Houses lining the docks in Cowichan Bay.
Houseboat in Cowichan Bay.
Each houseboat was unique and very cute.
Deep Bay
Deep Bay
Qualicum Beach
Coombs
Coombs
Coombs
Parksville
Parksville Beach
Ta da !!!
Look what I found. Can I keep her?
Fire rings and picnic tables at Kitty Coleman. This setting
provided many great campfire evenings with new friends.
Rigs lined up against the trees and facing the beach at Kitty
Coleman.
The view was always changing: Alaska-bound cruise ships,
fishing boats and sailboats slipping by.
Vancouver Island, Canada
August 5-20, 2007 -- We boarded the ferry from Port Angeles,
Washington to Victoria, BC on Vancouver Island. Driving onto the
ferry wasn't nearly as difficult as we anticipated, and once aboard
we were free to wander about the ferry. Port Angeles vanished in
the fog behind us and a few hours later the sun came out just as we
approached Victoria. Once in Victoria we took a quick look around
and then headed up the island to the Qualicum Beach area where
we spent several weeks.
Our sightseeing trips took us to some charming villages. Cowhichan
Bay is a tiny coastal community with lots of houseboats and homes
lining the docks. We wandered among the houseboats, intrigued by
people who live in floating houses.
Further north we visited Deep Bay, a pretty marina set against the
backdrop of the island's mountains.
Qualicum Beach is a
pretty place for strolling
and bench sitting.
We turned slightly inland
to visit the town of
Coombs, home of
several goats who live on a grass roof. We
watched them casually munching away while
tourists walked below their roof overhang.
We also visited the World Parrot Refuge in this
area, but I was so entranced with the birds
(there were about 20 sulphur crested cockatoos
in one open warehouse sized enclosure) that I
forgot to take any photos.
Parksville Beach is one of
the bigger beaches in this
stretch of coast. It is a bustling and commercial town, but the beach
entrance has one of the nicest floral displays we found on the island.
That's saying a lot, because Vancouver Island is loaded with
gorgeous flowers.
In the town of Comox we
caught an afternoon of
sheepdog trials. The dogs
were amazingly well trained
and very fast. Listening to
the handler's whistles, these
dogs would take off at a
sprint and then drop to the
ground, maneuvering a
group of four sheep around a
field and eventually (hopefully)
into a small pen.
One dog had a face-off with a
particularly cantankerous
sheep, but the dog eventually
won the argument with a
snap near the sheep's nose
and the sheep did as told.
One contestant actually got
all four sheep in the pen and
closed the gate within the
time limit. It seemed like a
miracle to me.
We chanced upon a wonderful
campground near Comox:
Kitty Coleman Beach Park.
The rigs line up on one side of
a small road, backed up
against the woods. Opposite
the rigs, lined up along the
rocky beach, is a row of
picnic tables and fire
rings. From that
vantage point you can
watch the cruise ships
headed for Alaska going
by. At night we
wandered from fire ring
to fire ring, chatting with
all the other campers. It
was a great communal
feeling and we spent
many happy evenings
with new friends while
we were there.
From Comox and Campbell River we made our way back down the coast to Sidney and
Victoria where we spent a wonderful few days before leaving the island