It was an interesting night. First off, the new air mattress worked great. It’s a bit larger and thicker than the previous one and felt just fine.
There is a however and it has to do with the campsite next to me. It’s not right next to me but close enough. It was empty until about 9:30pm, well after dark, and after I had gone to my tent for some reading. The tenants arrived and it sounded like at 3 young guys.
First they went to work getting tents set up (I recognized the sound of aluminum poles) and then getting the site sorted out. They talk LOUDLY. OK, whatever. It just sounded like they were having a good time. The park attendant came around and got them registered as he had done me an hour or two ago.
I believe that he sold them some firewood because the next thing I heard was them splitting the logs and getting a fire going. They continued to talk loudly and then started playing a radio or some such thing. OK, I grabbed my AirPods and turned on noise cancelling and some dark noise. That took care of it.
When I decided to sleep, I swapped the AirPods for the foam ear plugs that I use for riding and it dulled the noise enough. I slept until a bout 1:30am and they were still at it. I went back to sleep and woke at 3:30am when they were splitting more wood. I went back to sleep and woke up about 5:15, grabbed my Kindle and started reading. They finally quieted down at 5:30.
About 6:30 I went out for a walk, again down to the beach.
It was really nice out and the tide was down so I could walk out further than I did last night. I saw lots of birds. I also saw a ferry.
On the hike back:
When I walked back up to my site, I took a different route and walked past my next door noise makers. There were tucked away in their tents but their site bore the evidence of last night and this morning’s partying. There was at least a case of empty beer cans scattered around. At least they had a good time.
I got my breakfast started, a Backpackers Pantry breakfast scramble. I usually do my oatmeal mix but brought this along to live it up while I was north of the border.
Next I did the packing routine and was ready to go at 9:45. I have schedule to keep today because I am taking the last ferry and if I miss it I’ll be spending the night in Victoria.
I rode north on Canadian Hwy 1, with the destination of Lake Cowichan on Hwy 18. The ride was fine with little traffic and I went through some small towns and a medium size one. Like everything else in Canada, things are neat and tidy.
I turned west on Hwy 18 and then swung south to Mesachie Lake. The area is beautiful with water, trees, and fresh air. I turned south on the Pacific Marine Road, my real destination of this trip.
It’s an old logging route that is now paved and runs to Port Renfrew. It’s wide in some spots and narrow in others. The road is in pretty good condition but I had to watch for potholes.
The road reminded me of riding the backroads of West Virginia that I did last year. There were a few other cars and RVs as well as the occasional logging truck. About halfway I pulled over for photos.
There were a few lakes on the way.
When I got to Port Renfrew I looked at my map and saw that I had seen what there is to see and wasn’t interested in riding to the end of the road which is a trailhead. I turned around and rode back to the only gas station in miles. My bike said it had enough but I was on a half tank and din’t want to deal with range anxiety so I topped up. I supposed it was expensive but it’s in liters and Canadian dollars so I’ll have to calculate that later. Edit: It was the equivalent of $7.57/gallon.
Now I headed south along the coast road with the Salish Sea on my right. I have to say, this road is terrible. It’s nice and hilly and twisty and paved BUT it is ever fought. Frost heaves everywhere. I followed a car so I could watch then traverse the rough parts so I knew when to stand up on my pegs.
I saw a sign for a rest area and decided to take a break since I am ahead of schedule. While there I logged on the the video files of my dash can and downloaded a bunch of them. The SD card has a limit and once it’s full it overwrites older files so I wanted to get them on my phone so they would be saved. I’ll edit them when I get home and come back and insert them on the blog.
I also had my lunch while there. I sat at a picnic table and had some raisin bread and poppy seed bread that I had brought from my mom’s place. I also finished the book I’ve been reading. It’s due today and will probably disappear off my Kindle at some point. I have another one cued up and ready to go.
The remaining ride to Victoria was no big deal but I was glad that I was heading toward the city and not away from it as the traffic going the other was was bumper to bumper for many miles.
I did find a nice place to pull over for some photos. This was in Jordan River.
I came into Victoria and was plenty early so I rode along the waterfront for quite a ways and found a place to park and watch the scenery
Then I rode to the Red Ball terminal, gave them my ticket, signed the motorcycle damage waiver, and parked the bike. After using the restroom, I looked over the harbor.
Here is where the bike is parked. I am waiting for US Immigration to deal with me at 6pm.
With the best part of an hour to wait, I got my iPad out and wrote this entry. I’ll post it tomorrow because I know I’ll want to show and tell the return trip on the ferry. It sails at 7:30 so we should be in Port Angeles at 9pm. It’s interesting that I go through US immigration on the Canadian side and US customs on the American side.
The ferry showed up right on time.
I walked around a bit and shot some photos.
There were construction is for a new US customs facility so they can move that operation over from Port Angeles.
Then I went up to cafe and picked up a veggie wrap and a can of beer. It was pretty good.
I spent the rest of the trip reading my new book on the Kindle. I sat in the main interior seating area.
It looked like we were getting close.
When they announced we were clear to return to our vehicles, I went to the hold and untied my bike. One of the staff said that I’d be one of the first off when the ramp dropped and the doors opened.
As we pulled into the terminal the engines changed sound it it was VERY loud and the whole structure vibrated.
I rode out and stopped at customs for a few questions and then was on my way. I rode back to Sequim in cool but pleasant weather, arriving about 9:45pm.
It was 170 mile day.
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