Vancouver Island Day 3: To the Top!

Today I drove as far as you can to the north of Vancouver Island. I’m staying tonight and tomorrow night in Port Hardy, a small tourist and fishing village at the end of British Columbia’s Highway 19.

This was a day full of fog and mist. Exactly what the Pacific Northwest winter is known for.

Mud Bay, British Columbia, Canada

From Parksville to Campbell River, there is a choice of a modern expressway or the old two-lane highway. I took the old road for a while, which led to the most fun photos of the day. I stopped here in Fanny Bay to take in a fun foggy seascape.

Sailboats at anchor in Fanny Bay. · Fanny Bay, British Columbia, Canada

Land of Paradice · A seagull contemplates life on a foggy day in the Land of Paradice (sic). · Fanny Bay, British Columbia, Canada

… and then a funny thing happened. I was focusing on one of the larger boats in the scene when it occurred to me that the look and feel of the boat was … shall we say … familiar. When I finally arrived in Port Hardy and started processing my photos, I zoomed in on the name of the boat.

Turns out this is the now-retired MV Rhododendron, formerly of the Washington State Ferry system, now serving as a staging site for a local oyster harvesting operation.

MV Rhododendron · Fanny Bay, British Columbia, Canada

Four fishing boats at anchor on a foggy day. · north of Fanny Bay, British Columbia, Canada

North of Campbell River the weather turned a bit more unpleasant, so I only stopped a couple of times for photos.

View across to Denman Island on a foggy day. · north of Fanny Bay, British Columbia, Canada

Looking across to Quadra Island. · north of Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada

I took a moment for a short nature walk. · west of Sayward, British Columbia, Canada

Looking forward to laying low and maybe just a little exploring tomorrow.