Picnicking at Saltery Bay Provincial Park

Picnicking in the truck out of the wind.

Continuing our road trip excursions, today we drove 28 kilometres south from Powell River to enjoy fall foliage and sunshine at Saltery Bay Provincial Park.

There are two parts to the park, the Mermaid Cove Campground with 42 sites that are open from May 15 to September 15, and the day use picnic area that is open all year. It's called Mermaid Cove because of a bronze mermaid statue at 10 fathoms that is popular with scuba divers.

We stopped by a favourite restaurant south of town called Skeeter Jacks to pick up a sandwich and drinks to take with us for an impromptu picnic.

Oceanfront grass, trees and picnic tables.

The wind was blowing 25 knots so we sat in the cab of our truck while we ate. Then we took a stroll down the beach to watch the waves rolling in and enjoy the colourful fall foliage. On calmer days, there's a public boat launch available.

Clear blue skies to set off the last of the bright yellow maple leaves.

I'll leave you with this YouTube video by themarinedetective about scuba diving to see The Mermaid. Way back I was a scuba diver, but I never experienced anything this special.

It's good to remember to visit and enjoy places near home. What are some of your local favourites? -- Margy

Evening on the Front Porch

We never get tired of the view from our float cabin's front porch. Evening is my favourite time, especially in the summer.

Tonight there was a clear blue sky behind Goat Island highlighted in rich setting sunlight.

A few clouds in the west cast their shadow on Goat Island. Tonight it looks like two snakes slithering quickly across its surface. -- Margy

Who is for Margy

Starting my cityfolk life.

Wayne and I used to be what he calls "cityfolk" in his books. I was born and raised in Compton, California. You don't get much more cityfolk than that. When my parents were young, it was a small town. Mom's family were farmers and Dad's ran a corner grocery store. They each were the first in their family to go to college, and both became teachers. Now my small hometown has been swallowed by the urban sprawl emanating from Los Angeles. There's nothing rural about it any longer.

Daddy's girl hiking in Lassen National Park.

Because both of my parents were educators, summer vacations were for camping trips, many up the coast to British Columbia. I learned to love the outdoors and fished alongside my dad. Mom, Dad, and I (I'm a spoiled rotten only child) hiked, went to ranger talks, and learned lots about nature. The seeds for my future life were planted.

Principal of Erwin Elementary School.

Following in my parent's footsteps, I went to college and become an educator. I taught kindergarten like Mom and then became a school administrator like Dad. Those were great years.  I met Wayne, and we found we had lots of common interests. That's been one of the strong points in our marriage. He taught me to fly, and we purchased Piper Arrow 997.

997 in her original paint in Baja California.

We traveled far and wide in 997 to places like New York, Cancun, James Bay (the tip of Hudson Bay), and the Arctic Ocean. Many years included camping under the wing of our airplane in British Columbia.  On a trip in 2000, we discovered Powell River, BC. We returned in 2001 and discovered Powell Lake with its unique floating cabins.

That was the moment we started the transition from cityfolk to a new way of life off the grid.


We had to learn new skills for our new off-the-grid lifestyle, and quick. That's where our good friend John comes in.

Our float cabin at Hole in the Wall on Powell Lake.

We bought his Cabin #3 at Hole in the Wall, and we lovingly say "he came with it." John has remained our friend and patient mentor.

After taking early retirement from our careers in education in 2005, Wayne and I wanted to spend more time in all seasons at our float cabin home.

The solution was to become Canadian permanent residents in 2008. That decision evolved into becoming Canadian citizens in August 2018. Dual citizenship has lots of benefits for us in both countries.

Powell River, BC, from the Texada Island ferry.

You never know what life has in store.

Wayne and I never want to go back to our cityfolk roots. The slower pace in a small town like Powell River fits us.

We spent years looking for a place to retire. Like many things in life, the solution found us. Are you looking for a small, safe, forward thinking place to live? Take a look at Powell River.


