We arrived to the Victoria Harbor on a perfect evening. The sun was setting and Sierra promptly met his first Canadian dog and proceeded to pee on the lawn of the Empress Hotel to mark this territory as his own. The last time we were in Victoria, we found a gem of a bar that served frosty
Molson in 24oz. glass boots. However, sadly the pub has since changed and the new owners have failed to adopt the giant beer tradition. We settled for a
Molson across the square instead.
After enjoying the evening in Victoria, we learned the hard way that Canadian Provincial Parks often close their front gate at 11pm. We drove around aimlessly for a few hours before retreating to the local Best Western for a good nights sleep. We did see our first black bear of the trip on that frustrating night, so it was worth it.
We headed to the West coast of the island to a town called Bamfield, only accessible by a 50 mile network of twisted logging roads. Other than almost getting in a head-on collision with a speedy log truck (seriously, we sat and watched nine of the trucks 18 wheels skid within inches from the nose of the van), the bumpy road was worth every pothole as Bamfield's beauty and charm was captivating.
We continued to
Tofino and spent an extra day of R&R at the up-scale tourist town.
Tofino seemed to be the hub for all fun outdoor activities. We chose to enjoy the homemade ice cream and sensitive walks on the beach.
We bid farewell to the Cassiar Highway and briefly entered the Yukon Territory before making our way back to the mother country (Skagway, Alaska). Our Cassiar animal count blossomed on the home stretch. We totaled 11 black bears, 1 grizzly, countless bald eagles and two of the most curious black footed foxes you'll ever meet. Brooks sat indian-style in the road-side shrub and tried to woo the little guy into the van to meet Sierra. Unsuccessful, we continued on before meeting the youngster's mom a few clicks later. It took Nathalie a few hours to recover after we left unable to add either of them to our family.
We came up the backside of White Pass, left Canada, and descended down into Skagway on a picturesque clear afternoon. All of the surrounding peaks were visible which made for a memorable trip down into town. Skagway is an interesting place, a main stop on the inland passage cruises. During the day, the old gold rush town quintuples in population as the ships unload their passengers to buy discounted jewerly and Alaskan embroidered fur coats in the Broadway Street shops. When the ship's whistle sounds and the ant trail of tourists return to their vessels, Skagway litterally shuts down and becomes the beautiful ghost town that it once was one.
Atop the Salmon Glacier, we spent the night with nobody in sight and a view that will be hard to beat. Might actually be the best camp spot that we'll ever know. It was there that Brooks dominated Nathalie in an intense domino competition. The wager was a "two song" massage. He collected his winnings to the sweet tunes of Free Bird & Stairway to Heaven and enjoyed his 20 minute massage while swilling the last Budsweiser from our van warming party (finally!).
The first diversion from our original route occurred before we even reached the Oregon border. We decided to head inland from the coast and go the Crater Lake. It would be uncharted territory for the both of us, an idea that we both liked very much.
