Magic Moments - Adventures of Glen and Liz: 2022

Friday, August 5, 2022

Day 66 July 20 Nigel Island Anchorage to Bull Harbor

The sun is going to be out today. Early in the morning No Debt and Nellie and crews went out fishing. Tom and Diane came back with a few Cod. Steve and Michelle came back with a couple salmon and some Cod. Michelle also came back with photos of an Orca whale show. Apparently there were Orca all around them, some coming very close and almost touching their boat. Some leaping out of the water in full breach. Tom and Diane must have been just around the corner as they never saw any whale.

Michelle’s Orca Breach photo – right out in front of Nellie while they were fishing.

Another swam very close, within just a few feet of their boat.

Once everyone was back onboard and settled, the engines were started and we were off toward Bull Harbor.

Glen says that the crossing was calm and easy. I disagree! It felt like a washing machine. My bracelet was on but still felt like dirt. Saw one humpback whale along the shoreline. Down further there was a house high above the beach and Glen said someone was home. There were also a group of kayakers paddling along. Not sure if they were associated with the house or some group of adventurers.

Bull Harbor – the plan is to raft up in two groups due to restricted access to shore for a stern tie. This will also give Glen the chance to install a new transducer on Drag’n.

Day 65 July 19 Port McNeil to Nigel Island Anchorage

It was raining of course but not hard. We started the day by doing those lass minute things, like running back to the hardware store for something. The m/v Knight pulled out and was enroute to Ketchikan. It was fun to watch that 163 footer pull out of the marina past the other moored boats. Their 50 foot tow behind pulled out earlier and was waiting to get it’s leash connection out in open water.

Part of the crew jumped in Nellie and headed over to Solintula to see what we could see. Apparently this was the area of a Finnish settlement a hundred years ago. There is a museum and some other stores etc…. but they would not open until noon and we needed to get the big boats off the dock and out of Port McNeil by noon (they gave us a late checkout).

The cruise was uneventful and good water. Some saw an Eagle show and others saw porpoise.

We anchored in an inner bay where there were: a group of floating derelict homes/buildings, a couple old boats tied up, and further in the bay were a boat on the shoreline (on the beach at low tide) which had a line going out to a sunken boat (only the light/radar arch) above water. There was also a log boom (not big) with a bunch of old junk ….. barrels, small boats etc… all over it.

‘Housing’ is likely very affordable here, but might be damp

Day 64 July 18 Port McNeil part 1

Today is Nicole’s 37^th birthday. That does not seem possible.

Todays plan is to go to the grocery store to get fresh vegetables and hang out here for the day. Maybe go visit Sointula by small boat, but basically ease back into this adventure.

M/V KNIGHT is in port. A 163 foot Hessen. It’s tow behind is 50 ft. home port is Montego Bay, Jamacia. Appears to only be crew onboard. They were headed to Ketchikan AK.

Magic across from Knight

We borrowed the marina van and 6 of us went over to Telegraph Cove for dinner and to check out the place. What a cute place! And bustling with people who were there on vacation, fishing etc… There were many old buildings most of which are still being used for the ‘resort’. We read lots of the signs posted on the buildings which told the stories of the owners from years gone by. The whale museum was closed (we got there too late), as was the general store. Glen was lucky the general store was closed or I would have purchased a ‘cutting board’ actually a piece of artwork. I had to be satisfied with a photo taken through the window.

Day 64 July 18 Port McNeil part 2

Day 64 July 18 Port McNeil part2

Along the dock we found an old Dodge truck so Glen and I stopped for a photo opportunity.

Three Dodge’s in a row

Dinner was great. Some of our groups selections were Almond and Parmesan Crusted Halibut, with garlic mashed potatoes and fresh veggies, Parmesan crusted Ling Cod served with Cheese Ravioli in red sauce topped off with Mussels and Prawns, Sundried Tomato crusted Salmon served with cheese tortellini in white sauce and topped with Parmesan Prawn, and then there was Glen who went for the Steak and garlic mashed potatoes since he is not a huge seafood eater. We WILL BE going back to this place again!

Back to the port and our boats, and time for bed.

Day 63 July 17 Seattle to Port McNeil

8am flight from Seattle to Vancouver, then a 3pm flight on to Port Hardy, then a 30 minute Van ride to Port McNeil. It will be a long day.

