Gone But Not Forgotten

I’ve been home from my vacation for a week. We left Bella Coola on Aug 3 and took a 13 hour ferry to Port Hardy.

But I digress….I never did finish blogging about my trip. It was too hot and we got caught up in the “fire” situation there. We were always safe, but it was hard not to watch everything burn.

Before the fires started we were able to hike around on some of the amazing trails the area has to offer. This picture was taken at the beaver pond. It was so hot that day (39C) and being in the boggy/marshy area made it worse I’m sure.

I found that Bella Coola was a big change from the city, but it was the most amazing change of pace. We had everything we needed to be comfortable there, and the area was such an absolute beauty that we had lots to do to keep us busy. People kept suggesting that we would be bored after two days, but really we weren’t.

We took a zodiac tour of the estuary with Kynoch Adventure Tours. This was the same group that had taken us out to the Odegaard Falls the day before. It was cool on the water, so it was a welcome relief from the heat. The water was calm and we were able to travel without too much bumping around. It was amazing to float up practically underneath the eagles that were sitting in the trees. I have never seen one so close up.

We were hoping to see some bears, but they were still up in the mountains as the salmon weren’t yet running. If we had come a month later, it would have been prime time to view them. We did see some seals though. Fraser was our guide and he knew a lot about the area and the history. It was an eye opening experience, especially to learn about how the town had been on the other side of the inlet before it was moved, and to visit the Tallheo Cannery. I could have spent hours there just looking around the store alone. It is just as it was when it was left. It’s like stepping back in time.

We visited the petroglyphs which the area is famous for. Numerous people told me to see them, and I had read a lot about them in researching Bella Coola. It’s not until you stand there in the forest and look at them, listening to the stories told by your Native Nuxhalk guide that you really get an appreciation for the area and the history. I would highly recommend that anyone who goes there, contacts the Art Gallery and gets a guide. It’s well worth the hike. The bonus is the beautiful forest that you hike into, along the edge of a cliff looking down at Thorsen’s Creek.

We spent an hour looking around the Bella Coola Museum. That was very interesting. A lot of stuff had been saved, and the stories really gave you a feel for what life must have been like to those people in the early days.

On Friday we attempted to go hiking but the ranger told us that he didn’t want us going farther than the Lookout on the trail. It was a short hike, but the forest was beautiful (and cool) and the view was spectacular, looking down the valley. Who knew that two days later the valley would be filled with the smoke of several major forest fires.

After that hike, as our access was more and more limited, we became engrossed in watching the fires. Our last day (Sunday) was spent going back and forth between town and the fires.

On Monday morning we lined up at 6am for the ferry ride to Port Hardy. The ferry wasn’t until 8, but you were required to be there two hours early. Everyone was assembled in the parking lot across from the Co-Op in town, and then led to the dock in a convoy.

We saw an abundance of marine life from the ferry. The most fun was the school of dolphins that was frolicking and playing in the water as they followed the ship for what seemed like a long time. They were just jumping and playing and jumping over each other. I had never seen anything like it before.

We also had quite the show from the humpback whales. They were breeching, jumping out of the water completely and crashing back down. It was hard to capture them as they were quick and it was so windy on the boat deck. It was spectacular to watch.

We arrived in Port Hardy at 9pm that night and drove to Port McNeil to our hotel. We then took the long way down the coast to Nanaimo and made it just in time for the ferry home. It was one of the most interesting vacations I’ve had. I got to see something completely new and different, and to go to a place I had always wanted to see. I am looking forward to going back there.

I just realized that some of this is a repetition of my previous post, but I was just thinking out loud. This is the first time that I have sat down and really thought about our trip – so …. sorry for the repetition, I guess I just had to tell you again how great some of it was. Plus….I love eagles and had to post the picture again.

Thank you to BC Ferries for a great vacation and thanks to the Bella Coola Valley Tourism for the contest which got us there. Thanks go out to Cheryl Waugh for the great ideas and being so helpful when we straggled into the office in 41.2 degree heat.