Father's Day Family Camp at Cluxewe Resort, Port McNeill, BC June 14-17

Ray and I headed out Friday morning at around 9:30 am and arrived in Port McNeill shortly before noon. Kristi and Jason were only 30 minutes behind us with Jason's parents with them in their rig. Good thing because we moved the motorhome in and out of all three sites booked to get the best reception for our satellite dish. lol  The Cluxewe RV Resort is not really a resort … quite a bit more rustic but a good spot for 3 large dogs and one mini-pinscher. Lol

Here are some pictures of the views from the motorhome as we got closer to Port McNeill.

Nimpkish River

By 1pm we were all settled into our spots. There is very limited cell service here and even with our cell phone booster no internet. They do allow you to purchase internet here for $15 for a week or $5 per day so I think we will sign up for that and see how it works. Everyone did their own thing for dinner ... I cooked Shrimp Curry on rice and had Kristi and Jason over so we just added more veggies as Kristi's pork chops were still frozen. :) After dinner we all sat around the campfire Jason made.

Kristi and Ray took the dogs for a walk along the estuary here right behind us. At the end of August/early September they have a huge pink salmon run here every even year.

Sun on the Old Man's Beard makes it look like the old Golden Spruce in Haida Gwaii

Dale and Nadine to the right

I took this picture out our bedroom window, gorgeous.

Of course Ray's is much better. lol

Saturday morning was quite cloudy until about 11 am when the sun came out. After everyone had their morning … we all piled into two vehicles and headed to downtown Port McNeill. They have a very small Farmer’s Market, but still managed to find some baking and Ray's favourite... chocolate.  Also checked out the clothing store, where Kristi bought some shoes and I bought a couple of things at the IGA. The grocery store was well-stocked although a little pricey, however if you forgot to bring something you could find it there.

A second cute couple!

Here are some harbour pictures from Port McNeill's waterfront.

Early logging Steam Donkey Engine

After strolling around, we checked out the other RV Park to see if they still had a golf course for Jason and Dale to play on … not. Good view from the campsite though.

Anyways, on the way back to town, Ray and I saw a small black bear on the road and some interesting driftwood art at a house.

Steps carved out for the old loggers with their double handled Swede saws.

Once back to camp Ray and I took a lovely walk down the spit to check out the other campsites and went for a walk on the beach. Freya enjoyed herself going for a swim. Ray and I would have preferred these oceanfront sites with the views out our front window and a lot more sunshine (with accompanying winds), but the kids prefer being enclosed and their campsites further apart from other people, especially with the dogs. The sites we are in though do break the wind most of the time, so definitely a trade-off.

My turn to cook tonight, so Lasagna is on the menu with salad and garlic toast. Hopefully my convection oven works like it used to! (It did. Lol) We had a great meal and then it was time to sit in the last rays of sunshine around Jason’s campfire. Firewood is $10 for 10 pieces which is a wheelbarrow full and is dry cypress (yellow cedar).

Nadine and Gizmo all bundled up.

Sunday morning … Happy Father’s Day. Jason and Kristi left early to Telegraph Cove to go on a kayaking adventure for 3 hours. We brought her dogs over here to our house … just like old times. Later on in the morning, we picked up Nadine and Dale with us to go to Telegraph Cove and meet up with Kristi and Jason for lunch at the pub. Thanks for lunch kids!  They had a fabulous kayak trip and took one picture ... Jason said your mom will want at least one of us. lol Good Man!

The rest of us walked around the little community of fifteen permanent residents, and then down the boardwalk towards the pub and Whale Watching Adventures. It was still cloudy, so a little cool. Kristi and Jason caught up with us at noon and we had a delicious lunch at the pub (thanks for buying kids).

Dale said this old truck had a valuable starter still in it ... so Ray had to look. lol

There's a Whale Museum at the back for $5 per person.

This is the entrance to The Saltry Pub where we had a fabulous lunch. This was a very eclectic place with lots of old memorabilia.

Walking back down the boardwalk to the General Store.

Nadine and Dale

We drove to the other side of the cove to check out that boardwalk.

View from the other boardwalk.

There was a little trail at the end that I walked up and this was the view from there.