Day started by not getting any sleep the night before. I was lying in bed, my brain running 100 miles an hour, starring at the ceiling in the dark. Got up at 3:45am; dressed, and finished packing. Had to fill an ice chest with stuff that Glen had me pick up at Costco. Like we didn’t already have enough food for another 4 months already on the boat. His primary request was more Jalapeno Artichoke dip, and then expanded from there. The ice chest weighed 30 lbs once filled and was checked baggage. Nicole and I left Edmonds about 4:30 and drove two cars down to Shawn’s house to leave my car there for Shawn to ‘store’ for the rest of the summer. We then headed to Seatac. No to little traffic, so we got to the airport at 5:30. Departure lanes were backed up, so we used our drop off at the Arrivals area instead; no traffic there. The rest of the travel group left Gig Harbor at 5am and were at the airport at about 5:45am. The airport was pretty full. We all got through step one --- check in and baggage drop off went fairly easily at the international flight check in point. 5 of the 6 were ‘TSA precheck’ so they breezed through that process. I had to go the normal (no precheck) route. What a pain. It took about 45 minutes to get through that mess and rejoin the others. Don’t get me started on the TSA process. Yep my number came up and they basically unpacked my computer bag, and backpack, looking at every little item, asking lots of questions. What are these --- pepperoni sticks? No those are Pupperoni sticks --- dog treats for a dog. Yes those are sunflower seeds, etc…. (snack food requested by Glen). Of course, the total pat-down and groping is always fun --- NOT! I appreciate the TSA job and just go with the flow but really don’t like what I believe is unnecessary and inappropriate groping. I would file a complaint but I want to get on the plane and not have to have any more delays. Enough of that.

I got reconnected with my travel group, filled my water bottle for the first flight. We all boarded, then flew off to Vancouver. The flight was 30 minutes long, that was easy. Next steps – customs and picking up luggage. We got a cart to carry all the stuff for the group. Even some with Nexus had to use the normal process, go to a kiosk and click through a bunch of questions, upload your passport etc. Only took three tries. LOL. Now on to the next place …. Where to sit for the next 6 hours of our layover. We found a food court area and grabbed a couple tables. Most food places were not yet open so we played a game of rummikub (aka Rummy tile). Then found some food for an early lunch. Plan was to get on the shuttle to the south terminal by noon. Met the bus and took the about 20-30 minute trip to the south terminal. This terminal is small. Again, we found some tables to set up base camp. Went to visit/check out the two ‘stores’ …. A small gift shop and a even smaller ‘smoke shop’ where cans of smoked seafood, and jams were the fare. There was one small food spot where soup, sandwiches, and pastries could be purchased. We’d made the right decision to eat at the other terminal. Back at base camp the ladies and Tom played more Rummytile. Steve worked on office stuff at another table. We boarded our next flight about 2:30 and it took off at 3:15 pm. This was a 1 hour flight.

The Van reservations had been messed up so Glen did not get the van first. The marina was loaning the van to us for airport pick up. But the van was there with another driver so 4 of our group were able to get on. Michelle and I stayed back at the very small airport terminal for the next trip expected about an hour later. Staying back was fine. We played cribbage and ate snacks that I had brought. Crackers, pepperoni slides and cheddar cheese chunks with our water. We called it our happy hour. She beat me in cribbage but it was close. She only won because she got to count out first. I too had enough points in my hand to get over the finish line. My cribbage skills have improved.

Glen picked us up and took us back to Port McNeil and the boats. We had a bit of time to unpack and relax before heading to the Gus’s Restaurant for a 7pm dinner reservation. After dinner it was time to go to bed, exhausted. I slept from about 10 pm till 7:30am …. That’s like 9 ½ hrs. I almost never sleep longer that about 5, so I guess my body was playing catch up.

Saturday, July 16, 2022

Day 59 July 13th Port McNeil

Day 59 July 13^th Port McNeil

Todays are to get some ‘household’ things done and then I (Liz) will be traveling with several others back home for a few days. “Vacation from Vacation” LOL. Nelson’s, Miner’s, Diane, and I will all be flying home via Seaplane today, and then coming back up here on Sunday. We each have something that needs attention at home.

Glen, Willard, Pam and Rick will stay up here bouncing around from place to place playing while the rest of us go home. Who only knows what kind of trouble they will get into while we are gone.

Flight home was good. Left Port McNeil at about 2:30pm and touched down in Renton just before 5:00pm. We had a tail wind. It was a sunny day so the views were great.

Getting ready for takeoff

View from the back

Almost home coming into Seattle.

Shawn picked me up and took me back to his house. Then I went on to my house. Visited with the girls – Nicole, Kristen, and Drea are living there while Kristen recovers from her accident on Mt Rainier July 4^th. She broke both legs requiring surgery, several broken ribs and misc. bumps and bruises. The ramp that Chris and Nicole built to get Kristen and her wheelchair from our carport to the front porch works great. I’ve wanted a bridge over that entry since we bought the house. This might just be the prototype to set that desire into a reality.

Friday, July 15, 2022

Day 58 July 12th Wishart Island to Port McNeil

Day 58 July 12^th Wishart Island to Port McNeil

We pulled anchor about 10:30 am after the fisher people came back from their fishing adventure. They had no luck. Just a couple rock cod were caught, but as noted earlier they don’t count.

Port McNeil is filled to the brim. Apparently, this is the week that people are leaving their boats here and going home. There are several boats here all closed-up.

Today was outside chores, fueling the tow behinds, and filling fuel cans, and washing things down, inside and out.

