Stillwater Bluffs, British Columbia, CanadaPowell River II
Stillwater Bluffs
When it’s cloudy at 7
am – then you stay longer in bed… have a relaxing shower before hitting the
road: The Stillwater Bluffs were on our today’s list – as per Google map we
found the road right away – but got a bit confused because we ended up at a
private house. So we turned around and at the mailbox we saw a family and asked
them: the funny part was we met them yesterday on the Valentine’s mountain –
and yes you park at the mail box and yes the trail starts behind that house.
Super cool was the old rusty truck from the 50s sitting right there – then the
path starts – first came the beach – ok which is fine but then we went back and
to the left and came to the bluffs: the view is amazing and the rocks are cool
– we wandered over the round rock sand moss – I mean you really don’t want to
slip here and slide all the way down into the ocean… then we had to climb up a
bit which was also super cool and ended up at an old dead tree – we set up for
a bit enjoyed the sun and the view and walked over the bluffs until we decided
to head back – so where to go: we did found a small path and we decided it’s the
right direction so the path should bring us back and it did.
Eagle River Falls
When Gine was checking
out, what we should do she found a picture from a waterfall going into a pool –
but no-one talked about how you can go there and Gine could not find an “Eagle
River”. On Sunday when working Zan said that we should visit that waterfall
right at the highway – it’s after a bridge parking on the left side and
following a path down for 5 Min – one the way to the Bluffs we came above a
river (which is the Louis River NOT Eagle River) but there was a pullout – so
on the way back we stopped and asked some guys and yes that is the way to the
falls…. Down the road and then over a muddy path with wooden boards and we are
at the top of a bowl with a small waterfall – we climbed won (underneath the
big bridge) and then walked further along where we came to the top of the high
waterfall – only we couldn’t really see that one – because there was not path
except some super slippery steep slope. The whole gorge is absolutely gorgeous
and we also loved all the graphiti paintings on the bridge.
Happy Canada Day
Back we set up our
flags for Canada Day – and had coffee on our own little sandy beach – did I
mention there is no wind and it is sunny and super warm!! It is so awesome,
that we didn’t want to do any more exporing for today.
Being active with
water and exercise park
And if you are too
long in the hot sun – you need some cool down time… good thing there is a
little waterpark right at the park here. The best part is the bench – when you
sit on it you may get wet… and we both got wet. After more waterfun we are
ready for some more fun.
And as the evening
came – so came the clouds: that means some more exploring we found popey on the
whale and then headed for the exercise park: we need our daily workout before
heading to the beach and enjoy the sunset. Another beautiful day!!
Willington Beach Trail
We brought the bikes
with us – and the sun is not shining: perfect to bike along the forestry trail
and check out some of that old equipment – it is still fascinating how this all
worked – and we did stop quite often on the way there to read the signs and
learn some more…
Biking on an old Railway Path:
- Once forestry and papermills were a big deal in Powell River and this path was once the way of the railway logging train
- It was constructed in 1910 to Michigan Landing, which in 1928 was renamed as Willingdon Beach after Lord Willingdon the Governor of Canada
- The train run until 1918, 8 years later they removed the ties to make it a bike path
- By the way before the road was built this was the main access to the mill for workers in West view
- The red Boom boat or Sidewinder: it was sorting logs into booms: a boom is a constructed raft of logs that can be towed by a boat to the sawmill (and I was sitting in it)
- the yellow Track logging Arch: from the 1940s it was used to elevate logs on one site, so that they could be moved so it wouldn’t damage the soil
- And a cart with wood on it – interestingly they said it was running on wooden poles (makes sense in the forest) and this card was with the steel cable attached to the steam donkey and let down the hill (by the way they say you can still see the cut line)
- The Trail Steam Donkey: was originally on the ridge above Haywire lake (it was rediscovered in 1991 and the 60.000 pounds of metal were moved here in 2001 by helicopter (by the way it was so heavy they had to take it apart in pieces since the helicopter could only lift 25.000 pounds at a time) – the flying donkey: today we can see it how it was in the early 1900s. There was also the winch which was used with it (which is a lot of rusty cable). By the way this steam Donkey is # 357 was built in 1920 in Vancouver
- And we saw a lot of different trees with a sign so that we know what is a Douglas Fir – Western Red Cedar – Sitka Spruce – Western Hemlock – Grand Fir
- Then we saw a lot of rotten trees or how they call them: Nurse Stumps: western red cedars readily germinate and grow on top of old stumps
Forestry in Powell River:
- In the early days the trees were cut with axes and saws and dragged out by horses
- At the turn of the century the steam donkeys started pulling logs to railways – they had a lot of power and needed only wood and water
- In the 1930s they got replaced by gas-powered engines
- The steam donkey were mounted on a sleigh – and their steam powered the winches, which then moved the logs. When attaching it to a stable tree then it could pull the sleigh with the steam donkey to a different location
Time for the gym
To keep fit you have
to get your muscles going and if next to your campsite is an outdoor gym – then
we have to go there and get our muscles working – it would be cool to have them
in our back yard đŸ˜Š
Powell River Sea Walk
After a nice coffee
with a bit of sunshine we decided to get our bikes out again – this time we
went and biked to and on the Sea Walk: a 2 km long path starting at the ferry
station and then it goes along the ocean with some bridges – along a Marina and
a lot of benches along the way…. If you need a break you will find a lot of
them – the ones with the first nations carvings were our favourite. And then we
discovered some wood carvings at the park near the ferry station… guess they
loved the “pirates of the Caribbean”
Paul the Cloud
whisperer
Back we didn’t know
should we have supper outside or inside: rain says inside – and then the sun
comes out so it’s outside. Should we sit outside and watch the sunset: yes it’s
sunny – then the cloud comes and it gets cold and then finally the sun comes
back out ….
Sunset with a Rainbow
And to top it off we
got a rainbow – how beautiful, downside: if there is a rainbow in the sky there
is also water in the sky – that means it started to rain a bit. But then as per
Paul that is a good time to test our furnace: and it is working really well –
because instead of 20 Min we only had it on for 2 Min before we decided it’s
too hot.
When it rains it is
time to go home
Last night we fell
asleep listening to rain – and that is also how we woke up – coffee – breakfast
and it only rained a bit so we could pack up without getting soaked and we are
fast!! A cloudy ferry ride later and this time we didn’t even had to fill up
gas!!! Guess all that money we saved we used for the ferry. Time to unpack and
re-pack because in another 3 days we will be on the road again.
2025-05-22