Part 2 VIA Rail

NNVIA2.06 Earl Plato

A dream come true. In 1970 when our family visited Cathedral Grove in central Vancouver Island we had further plans. I wanted t take my wife and four children to the Pacific Rim National Park. It was not to be. In 1970 the route from Port Alberni to the Pacific Ocean was being converted from a :“cow path” to a paved Highway 4. Even today it is still a tortuous road. Here in late October 2006 we Fort Erie Eight would brave the unbelievably winding road through the low lying mountains to Ucluelet and Tofino and the Pacific Rim. We read that one million visitors a year make the same journey as we did. On this sunny day at the end of October we were alone. We drove to an unbroken stretch of beach called Long Beach. Elemental forces are always prevalent there - the winds and the tide. ’Tide? Brother Ed had the seven of us line up with the Pacific Ocean in our background. Tide? No one noticed the approaching tidal water. Our ladies reacted as the ankle high water rolled in. That’s one way to appreciate nature’s unexpected presence. Kelp and other ocean plants were strewn on the sand. Logs. Huge ones, were deposited along the beach. This unique national park encompasses a total area of 49,962 hectares of land and ocean in three separate geographical areas. We drove on to the resort town of Tofino. We saw young people with knapsacks walking around. One of the interesting features here is the starting point of the West Coast Trail. Were these young people hikers? Could be. It’s 75 kilometres long and is considered an historic trek. The Trail leads through the coastal rainforest dominated by old-growth spruce, hemlock and cedar. No giant Douglas fir here as at Cathedral Grove but still impressive stands we were led to believe. What did we miss?
Writer’s note: We stayed all night back at Ucluelet. Remember this was off season. The four wives checked one motel. It was relatively expensive with seedy interiors. They found one a little later that was clean and less expensive. Friend Bud remarked, “I like this motel best of the trip.” The rooms were spacious with natural wood interiors. Message - Don’t settle for inferior accommodations from managers who try to take advantage of the tourist. Good timing for us - almost five days of sunshine on the Island. Not so recently - torrential rains and winds of a 100 km and more.