Went out to dinner at the steak house before calling it a night.

Day 57 July 11th -- Another day at Wishart Island part 1

Day 57 July 11^th -- Another day at Wishart Island part 1

A day of rest, relaxation, fishing and beach combing.

Tom won again when he caught a couple good sized Salmon. But of course, the story is always that the big one got away.

Tom and his fish (9 and 14.5 lbs)

We went for a small boat adventure with beach combing. Several more floats, pieces of rusty metal, and a couple pretty rocks found their way back to the big boats.

Day 57 - part 1 extra

Pam finds a treasurer …. Not sure what it ‘was’ but it was old rusty metal

Steve retrieving my new float

Day 57 July 11th -- Another day at Wishart Island part 2

Day 57 July 11^th -- Another day at Wishart Island part 2

Willow had a ‘flat tire’

This picture is for Pete Jung

Another one for you Pete.

Hope your recovery is going well.

Day 57 July 11th -- Another day at Wishart Island part 3

Day 57 July 11^th -- Another day at Wishart Island part 3

Michelle with additions to Steve’s collection

Boy there are a lot of people on our beach today

On the way back I spotted a large Eagles nest with two adult Eagles standing guard on either side of it. Their little ones must have been napping.

Day 55-56 July 9 - 10th -- 2nd day at Ellis Bay then on to Wishart Island

Day 55-56 July 9 - 10^th -- 2^nd day at Ellis Bay then on to Wishart Island

We left at 8-8:30 to allow easy passage through Nakwakto, had a 4 knot push against us but all in all pretty easy.

This early departure also fit with the plan for some quality fishing for Ling and Salmon at Wishart.

We arrived and anchored successfully followed by an exodus of fishing craft. Tom was the winner with a 30 inch Ling, the rest were skunked because we don’t count rock fish.

A few went out a little later when the slack current was supposed to occur but found a 2.6 knot current made it almost impossible to get a hook close to the bottom. No Halibut or Ling today.

Day 54 July 8 Sleepy Bay thru Nakwakto rapids to Ellis Bay anchorage

We headed out about 9am this morning for a long day cruising. The plan is to travel around Cape Caution today. Keeping fingers crossed for smooth water.

The water was great. Nothing like what we’ve dealt with in past trips. In fact I never even realized we were crossing the cape. Michelle took pictures and the water was quite calm.

Day 53 July 7 Fougner Bay to Sleepy Bay part 2

Clan house at the Koeye river mouth

More whales feeding along the shoreline

These two swam right across in front of us. They would not look back for my photo op.

Day 52 July 6 Kwatna Bay to Fougner Bay

As we cruised along we came by a point that one of Beachcomer’s charts had been marked as a halibut area so we started to drift. After short while Glen caught one, it was smaller than preferred but still large enough for nice filets

Glen caught a Halibut

Day 51 July 5 - Eucott Bay to Kwatna Bay

It was raining overnight and when we got up in the morning but cleared off and should be a sunny day.

Not long after leaving the bay Steve and Willard reported dolphin sightings. But no sign of them when Magic got to the area. We were about a mile behind them as it took us a bit to pull anchor and untie from shore.

The cruise was great and scenery even better. High steep hills on both sides of the channel. Snow and even a glacier were seen. The depth of the water as found to be over 1,000 feet in some places.

We got anchored and set out crab and prawn pots then did some exploring. Some also went fishing. Harvest – zero fish; where are they this summer, a few crab, and a few prawn, so pots were put back down. Get a load of this prawn, it was huge measuring 9 inches nose to tail.

Day 50 July 4 --- Ocean Falls to Eucott Bay and hot springs

We found out that we could visit the museum but did not go back into town to see it. We went through it on a prior trip years ago. Before we left the harbor master came down and gave us a lapel pin from the Ocean Falls Harbor Authority and thanked us for visiting.

We pulled off the dock about 10am heading to Eucott Bay and the hot springs.

On the way we went past the McKenzie Monument, marking the spot where McKenzie reached the sea after being chased to by local Indians, but more impressive was that he and his party had trekked across Canada to get there.

On entering the Eucott Bay we spotted a bear on the beach at the far end. There were two other boats in the bay (that had been with us in Ocean Falls). Before our group could all get in and tied up the bear had had enough of those humans in the area and headed for the woods and did not return while we were in the bay.

Shortly after anchoring most of us headed for the hot springs. This one is at the top of the beach amongst the rocks. There used to be a clawfoot tub on the beach in front which had hot water piped to it but that is now gone and has been replaced with a fiberglass odd looking tub, under the trees. There is still a plug (stick) in the inlet to the ‘tub’ to allow bathers to change the temperature from hot to ‘extremely hot’. 8 of our group and 4 from the other boats all joined forces for a soak. There was still enough room for several more. Oh, the hot ‘tub’ is about 1-2 blocks away from where the bear had been on the beach. Humm, do bears like hot tubs? They swim, but to they like hot water?