The internet was slow to non-existent in our cabin at Port Hardy.  You could get service if you sat outside but by the time we returned from puttering around and having dinner it was dark and too cold to sit outside.  So…no blog.

We didn’t even leave the cabin until 1:30 in the afternoon and it was nice to have a quiet relaxing morning.  The afternoon was spent driving various roads, walking along the waterfront and finding a few geocaches, as we usually do.

We drove out of town just to look around and took a turn into a subdivision that is up on a steep rise with unobstructed views of Port Hardy and Georgian Bay.  There were some huge, gorgeous houses up there.   Looking out from an empty lot at the view we saw a cruise ship anchored in the bay.  Cruise ships do not stop in Port Hardy as far as I know so I said to John that they probably have had a medical emergency and need to bring someone ashore for more attention than could be provided in the ship’s infirmary. We stopped along an inlet to find a geocache and took a couple of photos.Judging  by  the  amount  of  bare  ground  I will  guess  the  tide  was  out,  but  it  could  be  like  that  all  the  time.  I have  no  idea  of  tides. Back in town we wandered along the waterfront and back.My guess about the presence of the cruise ship was correct.  As we were  walking  the  sea  path  we  spotted an  ambulance  waiting  on  the  wharf.  The  tender  from  the  ship  docked  a few  minutes  later  and  we  could  see  the patient  in  the  stretcher  being  pushed  along  and  up the  ramp.  The  ambulance  did not leave  with  lights   and  sirens and  the  loading  process  took  a bit  of  time  so  I suspect  the  person  was  ill  or  had  taken a fall  and  broken  something.  It  was  a condition  serious  enough  that  the  ship  couldn’t  handle  it,  but  obviously  not  life  threatening. The totem on the left is part of the cenotaph of remembrance for WWI, WWII, and Korea veterans.  There is a traditional cross beside the totem, but it was nice to see both of the community cultures honoured..  I do like the protest sculpture of the carrot mocking the government for its constant failure to many, many years to provide a good road into the community.

From the water front we headed out of town again and turned up some logging roads to find a few geocaches.  The Western Forest Products employees are currently on strike so we had no risk of meeting a logging truck.Looking  up  river and  down  river  from bridge  the over  the  Quatse River.We ended up literally at the end of the road at the small fishing community of Coal Harbour.  They had two colourful totems at the end of the wharf. It was after 5:30 when we left Coal Harbour and drove back to Port Hardy.  We stopped at a hotel restaurant along the way and had dinner.  Then it was back to the cabin and an early night. We had to be up at 5:00 am in order to be at the ferry terminal the required two hours early to begin our journey to Haida Gwaii.  Farewell Vancouver Island – until we come back again.  The reunion and the travels were great.