Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Bella Coola BC to Poart Hardy to Bellingham to Yakima WA



The ferry ride from Bella Coola to Port Hardy was an eternity.
This ferry has to be the slowest boat I've ever been on. It took 13 hours for a ride any other ferry in the fleet could have made in eight. Queen of the Chilliwack is 40 years old, rusty, with buckled floor plates on the auto deck that acted like speed bumps every four feet as you drove in!
She is a double ender (drive in one end and out the other) which means there is no bow and cant go fast.
Personally I thought these kinds of ferries were for short runs to save turnaround time or something.
When she hit the open sea of Queen Charollet Sound she rolles and pitched pretty bad and the captrain had to zig-zag to aline with the rollign seas.
Bella Coola is not a top priority for BC Ferries and it shows.
Anyway she is silly slow.. like 15 knots or something... a Mississippi river paddle wheeler... upstream!
I kept looking for someone out in point of the bow casting a sounding rope of fathom knots to check the depth, "Mark five, mark four, mark ???".
It was that slow.
Even this dolphin thought we were hitchhikers




But like all these slow boats even the most introverted open up to some talk and by the time we reached Port Hardy I had six new friends some of whom I can name and others I forgot.
Wondering: can you have a friend and not remember their name?
That's rude I suppose.
But I am not sure I understand all people anyway, so
08-04 Port Hardy BC to Bellingham WA


Two new friends were Jill and John a couple of Vancouver young people who needed a lift down to the nanaimo Ferry from Port Hardy... they and their two bikes.
We had a fine ride and some insightful discussions and I learned some... for example "Eskimo" is not politically correct. "Inuit" is the proper choice.
See what I mean?
The world belongs to the young.
Get out of their way and learn what you can from them.




So they went their way and I mine and I crossed the border into the Unites States of America at midnight last night,
A strange feeling came over me.
I am at odds with my country over a few things and pretty much everyone knows it but I felt so welcomed home when I came home.
My country of birth.. the country I love.
Just sayin

08-05 Bellingham WA to Yakima WA



Spent the night in a rest area near Bellingham WA and woke up late this morning and drove to an RV park here in Yakima

So here I sit.. time for some beer (SLASH) WINE and a cigar.

Its all about to close soon, this act.

2 comments:

  1. Congradulations in putting this together thus far.
    Your wry wit and keen observances have made this trip or yours fun to read about.

    Congradulations also on painting the northwest to its truest light thus far, which is to say I welcome an American viewpoint with thought and poetry and the ghusto of beers and cigars.

    Linda Realm

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  2. Mr Ron,
    Thanks for allowing us to view your blog which is most interesting and informative. I particularly admire your writing style and your sense of humor. Will be making the trip to Alaska with two other Egg owners next summer and you have provided us with lots of very helpful information. We will go from June through the end of August and will take our time to take in as much as we can. Again thank you for your thoughtfulness. Keep up the good spirit and stay healthy. Ranger Duke

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