Here are some links for more information:

• Tourism Powell River
• Hello BC - Powell River
• City of Powell River
• qathet Regional District
• Powell River Chamber of Commerce
• Powell River Historical Museum
• Powell River Books Blog (about our float cabin life)
• Powell River Books (Wayne's Coastal BC Stories)

If you have any questions, please leave a comment or use the link in my profile to my email address. -- Margy

Food Security and Becoming a Locavore

The annual Fall Fair celebrates food security.

Food security is more in the news these days, especially in small remote towns like ours. Locavore is a popular word to describe participating in the local food movement.

The Powell River Food Security Project works to ensure that everyone, especially vulnerable people, have access to the foods they need to stay healthy and thrive. To help get the word out about home gardening, they host the annual Edible Garden Tour.

Garden Club members share information at the Fall Fair.

The Powell River Garden Club supports home gardening with monthly meetings to share ideas and listen to guest speakers.

The Powell River Farmer's Market provides local farmers with the means to get products to local consumers. At the end of the growing season they highlight local efforts at their annual Fall Fair. In addition to Saturday and Sunday seasonal markets, there are others in the region, some during winter.

It's difficult for me to get the the farmer's markets. My solution to food security is a kitchen garden at my floating cabin home. Some items produce year round, but my main harvest starts in June and lasts through October.

My floating garden with four raised beds and a solar watering system.

My garden floats on the lake. It has four raised beds that I use for crops like beets, carrots, kale, chard, broccoli, onions, garlic, lettuce, spinach and herbs. It's amazing how much you can produce in 160 square feet.

Container gardening in blue barrels.

To increase my growing space I use containers on the decks. 55-gallon plastic barrels cut in half make great growing spaces for plants like blueberries, red currants, rhubarb, tomatoes and potatoes. Smaller containers work well for peppers, eggplant, zucchini, winter squash, beans, peas and more herbs.

August and September have been a time of plenty. We eat most of our produce fresh, thus reducing our dependency on grocery store items.

To preserve some for winter I've canned jam, pickles and relishes. I've hung onions and garlic, dried herbs, stored potatoes and saved seeds. Beets, carrots, broccoli and kale will stay in the garden for winter harvesting. Later I will pressure can the last of my potatoes and carrots.

Fresh carrots and potatoes.

Each year I have one plant that's the best. This year it's my Scarlet Nantes carrots.

I usually get small ones since my float garden has shallow beds. But this year they are huge! The larger ones must be reaching all the way down to the bottom of the bed where it meets the lake water. Maybe that's why they are so large, they have a steady supply of moisture when days are hot.

Does your town have a food security project? How have you become involved? Do you have a kitchen garden?  I'd love to hear about your experiences. -- Margy

Ode to Bro

When Wayne and I came to Powell River in 2001 our first friend was John. You can't be friends with John and not love his dog Bro, Brody if you are being formal.

Bro lived a long, well traveled life. If John went anywhere, Bro was always at his side. That ended sadly this month when Bro left this earthly world to go meet his maker.
As Bro would say...

I was living in a shelter on Vancouver Isle,
When John and his family came to visit awhile.
I used my best Black Lab attitude,
And soon enough they were wooed.
We took a ferry ride to Powell River,
to a loving home that would last forever.

During my eighteen years with John,
I've been everywhere, man.

I've been everywhere.

I've been to...

Theodosia
Last Chance
Powell Lake
Mahoney
Goat Lake
Duck Lake
Princess Louisa
Lund
Last Resort
Giovanni
Goat Island
The Head
St. Vincent
Khartoum
Olsen's Landing
The Eldred
Frog Pond
Rupert's Farm
Rainy Day
Useless
Hole in the Wall
Our Float Cabin
And Best of all
My Westview home!

And many more, man.
Many, many more.
I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere.

Thanks John for the best life
a Black Lab named Bro could ever imagine.

The Sunshine Coast is BRIGHT!

Powell River, British Columbia, is located on the upper Sunshine Coast. The city rises from the waters of the Georgia Strait, giving almost everyone in town an ocean view across the water to Vancouver Island. Here are two of my favourites.


