Tofino Beaches

We have been extremely lucky with the weather, just a morning of rain and after that it cleared up so we were able to see more of Tofino, including the pretty Tonquin Park where we even saw a wedding party in action.  Tofino was quieter in late September, I was told, so we didn't have to fight hoards of tourists to take a leisurely stroll through the main strip.  

Tonquin islet in Tonquin Park

Tonquin Park

Beach wedding at Tonquin Park

Tofino - This bench was carved from the Western Red Cedar Tree that grew on that spot for over 100 years before it was taken down in 2014 because it was too decayed to be saved.

Totem pole at the waterfront

We were lucky to get an early seating at the renowned Wolf in the Fog for dinner and I was able to taste one of the most delicious oysters I ever had wrapped in a taro batter - a first for me.  The rest of the dinner was outstanding.  We were able to make it for sunset at Chesterman Beach.

Chesterman Beach

The five days we were on the island, we went back and forth between the beaches and every time was rewarded with captivating images, whether we could see the sunset or not.  

Wickaninnish Beach sunset

The last morning, a Sunday, we went to Wickaninnish Beach to see the surfers in action and I also learned a lesson in identifying the highly skilled versus the mediocre surfers.  You could probably tell too from the images I took.

It's awesome to face the towering wall of surf coming in

Aerobics on the waves?

 

This one's a little better

Voilà, here comes the pro

We were treated to a beautiful sunset on the ferry crossing back to the mainland - a fitting end to a memorable trip!

Stay tuned for the upcoming posts on the Canyons in the Southwest

The Road to Tofino, B.C.

I visited Victoria and Nanaimo on Vancouver Island back in 2005 and it had always been my wish to visit the "wild" west side of the island.  It took me 17 years to get there, although it was only the not so wild area between Tofino and Ucluelet, it was a taste of the Pacific Coast.  Thinking back, the landscape is very similar to the Pacific coast off Washington and Oregon which I visited in 2018.  Sunrise and sunsets on the Pacific are legendary and I was lucky to experience a few of those in the few days I was on the island.

The B.C Ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo was a two hour ride with beautiful vistas of the coastal mountains and a bonus whale sighting. 

From Nanaimo, it's several hours' drive to the west coast cutting across the middle of the island.  There are a few scenic stops on the way, including the goats on the roof of Coombs Old Country Market, the awe-inspiring Cathedral Grove and Wally Creek.

Goats on the roof at Coombs

Cathedral Grove - a spectacular cathedral of nature. Some of the trees are more than 800 years old and 30 ft in circumference.

It's not a very long trail but you'd spend most of it looking up!

New life on what looked like a dead trunk

This is probably the tallest and oldest Douglas Fir at the grove

Wally Creek with its beautiful backdrop of the island's mountains must be very impressive in the spring when the water would be rushing down it.  

With construction on the road and possibly a half hour wait to get through, we managed to make it to Long Beach just barely catching the setting sun and a few surfers packing up to go home.  It was a magical time of day on the Pacific coast.