water this time!)
Bonus feature: we took 5 ferries on this trip!
The weather was so great- sunny and warm every day! Even though it was quite hot some days, there was always lots of time and opportunity for a jump in the lake!
On
Tuesday morning, we said farewell to Adam and Kailyn and the rest of Vancouver
Island, and jumped on the ferry to Salt Spring Island. We lucked out with an
awesome waterfront campsite in the beautiful Ruckle Campground for the two
nights we were on the island! We had a great first day visiting the market,
enjoying patio sitting and exploring the island a bit. Our second day started off
with an intense climb up Mt Erskine in search of elvin doors along the
trail. We then filled the rest of the day with an artisan tour around the
island, finding little gems to stop off at and explore. We visited many amazing
artists, ranging from painters, felters, woodworkers and sculpters to wine and
beer masterminds! We also loved walked the trails around Ruckle park in the
evening.
set up at Ruckle Campground
I can't get enough of these arbutus trees!
Elvin door on Mt Erskine
In the afternoon, we boarded the next ferry that would take us to Pender Islands. We stayed in another great
campground here, and enjoyed some local delights and met some really friendly,
helpful locals who were determined to make our trip great right away! We spent our full day there doing a hike to Roe Lake, visiting some of
the great beaches, sipping at the winery, exploring the great local shops before going to Magic Lake for a few hours before a late visit to the Pender Bistro. On Saturday morning, we spent some time at the wonderful little Pender market (lots of friendly people and tons of vendors with lots of yummy goodies and beautiful crafts!). Islanders seem to start their day at 10 or 11
so we felt like we had a lot of time to get everything in that we want
to do in each place.
Us at Roe Islet
My obsession with drift wood continues!
Craddock point
We then hopped on to the ferry over to Mayne Island, and
were greeted by Adam and Kailyn! They joined us for the weekend on Mayne, where
we took in their market, did a great hike in Mount Parke, had some beach
combing/walking time, and an awesome dinner at the oldest continuously running
hotel in BC! We also stayed there for the night and got to see a HUGE moon
during a night walk! We visited a cool park on the island that was a little
adventure paradise, complete with mini putt, bocce, horseshoes, zipline, gazebo
and a gorgeous Japanese garden. After saying goodbye (goodbyes included awesome
ice cream sandwiches!), Will and I set up at another waterfront campground on
Mayne Island. We had a really relaxing next day, with lots of wandering about
and reading! In the afternoon, I tried paddle boarding for the first time. I
absolutely loved it! I am excited now to try a few different kinds of boards
and see what the differences are. I was especially excited because the rental
company owners were convinced I had been before- look at me seeming athletic on
the first try! It’s so very rare that that ever happens! :)
All of us at Bennett Bay
Me paddle boarding in Bennett Bay
View from campsite
tree shower at campground
finding starfish under the rocks
Village Bay at night
Seal spotting
Japanese gardens
We packed up early the next morning for our last of the
islands, Galiano. We did a couple of short hikes on Tuesday, and then spent a
little time exploring the town and our campground. We were camping at Montague
Harbour, which is a white shell beach where archeologists have found many
arrowheads and other artifacts. Overnight, we heard the little ‘pitter patter’
sound (rain!) no one wants to hear on vacation, especially in a tent that needs to be
moved to another campsite the next morning. Onlookers loved our arrangement of
just carrying our set up tent over to our other site! Although it was rainy and
clouded over, we hiked up Mt Galiano in the morning, and then spent the rest of
the day in shops and galleries and enjoying hot treats inside. Having one day
of rain over a vacation isn’t too bad!
Us at Lovers Leap
Bodega Ridge
Pebble Beach
Montague Harbour
"view" from top of Mt Galiano... not much to see in the fog and rain!
If others are interested in
visiting the Gulf Islands, we would recommend trying to do most of your
travelling on the weekends if possible. We found that most businesses were only
open on the weekends, and most events were taking place on weekends. We were
happy hiking and reading on beaches, but it would have been nice to see more
shops and restaurants on each island.
Thursday morning, we packed up Toby (our amazing little
Honda civic) and headed to Vancouver. We had pretty cloudy, wet weather on our
drive home through the states, but got some shopping in, along with one
last night camping outside Spokane. Once we got home, we unloaded the very
packed car and started to get settled back in at home.
The Burgess Duo
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