 No matter what time of year, we get bright and beautiful sunsets.


If you are new to my blog I invite you to stay awhile. While I see beautiful sunsets from condo balcony in town, I spent most of my time up the lake at my float cabin.You can read more about that by clicking here. -- Margy

BC Ferries in the Fog

This time of year you don't know when you'll get a sunny day. You look at the weatherman's forecast and it says sunny. But if it's after a rainy spell, it just might mean fog instead.

Leaving Earl's Cove on the Sunshine Coast

After all, this is known as Foguary around these parts.

Good thing they have excellent navigation instruments on BC Ferries. Otherwise we would get stuck en-route. -- Margy

"Paddle to the Sea" by Holling C. Holling

Last Friday we were honoured to be visited by the Canada C3 expedition ship here in Powell River. Canada C3 has been part of Canada's 150th Anniversary celebration and supports the reconciliation process with indigenous peoples.

Canada C3 (meaning coast to coast to coast) started in Toronto, followed the St. Lawrence to the Atlantic, traversed the Northwest Passage, and will complete their 150 day journey on October 28 in Victoria, BC.

MV Polar Prince icebreaker anchored in Powell River.

The ship was well suited for the Northwest Passage. The MV Polar Prince is a 67 metre (220 ft) former Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker now in service as a research vessel. 

Members of the Tla'amin Nation welcoming the expedition.

The expedition visited Powell River on October 20 and members of the Tla'amin Nation welcomed the participants at Willingdon Beach. Here they shared the canoe carving project currently in progress.

Carving has brought people together to learn about each other.

After Tla'amin Nation Hegus (Chief) Clint Williams, elders and carvers spoke, Canada C3 Expedition Leader Geoff Green brought out a canoe of his own. It was Paddle to the Sea, the carving used in the film adaptation of the book written by Holling C. Holling. (Click here to see the complete film.)

Expedition leader Geoff Green shares Paddle to the Sea with Hegus Clint Williams

The story is about an indigenous boy who carves a small wooden canoe during the winter and releases it the following spring. Etched into the bottom are these words, "Please put me back in the water. I am Paddle-to-the-Sea." The story follows Paddle through the Great Lakes and down the mighty St. Lawrence River to the Atlantic Ocean.

Not only did we get to see Paddle to the Sea, but we could hold it and have our picture taken with it. This was a highlight for me.

When I taught school, I read Paddle to the Sea to my elementary students. Later, when the film version was released, that was added to my lessons.

Little did I know back then that I would move to Canada. And little did I know that my life would come to a full circle in a unique way.

Have you had such an experience? How did it happen for you? -- Margy

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

This time of year with short days we often fly home on Pacific Coastal Airlines. It takes about 25 minutes from Vancouver International Airport rather than five or so hours by car and ferry. On this flight, it was partly cloudy, with scattered showers. As we broke through the overcast, below our wings a rainbow formed.


I always knew my Powell Lake float cabin home was in paradise.


 Now I know it's also the pot of gold at the end of my rainbow. -- Margy

Marine Avenue, Powell River BC

Highway 101 is called the Pan-America Highway because it runs all the way from Canada down to the tip of South America.

Our nearby community of Lund boasts that it is the end (or beginning) of this lengthy intercontinental thruway.

But within the limits of Powell River, BC, it's better known as Marine Avenue.


Marine Avenue starts in Westview and ends in the Historic Townsite.  There's a lot of history along this roadway. When the Townsite was created for the workers at the papermill in 1910, it was known as Oceanview.

In 1959, the name was changed to Marine Avenue.  On the east side there's Manager's Row. These large homes originally housed the papermill's most important employees. Perched above the Strait of Georgia, they had a birds-eye view of the ocean and mill below.

As Powell River's population grew, people moved to homestead land north and south of the company owned town. The community that grew to the south was called Westview. The "main drag" became Marine Avenue.  Today you can still see many of the old buildings preserved as stores, restaurants and homes. Thanks to "You Know You Grew Up in Powell River" for sharing this historic picture on Facebook.


