Thursday, September 26, 2024

Red sky in the morning; sailors take warning.

Andi and I watched the sun rise over the Strait of Georgia this morning in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia. It rained all day yesterday with more rain and wind forecasted today. It’s not very fun to be at the beach when it’s raining, but it was neat to watch the tides & the dramatic sky change colors from the comforts of our camper parked at the edge of the sea.

When Aden opened his eyes at 7:00am, the first thing he said was, “Can I go outside to look for shells on the beach?” Then, he popped out of bed, threw on a sweatshirt and Crocs, and high-tailed it to the waterfront to look for shells. He was amazed to see how far the water had gone out overnight. Low tide happened around 5:00am, so there was a lot more shoreline covered with rocks and gravel-beach than when he’d gone to bed last night.

Andi had work calls from 8:00am-Noon this morning, so he set up a make-shift office at the picnic table outside the RV. I always offer for him to sit inside the RV, but Andi said it’s easier for him to concentrate if he’s separated from the rest of us.

It started to rain again around 9:00am, and I felt terrible that Andi was working outside under the RV awning, wearing his coat and a stocking cap. Between calls, I offered again that he could come inside the RV, but Andi said he was fine outside.

Meanwhile, I got Tory and Aden up and moving for the day. Typically, I seize the moment Aden gets out of bed to use the bathroom to transform his bed into the dining table. It takes Aden longer to complete his school work than it does Tory, so he and I started school first, and then Tory crawled down from her bed sometime around 10:00am.

Tory has been feeling under the weather this week, which is another reason why I let her stay in bed a little longer this morning. Luckily, she seems to be back to her normal self this morning, and asked for oatmeal for breakfast.

The kids and I completed their lessons for the day with about 30 minutes of free time left to spare before Andi was finished working. Aden and Tory watched shows on their iPhones while I made us all something to eat for lunch. By now, it was 11:30 and I figured Andi would be hungry and chilled from sitting outside in the rain all morning. I warmed up some soup & made grilled cheese sandwiches for everyone.

The four of us ate, and then packed up the RV to move onto our next destination on Vancouver Island. Unfortunately, I think there was quite a bit of things to do in the Qualicum Beach area, but it’s been raining since we got here yesterday. Andi suggested we check out Horne Lake Caves not far away. He thought that would be something we could do rain or shine.

We drove about 20 minutes inland to Horne Lake Provincial Park. There was a nice, large lake and swimming beach here; “cabin country” for locals. In addition to lake recreation, Horne Lake Provincial Park was created in the 1970’s to protect and preserve the extensive cave system that’s found in the area.

Inside the Cave and Karst Education Centre, we watched a few short, five-minute videos about spelunking in Horne Caves. These caves were no joke with rappel lines, zip lines, and climbing ladder systems underground. We had the choice to either explore part of the main cave on our own, or wait until 3:00pm to book a spelunking tour with a park guide.

Neither Andi or I really wanted to wait around until 3:00pm, so we decided to explore on our own. We grabbed a flashlight from the RV, and set off on the above-ground park trails. The canopy of trees felt magical with rain falling steadily on the leaves above us. The old cedar and spruce trees of the temperate rainforest were dripping with green lichen.

We followed signs to the self-guided section of the main cave system. There wasn’t a tall domed opening like I expected; only a small slit in the rocks for an entrance. “Oh no, I am not going in there,” Tory said, and firmly planted her feet in place outside the cave. “Really? You used to love stuff like this!” Andi replied.

Begrudgingly, Tory followed Andi, Aden, and I inside the cave entrance. A sign fixed to the wall said, “right shoulder first, face left wall.” We literally had to side-step through the crack with our heads turned over our right shoulders. One by one, we squeezed our bodies through the narrow opening of two rocks until we reached a small, dark, open area inside.

“Whoa!” Andi, Aden, and I shouted as we made it through the first opening. “This is so cool!”

“I’m out of here,” Tory said, and turned back the way she came to exit the cave.

It was pitch-back inside the cave except for the light of our iPhones. If we shined the light just right, we could see gold flecks in the rock walls illuminated. Photos couldn’t capture it.

Unfortunately, this was as far as we could go without a park guide. Andi, Aden, and I spent a little more time inside the cave, looking for bats, and seeing how dark it would be if we turned off all of our flashlights. Aden scared the bejesus out of me hiding behind one of the corners.

Tory was standing outside the cave in the rain when we emerged. The four of us walked back to the parking area through the forest-lined path. Horne Caves was a neat place, and definitely worth a stop.

Next, Andi drove through the provincial park’s Horne Lake Campground, just to check it out, and then we made our way north toward the town of Campbell River via Highway 19. This is an area of the Vancouver Island that Andi had heard a lot about, and was excited to explore. Campbell River is known as the “Salmon Capital of the World” because of its excellent fishing scene, as well as hunting, hiking, kayaking, and other recreation.

Surprisingly, the town of Campbell River was much larger than we expected with 35,000 residents. There are times in our travels when Andi and I have a picture of a place in our minds, and it turns out to be so different than what we imagined. Campbell River was such a place.

As forecasted, the wind had picked up considerably on our drive to Campbell River, blowing in gusts of 30-40/mph. The RV shook back and forth as we drove into town. “Maybe we go to a movie?” Andi suggested. “What else are we going to do in this weather?”

An evening at the movies sounded like a great plan. We arrived in Campbell River around 3:30pm, and made a quick stop to the grocery store for a few essentials before the 4:15pm showtime of Beetlejuice 2. Tory and Aden both picked to see this movie which surprised me because Aden doesn’t usually like spooky/scary things.

We treated ourselves to popcorn and pop, of course, and spent the next two hours at the theatre. Did you know they call soda pop “pop” in Canada? I thought it was just a Midwestern thing.

After the movie, Andi suggested we get take-out from Fatburger. I wasn’t hungry after eating movie theatre popcorn, so Andi ran inside to order burgers, chicken tenders, french fries, and deep-fried pickles while the kids and I waited outside in the RV. In the 20 minutes of time we waited for Andi to return, I saw several fire trucks and utility vehicles drive past us. The wind was still blowing pretty hard, and there were leaves and tree debris on the roadways. Power lines down somewhere?

Andi drove us to Elk Falls Provincial Park, just outside of Campbell River city limits. The campground was quite full which surprised us. It seemed like most of the people there might be living at the campground. We were able to find an open spot to camp for the night, but the entire park was covered in trees which meant our Starlink satellite internet wouldn’t work. Andi and I figured it would be better to be protected from the wind by trees tonight vs. parked in a wide open area. We could survive without connectivity for one night!

It was tough, haha, but we made it. Aden and Tory were so bored after dinner that they made paper airplanes and threw them all over the inside of the RV. “You guys could read your books,” I suggested. “Nah!” both Tory and Aden replied.

One major perk about life in the RV is that we collectively get more sleep than we do at home. At some point in the evening, there isn’t much else to do than go to bed. So we do, and end up sleeping 9-10 hours/per night. That’s not a bad thing! We’re all rested and therefore, happier in the daytime.

Tomorrow, we plan to make our way to Strathcona, the oldest natural park in British Columbia.