A New Beginning - On Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Christmas 2014

Christmas has come and gone and to many it was just another Christmas to put under ones belt. For us however, it was a more special time this year as this would be the last Christmas we would celebrate with our wonderful American friends for some time. It is likely that this year we will spend Christmas either in our new home on Vancouver Island or somewhere on our travels. Where, remains to be seen.  

Where to Now

This blog will cover information about our new intended destination and the run-up to our arrival there. Some of the information is meant for our overseas readers and American neighbours and friends who may not be that familiar with where we are headed or with the geography of the area.  

A large number of our friends from Mesquite have told us they will visit us at over the course of the next year or so we thought it important to say something about it here.

Vancouver Island is the largest Island on the west coast of North America. It is almost twice the size of Hawaii - 451 kilometres (282 miles) long. It covers 32,136 square kilometres (12,408 square miles) and is larger than many people imagine. 

Much of the island is untamed wilderness – home to cougar, wolves, bear, deer, elk and eagles. The surrounding Ocean has a myriad of creatures including whales, dolphins, otters, seals, salmon and many other animals too numerous to mention here.

Unlike the eastern side, the western side of the island is sparsely populated and consists of rugged fjords, temperate rain forests and mountainous terrain. The Island is best known around the world for The Pacific Rim National Park, the famous West Coast Trail - a challenge to even seasoned hikers and of course, the unbelievably beautiful Buchart Gardens, all truly great places to visit when holidaymakers come across from the mainland.  

There are few roads. Many of the coastal villages are only accessible by sea or air. The only highway running the length of the island connects the main cities and towns on the more populated eastern side of the Island. 

If you were to drive from Port Hardy, the northernmost town, to Victoria at the southern tip it's a full day´s drive through or past lush farmland and forests, through quaint villages and towns with names as varied and as interesting as their history. Some place names have a First Nations´ origins such as Nanaimo pronounced "Naneyemo" and Qualicum, while others like Juan de Fuca and Victoria speak of a Spanish and English past. 

Victoria, although it is located on the island is the capital of Canada's westernmost Province of British Columbia even though most of the Province of British Columbia (B.C.) is located on the mainland.  

I believe Nanaimo (one city we are looking at) has roughly 80,000 people, whereas the population of Comox/Courtenay (our other alternative destination) is nearer to 40,000, about double that of Mesquite.  

Vancouver, B.C's largest city is separated from Vancouver Island by the Strait of Georgia, linked via Horseshoe Bay and the Horseshoe Bay BC Ferries terminal in West Vancouver, approximately an hour and a half ferry ride from the Island.

Like much of the Coastal Pacific Northwest, Nanaimo experiences a temperate climate with mild, rainy winters and cool, dry summers. Heavy snowfall can occasionally occur during winter but it is rare - not quite like Mesquite, but better than Calgary, Alberta and the Prairie Provinces in general.  

The rain is something I will personally have to get used to. If it is too wet in the winter, we will plan to head south over that period of time.  Panama is still very definitely on the books for one place and so of course it our Australia trip.

Our objective in moving to the Island is to rid ourselves of the big city life, cold winters, snow, a faster pace, higher prices, crime and all the other trailing issues that comes with big city living.  

We hope to travel and enjoy an overall more leisurely pace in our latter years. Hopefully this move will serve our needs. As you know, we had set our hearts on Panama, but when push came to shove for one reason or another (grossly inflated real estate prices and the uncertainty about a country we knew little about), we chose to back away until we had more time to review our situation and do our due diligence more thoroughly. 

The other destination we will be checking out is the area of Comox and Courtney - about an hour north of Nanaimo but a city with reputedly some big box stores such as home depot and Costco and other facilities one would expect to find in a larger city.  Unlike Nanaimo, we have been told Comox/Courtenay area also has some retirement (+55) communities in among it. 

_______________________

Overwintering in Nevada

January arrived and so did the colder weather where we had minus temperatures in late December and early January but compared to Canada, this was chicken feed at - 3C. I still wore shorts and a T shirt for our daily walks around the area.  

Packing Time

We were leaving the majority of the furniture and artwork as the western theme would not suit our new surroundings so we did not have that much to pack but we started slowly and would take a couple of weeks to complete the task.   

Donna did not believe our stuff would all fit into our new 7' X 12' x 8' enclosed cargo trailer we had purchased in Calgary.  I was slightly more optimistic. We would have to see who was correct when we pack it on Feb 22nd. 

By mid January the days were beginning to grow noticeably longer.  The sun was setting behind the Flat Top Mesa about 20 minutes later than it was in December so we could now enjoy a little more time in our south yard taking in our last days and weeks among the our palm trees, Cactus and our treasured desert plants albeit with the patio heater on during the evenings to stave off the chill when the desert sun goes down.  

We had a quickie visit to Las Vegas in early January and arrived back in Mesquite to temperatures in the high 60's.  But of course, winter had just begun so we weren't out of the woods yet. The eastern states were being pounded with snow, some over seven feet deep while we were enjoying comparatively warm temperatures.


