Redhed's Rambles

My ride...

"Blondie" in one of her earlier configurations,  coming off a ride through Dog Creek, BC.

and a more recent setup, near Tahsis, B.C.

Day 1 to Port Hardy.doc

Day 1 Tahsis-Gold River-Woss-Port Hardy

Finally got out of Dodge in late morning. Willy will have to cope with no TV and no computer. I have made it a policy to slow down and smell the roses, and not push the bike or myself. Case in point: saw a herd of girls feeding in the Elk Pasture by the Conuma Bridge. I wonder how many folks miss these guys because they are lead footing it?

Cow Elks on Tahsis road near the Conuma Bridge

I had to stop and say hello to Inuk. He is no longer freezing his rocks, and it looks like he will be quite wet well into July. I think that whomever built him was an artist at heart, and even with an excavator, Inuk is a cool stopping point on the Tahsis road.

Inuk

Gold River In the past 6 years I don't know how many times I have filled up the old truck at the Petro Can and headed into town for business or meetings. It is a good feeling to be a tourist and to be filling up the bike instead. It certainly does not cost over a $100.00 to fill the bike..(yet)

Instead of my left turn back to Tahsis, I head right, up the road towards Woss and the Port Hardy Ferry.

I stopped in at Tsaxana, just to see the place for the first time in a year. The Mowachat-Muchalot have built a beutiful new “Unity Building”. There is also a cool beginnings of a dugout that must have been rescued from the bush and installed in the main courtyard. I wonder how many years ago some folks began the arduous process of building a dugout. It would be interesting to learn the story of where it was found, as the Band Office is quite aways from the Ocean.

Unity House

Beginnings of a Dug Out Canoe

The road to Woss from Gold River was as rough as the last time I had been up there on a bike. I was grateful that I had decided to upgrade the butter soft OEM rims of the BMW, and that I had good tires mounted. While I did not run into any logging trucks, I did see a couple of large off road haulers, with what I would guess are 16' bunks, making it a tight squeeze for any other traffic. I  did see another herd of elk, all girls again....



 I stopped in Woss for a burger, and sure enough, the waitress that I had seen three years ago was still working. Old guy phantasies whipped into high gear as the beautiful red-head whipped up a great burger and fries. I was too chicken to ask her for a photo, now that my neice has branded me as a creeper. You will just have to go to the Kawcas cafe in Woss and have a burger yourself.

Kawasa  Cafe

Port Mcneil- Did a circuit of the town, other than the docks and the boats, I was not too interested in hanging around. I saw a large fleet of what appeared to be charter boats dry docked in one of the yards. You have to wonder if the charter industry is taking a big hit, and perhaps the fish are not getting the support that they need as well.

Port Hardy- Rolled into town in late afternoon, and hit the info center. The girl assured me that camping was available for $20, just up the river. Turned to be more like $28.00. As long as I choose to pay for it, I think that this is going to be the norm in BC, at least. It is also too damn easy to do AW burgers instead of breaking out the stove, as well. Read an article in the paper this morning where Boomers (thats me) are going to be in for a shock, in terms of lifestyle changes. Perhaps we have assumed too much with respect to the ability of our pensions to carry us forward. I need to start listening to that voice in my head, I think.

Did a ride-about around Port Hardy, and ended up finding the reserve at the north end of town. Couple of beautiful poles at the entry way to the reserve.

Port Hardy Totems

I also spent some time chatting up three beauties. These girls were absolutely beautiful, and so full of life and questions. They of course all wanted to go for a ride on the bike. I managed to get them to settle for a honk of the Strebel horn. I have spent so much time around adult in the last few years that I had forgotten how neat the innocence of youth can be. I was saddened to see the untreated tooth decay in one of the sisters, and the head-lice eggs in another. I rode away from the totems and the tykes with mixed emotions.

Port Hardy Girls