So we went up north to BC this past week. First for a wedding in Vancouver/Whistler, then over to Vancouver Island/Tofino for our own anniversary.

The wedding was great, as were all the surrounding activities (bachelor party, pre-wedding-day BBQ, etc.). It was great to meet all the relatives and friends that came out for the event, all such nice people and fun to meet/talk to. And the wedding itself was very nice – held at The Edgewater Resort just a few km up the road from the Whistler ski resort. The ceremony was on the shore of Green Lake (adjacent to the lodge) and then dinner/dancing/party in the lodge itself. And now the happy couple is honeymooning in Portugal – Jealous!

So then we drove/ferried/drove over to Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Here we went kayaking in Clayoquot Sound, hung out on Chesterman Beach, and went whale watching the last morning we were there.

Kayaking in Clayoquot Sound is great – and we only scratched the surface. Our tour was guided, and we kayaked around about an hour and a half before landing on an island that has a still-standing, original old growth forest. It has a raised boardwalk to allow getting around and to minimize impact on surrounding vegetation. There are many HUGE cedars and sitka spruce trees on the island, and our guides were great in providing numerous places for history and natural information about the forest and the island, including the latest on the ongoing efforts to hold off the extraction industries (mining, logging, etc. – all the bad guys!).

The town of Tofino is pretty small, but there were some good restaurants there (Sobo) as also seen in nearby Ucluelet.

Finally, we went whale watching before we left to drive home that afternoon. We went with Ocean Outfitters, on an oversized yellow Zodiac boat. Words to the wise for future adventuregoers:

1) wear rubber boots if you have them (our shoes got soaked!) – they give you full-length body coveralls and a rain slicker, and boy do you need it, even on a bright sunny day like we had;

2) bring a waterproof camera. Ours didn’t get damaged, but after the first couple blasts (not exaggerating) through the waves at full throttle, we buried the cam in our coveralls to avoid it being ruined by constant splashing/salt water. So we missed out on a few pics I know I would have otherwise taken;

3) don’t sit in front if you don’t want to get (as) wet. This applies in whitewater river rafting for all the same reasons, and if you’ve done that, this is the seagoing version but with the boat also *leaping* out of the water like a Sea-Doo, then crashing into a ‘wave valley’ constantly. Not for the timid, but exciting once you get used to it.

It is pretty cool out there, although if you are an otherwise land-lubber like me, you begin to gain a likely-overdue respect for the ocean when bobbing around like a cork, sitting in what is otherwise a big inflatable raft with an oversized engine attached to it. I’ve been on hydrofoils before, which are pretty darn fast themselves, but since those boats are MUCH bigger, the sensation of speed isn’t near as close to home as on this thing. Plus when we were blasting around chasing the orca pod, we were out beyond the final ring(s) of islands, effectively open ocean. Again, pretty humbling.

I think the only other time I’ve felt that was when snorkeling in Hawaii several years ago and swam out a few hundred yards to the edge of the reef, to watch some scuba divers go down to the ocean floor about 30+ feet below to enter a cave down there. I just floated there and looked out to the open ocean. It gets a darker blue pretty fast and you can’t see very far – yet you know there are plenty of things swimming around out there, some of which can eat you!

Watching the humpback whale surface and dive again while he was looking for food was also a highlight. We were closer to him than the orcas, plus he’s much bigger than they are to begin with. Those Stellar’s Sea Lions were pretty darn big too, although they were mostly sleeping on shore when we motored around nearby.

All in all, what an amazing trip and definitely requires more return expeditions (to Vancouver Island as well as Whistler)!

candybowl

we were at a family reunion in Southern Oregon this past weekend. There were many highlights, but the first one was a blast down the Rogue River on one of the “Hellsgate” jetboats. The one we were on had 3(!) 454-V8 engines in it, each powering a single jet. It’s basically a flat-bottom metal (steel or aluminum, not sure which), shallow box with bench seats across – then a raised podium deck at the back for the pilot. Our boat could hold up to 81 people (it was their biggest one, they have several) and it was all but full. Apparently these things can get up to about 55mph on the river – I truly believe that’s likely NOT the top end, but may be the ‘safe’ top end.

So, they get you in there, and you start blasting down the river. Then the guy starts talking up how wet you’re going to get – and then slams on the brakes, which makes the boat all but nosedive into the water and raises a huge wave over the front of the boat. Hence, water. Not unlike getting doused while whitewater rafting, but we weren’t in any rapids (at the first one, anyway). So on you blast down the river, and the guy does 360’s a few times, and alternatively tries to douse the entire boat through a series of maneuvers – none really crazy, all very fun. Then you get to a narrow canyon and the boat idles through that while he talks about your surroundings – the boat then turns around and heads back a short distance to a shore facility where you eat a big dinner – then you zoom back up the river (while your pilot and usually at least one other boat try to alternate at crossing each other’s wake and dousing each others boat from side to side, etc.).

It was great – our clan had about 34 people, the rest of the boat was filled with others – what’s also cool about this is that it’s truly an all-ages activity (unlike whitewater rafting!) where you have fairly old people on there all the way down to kids. And everybody is having a ball.

Besides the blasting around like crazy people, there was a lot of wildlife (several osprey, blue herons, ducks, swans and a bald eagle) around to see, and many people waving from the shore (I’m sure the residents who live along the top part of the journey aren’t near as ‘enthused’ about the jet boats as we were :)). There was also a couple risque ‘floor show’ events that I won’t discuss here, but were pretty funny. The food feast was bbq chicken and pork with salad, beer/wine and some basic antipasti. Not fine dining, but definitely did the job.

it was a GREAT way to start the weekend – if you are ever in Grants Pass (or Gold Beach, for the one that comes up the river from there) – don’t miss out!

candybowl