As we drove back from Las Vegas Jan 6th, we both sat in silence as the truck ate up the 78 miles to Mesquite. It was strange because we both knew what the other person was thinking without mentioning a word.  

How can we possibly say goodbye to all of these wonderful friends? We had all been buddies for over six years.  We all moved in at the same time and helped each other find our way in this quaint City of Mesquite.

Our friends have been such a large part of our lives here. They are like family to us. This was going to be an extremely difficult time for us both. I lost a lot of sleep over it, but eventually i knew it would have to be done. The goodbyes would have to be said but we would see them again so it wasn't all bad. 

More Packing

We had some packing to do and a friend and neighbour from down the street answered our Facebook request for spare packing boxes. He turned up with 20 good sized packing boxes adding that he could get as many more as we wanted and all totally free. We were very grateful.

We packed in slow time as we were expecting some friends (Mike and Shauna) to arrive from Calgary February 12th, so we could not pack absolutely everything nor did we want too. We had decided to take our time and do it right to minimise breakages.

January 12. - Fog Day 

On this day the strangest thing happened. I awoke around 7:35 am. As is normal, I closed the bedroom door quietly behind me so as not to awaken Donna who was still sleeping soundly. 

As I entered the living room, I glanced at the weather station - 90% humidity! Wow, time for a new weather centre I thought but then as I pulled back the blinds to the patio door I noticed that everything outside was soaked and the fog was so thick, I could hardly see the house next door. In all the years we have owned this home, we have never seen anything as strange - especially as our home is in the Mohave Desert, one of the driest places in the world.

__________________________

Jan 16 - Jeep Club Trip into the Wilderness

Brother-in-Law Ib called me Jan 15th and invited me to accompany him on a trip into the interior with the Mesquite Jeep Club of which he was a member. I jumped at the opportunity.

It was going to be a long day.  Donna and I were both up at 6:00 am. I was heading out with Ib and some other friends on a trip towards the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. 

Donna on the other hand was preparing to go to the slot tournament and have breakfast with all her girlfriends as they did every Thursday.  

Ib and I, along with 12 other Jeeps travelled by road out through Hurricane, Utah then stopped so that some of the more seasoned enthusiasts could "air down" as they call it (they let about 25% of the air out of the tires in their Jeeps, so they handle the rocks, riverbeds and ups and downs more easily). This was indeed a grand display of these Jeeps.  They are very good at surmounting obstacles.

All the Jeeps pulled up on the Bureau of Land Management Lands heading towards the wilderness area close to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

We drove through some really nice Canyons

Jerry our Neighbour, with his  newly purchased Older Jeep just brought from a Nanaimo Resident who also has a home here in Mesquite.

We travelled along tracks, through river beds and over boulders.  It was fun

The group leader - a lady giving us the low-down on the Mines out here in the back country

At the trails end, we came across around 15 wild  horses.  They were magnificent in the wilderness.

It was a fun time. At the end of the journey while the rest were "airing up" with their portable air pumps, we would head for home. The sun was shining, I had some good photo ops. on the way home and a good day was had by all.

_______________________

Jan 21 - National Association of Home Builders Show.

Our next trip away would follow eight days later when we would return to Las Vegas. Jeff, (Donna's son) managed to secure us tickets to the huge International Home Builders Show there. 

This is a 3 day event which takes place not only at the Convention Centre but also at various venues around Las Vegas.  There is free transportation to take attendees from one venue to the next. This is a very well organised show attended by thousands of people every day.

The show promised to have every conceivable gadget, new idea about home building and lots of other stuff like furniture, cooking equipment, kitchenware and all the latest apps and gadgets one could conceivably ever want for the home and we would not be disappointed.

This was timely, because within two months, we would be on the hunt for a home in Nanaimo or Courtenay/Comox. If we could not find what we wanted, we have decided to buy a lot and build so, armed with all the new ideas this would be a great help to us.

Our other option was to find a home in a lower price range and renovate it from the bottom up, so this show would serve us well one way or another.

We now understand why they say it's the largest builders and home expo show in the world. With the show behind us, we headed back to Mesquite. Thank you so much Jeff for obtaining the tickets for us.  We really appreciated it.

_____________________

Superbowl Approaching

A couple of days later, we watched the Western final on our TV of the NFL in their bid for a place in the Superbowl. It was between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks. I have never seen such an exciting game. We were on our feet in the last quarter right down to the final whistle.  

Superbowl Final - Feb 1

The final was spent at Sam and Carol's home in Mesquite.  About 40 of us gathered and as is customary, everyone brought along a dish and their own drinks.  We had a great time.

Unfortunately the defending Champions (our team) would be denied the coveted prize through a reckless decision and a god awful throw in the last seconds of the final of the Superbowl...... Oh well, it's just a game right?

________________________

The Flat Top Mesa

..mesa |ˈmāsə| noun

an isolated flat-topped hill with steep sides, found in landscapes with horizontal strata.  ORIGINmid18th cent.: Spanish, literally ‘table,’ from Latin mensa .
By early February, the temperatures were climbing so we took some time to take one more visit on the top of Flat Top Mesa at the rear of our home. This table-top area is a haven for tortoises. It is remote and virtually untouched.  We invited Donna's sister and brother-law and another couple of great friends Liane and Jerry (the couple who had joined us for five weeks in Panama) to come along for the ride. 

