Back from Vancouver Island trip!

[chracatoa]

We had a great time. We went to Country Maples RV near Duncan, Timberlodge RV in Port Alberni, Bella Pacifica in Tofino and Living Forest in Nanaimo.

We took the ferry from Anacortes to Sidney. Immigration was super easy. Everyone is friendly in Canada! The office also told me my rig rides better than my friend's (he doesn't have a ProPride or cares about the weight distribution very much).

Country Maples didn't have wifi and they said it would be weeks before they would fix it. The campground was really nice. We stopped there mostly to visit Duncan.

We were at Timberlodge to visit the McLean mill and the Petroglyphs. It rained a lot the first day so we only went to the mill. The campground is simple but nice. The kids liked the indoor pool.

Bella Pacifica was the only place we could do camp fires. Amazing place! The road to get there was a little too narrow for me but we made it safe. It looked like Hawaii (or so I was told) but the water is colder, of course.

The TV handled the grades very well


Living Forest is beautiful but the beach was bad - it looked dirty, I think this is mostly for boats. The view was amazing though.

We took the ferry from Nanaimo to the city I can't pronounce the name which starts with a T.

Going back in the USA was painful. 50 minutes at the border and the officer there was rude. I felt like a criminal. He also looked around my trailer before letting us go (not sure what he was looking for).

Here are some pictures (I tried to make it as anonymous as possible so the best ones are not here 🙂
clicky

[chracatoa]

My Sequoia is 17ft. I thought my trailer was 31. So I would get 49ft with the extra foot from the ProPride. However they measured 50ft. It was US$240 for each ferry trip. My friend's trailer (I think an X26P Jay Feather ultra light) and his Sequoia were only 47ft total and he paid US$ 214 (or so he told me - not sure if this included taxes).

Our rationalization was: our long trips usually are around 2200 miles (next year it'll be 2340 miles). The Vancouver Island trip was 633 miles. If we subtract 633 from 2200 you get 1567 miles that we didn't have to travel. My rig does 9 mpg with the trailer (I have measured several times). Therefore we would save ~174 gallons and even if you only do US$ 3 a gallon (it's actually 3.40 now) that would be US$522. At least this is the math I did to be able to sleep at night 🙂

Our three last trips will be in the Wenatchee area... I hope the fire ban is lifted but I don't think it will be.

The only thing that bothered us in Canada was that we would have to find liquor stores to buy beer and wine. I know, they're everywhere - but it was an extra stop and if you have the trailer it may not be that easy to park there. I guess I'm getting used to buying alcohol at Fred Meyer or Safeway now.

[tonymull]

chracatoa wrote:
Yes, I think our Tofino's fires will be the last of the season. We have 3 more weekend trips this season and I don't see Washington state lifting the fire ban.

I didn't see any bears but noticed that the garbage bins had special locks. I do see bears in my own neighborhood from time to time (black bears).

As for as Living Forest - we don't regret it because of the view. We wanted a campground near the ferry.

The campfire ban has been lifted in at least parts of western WA. Snohomish County Parks for sure, just checked ahead of a trip tomorrow. We had quite a bit of rain over the weekend.

[trailerbikecamp]

Sounds like you had ana awesome trip.

As a further note for anyone headed out that way;

-for the golfers check out Crown Isle at the top of Ryan Road hill.
-anyone into great scenery should check out Mt. Washington. It is a year round resort. The chair lift is open giving great views of the entire Comox Valley.
- the Logging and Railway Museum in Duncan are interesting
- the murals in Chemianus are also neat to see.
- ther is also a good air show in Comox, but i am unsure of the dates.
- for those interested in some window shopping, check out the boardwalk along the Harbour Front in Nanaimo.

I grew up in Comox before making my way to Alberta then finally the east coast.

BTW- the city you took the ferry to is pronounced Te-Wassen. It is not spelled even close to that, but that is the pronunciation of it. Just some fyi.

[bob213]

Just out of curiosity, how much does it cost to ferry the trailer across?

[chracatoa]

Original plans were to go to Port Hardy and Campbell River. But one of the friends in the trip suggested Tofino instead. Unfortunately and incidentally he had a small heart attack the eve of the trip so he did not go. He's doing well now. Life is short, we should go camping more often.

[fly-swatter]

Probably our favorite trip was the north half of the island. Stayed at Living Forest, Campbell River and Port Hardy. Awesome, can't wait to go back.

[n7bsn]

I remember that 18% grade....:E
Too bad you didn't go a little further north. Ripple Rock RV Park, north of Comox is my favorite campground on the Island.

Back in the working years, work sent me to the Island, a lot. Next month will be my first trip to the Island out of my personal pocket in 25 years.

[chracatoa]

Yes, I think our Tofino's fires will be the last of the season. We have 3 more weekend trips this season and I don't see Washington state lifting the fire ban.

I didn't see any bears but noticed that the garbage bins had special locks. I do see bears in my own neighborhood from time to time (black bears).

As for as Living Forest - we don't regret it because of the view. We wanted a campground near the ferry.

[donn0128]

Were you able to see any bears? Several years ago when I was on a business trip i was lucky to see one of the islands bears.

[Orion]

Nice Report!
I didn't know they had a beach at Living Forest, I thought it was just the view. That isn't really the ocean there IIRC, I think it is a tidal estuary.
The best beaches, with nice sand and warmer water are a little to the North at Qualicum and Parkesville.
They can do fires at Tofino as it is in the 'Fog Zone'
Tsawwassen- not sure what the original pronunciation was but I say 'Ta-wassen', with a 'hissing S' not a 'Zingy One!'