Powell River, Canada to Grace Harbour, Toba Wilderness and Campbell River, Canada

Gumby departs the Independence for a long day of ferry rides and air planes back home to Bass Lake, California. Thanks Gumby for all your help! The remaining crew and captain continue on to Desolation Sound and Grace Harbour. A beautiful anchorage, where we spend two nights. The scenery and weather continue to improve as we head to the Toba Wilderness, with epic views of snow-capped mountains and plunging waterfalls. After two nights at Toba the drizzle and gray weather return and with news of yet another atmospheric river headed our way we move on to Campbell River (79NM) to ride out the storm in a marina…with wifi.

The first log-boom I’ve seen during our travels in these areas. Without roads you use the waterways. Now I know where all those ‘dead heads’ (loose large logs that can sink a big boat) are coming from.

Pretty shots of the Independence at anchor in Grace Harbour

More beauty shots

Time for a tender ride around the area…good thing we now have a Garmin chart reader for the tender, as this area is pretty confusing.

Double rainbow as the sun comes out

Millions of jellies at our anchorage

A cute little trawler anchors next to us in Grace Harbour

Thankful for this amazing weather on our way to Toba Wilderness

Just a little try at the fishing

Better luck in capturing photos of black bears feeding on shellfish during low tide

There are so many waterfalls they don’t all have names…just gorgeous ribbons of water falling off the rock cliffs

Independence on her own in the Toba Wilderness Marina

The base of the waterfall at the marina

The top of the waterfall above the marina

Local flora, mosses and berries

On the move…the waterways are the highways. This tug pulls trucks and fuel tanks and tons of other items - possibly for one of the local logging camps

The light house as we enter the channel to Campbell River

An amazing piece of artwork. This sailboat is all wood and just gorgeous.

Burial grounds on Tyee Spit, Campbell river

The mouth of the Campbell River. There are four native tribes of the Campbell River that lived primarily by fishing. After 1792 the European ships arrived and the late 1800’s brought logging into full swing. The log-booms were so thick that the mouth of the river you see here was practically blocked with great rafts of enouous logs making fishing in this area impossible. The log-booms existed until the 1990’s.

CorilAir Charters ready to go for a flight. In the 1970’s this seaplane base was reputed to be the busiest in the world. They transported supplies, equipment, parts and medivac services, as well as carrying crews in out of the hundreds of remote logging camps. In the 1980’s small logging operations gave way to large scale operations that no longer used the seaplanes, opting for high speed water taxi and crew boats, and the growing use of helicopters in the forestry industry contributed to a decline in the floatplane business. However, the tour and transportation business is still alive and well.

Driftwood art at Tyee Spit Dick Murphy Park

This carving at Tyee Spit Dick Murphy Park was done by three artists for the Shoreline Arts Society - Ernest Puglas, Jr. Henderson and Karver Everson. This amazing carving was just unveiled on May 31st of this year. It recognizes local nations’ connection to the land and co-operation. It depicts two figures holding up a sea serpent, telling of the ancient connections between families and nations on this part of the coast, and their resilience.

Miles of beautiful driftwood along the channel before Campbell River