Campbell River

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Pineapple Express

Without getting into technical meteorological terms, a pineapple express is an atmospheric phenomenon that brings a heck of a lot of rain to the Pacific coast. In BC, this also means that the mountains get a lot of snow. Once over the Rockies and emptied of its moisture, the pineapple express becomes a Chinook wind in the prairies that can dramatically raise the temperature.

In short, it’s really warm and wet here in Campbell River this week, averaging eight or nine degrees. I’m ready to pull out my shorts (well, almost) and am increasingly sick and tired of the spoiled Campbell Riverites complaining about the rain and how ‘cold’ it is. I feel like shipping a few of them out east for a week. In Ottawa, for example, it’s minus thirteen right now while in Campbell River it is PLUS EIGHT. As for Dawson City, cripes, it’s MINUS FORTY-ONE.

Campbell Riverites really need to travel more… 🙂

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Common Decency

This post has me on a soapbox. I witnessed something today that enraged me and I really need to talk about it.

As a bit of background, gas purchases need to be prepaid in BC. When someone lifts a nozzle at the pump, there will be a grating beeping sound inside until the pump is activated by a cashier. Today, this sound went on for five minutes as I dealt with customers. I was becoming increasingly annoyed with the person who had left the nozzle in their tank while they came in to pay. I was incredibly busy, but as the line dwindled down I concluded that the person whose pump was shrieking wasn’t in the store. The alarm finally turned off, but I could still see a car parked at that pump. For some unfathomable reason, a feeling of dread overcame me. Something just felt wrong.

I still had several customers waiting in line and I told them to wait while I went outside. There, I found an old woman sitting on the curb, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I fell and I can’t get up,” she whispered. The first responder in me kicked in and I did a quick evaluation. She seemed okay, although her knee was swelling up a bit. I helped her up, no small feat as she was quite heavy set, got her pump started, and helped her gas up. She assured me she was okay to get home and that she was going to be seeing her doctor tomorrow. Remember that I still had a lineup of people in the store as I was doing this.

When I came in, I apologized to everyone for the delay and explained what had happened. Two people replied “Yeah, we saw her go down as we came in” in the same tone that they would use to state that the sky is blue.

WHAT?! While this poor woman was on the ground crying two men just walked past and ignored her. They were about my age and I have to say that this sort of apathy is too common within my generation. I feel ashamed.

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PLUS Nine!

I woke up in the middle of the night (which is the early hours of the morning for me 😀 ) gasping for breath. I kicked off my blankets, did a very nonathletic drop down to the lounge, turned off the heaters, cracked open a window, and took all the blankets off the bed.

*pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseletthewarmweatherstay*

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Campbell River to Nanaimo

There are two ways to get from Campbell River to Nanaimo. The first is the way I came after the ferry, highway 19, a new thoroughfare deemed the ‘inland highway.’ It is a speedway, pure and simple, with the highest speed limit I’ve ever seen in Canada (110kph) and nothing to see except a blur of trees. The second option is the older ‘ocean route’, highway 19A, which meanders its way quietly through sleepy hamlets. This is the route I picked to go to Nanaimo today.

It rained all day and most businesses were shut tight, so there wasn’t really much exploring to do. I simply savoured the coastal drive, occasionally stopping for photographs or to stretch my legs.

My longest stop before Nanaimo was in Qualicum Beach, a picturesque retirement community with the oldest average population in Canada. ‘Qualicum’ is from the Pentlach language and means ‘chum salmon.’ I took a small detour into downtown so I could see some of the murals. The town has a museum, but it is only open on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the winter.

I’ve known about Nanaimo since I was a girl because my childhood best friend moved there when were were about ten. I looked him up before coming to the Island, but have thus far been unable to find him and imagine that he’s probably no longer in town. Nanaimo is also famous because of the delicious dessert named after it, the Nanaimo Bar, a decadent confection featuring chocolate, custard, and coconut.

The weather made wandering around the pedestrian-friendly downtown unappealing, so I decided to visit the Nanaimo Museum and take a quick glimpse at the harbour, then call it a day.

Coming into downtown Nanaimo was frustrating. There were two signs for the city and then signs for Victoria, more than a hundred kilometres away. I assumed that I missed downtown and got off the highway, then spent some time trying to find the museum before my GPS was able to help me. As it turns out, Nanaimo is a long, narrow city, and there were more than ten kilometres left to drive before hitting the downtown exit. Nanaimo definitely needs a ‘exit at *** for downtown’ sign at the city limits. Once downtown the museum is easy to find, just follow the big blue M signs. I was happy to find free parking at the corner of Museum Way and Terminal Avenue, literally in front of the museum entrance.

The Nanaimo Museum is brand new. The $2 entrance fee was easily explained by the museum’s size; tiny. This is a fine museum that makes full use of its small footprint. Within a few minutes of arrival I knew what Nanaimo was all about, from its coal mining origins to its bathtub races and Native heritage. It was one of the best museums I have ever visited.

During the summer, the museum also operates the Nanaimo Bastion, a fort built by the Hudson’s Bay Company between 1853 and 1855 to defend its coal mining operations. I had a chance to view the exterior of the Bastion after taking a quick tour of the harbour, which was cut short by the start of a downpour that did not let up until I got home. The harbour was just a couple of blocks from the museum and my raincoat was soaked through by the time I made it back to the car!

