Haida never get lost...

...only delayed. This was the best one-liner of the day :)

Yesterday started out as a cedar bark gathering adventure. Harvesting the bark is step one of making a traditional cedar hat so we wanted to learn how that was done.

It was a beautiful day, not too windy, not to cloudy, not at all rainy. We drove down a forest service road just outside of Port and stopped at the end to get into the bush where the cedar trees grew straight and tall. We walked along the spongy moss covered ground and stepped over downed trees and stumps looking for the perfect cedar tree.

We had to find a tree that was the right diameter, did not have too thick outer bark, not too many branches, no signs of bark twisting and had good inner bark. Quite the check list just to find a tree to take a strip.

We pulled 10 good sized bundles before we started to think about heading out to get lunch back at the trucks... which direction were the trucks again?? We followed the fallers tape, looked for the road clearing, scanned the trees for a nearby lake... all of which should get us closer to food and the trucks but no luck. After doing a big circle and getting back to where we started, we headed into a recent cut block to get a better view of our whereabouts. We spied a cabin...

with a driveway that led to a road... we passed a few other deserted cabins with treasures (we will go back and scavenge around one day)... and we kept following the road that had to take us somewhere...

By early afternoon the kids were now quite tired and hungry so M and I kept going in search of the truck. While walking down the road we saw bear tracks, albeit old ones but I was glad I brought along the axe in case of trouble. Another few kms down the road we found the fork that would take us back to our trucks... only 6 km away. Thankfully some other cedar bark gatherers were coming down the same way, gave us a lift back to the trucks and we went back to pick up B and the kids. They had prepared a lovely fire pit and we roasted our hot dogs for lunch which was more like dinner. So we were not late (planning to be back home by 4pm), just delayed.

May Long Weekend

Our first May long weekend in many years we have not gone to Princeton with C&D: miss you guys :) ... I wonder how our little cabin is doing: did it make it through the winter? how is the roof holding up? windows? are there critters squatting inside? was there still snow on the ground this year?

The boys had no school on Friday so we packed up the truck and headed to Cape Fife via North Beach Dr. to Rose Spit lane to East Beach Blvd. Our neighbours R&E were our travel guides to get there; even saw a beached fin whale just past Carpenters Rd. Pretty cool (but also kinda sad) to see a whale up close.
The cabin was vacant so we moved our stuff in and not a moment too soon as the wind picked up and the rain came down over night. The kids didn't care it was cold.... they explored around the tidal lake, found a bunch of old net buoys, and played in the 'sinking sand'.

Inside the cabin were 2 of these bunk beds, a big picnic table and a wood stove.

Tonnes-o-logs on the beach.

Off the East coast of the island is where the Naikoon Wind project is proposed. There is a test tower about 6miles off shore and we could just see it.

It was so windy that all my pics were a bit blurry. Had to be the wind, not the photographer :)

Saturday morning we packed up after breakfast and headed back to town for Harbour Days. B had a noon softball game in a gentle rain shower followed by a late afternoon game in a torrential rain storm. No such thing as a rain-out here. They were slipping in the outfield, splashing in the mud at home plate and sat huddled under the roof between innings. But the highlight was the dog that snuck in and grabbed a glove and then took off out of the park... I think the guy got his glove back but it was pretty funny.

Sunday morning was a lazy day with pancakes at home instead of at the festival pancake breakfast. Then off to the flea market and the boys stayed there with some buddies selling caramel apples. Ben and I headed to softball for the afternoon and the boys hung out in town. (above pics are from Sunday; with the cloudy weather there were fans in the stands) I got regular phone calls with their whereabouts; we are at the roller-rink, we had a burger for lunch, we are on the fire truck, we are in the parade, we are at Atwells getting balloons for a water fight, I lost my money; I had $8 in my pocket and now it is gone. Finally back home for dinner and a movie followed by fireworks at the rec. centre field. good times :)

Monday morning was sunny and the motorcycle was calling B's name so he headed off for a ride to Port Clements. The boys and I headed over to the Hospital to watch the raising of the Haida Medicine Story Pole carved by Christian White. It was very cool to see it go vertical and a little bit scary when the pole did a bit of a sway as it reached the top... Ben met us there and found a place holding the rope. I required lots of strong arms to move into place and hold the lines tight.

Carver, Christian White in the dark cedar hat and white T-Shirt

The fellow in the grey t-shirt with his back to the pic (sorry, I don't know his name) was the conductor of the pole raising orchestra. He would yell directions and the crew did exactally what they were told. He got total silence when he gave the order to pull the ropes; "more tension on this side, pull tighter over there"... a fantastic community effort!All in an exciting weekend here on Haida Gwaii :)

There are a couple more poles being raised around town in the next couple months and there is a 40th anniversary celebration of a pole carved by Robert Davidson happening this summer. I will find out when it is... maybe when my parents are here to visit :)

First Campout

We went camping beside the Tlell River last weekend. Thankfully the weather held and there was only wind to deal with. The tents were blown over a few times until we got them anchored securely. We spent the first afternoon trying to get a HUGE tarp set up in case of rain but the wind worked against us and it kept flying away... 

The boys had fun 'hunting aliens' in the bushes around the site. D had his toque covered in moss; he was almost invisible in the brush. J found this tree close by: a woodpecker hole and mushrooms on the same tree!

Here is my fast forward or flash back pic: father and son. I had to laugh. 

Friday night whale watch

Last Friday night we got a call from the neighbour 'Come see the whale in the inlet close to the hospital!" So we pulled a 'Schmidtty' (or u-turn) and headed back towards the village and stopped on the side of the road, along with dozens of other cars, and we got out to see the grey whale. A pic hardly does it justice but you can see the spray... and imagine the sound; it is like water being blown out of a snorkel. And the sound carried so well across the flat water. Almost made me jump if I was not ready and watching to see where the whale would surface. I have been told that whales in the inlet are very uncommon. They often come around soon after or just before an elder passes away. In the few days surrounding the whale visit, there were 3 deaths in town.