Saturday, September 28, 2024

Our day began in the wilderness of Strathcona Provincial Park near Gold River, British Columbia. After a campground reservation mix-up yesterday evening, Andi and I decided we’d just park in the woods and camp without any services for the night. Honestly, we prefer it this way as it’s often quieter and more scenic.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers football game was on at 9:00am Pacific Time this morning, so I asked Andi if we could hang around the RV this morning to watch it. We considered driving into the town of Gold River about 10 km from where we were camped, but then figured that the spot we were at was as good as any.

Sometimes, it’s nice to have a slow morning in the RV. Tory and Aden slept in until 8:30am or so, and then laid in bed watching their iPhones. At half-time, Andi and I started to pack up the RV and get ready to head out for the day. We drove toward Gold River around Noon.

In our minds, Gold River was an idyllic seaside town. In reality… it was the end of the road. Literally.

Andi talked to someone the other day about things to do on Vancouver Island. When he asked about going to Gold River, the guy responded, “Eh, yeah, well pretty good to drive through on a sunny day.” I think we should have considered his advice more closely.

Gold River is a small town of about 1,250 people. It’s considered to be part of the “north island,” though it’s located on the western coast of Vancouver Island. It’s the gateway to Nootka Sound, and known for its ample hiking, climbing, fishing, and wildlife viewing opportunities.

I imagined finding a little Alaska with fishing boats, float planes, and sea lions swimming for fish in the calm, icy water. What we actually found was a sleepy residential community without a person out & about. Andi stopped at the General Store gas station in town to fill up with diesel and top off the RV with propane. The gas station employee was nice enough; impressed that we were visiting all the way from Wisconsin.

After driving through town, we visited the estuary — where the river meets the ocean. I’d hoped to see a bear fishing, or even a deer or a bird, but nothing doing. I twas like a ghost town here.

I’d read online that the Ridge Restaurant was a good place to have lunch in town, so the four of us went there next. This restaurant was nicer than I expected, and our food was pretty good, too. Andi ordered a hot beef sandwich, I got a burger, and Aden ordered a half-rack of ribs. I think Tory was the only one who was disappointed; she ordered a caesar salad & said it was soggy.

After lunch, Andi suggested we go for a hike. He found a 2.6 mile loop around Antler Lake close to town. “Oh no, not this way,” I said to Andi as he turned down a bumpy, forest service road to get to the trailhead. “Ah, just relax” he said. “Do I really take us on that many sketchy roads?”

“Come on, Tory! We’re going for a hike,” Andi called to her in her little bedroom above the cab. The look she gave him — ha!

We parked the RV in the small turn-out area for Antler Lake, and started our hike through the woods. The forest was magical with lichen dripping from tree branches and a forest floor that bounced when we walked on it from all the moss cover.

The trail was relatively flat which made it an easy and enjoyable stroll through the forest. There were boardwalks over the really swampy parts which was nice so that our tennis shoes stayed dry. Some of the trees toppled over were gigantic, several hundred years old at least, which is incredible. We also saw a lot of big, black slugs crawling all over the forest floor.

Once we get into the groove, hiking is such a great way to converse with our kids. As we walked, we talked about all kinds of topics including past memories, school, family & friends, and career aspirations. Sometimes, all four of us walk in a pack together and sometimes Andi and I pair off with either Tory or Aden for some one-on-one connection time.

At various points in our 2 1/2 mile hike, the trail opened up to views of Antler Lake. It was really peaceful. We had the entire trail to ourselves.

There were so many colorful mushrooms on the trail, and even wind chimes and benches to sit & reflect as we neared the end of the trail. What started as grumbling opposition changed to happy attitudes by the time we finished walking an 1 1/2 later.

Well, that is until Andi detoured off the trail to go down to the lake. With the RV in sight, Tory was ready to be done walking, and sat right down on the road to wait for him. Eventually, she grabbed the keys from Andi and ran back to the RV to wait for the rest of us.

We concluded our hike along Antler Lake, and drove back through Gold River to fill up with water at the visitor’s center. Andi stopped at the local ice cream shop to get the kids some ice cream, too. Ice cream always makes the kids happy.

Andi drove through the Gold River Campground to see if that was a place we wanted to stay tonight, but all the spots were heavily wooded which meant our Starlink satellite internet wouldn’t work. It didn’t look like the most amazing spot anyway — kinda trashy.

“Should we just go back to our spot by Heber River?” Andi asked. I thought that sounded like a pretty good plan. We drove 10 km back to Strathcona Provincial Park, and parked on one of the old logging roads. It was a quiet spot in nature, by ourselves, and free to boot. Plus, we had a direct view to the northeast for internet which meant our phones and computers worked perfectly. Everyone was happy.

The four of us hung out in our camper for the rest of the evening watching episode after episode of Young Sheldon. We started from the beginning of the series now to watch the whole thing again.

Tomorrow, we’ll make our way back to the town of Campbell River on the east side of Vancouver Island, making stops through Strathcona Park as we go.