Monday, August 29, 2005
Bad Mom
Ed and I had skipped Shannon Fall’s provincial park and were told by Margaret that we really needed to go see it. The beeping of the carbon monoxide detector (low battery) woke us early, so we headed off to the falls after we changed the batteries. The falls were worth the trip.. There was a set of knarley roots and trees that I thought would make a good background for a puppy picture. Zaph and I climbed up and I was trying to get him in position when he jumped down and started rubbing his face. Ooops, I didn’t check for bee’s nests. There was a great big one in amongst the roots. Luckily extra cookies erase items from the “bad mom” list.
Back to the campground and hitch up the trailer — we were headed to the ferry and Vancouver Island. We decided to leave an hour sooner than we needed to as the highway is under construction — BC is spending lots of money fixing roads, etc. getting reading for the 2010 Winter Olympics. It was a good thing that we had left early. Not only was there construction delays, the ferry we were booked on was cancelled. Luckily, we were in time to get squeezed on to the earlier ferry. Now Ed and I have been on a few ferries (Yarmouth, NS to Bar Harbor, Mn, a couple in Scotland, the ferry to/from PEI and a few other ones) but I guess not one with the volume of traffic like that going to Vancouver Island (I was told that these ferries hold over 400 passenger vehicles). There were toll booths like on a highway and 5 or 6 lanes of vehicles — all waiting to get on a ferry. At other ferries we would park and go inside to pay and then get queued just before the ferry arrived. The ferry ride was an hour and half and you were allowed to stay in your vehicle or go to the passenger areas of the ship. As Zaph was with us we headed to the front of the car deck and watched from there – Zaph was happy that he didn’t have to stay in the truck.
Arriving in Nanaimo, we headed to Walmart. Colin needed to get four new tires and we figured that was a good spot to start looking. Luckily, he found a place near by with a really good price and they could do it right away. Another night in a Walmart parking lot.
Shannon Falls.
The tree with the bees nest.
One of the campsites where we stayed. Hey, who's poking his head under the rock?
Back to the campground and hitch up the trailer — we were headed to the ferry and Vancouver Island. We decided to leave an hour sooner than we needed to as the highway is under construction — BC is spending lots of money fixing roads, etc. getting reading for the 2010 Winter Olympics. It was a good thing that we had left early. Not only was there construction delays, the ferry we were booked on was cancelled. Luckily, we were in time to get squeezed on to the earlier ferry. Now Ed and I have been on a few ferries (Yarmouth, NS to Bar Harbor, Mn, a couple in Scotland, the ferry to/from PEI and a few other ones) but I guess not one with the volume of traffic like that going to Vancouver Island (I was told that these ferries hold over 400 passenger vehicles). There were toll booths like on a highway and 5 or 6 lanes of vehicles — all waiting to get on a ferry. At other ferries we would park and go inside to pay and then get queued just before the ferry arrived. The ferry ride was an hour and half and you were allowed to stay in your vehicle or go to the passenger areas of the ship. As Zaph was with us we headed to the front of the car deck and watched from there – Zaph was happy that he didn’t have to stay in the truck.
Arriving in Nanaimo, we headed to Walmart. Colin needed to get four new tires and we figured that was a good spot to start looking. Luckily, he found a place near by with a really good price and they could do it right away. Another night in a Walmart parking lot.
Shannon Falls.
The tree with the bees nest.
One of the campsites where we stayed. Hey, who's poking his head under the rock?
If you wish you can sign our guest book
We have added a web page with a map of our current location and route to date