Cortes Island camping trip. (2 Viewers)

[Vanisljoe]

Just thought I'd share some shots of our last camping trip over to Cortes Island. For those of you that don't know where it is- it's 2 ferries over from Campbell River. It's a neat little island of about 900 full time residents and a pretty cool provincial campground called Smelt Bay.

Included in the pics are the little camping/hunting/off-road trailer my wife and I picked up off a guy here in Nanaimo. We had it loaded to the gills for this trip. It pulls really nice and easy behind the '81.

 

[Vanisljoe]

a few more pictures

 

[Vanisljoe]

a few more

 

[Vanisljoe]

more yet

 

[Vanisljoe]

last ones.

 

[Vanisljoe]

This oyster and clam bed is easily one if not the most saturated natural bed in the world. It is the site of an old clam/oyster cannery that was ran by my great, great grandfather that finally closed in the 1950's. Since then it is really only visted by locals, and the DFO as it is now a provincial park.

The red and green roofed houses belong to my family.

 

[slowandsteady BJ]

Very cool, thanks for sharing.

Good looking truck and trailer as well.

 

[asutherland]

Very cool, thanks for sharing.

Good looking truck and trailer as well.

Agreed! And nice trailer hitch

Looks about perfect level for you! I assume by the lack of pictures of up-side-down and on fire cruiser you found more bolts for attaching the hitch to your frame?

 

[Vanisljoe]

Haha. "Fire Cruiser"

I took the truck to mid island hitches here in Nanaimo where they dug through their tool box and found 4 more bolts that fit the threads on your old hitch.

At first they were unsure between themself's if the hitch would even fit as the rest of the holes that we didn't put bolts into didn't line up. But I assured them it came off an identical truck and that they had better get to it!

 

[asutherland]

Haha. "Fire Cruiser"

I took the truck to mid island hitches here in Nanaimo where they dug through their tool box and found 4 more bolts that fit the threads on your old hitch.

At first they were unsure between themself's if the hitch would even fit as the rest of the holes that we didn't put bolts into didn't line up. But I assured them it came off an identical truck and that they had better get to it!

They likely had to loosen the two we put in to get all 6 to line up properly. Noobs!

 

[Radd Cruisers]

Looks like a great trip

 

[slickrock]

Too bad I didn't know about this. I live here for 2.5 months a year and could have saved you the camping fees and the tourist excessive spending tax. Lots to see that we keep hidden from the outside world that you missed especially the fishing. I haven't eaten anything that I haven't caught yet. Every meal comes from the sea and what grows from the ground can be traded for what comes from the sea.

If you come back, let me know or if anyone else is heading this way, send me a PM. I check back every week or so.
Dan

 

[slickrock]

By the way, I hope you didn't eat those oysters....There has been a really bad red tide that hasn't been posted and people have been getting sick.

 

[Vanisljoe]

Haha. I thought i had the only cruiser on the island!

I could have parked at my family's and avoided the camp fees but i decided to camp instead. Do you know my Aunt and Uncle? Stephanie and Michael Gibbon's? Or my Grandpa Ross Milne?

Michael used to own Cortes Transport but just sold it and is up driving earth movers in fort mcmurray. Apparently the lagoon has never had red tide in it's history. We didn't know about the red tide and feasted on Oysters in the middle of the "outbreak" and were fine.

 

[slickrock]

Oysters are the last to get infected so since your on here, your good. I've never harvested Manson's since I just go down behind my place and get all the clams or oysters I could ever eat. I do like taking my dog to Manson's at low time, throw booties on him, and let him charge across the oyster beds after birds (don't let Fido do it without booties...ask me about that and how I learn to stitch a pad back onto a foot while the dog wanted to tear my arm off while doing it).

There are a few places to wheel around here that are just above a motorcycle trails now after one time logging roads. I tried brush wires for the first time and saved myself a broken windshield or at least cracks this year. Blue Jay Lake is a great trail.

I spend most of my time in Whaletown so I don't know a lot of people on a first name basis from Smelt Bay but I'd probably recognize your family if I saw them off Island.

If you want to do a little fishing, let me know. Time is running out for this teacher to be back to work. Naniamo is only a few hours from here. Moving there is a solid dream of mine.

 

[seapotato]

Funny, my wife is working for DFO at the moment , and she's staying on Cortez this week inspecting all the shellfish tenures.

She'll be wandering the beaches with a clipboard and a freakishly accurate GPS ( we're talking +- a few cm's as opposed to the usual error) making sure they all have their stakes and fences in the right spots.

 

[slickrock]

Very cool, but I bet she is very unpopular with the oyster leases. Tell her to keep an eye out for a blue FJC with a rack full of storage containers. if she is here Saturday, there is a big island party at Smelt Bay she should check out.

 

[seapotato]

Very cool, but I bet she is very unpopular with the oyster leases. Tell her to keep an eye out for a blue FJC with a rack full of storage containers. if she is here Saturday, there is a big island party at Smelt Bay she should check out.

Yeah probably not, but it's just a temporary thing for her, and from their perspective they should be happy it's her and not the usual woman who sets her bra on fire and starts a shouting match if you step on a fern...

The inner workings of DFO are so absurd I'm sure they all just shake their heads about the whole thing. ( as they wait for papers filed in 2007 to be deal with)

Cortez parties are fun, but we're heading over to the mainland tomorrow for the weekend.
a CFL game friday night ( if you can't do it in 3 downs, it ain't worth doing) and then a soccer game on sunday.

I only hit the mainland once a year (if that) so gotsta cram in a few things.

 

[slowandsteady BJ]

I would to be a "fly on the wall" for that trip! I can't imagine you on the mainland. Im guessing Mel will do the driving and you'll do the drinking?

 

[seapotato]

I would to be a "fly on the wall" for that trip! I can't imagine you on the mainland. Im guessing Mel will do the driving and you'll do the drinking?

Yeah, that's about it. I relinquish all responsibility at the ferry terminal.



Making a wee detour into bellingham on sat, maybe we can catch the bar that has happy hour from 8am to 11am...

(that's probably a bad idea....did they close gitmo?)