After five glorious nights in Tofino, we made our way back across the island to Nanaimo and the Living Forest campground. On our way out of Tofino, as we drove through parts of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, we saw one of these for the 90th time.
In any language, at least in the Tofino area, this sign means “Leash your dog so it can be the only one here on a leash.”
Tyler and Wally were nearly the only dogs within a hundred miles of here that were on leash. We were sorely tempted to set them free on the beaches where many others scampered about at will. But we didn’t. Rule followers, we are. At least most of the time. It’s a limitation we live with.
Our last two days in Tofino, the sunsets were fabulous — mostly due to heavy smoke from various BC fires. We were lucky to be where the ocean breezes kept the air relatively clean. As we drove back across the island, the smoke got thicker and thicker — at one point, near Sproat Lake, I’d say visibility was down to 1/4 mile.
But that was the worst of it (for us), and soon we were relaxing at site #113 at the Living Forest place.
Site 113 wasn’t as private as some, but pleasant it was. Nice views of Georgia Strait, a nearby path for poking around, friendly neighbors and reliable Wi-Fi. I don’t remember what I was scorching on the baby grill.
Nanaimo is not the wilderness, but this campground is far enough away to be peaceful. Unlike #141 where we stayed a week earlier, this site was far from any beach or play areas, and was much quieter. Less convenient, though, if you have kiddies who require beach time, I suppose.
Lots to see from our campsite, including huge log rafts. Logs grow on trees around here. The near part of the bay was mostly tidelands, underwater at high tide but exposed — and providing yummy treats for shorebirds — at low tide.
One other thing about this campground — not unique, but more noticeable here — wasps. They really wanted pretty much everything we wanted.
There was some debate about whether this sauvignon blanc would be sufficiently nutricious once the extra protein was removed. We decided to save it in case we ran out later. I can’t remember what eventually happened to it.
After two nights in Nanaimo, we dashed off to Victoria for a one-night stay in a well-located, glorified parking lot just 15 minutes from our ferry back to Washington. Stay tuned for our adventures at the West Bay Marine Village and a fun-filled ferry ride home.
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What kind of grill do you have ? Would you recommend it?
Hi Barbara,
This is an old grill — we’ve had it since the late 1980’s. It’s a Weber Go-Anywhere grill, and you can still buy them new. However many folks have written here and there that the quality of the new ones is much lower than it was “back in the day” when we bought ours, so I’m not sure I would recommend it.
Even our aged-but-sturdy grill has at least one issue: it won’t get very hot. It’s hard to sear things. So we have been poking around in search of a replacement. We’re going to try a Cuisinart CGG-306 Chef’s Style Stainless Tabletop Grill as soon as I can scare up the cash — I like that it has two burners, so we can do indirect cooking when appropriate.
I think we got more smoke in Colorado than you did at your campsite. And Barbara, we have a Coleman Fold N Go Grill which I like but no indirect cooking.
Linda, I think that Coleman grill you have may be a better investment than the one we’re looking at. Two-burner portables seem rare — maybe we should just go for a single-burner model and take our Jumbo Joe charcoal model along when we want to smoke a pork shoulder…
I also have a griddle and then a another thing where you can put a frying pan or pot on it and use it as a stove. Like all three “tops” for it.
Yes. I’ve been reading about the Coleman grills over the weekend. I’m thinking that I can take our little Jumbo Joe when I plan to cook indirect, and that would let me get a single-burner grill for most trips. Something light! I will stare at the Fold-n-Go. Maybe it would let us leave the old Coleman stove at home and do double-duty. More weight savings, very important! Thanks Linda!