August 24, 2017. Fond farewell to Haida Gwaii

LOCATION:  British Columbia ferry back to Prince Rupert

WEATHER:  Mostly sunny!  Some rain drops.  High mid 60s

 

We enjoyed another yummy breakfast in our B&B, packed up, then headed south on the island to see more sights.    

This is "Balanced Rock", a famous site on the island

Lunch was a beach-side picnic....

Then, a visit to a native museum.  I listened to a native Haida explain the "story" of this particular totem pole.

Part of the museum is the actual carvery where natives carve totem poles. This is a new one being built for the local hospital.

And this one is about 40 years old, sculpted by native Bill Reid (son of a Scottish settler and a Haida mother) who is famous here. They are restoring it.  The pole tells a story with these creatures sculpted from bottom to top....a grizzley with her 2 cubs, a raven with a frog in its mouth, a killer whale with his wife on his back and a dogfish on top....

 

They aso carve and decorate beautiful boats. 

Then we took an invigorating hike around Spirit Lake.  The scenery was beautiful.

Although there were a lot of ascents....

We've been counting all the deer we have seen by the road.  We had a contest to see who guessed the number we would see over our 3 days there.  I said 76, and won the contest!     Our big farewell "splurge" was dinner in a private home.  They serve 6-20 on evenings when they are open.  They create a menu depending on seasonal foods.  

Their home, with the dining room overlooking the water, is beautiful.  

Here is the view of a cruise ship in the bay.  It is the first cruise ship ever in these waters.

We had a delicious, fun dinner.

 

 

Then, we boarded the ferry at 9:00 PM, fell asleep in our rooms immediately, and snoozed as the ferry set sail at about 11:00 PM.    

It has been a great trip to Haida Gwaii.  Another check off the bucket list. It was especially fun because we were with our friends Tony and Jenny, and our new friend Deb.