Nanaimo has a reputation for being a working, charmless, city, but I found downtown to be quite beautiful and I would very much like to spend more time exploring it on a slightly drier day. Being just 150km from Campbell River, it is the perfect destination for a day trip; far enough away to shake off cabin fever, but still near enough to be easily doable as a round trip.

the first rest area outside of Campbell River

the first rest area outside of Campbell River

Oyster Bay Rest Area

Oyster Bay Rest Area

Oyster Bay Rest Area

Oyster Bay Rest Area

Oyster Bay Rest Area

Oyster Bay Rest Area

Oyster Bay Rest Area

Oyster Bay Rest Area

Oyster Bay Rest Area

Oyster Bay Rest Area

next rest area

next rest area

Baynes Sound Rest Area

Baynes Sound Rest Area

Oysters underfoot at Baynes Sound Rest Area

Oysters underfoot at Baynes Sound Rest Area

Baynes Sound Rest Area

Baynes Sound Rest Area

trawlers off of Baynes Sound Rest Area

trawlers off of Baynes Sound Rest Area

Baynes Sound Rest Area

Baynes Sound Rest Area

Baynes Sound Rest Area

Baynes Sound Rest Area

Baynes Sound Rest Area

Baynes Sound Rest Area

farm across from Baynes Sound Rest Area

farm across from Baynes Sound Rest Area

Qualicum Beach

Qualicum Beach

Qualicum Beach

Qualicum Beach

Qualicum Beach

Qualicum Beach

Qualicum Beach

Qualicum Beach

Qualicum Beach

Qualicum Beach

mural in downtown Qualicum Beach

mural in downtown Qualicum Beach

details about the mural

details about the mural

mural in downtown Qualicum Beach

mural in downtown Qualicum Beach

downtown Qualicum Beach

downtown Qualicum Beach

CIMG0027

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bathtub racing, what an idea!

bathtub racing, what an idea!

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Nanaimo bars

Nanaimo bars

the first black teacher in BC

the first black teacher in BC

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Nanaimo's mines are notorious for their death and injury rates, hence the ironic messages.

Nanaimo’s mines are notorious for their death and injury rates, hence the ironic messages.

Native dress

Native dress

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this trunk belonged to Joseph McKay, founder of Nanaimo

this trunk belonged to Joseph McKay, founder of Nanaimo

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model of Nanaimo's Bastion

model of Nanaimo’s Bastion

model of Nanaimo's Bastion

model of Nanaimo’s Bastion

model of Nanaimo's Bastion

model of Nanaimo’s Bastion

world famous singer Diana Krall is from Nanaimo

world famous singer Diana Krall is from Nanaimo

arrowheads

arrowheads

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these beautiful combs caught my eye

these beautiful combs caught my eye

drum

drum

Victrola

Victrola

book of Victrola records

book of Victrola records

Victrola

Victrola

historic building

historic building

close-up

close-up

downtown Nanaimo

downtown Nanaimo

:-)

🙂

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Nanaimo Harbour

Nanaimo Harbour

Nanaimo Harbour

Nanaimo Harbour

what a great staircase!

what a great staircase!

Nanaimo Harbour

Nanaimo Harbour

Nanaimo Harbour

Nanaimo Harbour

I don't know if I will ever be able to see a palm tree in the wild and not feel a tingle.

I don’t know if I will ever be able to see a palm tree in the wild and not feel a tingle.

the Bastion

the Bastion

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Electric Space Heaters in RVs

Many RVers use electric space heaters to supplement their propane furnace. Some heaters are well suited to the purpose while others can turn your home into a death trap. An article recently posted to the RV News Service tells the tale of man in Oklahoma whose body was recovered from his burned out trailer before providing tips for safely using electric space heaters.

I’ve used cube-type heaters in the past and have always been worried my home would burn down while I was doing so, even with so-called safety features like tip-off switches and temperature gauges to shut off the machine before it overheats.

A fellow camphost in Oliver raved about electric oil-filled radiators and I decided to try one out, buying a large one on wheels at Canadian Tire for the front room. I liked it so much that this year I took advantage of a sale and bought a smaller unit for the dressing room and study.

The first heater I bought looks like this. It can run constantly without overheating. It's kept in the front room and I store it in the entrance stairwell when traveling. It can draw 600, 900 or 1500W, so there is some amperage flexibility since you can use 5, 7.5 or 12.5A depending on how much is available to you.

The first heater I bought looks like this. It can run constantly without overheating. It’s kept in the front room and I store it in the entrance stairwell when traveling. It can draw 600, 900 or 1500W, so there is some amperage flexibility since you can use 5, 7.5 or 12.5A depending on how much is available to you.

This is the second one I bought. It's tiny, but it gets a lot hotter than the big one! I occasionally turn it off to give it a chance to cool down. It's kept in the dressing room and stored in the toilet room when traveling. It draws 550W, so it only needs 5A.

This is the second one I bought. It’s tiny, but it gets a lot hotter than the big one! I occasionally turn it off to give it a chance to cool down. It’s kept in the dressing room and stored in the toilet room when traveling. It draws 550W, so it only needs 5A.

I like oil-filled heaters because they are:

-silent;

-safe;

-economical;

-low power consumers;

-dehumidifers.

These two heaters set on high can keep Miranda’s interior temperature to a reasonably comfortable level until about minus five Celsius. It’s a good idea in those kinds of temperatures to run a fan as well in order to circulate the warm air. I don’t have heated tanks, so there’s no reason to run the propane furnace when the electric heat is sufficient.

It’s been averaging plus four since before Christmas and I have them both set on low to cut through the dampness. This sure beats been woken up by the furnace cycling through the night and having to deal with the moisture from the propane in addition to the damp ocean air.

Electric space heaters exist in all price points and it’s definitely been my experience that the more expensive oil-filled radiators will pay for themselves if only in peace of mind.