Vancouver Island Day 3: To the Top!

content/2023/12-27+vancouver-island/03-to-the-top/index.md

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+title = "Vancouver Island Day 3: To the Top!"
+date = 2023-12-29T19:14:55-08:00
+
+[taxonomies]
+country = ["Canada"]
+
+[extra]
+distance = "360 km / 224 mi"
+route = "Parksville to Port Hardy, British Columbia, Canada"
+markers = "markers.js"
+track = "track.kml"
+bounds = {sw = [49.322, -127.501], ne = [50.721, -124.317]}
+cover = "es-4624-009"
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+
+Today I drove as far as you can to the north of Vancouver Island. I'm staying tonight and tomorrow night in Port Hardy, a small tourist and fishing village at the end of British Columbia's Highway 19.
+
+<!-- more -->
+
+This was a day full of fog and mist. Exactly what the Pacific Northwest winter is known for.
+
+{{ es_image(id = "es-4624-006", caption = "Mud Bay, British Columbia, Canada") }}
+
+From Parksville to Campbell River, there is a choice of a modern expressway or the old two-lane highway. I took the old road for a while, which led to the most fun photos of the day. I stopped here in Fanny Bay to take in a fun foggy seascape.
+
+{{ es_image(id = "es-4624-009", caption = "Sailboats at anchor in Fanny Bay. · Fanny Bay, British Columbia, Canada") }}
+
+{{ es_image(id = "es-4624-016", title = "Land of Paradice", caption = "A seagull contemplates life on a foggy day in the Land of Paradice (sic). · Fanny Bay, British Columbia, Canada") }}
+
+... and then a funny thing happened. I was focusing on one of the larger boats in the scene when it occurred to me that the look and feel of the boat was ... shall we say ... familiar. When I finally arrived in Port Hardy and started processing my photos, I zoomed in on the name of the boat.
+
+Turns out this is the now-retired _MV Rhododendron,_ formerly of the Washington State Ferry system, now serving as a staging site for a local oyster harvesting operation.
+
+{{ es_image(id = "es-4624-018", title = "MV Rhododendron", caption = "Fanny Bay, British Columbia, Canada") }}
+
+{{ es_image(id = "es-4624-022", caption = "Four fishing boats at anchor on a foggy day. · north of Fanny Bay, British Columbia, Canada") }}
+
+North of Campbell River the weather turned a bit more unpleasant, so I only stopped a couple of times for photos.
+
+{{ es_image(id = "es-4624-024", caption = "View across to Denman Island on a foggy day. · north of Fanny Bay, British Columbia, Canada") }}
+
+{{ es_image(id = "es-4624-031", caption = "Looking across to Quadra Island. · north of Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada") }}
+
+{{ es_image(id = "es-4624-035", caption = "I took a moment for a short nature walk. · west of Sayward, British Columbia, Canada") }}
+
+Looking forward to laying low and maybe _just a little_ exploring tomorrow.

content/2023/12-27+vancouver-island/03-to-the-top/markers.js

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+function addGpxMarkers(map) {
+    return [
+        addGpxMarker(map, "es-4624-006", 49.457667, -124.785833),
+        addGpxMarker(map, "es-4624-009", 49.504833, -124.826000),
+        addGpxMarker(map, "es-4624-016", 49.506500, -124.827833),
+        addGpxMarker(map, "es-4624-018", 49.506500, -124.827833),
+        addGpxMarker(map, "es-4624-022", 49.550000, -124.868500),
+        addGpxMarker(map, "es-4624-024", 49.550000, -124.868500),
+        addGpxMarker(map, "es-4624-031", 50.112000, -125.354167),
+        addGpxMarker(map, "es-4624-035", 50.317333, -126.232833),
+    ]
+}