DUNCAN & CHEMAINUS, BC August 5-6, 2013

It's 7AM and I have wifi, hurray!! Nobody's on and the service is strong so hoping I can get this all written and posted this morning before it takes a dip. 

After saying good bye to Harvey Monday morning we drove about 80 miles north to a park just north of Duncan. But since Harvey lives on the eastern peninsula of Vancouver Island we had to go south before we could head north. So going south on Highway 17 we turned slightly above Victoria and joined Highway 1 for a beautiful 2 lane highway through forested and rocky cliffs climbing a small grade then on to our 2 night stay at Country Maples RV Resort, 6 miles north of Duncan. Its one of only 2 Passport America stays here on the island so we wanted to take advantage of our 50% savings. As we are learning, BC is a pricey destination.  Gas is now over $6 per gallon for us and everything seems at least 50% higher including groceries and our camping. This must account for the surprising notice that we havent seen ANY license plates from the US since we got off the ferry. "Of course you know what BC means, don't you? ...Bring Cash" someone told me. So, our stay at Country Maples helped. Once we drove down into the park I realized that we had actually tent camped at this park many years ago on our first visit to BC, what are the chances of that happening????

The camping parks up here really provide lots of fun things for families with children.  This one had a beautiful pool, with a rotating schedule for children or adults only time, and also a miniature golf course besides the usual large playground area. We had a beautiful site, 21A, wooded, shady and very private and completely away from the sound of the highway.

We set up by noon and just relaxed in our pretty site, reading and checking out maps.  There's a province-wide ban on any campfires during the month of August due to the dry and warm weather here which also includes the use of our small charcoal BBQ. No use unpacking the wood or BBQ we have with us...guess we wont be using it until we return to WA.

Since the days are wonderfully warm, almost hot, and long we knew we had plenty of time to take an afternoon ride to Duncan to see the Totem Trail the city is known for.  Monday was also British Columbia Day, or BC Day, a holiday in the province so everything was closed. Really closed, very few stores other than US chains like Wal Mart or Mcdonald's. It was created to recognize the early pioneers of the province and is celebrated on the first Monday in August. It was a great time to walk around the little town of Duncan, with very few cars or people on the streets. We parked and looked up to see we were right at the Duncan Elk's Lodge. Too funny, I didn't know we'd see any Elk's up in Canada! But, like everything else it was closed. Hidden behind the sign in my photo was the first of the 80 totems around the city. 

The City Hall was right down the street with beautiful hanging the flower baskets we see everywhere.  Duncan has a cute downtown area with lots of small shops and galleries but it is also the larger district for shopping, so just outside of the downtown are all the chain stores and larger shops. We were able to get a SIM card for our phone to provide us with a local phone number to use here in Canada for local calls. That's going to be a great help when trying to make camping plans along our way.

 Along side the City Hall we found this interesting sculpture which actually incorporated a water dish for doggies at its foot.  How thoughtful!

 Then we started following the yellow painted footsteps around the town to see the totems.

 This one, Cedar Man Walking out of the Log,  was unique in that it is the world's widest totem with a diameter of 5'11".  The original tree was over 750 years old when a forestry company donated it to the city.  The top of the log was left natural so people could see the size of the log.

 Along our route north we had seen signs that say Use U TURN ROUTE.  Since the very busy highway was only 2 lane with a concrete barrier along the middle it was impossible to make a left turn so instead you use the U Turn Route meaning you make a turn onto a side round, go down a bit and use the large paved area to turn around and then go to a stop light to cross the street.  For us, that always meant that we had to go south from our campground about 2 miles before we could continue north; an interesting way of dealing with left turns.

 Tuesday morning we did go north just two miles to the town of Chimainus.  It is known for its painted wall murals all over the town. We had done the walking tour of the murals when we were here several years ago, so I wanted to get info from the nearest visitor Center and it was here. The young woman that helped me was fantastic!!! I walked out with maps of the local area, maps of camping in the whole province and booklets with tons of information, more than we could ever really do or so, but now I was equipped for a few days.

 I also got the name of a little shop to get my hair cut, so that's what I did next, while PK looked around the town. The 2 ladies in The Hair Shoppe were both Brits and chatted the whole time I was there about "The Royals" and the new baby. Too fun

 We did stop to look at this amazing mural, my favorite, and several others.

 Then using the maps and directions for all back roads, we put the top down on the car and drove along the bay first stopping at Maple Bay for a "car break" and look.

 Then on to Cowichan Bay and time for lunch at the park. The bayside road had been bolstered in recent years with huge logs and boulders to prevent the constant erosion that would have eventually washed away the only way to get into the town.  They added the little wayside park, perfect for lunch.

 The little marina in town was busy as were all the shops and hard to find a parking spot.

 Loved this bike shop with its display of old bikes and flowers.

There is a wooden boat association in the area and they're renovating this old wooden pier

There were a few houseboats in the marina too, but this one really caught my eye! Yes, the red and blue one...I'd make that one mine, for sure!

 After a day of driving all over the  Cowichan Valley on beautiful back roads and temps in the mid 80s all day,we got back to our campsite for an early dinner of salmon burgers. After a long walk with Foster all over the campground we went back to Chemainus for an evening outdoor concert....and a look at a few more murals.

 Trying my panorama feature on the phone...love that!