Day 13...We made it!...our West Coast Destination of Ucluelet...

Last I posted was from Swift Current...(and yes the trains ran all night. it has been difficult to find internet connections so I have so much to relate. We have done so much I am having difficulty remembering what happened when...
We stayed in a campsite just down the road from the ferry to Nanaimo in Tsawwassen on June 29. Early on the morning of the 30th we boarded the ferry and headed to Vancouver Island. Our destination...Ucluelet. We are still trying to pronounce it properly.
We have a very private campsite with a great view of the Pacific Ocean on Wya Beach. This is the view from our perch through the trees...We made friends with one of the administrators of the camp Joe who provides us with firewood each night for a price but he does not deliver...

I believe he has taken a liking to us, calling us Ukee Girls...

It was Friday night so Pauline set out to make pizza for our usual Champagne and pizza night.
Then off to the beach. The sand is coarser than on the east coast and the rocks very black and ragged. 

We started July1st by heading to Long Beach just down the road on the way to Tofino. This beach is almost 10 km long and if the driftwood is huge. As we were walking we watched a Bald Eagle sitting on a rock do some fishing and some more sitting. The rocks past him were covered with huge Sea Lions.
We could see them best with binoculars. There are incredibly awkward moving along the rock and did I mention they were huge!! As we were watching them we saw a whale blow just to their right...we couldn't see the whale itself but watched it (and others probably) blow a number of times...

We headed off to Tofino for July 1. It was busy to say the least as we headed to the Shelter Restaurant to met my cousin who just happened to be there. Then off we went for a quick tour of the town, water front and to book a Water Taxi to Meares Island where were going hike Lone Cone Mt the next day. Then back to the Shelter restaurant which became our favourite restaurant to eat. Simon could sit on the deck with us and made a number of new friends

So, as I said we were off the next day to hike Lone Cone Mt. "Located on Meares Island the towering mountain rises from the ocean in the Clayquat Sound..." This from a tourist info sheet...I wanted to make sure you read "towering"...The views from the summit are spectacular. It is a gruelling hike at 742 meters ( did you catch the word "towering") straight up...apparently they don't believe in switchbacks...and it is a scramble...over rocks and lots of tree roots.

At the top you are rewarded with an incredible view of the Sound. If.....it is a clear day. Unfortunately for us we were surrounded by low clouds and saw nothing...So, 3.5 hours up and 3 hours down and we were back at the water taxi to go back to Tofino...oh well...sometimes it is about the journey and not the destination..right??

Simon was a great trooper
but even he got tired

So, we bought ourselves some smoked salmon and local beers and headed back to the campsite. Pauline asked me my favourite part of the day...the hike? the beer? or the salmon? Hmmmmm. I'll get back to you on that.
Today we are in Ucluelet where Pauline is on a day kayak trip. I have had bad experiences with ocean kayaking and I am as happy as she that I decided to spend the day with Simon with both feet on dry land.
Soooo...we have had quite a trip so far, reached our Western destination and have had amazing weather...off to the Marina for Simon and I...more later...