Snowbirding West 2020

 

Early in our Covid experience (mid April) we thought it prudent to make alternate plans for the upcoming winter – heading south to Arizona seemed likely to be out of the question. We did a bit of research & decided that Vancouver Island was our best bet for warmer weather (staying in Alberta in an RV is only for the very hardy or very foolish!) We picked Living Forest Oceanside campground in Nanaimo & booked a site. This turned out to be an excellent decision as the US/Canada border remains closed & RV sites in BC have become a very hot commodity!

We left home October 13 & headed west – of course we had to endure driving through rain that turned to snow which started to stick to the hiway, not enjoyable at all! We did purchase special Autosocks for the RV, an alternative to chains, but thankfully it did not get that bad.

leaving Elk Island Retreat

 

We spent a couple of nights in Penticton to catch up with friends & for a trip to Valu Village where Robin cleaned them out of fancy liqueur glasses for his birdhouses (this has become a regular occurrence – checking out thrift stores looking for glasses.)

Okanogan vineyard

Wright's Beach RV, looking out over Skaha Lake, Penticton

Keremeos fruit & veggie stand

We were happy that the dreaded mountain pass snowstorms waited until we had passed through, we drove to Chilliwack in daylight, spent the night & caught an early ferry to Vancouver Island. They charge by length (64 ft) & height (12.5ft) which came to $389, glad we will be staying 5 ½ mo. Luckily the pamphlet racks on the ferry were still full so we collected a bunch outlining all the touristy things we could do.

 

overnight in truck stop

front of the line on the ferry

 We arrived after only 1543 km to our site #218 at Living Forest Oceanside Campground on October 17. We were able to get a site with 50 amp power, oceanview (& view of the Nanaimo River), but still in a lot of very, very tall trees! No satellite TV for us, but the park provides a decent cable package. There are hiking trails within the campground, thru the trees & down to the water. We are actually right on the Nanaimo River where it empties into the ocean so no true beach. We put out our bird feeders but sadly had to put them away, except for the hummingbird feeders as they could attract mice & rats - certainly don’t want that! The hummers found them the same day.

looking out our front window - an unserviced site so not used

The salmon are running up the river so we get to watch many, many bald eagles hanging about, as well as sea lions fishing.

bald eagles

sea lion

harbour seal

viewpoint in campground, looking across to downtown Nanimo

We got a truckload of cedar fire wood delivered so on good days we enjoy a campfire while we look out over the water.

We had done several short day trips to local beaches for hiking & beachcombing – you can never have too much driftwood or shells!

sea lions on Jack Point hike

view of Nanaimo River into the ocean from campground viewpoint

so green & lush!

Arbutus trees

wild blackberries, everywhere, invasive (& the season is over)

We have reconnected with dear friends that we met originally in Cabo, Mexico in 2012 – they have become our “cohort”. We celebrated both of their birthdays in November as well as going clamming with them.

Barb & Bill

clamming in Nanoose Bay

We had hoped to get in on a Christmas market or two, but it seems they are not happening this year due to Covid. We did visit a couple local outdoor Farmers Markets, finding some good local grub.

We have also had visits from 2 sets of folks that live on the Island that we have met in Quartzsite – nice to catch up & commiserate on not being able to go south.

We decided to travel across to the west coast of Vancouver Island before the weather turned to possible snow on the pass – we drove with the car to Ucluelet on Oct. 30 for a 3 night stay at an Airbnb. We visited virtually every beach that was open, including Pacific Rim National Park, did a lot of hiking, took many photos & collected driftwood & shells to last many a year! The trail to Florencia Bay was 2.8 km which included a very long, steep stairway of 174 steps down to the beach (& 174 steps back up), then to Half Moon Bay trail for a stairway of 203 steps down (& back up)! We are ecstatic that we can still manage this!

lots of waves our 1st day!

Ucluelet harbor

Pacific Rim National Park, Long Beach surfers

a much calmer day the next morning

2 fawns in the yard of our Airbnb, about 10 ft from me

really BIG trees

whale bones

moss covered stairways & walkways

looking back to the shore, Robin sitting on a log

signs at all trailheads warning about wolves, cougars & bears

more stairs!

We continue to try & walk/hike most days, often wearing a raincoat for either misty weather or actual rain, but only needed rain pants twice. We have not had frost yet; most overnight low temperatures are 3-8C with highs of 5-13C. Considerably better than Alberta, but we do miss the heat & sun of Arizona! 

 

part of our shell collection, not washed yet

some of our new driftwood!

our yard, the leaves kept Robin busy for a while, most have fallen

Parksville beach

upriver- Nanaimo River

at Neck Point park, an area of tiny doors on trees

Pipers Point 

at Departure Bay

Goats on the Roof store in Coombs

inside the "goats" store - imported goods from "everywhere"!

a big, ugly spider!

We had been here 3 weeks before we tasted a local Nanaimo bar – they were “invented” here – the peanut butter crunch version is a keeper!

Robin has done a bit of carving, was busy setting up his gnome collection (also fun for our neighbor kids) & is now working on a wire bonsai tree. I have been taking it easy; I developed a ganglion on my left wrist this summer which gives me pain if I do much of anything so catching up on the blog has been my only project.

Robin's gnome collection, sorry can't figure out how to turn it

T

 

We continue to Live the Dream as we explore the Island, looking for new adventures!