Here are some of our favorite photos from the trip (each photo is a thumbnail linked to a higher quality picture.):
35) Cheakamus Lake Trail, Garibaldi Provincial Park, Whistler, BC, October 3, 2025 - As we drove out of Whistler to continue south we made a morning stop for another hike. We parked the RV at the Interpretive Forest overflow parking and unloaded the Zero. We rode it up to the Cheakamus Lake Trailhead in Garibaldi Provincial Park and then did the majestic hike into Cheakamus Lake Campsite.
36) Cheakamus Lake Trail, Garibaldi Provincial Park, Whistler, BC, October 3, 2025 - The lush forest we hiked through was magical - full of mushrooms, moss and towering trees. The views across the lake were dazzling with mist hanging to the mountains. As we hiked back out we made a side trip to see the Cheakamus River which was a beautiful torquoise color due to the glacial silt.
37) Shannon Falls, Shannon Falls Provincial Park, Squamish, BC, October 3, 2025 - We returned to the camper, reloaded the Zero and continued south to Squamish. We stopped at the visitor center for info on the area and then continued to the Klahani Campground where we had reserved a spot. From there we walked over to neighboring Shannon Falls Provincial Park to see the falls and to get information about the Sea-to-Sky Gondola.
38) Sea to Sky Gondola, Squamish, BC, October 4, 2025 - So far on our trip we'd visited Farmer's Markets every weekend of our trip so we continued that streak by Zero'ing into Squamish first thing in the morning to pick up a few things at the Squamish Farmer's Market. We also hit up a nearby downtown grocery store to complete our shopping. We got back to the camper while it was still morning. The day before we'd seen that there were some hiking trails in the Sea-to-Sky ski area so we hiked over to the Gondola and took it up to the top. The views were from the gondola were awesome and turned out to the be highlight of the day.
39) Sky Pilot Valley Trail, Sea To Sky Gondola, Squamish, BC, October 4, 2025 - We had an expensive mediocre lunch up at the Sea-to-Sky complex and then took off to hike one of the "back country" trails. Half the trail turned out to just be on maintenance roads for the ski area and then the second half was up an overgrown valley with willowy bushes that were taller than us and with a small stream running down the trail. Our only disappointing hike of the entire trip.
40) Coombs Old Market, Vancouver Island, Coombs, BC, October 5, 2025 - The next stage of our trip involved ferrying over to Vancouver Island so we were up early to drive down to Horseshoe Bay to catch our morning ferry over to Nanaimo. Once off the ferry at 1pm we drove to Coombs for groceries and lunch at Coombs Old Market. Quite the crazy scene on a Sunday afternoon!
41) Little Qualicum Cheeseworks, Vancouver Island, Parksville, BC, October 5, 2025 - After Coombs we backtrack'ed to Parksville where stopped at the Little Qualicum Cleeseworks - a dairy where we bought some cheese and fresh milk from their automated milk dispenser.
42) Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, Parksville, BC, October 5, 2025 - We spent our first evening on Vancouver Island at Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park in a spacious, forested campsite just a short walk from a stone beach looking out onto the sound between the island and the mainland. We enjoyed a lovely evening walk on the beach where we saw gulls, herons, seals and some of the many wild rabbits that inhabit the park.
43) Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, Parksville, BC, October 5, 2025 - Jonna is always happy on a beach! In the evening the tide was out which gave us a wide, stony beach to explore.
44) North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre, Vancouver Island, Parksville, BC, October 6, 2025 - The next place to explore was the Atlantic Ocean side of Vancouver Island so we were up early again to start our drive west across the island. Our first stop was just a few minutes into our drive at the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre. This is a rescue & rehab facility for wild animals. In addition to rehabilitating/releasing animals they also have some un-releasable animals that are premanent residents. We saw bears, eagles, hawks, owls and many other critters.
45) North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre, Vancouver Island, Parksville, BC, October 6, 2025 - One of my favorites was a unique White Raven which is apparently different from a true albino.
46) Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, Alberni, BC, October 6, 2025 - Our second stop as we drove across the island was at the Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park. This is an incredible old growth forest with massive trees soaring overhead. We did both of the short trails at Cathedral Grove - not much in terms of distance but the experience of feeling like tiny ants amoung the colossal trees was amazing.
47) Long Beach Campground, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, Vancouver Island, Ucluelet, BC, October 6, 2025 - Our campsite for the night was in Pacific Rim National Park at the Long Beach Campground. This was one of our favorite campsites of the entire trip. The campsite was large and forested so it felt private despite being surrounded by many other campsites.
48) Long Beach, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, Vancouver, Island, Ucluelet, BC, October 6, 2025 - The highlight, though, was the beach itself. Long Beach is about five miles long and, at low tide, is about 50 yards wide. We did a long hike down the beach and back just enjoying the beauty and relative solitude.