Our daily weather forecasts were calling for mid 70's temperatures, but we could see that we would easily surpass that and we did, reaching the mid 80's on many occasions. It was a gorgeous day, with not a breath of wind. We all packed a lunch , loaded it into our cooler and set off up to the top of the mesa.  We left around 11:00 am starting up the steep track that leads to the top.

Arriving on the top the views of the Virgin River Valley were fantastic.  We could see for miles.

Looking at our homes way below

The landscape is very rugged and unique in the Mojave Desert. Only places that are very dry have landscapes like this. When the rains do arrive, they come with vengeance and because of the hard topping to the landscape, there is nowhere for the water to go so it carves out rivers and wears down the sides of the mountain, eventually undermining the tops which eventually over millions of years, falls away.

Eventually these flat tops will become pointed and then the whole area will become flat again and the process will restart.

Left to Right, Liane, Jerry, Donna, me, Carol and Ib

Our truck up on top of the Mesa

Tortoises live on top.  They survive the 115 F degree temperatures here as they never drink.  They get all the water they need from the plants they eat.  You are not allowed to even touch a tortoise here as if you do, you will frighten them and they will pee.  If they pee the size of a US Quarter, they will become dehydrated and die. That's how finely balanced their bodies are.

There are some spectacular sights up here.  Point of interest.  for those who have seen lots of the US.  We often hear about A Butte.  It's in many a name.  Well, a Butte is taller than it is wide.  A Mesa is wider than it is tall

Resplendent orange and yellow rock formations adorn these ranges.

_____________________

February 11th. Possession Day on our home.

Possession day on our home arrived.  We met Mike and Kathy the new owners, did a complete walkthrough with them, handed over the keys to the house, took them to the places they would need to register with for power and water etc, took lunch up at the 1880's Grill and bid them goodbye as they left Mesquite and headed back to Colorado.

Mike and Kathy had kindly agreed to allow us to remain in the house until Feb 25th, the day we would depart for Canada.  

Our visitors from Calgary arrived the next day right on time. We picked them up at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.  They arrived at the brand new Terminal 3 - a very impressive building.  One that would substantially reduce the number of people at the older terminal building.

We loaded their suitcases onto the truck and headed out.  We had decided to drive back through Henderson, enjoy a leisurely lunch then take the north road running besides Lake Mead eventually arriving at The Valley of Fire State Park.  

This area is devastatingly beautiful, and even better, a group of six families (our neighbours) happened to be camping in their trailers and RVs there.  We popped in for an hour. We were greeted in true American spirit, offered some munchies and a drink then we headed on to Mesquite.

The following day, we decided to take Mike and Shauna out to Zion National Park - a gorgeous place to visit.  We had been there before and so knew they would enjoy it.  

It was just an hour and a half drive from our home. Before you knew it we were driving through some gorgeous countryside with high imposing mountain peaks on either side of the valley. Nature at it's best.  

Donna, Shauna and Mike tailgating as they call it here, enjoying lunch at the side of the road

On Valentines Day, the four of us jumped into the truck and headed back to Las Vegas. We had an enjoyable two days in "lost wages" (Las Vegas) then at 6:30am we dropped Mike and Shauna off at the airport for their flight back to Calgary.  We would actually arrived back home in Mesquite before they even took off.

Full steam ahead with the packing now. We took down our precious wall hangings, pictures, packed clothes, vases, some computers and almost everything we would not need over the course of the final eight days.  

We could finish packing up in under a couple of hours but we still have some time here so it's still a slow time approach.

As we close another chapter of our lives and draw to a close, a wonderful six years we have had here in Nevada, we can honestly say, it has been a blast!  

We have made so many dear friends here - more than we ever could have wished for. We will truly miss them but we will return.  Of that there is no doubt. It's a promise, but for now, onwards and upwards.  Life must go on. 

And so it is with that in mind, we turn our attention to the journey home to Canada.  It's going to be a three day drive with the trailer, stopping overnight in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Great Falls Montana before arriving at the Canadian border on day three.

We do not anticipate bad weather but, it's still eight days away so we aren't holding our breath as everyone who lives in western Canada and the western United States knows - the snows in Utah, Idaho and Montana can come quickly and very heavy.

We will be in Calgary just ten days. Then we will hitch up our trailer again and head out to British Columbia and a new life on Vancouver Island. We hope we can find a really attractive home fairly quickly. I am not that patient so wish us luck!  

Our next blog will hopefully be from the Island once we have settled. We will be sure to include pictures and maybe even outline what's on the cards next once we catch our breath and have time to think it.  

........... and so the adventure continues. 

Me and my wonderful wife Donna enjoying a great day out up on top of the Flat Top Mesa behind our home.

So now, it's back to Canada 

Then to pastures new - British Columbia.  Here we come!

© Copyright by Ken Carter 2015.