Today Marine Avenue is an important part of life in Powell River. It's the location of important events such as the Blackberry Street Party and the Santa Claus Parade.

It's also the home of Powell River Books.

Come take a stroll down Marine Avenue. Maybe I'll see you there. -- Margy

Blue Summer Skies at Dodd Lake

Viewpoint on Goat Main overlooking Goat and Powell Lakes.

On a recent quad ride with friends in the Powell River backcountry, we stopped at a picnic spot at the north end of Dodd Lake.

To get there you turn off Highway 101 at Dixon Road then take Goat Lake Main past the Dodd Lake Campground to Windsor Lake Main. Turn right until you reach an old logging road that leads down to the lake and a picnic area right on the shore. This last section is best done by quad, mountain bike or hiking.

Picnic shelter at the north end of Dodd Lake.

There are so many great places to explore in the Powell River backcountry.

A pocket gravel beach near the picnic spot.

Some are maintained by logging companies like Western Forest Products. Click here and you can download a map that shows logging roads in the area.

Beautiful cumulus clouds on a warm summer day.

This picnic site is maintained by it's users. As you can see we take good care of it.

Do you have user maintained recreation sites where you live? Are they well maintained? -- Margy

Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy

Thanks for coming fishing with us. -- Margy

Powell River Sunset

We returned town in Powell River to see this awesome sunset from our balcony. The view is northwest towards Vancouver Island. I think you can guess why they call this the Sunshine Coast. If you haven't made your summer holiday plans, this is the place to come. It is uncrowded, lots of outdoor activities for all ages, and friendly people. Want more information?

Click here to link to the Tourism Powell River. Come join us in paradise. -- Margy

Quick Shuttle Service from Bellingham to Powell River, BC via Vancouver Airport

Quick Shuttle connection at the Bellingham Airport.

Want to get to Powell River without taking a car on the ferries? Take the Quick Shuttle bus that connects Seattle and Vancouver airports. It has several stops, one of which is Bellingham Airport. Reservations are mandatory and passports are required.

The bus uses the Pacific Highway Crossing in Blaine. You get off at a special building and take your bags inside to clear Canadian immigration and customs. For up-to-date information about border crossing requirements check with with the Canadian Border Service Agency and US Customs and Border Protection before you go.

Boarding the Quick Shuttle

The amount of time necessary depends on the number of passengers and buses in line. Plan on at least 30 minutes, more on holidays. By the way, the Quick Shuttle has free WiFi so you can surf the web the whole trip (or work if you must). The cost is very reasonable, currently about $49 round trip, or $29 from Bellingham to YVR. They will also stop at the train station, cruise ship terminals, downtown Vancouver and most major hotels. Along the way you will see forests, farmlands, small towns, glimpses of the ocean, and finally the big city.

Vancouver Airport South Terminal

Whether you arrive at Vancouver Airport by bus or plane, Pacific Coastal Airlines has a free shuttle every half hour outside the lower level to take you to the South Terminal. Pacific Coastal has connections to many Vancouver Island and BC destinations. From Vancouver, it is only a 25 minute flight to Powell River.

Over Powell River, BC

One-way fares start at about $140. The Quik Pass program includes discount fares for frequent fliers.

Transportation is easy in Powell River. Your Pacific Coastal flight crew can call ahead for a Powell River Taxi to be waiting to whisk you away to your first adventure. If you are on the ground, you can call them at (604) 483-3666. You might be lucky enough to get one of our good friend John's brothers, Rick or Rob. They both have Prius cars to be environmentally friendly and economical.

Powell River Airport

If you want a car, Budget car rental is in the terminal. There is also a stop for the Powell River Regional Transit District bus outside. This bus can take you all around town or, with a connection, to the community of Lund at the end (or beginning depending on your point of view) of Highway 101.  No matter how you get here, Powell River is the place to visit and live. Join us here someday soon. -- Margy