Big White is broken.

Ah the best laid plans....Agate Beach was a paradise until Big White has a melt down.  Leland and I were coming back from town with groceries when the heater stopped working.  Greg checked the fluids and the radiator overflow was full of sludge.   To make a long story short it's going to be really really expensive-

....it all seems like paradise until there is  a broken truck and an expensive rental car, then there is the sticky damp, the phone that doesn't work, no wifi, sand in the bed, laundry that piles up, a coating of salt on everything, parts that were ordered on Friday arrive on Tuesday but don't get picked up until Wednesday- and that's by plane!  The truck is really broken- like 7-10,000 dollars broken- but we have no choice. 

Lawrence- who owns the garage is super nice- they had us over for supper yesterday.  The mechanic is a young guy who just moved here six months ago from Calgary and specializes in these engines and knows exactly how to fix it (we hope).  Greg and Leland took the rental car to find a campsite near town to move the trailer to so we could get rid of the car and just walk until the truck is fixed.  The guy at the campground lent us his truck to go get the trailer and bring it here- they want us to borrow their jeep to go to the beach if we want.  People continue to surprise us with their generosity and hospitality.   There isn't one bookstore in the whole place so we have been scrounging paperbacks and haunting the odd library (each town has one and they are open about a total of 8 hrs per week- some things are really backward here.   So at this campsite there is wifi, a pay washer and dryer and electricity for the trailer- showers- a loonie a minute and the first minute is cold.  But we can walk to town and just chill.   Breathe, chill, breathe some more.  

 

We had a marathon game of monopoly.   We are on day 7 of a broken truck.   Who knows when it will get fixed.   Just when we have a plan,  are on a roll----tada! 
Breathing, chilling, hanging.....appreciating the kindness of strangers who aren't strangers anymore. 

Agate Beach

Agate beach is on the very north end of Graham Island and on a clear day you can see Alaska.  It's rock and beach combing heaven.  

 

 

It's near north beach where we caught the crabs and also near Tow Hill. -a volcanic formation.

Leland was fascinated by the blow hole.  (When the tide is coming in it compresses and shoots through a hole in the rock)

 

Greg got surprised by the blow hole, jumped back and stepped into another hole full of water.  Those cowboy boots will dry......maybe.

 

 

Crabbing!

 

Writing by Anna coming soon.

 

Fishing

Greg and Leland and Anna are fishing maniacs- everywhere we go- fishing, maybe we can fish here.  Tried it in Kagan bay for a couple hours, at the Tlell river - caught this little guy. 

Really it doesn't matter if they catch or not, big or little or nothing- it's all about the water and the potential.  They did catch a couple of dogfish (small sharks) and a bottom feeder called a bullhead, but didn't have the camera.   I had some time on the beach reading.

We did get some crabs that Anna will write about next. 

Canada Day

So what does one do for Canada Day?  In Millarville you go to the Races- on Haida Gwaii you go to the mud bog.  If any of you were worried that we would be getting too many hippie fumes, don't worry we got a good does of red neck that day.  Port Clements is a logging town in the middle of Graham Island that hosts Canada Day.  This includes the mud bog.  A dedicated spot just next to town that has logs, holes and you just add water and a big machine to stir it up.   It's a much anticipated annual event.  Loud, messy, fun and a granny won third place with her Jeep Cherokee!

This is how you get pulled out if your truck dies in the middle.

Yes that's a snowmobile. 

 

Happy Canada Day!

Around Queen Charlotte

Playground of trees- including risk from slipping and falling.  Being here is like entering a different world.  One that most of the time is awesome.  Moist air, green everywhere, water, birds, ocean, an ever changing sky, trees, moss, crab, fish, rocks, shells, slow pace, friendly people, short distances, many places to explore, no technology- wifi is rare and our cell (Rogers) doesn't work at all- like at all.  time just seems to float by- we're into our 4th week here.  Tilly is a bit of a dumb bunny with the ocean and continues to test it to see if she can drink- the first 50 times weren't enough apparently.  Rusty is his usual evil self- but is learning to chill a bit. We've spent time near Queen Charlotte at Kagan bay watching the tide and the seals and exploring in Fizz.

Seals

We also went toward the west side of the island to Rennel Sound but a bridge was being repaired so we stopped and hiked into Yakoun Lake- part of which is a reserve and has some really big trees.

 

There are also some really big clear cuts. 

 

We all use lumber and forest products- but really I think humans can do better than this.

 

A tree, a beach, a rope and a stick.

Haida Gwaii - formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands is far- through Prince George and then the wiggly highway to Prince Rupert and a 7 hour ferry ride across Hecate Strait to Skidegate landing.
It cost about $850 to get us our dogs, the truck and trailer over on the ferry.   Which seems like a lot until I thought about how long we were staying and how much hotels and meals would cost without the trailer.   Also there are so many really cool places to just park and live and hang out for awhile that you can't stay at without camping.   Like the kids finding the swing on a beach near our first campsite near Queen Charlotte (the village).   Hours of entertainment from a tree a beach a rope and a stick. 

Even good old mom did it and yes my arms were sore the next day.

 

 

Even Tilly got in on the fun.  Rusty of course takes everything too far so had to sit out. 

 

 

 

 

 

And there they were- gone.

We zipped into Alberta and got the trailer fixed twice!!!!  Thanks to the guys in Leduc who actually found the problem and got us back into our house- it was even on warranty!   Greg had an interview for a teaching job- even bought a new outfit and we ended up finding out three weeks later that he didn't get the job.   It's all right- Tomahawk -west of Edmonton wasn't looking too appealing.  Right after the trailer got fixed we packed up again and headed west toward Haida Gwaii.  Seemingly random but Greg and I have always wanted to come here.  Trading in rocks and sand and sun for trees and water and mist.