We started the morning catching up on our blog at the picnic table in the Elk Falls Provincial Park campground.

Before leaving the area we drove up the hill to Elk Falls and hiked to the waterfall and suspension bridge. The water coming over the falls is the part that doesn’t go through the hydro station.

The suspension bridge spans 60 meters across the canyon below and it swings as people walk across it.

Our destination target for today was to be Telegraph Cove which is about 2.5 hours from Campbell River. As Ruth was driving, Martin found a big long lake on the map called Nimpkish Lake and thought there must be a place to go for a swim there. A bit more investigation found there is indeed a recreational area at the south end of the lake and this turned out to be a spectacular and unforgettable find!

Not only is there a great swimming opportunity in this huge lake, but there is also a wild campground there with many regular campers who spend weeks there together wind surfing and socializing each year. We were immediately warmly welcomed and invited for “Happy Hour” at 4PM and for coffee the next morning.

We did take the opportunity to go swimming. It was glorious!

We so much enjoyed our evening yesterday that we decided to spend another day at Nimpkish Lake and started the morning with our next door neighbour Gus and some of the regulars for morning coffee and watching an eagle hunt for fish. (It is on the second rightmost post. The Sony camera got its first use of this trip this morning and only because it has a telephoto lens)

After morning coffee we inflated our kayak and paddled north against the wind until we ceased making forward progress. We stopped at a gravel beach and saw remnants of the logging history in the area – rusted steel cables, railway tracks, etc. The trip back with the wind was substantially faster!

The area is a haven for wind surfers and we could see a number of them out on the lake with kites, wings and foils. Lots of new terminology to learn!

Too tired to go for a swim right away, we had a nap. At 4PM we walked down to Dennis’ trailer for Happy Hour and had lively conversations on everything and anything the world has to offer. The community here really is wonderful and friendly.

No map for today.

After morning coffee with Gus, the rest of the regulars, and a few new arrivals and their dogs, we finally set off for Telegraph Cove. Telegraph Cove is historically interesting for its saw mill which cut wood to make boxes for salted salmon. Later during World War II it was expropriated and operated by the military to process wood for the war effort. A telegraph station was also located here starting in 1912.

Today it is more of a tourist town that preserves the history of the 1920s to 1930s when the saw milling village was built. A number of signs document the history of the buildings on the site.

A whale interpretive centre was close to where one could go on a whale watching trip. If that wasn’t your thing, sea kayaking with instructor was another possibility.

There are lots of bear and cougar warning signs including some stories of local dogs that have been taken by bears or cougars. There are no signs warning about the abundant deer population.

There is a large log sorting facility nearby with machines that can lift 60 tons of logs at a time.

A German tourist in what looked like a military armoured vehicle RV was a sight to be seen. We’re not sure what they think they will need that for in Canada.

We drove to Port McNeill but didn’t spend any significant time there.

Port Hardy turned out to be a good place to do some housekeeping. They have a great free dump station with fresh water. We filled a minimal amount of gas as it was priced at 199.9 and we bought a few groceries. It certainly isn’t a cheap place to buy anything!

We drove back at Nimpkish Lake for a late afternoon swim followed by a BBQ dinner and a hike along the shore.

There are a number of painted rocks with messages on them along this hike, each tucked into the crevasses. Dennis’s wife paints them and had a few in front of their trailer as well.

It felt so good to be back at this peaceful place.

As usual, our friend Gus had coffee and tea for us in the morning, along with stimulating conversation and lots of laughs about Daisy (the dog) being a one night stand after snuggling her way into the tent and sleeping bag of a fellow camper.

Alas, it was time to move on and after long goodbyes we finally set off for the ferry terminal to take us to Powell River. Here’s our van on the ferry.

We had a special treat – free of charge whale watching from the ferry!

Once in Powell River, we headed to the Willingdon Beach Campsite where we snagged one of the two last sites. This is a lovely campground right next to the ocean and within walkable distance to the downtown area.

Hungry, we set out to find some dinner and ended up at the Monks on Marine, a pub and restaurant where Martin had the “Big Boy” burger, consisting of a beef patty, bacon, pulled pork, cheddar, roasted garlic mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickle and crispy potato. It wasn’t clear how one could even get this huge stack into one’s mouth.

Since we were walking, we could also enjoy a beer to wash it all down with.

We lost a few of these calories on the way home as we made a detour up the hill to check out where we might be able to spend tomorrow night if we decide to stay in town. It is a long weekend and all campsites in the campground are already booked.

Today was absolutely amazing, starting with a morning swim in the Pacific Ocean from a beach just steps from our campsite. There may be another one tomorrow since we were lucky enough to secure one more night in this campground.

We spent the day walking to and around the Old Town area, getting there by a trail that used to be a logging railway line. There are a number of old pieces of machinery along the way documenting the history and importance of logging and paper making in the area. Many signs taught us about the different types of trees and the equipment used to harvest them.

Huge numbers of blackberry bushes lined the trail and we each picked and ate a couple of handfuls. They were so sweet and delicious. Turns out bears like them too and Ruth saw a black bear just a few metres away. Ruth began singing and the bear left us in peace.

The paper mill is closed now, but a breakwater made up of floating concrete ships known as The Hulk next to the old mill is an interesting Powell River landmark.

The historic downtown has many old buildings worth visiting. One, a former general store, now houses a couple of coffee shops, locally made clothing shops, craft shops and an art gallery.

The current Patricia Theatre was built in 1928 and is the second building to house the oldest continuously operating cinema and vaudeville business in Canada. The movie of the night was called Joy Ride and we decided we wanted to see the inside of the theatre. We needed to wait until 7PM for the show to start.

Since we had a bit of time to kill we had dinner at the Royal Zayka Indian restaurant. Lots of good food!

After dinner we walked across the street to the theatre and spent some time talking to the employees to learn more about the theatre. It may even be the case that the ticket collector and Martin share a common acquaintance from Squamish.

The movie itself told a good story, albeit somewhat crude, but funny and we laughed a lot while enjoying our popcorn and a Coke.

After the movie we didn’t want to risk any more bear encounters or drunk drivers so we splurged on a taxi to take us back to the campground. We arrived just in time for a beautiful sunset over the ocean.

No map today.