Port Hardy

We arrived in Port Hardy late this morning after a relatively short run from Port McNeil. Port Hardy is a good place to get provisions and charts and all the other things that one needs while cruising. Tomorrow, we're off to the Broughtons for several days of exploring virgin (at least for us) territory.

Yesterday was a great day on the water. It just doesn't get much better. We saw many killer whales on the way from Kelsey Bay to Port McNeil. They were common around Boat Bay, a beach where the whales periodically almost beach themselves scratching their bellies on the gravel. We followed 10-12 different whales around for several hours. At one point, we were drifting in the water when one of the whales stopped about 50 yards abeam of us and just watched us. It was as if she was deciding if we were a threat or not, or maybe if we were worth eating. Then she turned and swam away.

Yesterday, I did something I'd never done before. (And no, I didn't fill my holding tank with diesel or take a crap in my diesel tank.) When we were nearing Port McNeil, I heard a distress call to the Coast Guard from a boat that was dead in the water with three adults and three children on board about 10 miles away from us. I responded and gave the 28' power boat and his new owner a tow to the fuel dock at Port McNeil. He left by boat about a half hour later, saying something about the gas gauge not working properly. He came back to WaveGuide at the dock later that evening, and as a token of his appreciation, gave us a print his artist wife had made, and a bottle of wine.

Here's Sue Bean in tow.

The End of the Boardwalk by Heather Brown.


I haven't been following much news at all lately, and maybe it's a good thing. Some really nasty people in Bush's inner circle have been leaving in my absence. Last week, it was Karl Rove; this week it's Alberto Gonzales. Bush is really the only one left of his original Texas mafia. Maybe if I stay out of touch for another week or two, W hisself will resign to spend more time with his family.

On to other news of the moment, I haven't had any nicotine in any form for over 10 days now. I have been pretty successful in not smoking since I quit on the road back from New Orleans, but until now, I've been relying on Commit, the nicotine lozenges. I've replaced the nicotine addiction with Fisherman's Friend lozenges. I couldn't find any Altoids up here in the wilds of Canada, but the Fisherman's Friends are also 'curiously strong' and seem to work quite well.

Campbell River

Chatterbox Falls and the accompanying warning sign. (I wonder how often it gets updated)


Here's the dock at the end of Princess Louisa Inlet.

We spent a couple of days on Granville Island, a day at Gibson's, a day at Princess Louisa Inlet, and the last couple of days here in Campbell River. The sun is shining for the first time in days, my water issues are all resolved, so all is well with the world. Water issues? What water issues? Well, the truth will come out sooner or later, so I may as well tell you all. Remember a couple of years ago when I put water in the diesel tank in the BVI? And I swore I'd never do that again? Well, I didn't do that, but I did put diesel in my water tank!!! What a pain that turned out to be! First, ecologically responsible person that I am, I talked the Esso dealer here into taking my contaminated diesel. But I had to find something to put it in and get it there. So I bought a couple of 5 gallon jerry cans, pumped the water tank out into the marina until the diesel started flowing, filled the jerry cans, emptied the jerry cans, and repeated until the tank was empty. Then I refilled my tank with water and discovered that my water pump had died. The next day, I bought a new pump and managed to install it myself, but then did a lot of cursing and head-scratching until I finally got the water flowing. So now I've pumped out my tank a couple of times, and refilled it from the bottom (by hooking up the water hose to the outlet of the tank), and put in some diesel-eating bacteria. We're drinking bottled water and will use the tank water for cleanup and showers.

Today we're heading back across to Desolation Sound, and then we'll head north and probably make it as far as Port Hardy before we turn around and make our way back to Seattle. We'll be back some time after Labor Day.

Blogging will be intermittent

Hal and I got back to Seattle yesterday after a good day's ride from Kamloops. The weather was just about perfect, and we had no problems. The day before, we ran into some cold, crappy weather between Edmonton and Jasper, but all-in-all, it wasn't too bad. We're getting used to at least one day of bad weather on these annual trips, but this year was better than most.

The highlight of the festival for me was Saturday when the Compadres gave a concert, followed later in the day by Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. The Compadres play what they call Celtino music, with James Keelaghan providing the Celt, and Oscar Lopez (in my mind the world's best guitar player) providing the Latino side. For some reason, it works. Blackie and the Rodeo Kings are all established solo players, but every year they get together, put on black sequined cowboy suits, make some great country rocking music, and have a hell of a good time. Think ZZ Top, but with more substance.