49) Chesterman Beach South, Vancouver Island, Tofino, BC, October 6, 2025 - In the evening we took the Zero into the town of Tofino for a delicious meal at Ombre - probably our best meal of the entire trip. Then on the ride back we stopped at Chesterman Beach to look for some tidepools we'd heard about. We found the tidepools just as it got too dark to see them but we did enjoy a spectacular sunset and giant full moon instead.
50) Lighthouse Loop, Wild Pacific Trail, Vancouver Island, Ucluelet, BC, October 7, 2025 - We continued to explore the Atlantic Coast of Vancouver Island for a second day by driving south of Pacific Rim National Park to the town of Uclulet. We parked at the Whale parking lot near the Uclulet lighthouse and hiked the southern end of the Wild Pacific Trail. We started in thick fog but that turned into atmospheric whisps which accentuated the coastal scenery as we hiked.
51) Ucluelet Aquarium, Vancouver Island, Ucluelet, BC, October 7, 2025 - After our morning hike we drove back into Uclulet to visit the Uclulet Aquarium. This turned out to be one of our highlights of the trip. It is a small aquarium with just local sealife on display. They are an ethical aquarium who only keeps animals for a short time before releasing them back into sea.
52) Artists Loops, Wild Pacific Trail, Vancouver Island, Ucluelet, BC, October 7, 2025 - Next we drove to the Sea Star parking lot at Brown's Beach on the edge of Uclulet were we had lunch in the camper and then headed out to hike another section of the Wild Pacific Trail. This section is called the Artists Loops and contains a series of wooden observation platforms built in the early 20th century so painters could come paint the coastal views. Needless to say, those views were very scenic!
53) Salt Spring Island Ferry, Crofton Terminal, Vancouver Island, Crofton, BC, October 9, 2025 - We had a day that was mainly transiting from the Pacific Rim National Park area back to the east side of Vancouver Island. We took care of a lot of chores like laundry, recharging the Zero, cleaning up the camper and catching up with Internet. As we traveled we spent another night at Rathtrevor Provincial Park. The next day we moved south were we took a ferry to the smaller island of Salt Springs Island in the sound between Vancouver Island and the mainland.
54) Ruckle Park Shoreline Trail, Ruckle Provincial Park, Salt Spring Island, Ganges, BC, October 9, 2025 - Once onto Salt Spring Island we made a beeline to the southeastern corner of the island to hike in Ruckle Provincial Park. There we hiked the Shoreline Trail which provided both solitude and scenery.
55) Stowel Lake Farm, Salt Spring Island, Ganges, BC, October 9, 2025 - While we were on the south end of Salt Spring Island we stopped in at Stowel Lake Farm which was a lovely farm stand with a variety of gorgeous local veggies for sale.
56) Stowel Lake Farm, Salt Spring Island, Ganges, BC, October 9, 2025 - We bought a few different things at the farm stand which provided us some nice lunches and dinners for the next few days.
57) Salt Spring Island Cheese, Salt Spring Island, Ganges, BC, October 9, 2025 - Just a little ways down the road was Salt Spring Island Cheese which is a goat farm that makes artisan cheese and ice cream. We bought some yummy gouda cheese to add to our camper supplies.
58) Salt Spring Island Cheese, Salt Spring Island, Ganges, BC, October 9, 2025 - In addition to their cheeses, Salt Spring Island Cheese also sells ice cream made from goat milk. We each had a cup and found it delightful! We camped for the night at Mowhinna Creek Campground just outside Ganges, the only town on Salt Spring Island.
59) The Glass Foundry, Salt Spring Island, Ganges, BC, October 10, 2025 - In the morning, despite it raining, we hopped on the Zero to explore Ganges. Our first stop was at The Glass Foundry to see the glasswork and meet the "interesting" glassblower. Next we rode into town where we visited the ArtSpring art space to see the Parallel Art Show (PAS) art show. This is a juried art competition open to artists in the Southern Gulf Islands area. Our friend Mig, who we'd seen in Revelstoke, had a friend with a piece in this show which is what prompted us to check it out. There were some interesting pieces so a worthwhile stop.
60) SSNAP 2025 Youth Exhibition, Mahon Hall, Salt Spring Island, Ganges, BC, October 11, 2025 - To continue the art theme we walked over to Mahon Hall to see the SSNAP art show. This is an art show of works that didn't make the cut for PAS but was of similar quality. We had lunch at the quaint Salt Spring Inn, then did a little grocery shopping before heading back to our campsite.
61) Salt Spring Farmer's Market, Salt Spring Island, Ganges, BC, October 11, 2025 - We were up early for our return to Vancouver Island. As we drove through Ganges in the morning we made a brief stop to continue our string of visiting farmer's markets. Jonna also found a paleo shop where she could get some bone broth and other protein for the camper.
62) Westholme Tea Company, Vancouver Island, Duncan, BC, October 11, 2025 - We took the ferry from Salt Spring Island back to Crofton and continued south down Vancouver Island. Along the way we stopped at Westholme Tea which is a small tea farm and artisan tea seller. We tried some samples and bought some tea for the camper.
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