Day 267 – It was still raining earlier this morning, but it was reduced to a drizzle as time went on. The high today was 71 degrees and the sun peeked out from the clouds every now and then.
We had a list of the things we wanted to do in this area (which was really just an extension of the things we’d planned to do 2 weeks ago from our campground east of Port Alberni.) Then, we’d put off some hikes and visits due to the rain, thinking we could do those things later. It’s still raining (that really shouldn’t have been a surprise!).
High on our list was Cathedral Grove and the walk through the ancient forest. What’s a little drizzly rain dripping off the trees! We drove to MacMillan Provincial Park, where Cathedral Grove is located. We had driven by numerous times already and the ample parking spaces were always full with cars parking on both sides of the highway, also. Once again, not a holiday and not a weekend, the Park was full. We’ll have to get up really early for this one!
We drove on by and went to Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park. This is the Park we camped at before going to Tofino. Rob had hiked to the Falls, I had not, and he had scoped out the trails to find one that could take us to the Falls but without going up and down all the stairs. We took an easier trail to the Falls, a very pretty hike and the waterfalls were awesome. The right knee appreciated his efforts to find me a level trail.
It was near lunch time when we got back to the car. We drove to the campground to make lunch, on the way stopping in Port Alberni at a store that had been recommended to us – Coombs Country Candy. Oh, the smell of a candy store when you walk in, especially if you are hungry! We bought unsweetened candy except for the chunk of fudge we nibbled on in the parking lot. Lunch was Salmon Burgers with the burgers we’d bought at French Creek Fish Market, made fresh from salmon they’d caught, then frozen. The sandwiches were delicious and while in this area, we’ll go back and buy more salmon burgers.
It had warmed up nicely and there were only brief, short showers. We sat out in the screened tent. We have encountered maybe 3 mosquitoes so far this season. People talk about the huge mosquitoes in BC, like the ones in Alaska. In Maine and NY, the bugs can arrive as early as late April, and definitely are there in full force by Memorial Day. Here we are in dense woods in an extremely wet environment – where are the bugs? Well, knock on wood, maybe we will have a light mosquito year.
We went inside for dinner. We cooked up some fresh Sockeye Salmon baked with a Bourbon Garlic Glaze. After dinner, we went back out to the tent. A Spotted Towhee visited; Rob got pictures through the tent screen. The bird was a cutie pie, as curious about us as we were about him.