Blogging will be intermittent at best for the next few weeks. Tomorrow, Bonnie and I are headed up into the wilds of Canada with my boat, and we'll probably not be spending much time in front of a computer. We plan on stopping in Vancouver, Gibson's Landing, Princess Louisa Inlet, Desolation Sound, and any other place that suits our fancy.

It's a tough life, but someone's got to live it!

Edmonton Update

Here's the view of the mainstage.

The festival site has great views of downtown Edmonton

Hal, me, Devon, Tom and Alvin

This poor old guy from Belize was so cold last night that he wore a hoody and gloves for his set.

Yesterday was cold and raining and miserable all day. I picked up my repaired bike (total cost 1.5MU), but then had to drive it all the way across town in the miserable wet conditions. Miraculously, the rain stopped about an hour before the festivities began for the evening, then the skies cleared, and then it got cold. Like low 40's cold! You could see the performers' breath on stage! But we're not fair-weather folkies! We braved the cold and had a good time. The highlight for me was Guy Clark, even though I think he'd had a few before he got onstage. Oscar Lopez, Baka Beyond, and Andy Palacio combined for a great session before the mainstage performances began.

Today, the Compadres are tops on my must-see list, along with Connie Kaldor, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, and Mary Gauthier. This morning the skies are blue, and it looks good so far. Highs are projected around 70, with lows in the 40's again tonight.

Edmonton

Hal and I finally made it yesterday afternoon after three nights on the road. It was a good trip, done at a leisurely pace. We stopped in Winthrop the first night, Nelson, BC, for the second night, and in Cochrane, AB, for the third night. The weather was great until the last leg of the drive to Keith and Carmen's place in Cochrane. Driving through the foothills of the Rockies, it suddenly became cold and then the rains started. It was still raining the next morning when we left, but stopped soon after. We didn't have any major mechanical dysfunctions except that my bike started running poorly at anything less than 3/4 throttle. I could go like hell on the highway, but could barely keep it running in the city. I dropped the bike off at an Edmonton BMW dealer, and they managed to fix it pretty quickly by replacing the throttle position sensor. It shouldn't cost anymore than a couple of MU, but I won't find out for sure until I pick up the bike later this AM.

Over the last few years, Hal and I have taken various routes into BC from northern WA, and no matter which way we go, we notice the same thing. On the WA side of the border, the towns are dying (with or without a Wal-Mart), the countryside seems dry and brown, and the most successful folks live in the biggest double-wides. When you cross the border into Canada, all of a sudden the towns are alive, the streets are filled with tourists, the orchards and vineyards look greener, and even the sky seems bluer. Somebody should do a study to see what's going on. All things being equal, one would think there wouldn't be much of a difference, but there certainly is. I don't know what it is, but those godless, faggot-loving, commie-pinko bastards up north seem to be doing pretty well for themselves. Oh, and what about the exchange rate? Ask Hal about him cashing in $400US for a whopping $412CAN at a Canadian bank.

We went to the Festival last night for opening night. In spite of the threatening clouds, it never did rain, and the evening was actually quite pleasant. For me, the highlight was Nanci Griffith's performance. I've got several of her CD's, but had never seen her live. She put on a good show. It was a good way to start the festivities.

More posts with pictures and and musical commentary to follow. Stay tuned.

On the Road Again

We got back last night from a great time at the Blues Festival in Port Townsend, and I'm busy with last minute chores before taking off again on my motorcycle to Edmonton for the Folk Music Festival. We had a leisurely trip up to Port Townsend with an overnight stop at a beautiful secluded anchorage at Port Ludlow on the way. Yesterday we were having a leisurely ride back on a gorgeous day, checking out various bays and inlets, until we realized it was starting to get late. Then WaveGuide showed its other side with a quick 20 knot cruise back to Seattle. I think I may have to rethink my plans about selling WaveGuide and buying a sailboat. WaveGuide is fast, beautiful, and comfortable, and there's lots of sailing to be had with friends. Besides, Bonnie's sailboat DragonFly can take us anywhere if we want to be closer to nature.

The view from one of my portholes in Port Townsend.

Edmonton should be lots of fun. Sarah and her boyfriend Alvin are taking a break from Lusaka and are now in Edmonton for a visit. It will be good to see them again after two years. I'll get to check out Mom's new digs, I'll visit with old friends and family, and as an extra added bonus, there will be some good music all weekend.


With some luck, I'll be able to spend some quality time on Marian and Pete's computer and update this blog a bit more regularly than I have lately. Stay tuned.