Once back home everyone went their separate ways. Everyone had a nap except Dale and I. We enjoyed our quiet time too. We all met up again around 4:30 at the campfire at Kristi's site. It was Kristi and Jason's turn to cook dinner and we had delicious steak, corn and baked potatoes. Thanks guys. We hung around until 8pm then called it a night. Ray's back needed to get prone. He did a lot of walking today at Telegraph Cove including dog walks. The other guys stayed at the wonderful campfire. It was 26C at Lake Cowichan today and we possibly got to 17C here in Port McNeill. lol

Monday morning ... we are sleeping quite well here and not getting up until 7am. It is so quiet with only the birds to wake you up. The morning started out sunny but by 7:30 the anticipated clouds started moving in. We could be into some rain by this afternoon. Ray and I puttered around until noon when it was time for us to drive back into Port McNeill to take the ferry over to Sointula. A friend of ours from 40 plus years ago in Terrace, now lives over there. We have not seen Dan Hillert for at least 20 years. It was great to meet his partner Deb Wiggins and get a tour of their piece of paradise Malcolm Island.

Ray and Dan

View from the ferry at Port McNeill

Here we go.

Arriving at Sointula, Malcolm Island.

Port McNeill

Sointula on Malcom Island

Once on Malcolm Island we jumped into Dan's truck and headed the short 1 1/2 km down the main road to their house and gallery. Dan and Debbie built all of this with their own two hands. Their main house is built around an old existing house.

A very cute coastal cabin.

Debbie made a wonderful huge rhubarb pie to share with us.

Dan is a great photographer and Debbie does fused glass. Here is an example of her work on their bathroom door.

The view from their living room.

The Gallery.

We bought three pieces of glass and commissioned a couple more.

Their beach on the other side of the road.

After the pie and latte from their very fancy coffee maker, Deb used to run a bistro, we took off for a short tour of their piece of paradise. Malcolm Island is a photographer's dream with all of the old buildings showing it's history. This is an example of a building, an old net shed, that Dan has taken pictures of over and over. Ray did a pretty good job in the few minutes we had.

Dan sent me this picture via facebook ... of his best picture after 16 years living there. lol



Ray says ... see what a full frame camera can do, wink, wink, nod, nod lol. Here are some pictures of the marina and foreshore.

This is a picture on the side of their info centre. Ray would like something like this but in 3-D to stand on a beam in the house.

There are two rustic campgrounds on this island ... this is one of the more popular ones. If we come back again with the motorhome though, Dan and Debbie have a flat area in their yard for us. I don't know if this campground could handle our large units but small units have no problem.

Bere Point Park, Campground & the Beautiful Bay Trail

There are 24 campsites nestled in the trees with the beach a stone’s throw away with views of the Queen Charlotte Strait and the nearby snow-capped coastal mountains.

Occasionally orca whales may rub on the rocks at Bere Point. Watch from the whale watching platform. There are 3 free picnic day use areas for public use. There is no potable running water, hydro or flush toilets.

Park Highlight:   See a killer whale rubbing beach.

Walk softly along the spongy forest trail to the viewing platform at Bere Point. Lookout over the ocean to the coastal mountains and cross your fingers… if you are lucky enough, you might just hear the water rippling as a killer whale approaches to rub on the pebble beach below. The population of killer whales that visits this area are the only killer whales in the world known to have this rubbing behaviour.

Bere Point Campsite is six kilometers from the town of Sointula.

The Beautiful Bay Trail begins at the Bere Point Campground.  This is a 10 km round trip out-and-back trail. The trail winds along a ridge through stunning rainforest with periodic glimpses of the sea and coastal mountains. Beach exits and the tide give hikers the option of designing their own circuit route.

After our short 3 1/2 hour visit it was time to take the ferry back to Port McNeill. Thanks for the fabulous visit Dan and Debbie.  Ray really wants to come back for a visit and get some "golden hour" pictures.

The ferry was 1/2 an hour late leaving Port McNeill which meant it was 1/2 an hour late coming back for us to go back. We got back to the campsite by 5:30 in time for Nadine's delicious orange sesame chicken with a fabulous potato salad.

Even though it sprinkled a little we stayed out around the campfire until 9:45 pm before calling it a night.