Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada - Day 2

Sunday, September 29, 2024

We made the right choice boondock camping in Strathcona Provincial Park last night. The four of us slept peacefully in the woods without anyone around. Best of all, it was free.   

This morning, Andi and I woke up around 6:30am. He read on his Kindle while I wrote a blog post. Tory and Aden slept until 9:00am. Then, the four of us ate breakfast in our RV while streaming our home church’s sermon on YouTube.

By 10:30am, we were packed up and ready to adventure. Our first stop was to Lady Falls, not far from where we camped by Heber River. Strathcona Park has several natural waterfalls throughout its 250,000 hectares, and most of them are fairly easy to reach. 

We parked in the small trailhead parking lot, and were the only people there. Serenity has been one of the best things about visiting Strathcona Provincial Park. There are crystal-clear lakes, towering mountains, dense old-growth forests, several waterfalls, and we seemingly have it all to ourselves. A far cry from busier attractions like Banff National Park and Whistler.  

As we left the RV in the parking lot, Andi noticed one of our side windows is broken. Shoot! Somehow, the crank broke on the window turnout. Not much we can do about it now, so Andi taped the window up until we can get the RV repaired at the end of our trip.

The hike to Lady Falls was an easy 1/2 mile ascent. Andi and Tory led our group by pairing off together, and Aden and I followed behind. Hiking is a great opportunity for one-on-one time with kids. Aden and I talked about sports and healthy eating. “Want to work out together when we get home?” he asked me. We talked about different ways he could stay accountable to some sports goals he has.

The trail ended at a viewing platform positioned above Lady Falls. The waterfall was impressive in both size and sound. Mist blanketed our faces as the water crashed onto the rocks before us. 

Andi, Tory, Aden, and I walked back to the RV parked at the trailhead, and then began our drive to Campbell River on the east side of the island. It was a beautiful morning for a fall drive with temperatures around 50 degrees. The leaves are starting to change in this area of British Columbia.  

Our next stop was Elk Falls, the most popular of all the park’s waterfalls. The large parking area should have been a clue that this was not the trail for us, but we continued onward to see the natural attraction for ourselves.

Elk Falls is located near the BC Hydro Dam, so we first stopped into the BC Hydro Educational Discovery Centre building to learn more about the dam. Then, we followed the dirt path through part of a construction zone to reach the forest. From there, it was about a 20-minute walk to the falls following a descending path.

As expected, there were a lot of people on the trail, and most of them were accompanied by dogs. That always makes Tory on edge since she’s afraid of them. We pushed our way around crowds of people walking at a slower pace, steering clear of the people with dogs on leashes. Eventually, we reached an overlook to the falls and a suspension bridge that takes visitors over the canyon.

Dozens of dogs. Men wearing loafers. A group of guys tailgating in the parking lot — we couldn’t get out of there fast enough. This was not our favorite trail. 

Now in Campbell River city limits, Andi drove us to the Quinsam Fish Hatchery. As we drove, we saw dozens of vehicles parked along the roadway. The nearby Quinsam and Campbell Rivers are filled with returning salmon this time of year. There’s rules about where you can fish, and at what times of the year, but one thing is clear — you’d need to get there early to claim a spot on the river if this was your choice activity for the day.  

Campbell River is renowned for its fishing, calling itself the “salmon capital of the world.” Its no doubt then, that the Quinsam Fish Hatchery would be an excellent place to learn about the fish of the area. There was a small, but informative, museum inside the hatchery building explaining the life cycles of the pacific salmon  found in British Columbia.  

Outside the hatchery building, signs directed us toward the river to see the salmon in their natural habitat. As we approached the water, we saw a black bear fishing for his lunch! The four of us stood on the shoreline for about 10 minutes watching the bear in action. Seagulls squawked and flapped their wings on the water as the bear jumped and splashed catching salmon to eat.

Eventually, the bear left and so did we. The Quinsam Fish Hatchery turned out to be a great spot to learn about salmon and see nature in action. And, we finally saw some wildlife!

Andi booked us a campsite tonight at Thunderbird RV Resort & Campground on the Tyee Spit in Campbell River. We were excited to have full hook-ups tonight to recharge our electronics and do a little house cleaning. Four people living in 100 sq. ft. means the inside and outside of the RV can get pretty nasty.    

Before parking at the campground, Andi pulled into a shopping area nearby so we could grab lunch and a few supplies at Canadian Tire. Our food choices were A&W, Subway, or a place called BarBurrito, which was a local make-your-own-tacos chain. We picked BarBurrito for something new. Unfortunately, the food quality was pretty sub-par; we should have known.

I had high hopes for Thunderbird RV Resort given the price — $76/per night CAD ($56 USD), but it was just so-so. On a map, it looked like the RV Park was right on the water, but in reality there was a chain-link fence and a roadway in between the campground and the sea. There were several RV rentals already camped here, as well as larger Class A motorhomes. One group of campers was cooking up their freshly caught fish outside their campers, and it smelled to high heavens! They looked like they were having themselves quite the BBQ though.

For some reason, our RV water tank keeps spilling into one of our RV’s outside compartments so Andi and the kids spent an hour laying out all of Andi’s tools on the picnic table to dry. I used the time without anyone else inside the RV to thoroughly clean the bathroom, counters, refrigerator, and floors. I also threw in two loads of laundry in the on-site laundry room. 

It was a beautiful evening, so Andi, Aden, and I agreed to walk down to the end of the spit while Tory showered inside the RV. Thunderbird RV Resort is located at the end of Tyee Spit — where the ocean meets the Campbell River. There’s a really nice walking/biking path that runs the length of the shoreline, and its also a great place to see marine life and views of neighboring Quadra Island. The three of us enjoyed walking the path together. We even saw several seals swimming close to shore.  

A man and his little dog approached us as Andi, Aden, and I sat on the park bench. This sweet, older gentleman named Ken proceeded to tell us his life story and his mission for serving others. He said he brings his therapy dog, Luna, to the point every evening to talk to people here. Often times, he finds people who are mentally or physically struggling, and he believes his dog helps heal and comfort them.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Ken and Luna the rest of the evening, and appreciate the ways God is working through this man and his dog. It also amazes me how many people our family connects with around the world through our travels. 

The four of us finished our evening in Campbell River putting away laundry, taking showers, and preparing for a day of fishing tomorrow. More to come in Campbell River.