All day forward to get to a gate that is closed. Onto plan B.
Plan B was getting a site at Elk Falls in Campbell River. My view while shivering under the blankie. Eric is outside fussing and chatting with Ben. He took all the gear and shoved it under the Jeep. Man I hope the rain stops. I definitely won't make it this trip if it doesn't .
Cozy. Eating our Subway cookie snack. Praying for the rain to stop.
The rain cleared up in the morning. Everything had to be dried before putting it back in the Jeep.
I took a walk while Eric repacked Oscar. The we cheated at went to McDonald's in Walmart for breakfast. I even did my morning routine in the bathroom there. So much easier than setting up camp.
More hours of driving.
Airing down in Port Alice.
Our first time in Port Alice. Not much to see here. We can knock this town off our list of smaller communities we might like to move to.
A few more hours of driving to find the bridge into Side Bay deactivated.
Funniest picture ever.
These three are actually trying to plot moving logs with winches. Haha.
Plan C. Use the other, longer way in but it means backtracking.
Mama and her cub!!
Mama
Baby peeking.
We saw a huge black bear crossing the road in front of us on the way out too. Two bear sightings in one trip! So much scat on the roads. Anyone know why they poop on the road versus in the bush?
Finally at Side Bay. Time to set up.
Jeff setting up.
Ben setting up.
Our kitchen and bathroom set up.
Time for dinner.
Eric moved everything pretty much everything time he went in here. ? We had everything we needed. It's been a long time since we've rough camped. I tent camp occasionally but for Eric it's been pretty rare. We have a few little things listed to make things a tad easier for next time. A wee broom. A better mug for Eric. A mirror. A side table. We had all the important things.
This is Biggie.
He is awesome.
Contemplating life.
We strolled the whole beach. We were camped on 2nd beach. Goals if we are ever back would be near the end of 3rd beach.
Must be gold nearby.
Side Bay is truely beautiful. Worth the drive.
Camping spot scouted for next time.
Magical.
We think the little ocean scene in the BC Museum might be a replica of this exact spot.
Humpback Whales!!!
There were two.
Absolutely incredible how close they came in.
It definitely caused some excitement up and down the beach.
Not captured but we had a brown mink in our site a
couple times. So cute. We also had an otter floating around for a few hours just in front of us but I couldn't see him so didn't bother trying to get a picture. The others were using binoculars.
Please Eric, a bite of breakfast?
We woke up Sunday to a gorgeous sunny day. I was burned from Saturday's overcast day so I was a little apprehensive about a whole day on the beach. Plus I was achy from the Jeep sleeping. I wanted a shower, a hot tub and my bed. I told Eric we could stay another night but that I wasn't opposed to heading home. He started packing up and we left around 11. Made it home around 9. It was a long day of driving for Eric. I napped a lot. We had a nice picnic lunch in Port Alice and stopped for burritos in Campbell River.
We stopped to look at a Boler trailer for sale in Port Alice. The fellow gifted Eric 8 ball valve covers for Oscar to match his 8 ball shifter. The Boler is fabulous. Eric wants to restore one for me to replace Cheese. No set up required. Not a project for today. I panicked at the idea of selling Cheese. My ultimate dream would be to have a Boler color matched to Onyx though. So one day maybe.
I'm proud of us for doing hard things.
We would definitely do this again but perhaps closer to home, two nights max and nicer weather.
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