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Day 7, August 23, Port McNeil to Port Hardy: The shortest ride so far, 25 miles to Port Hardy. We were both glad we'd decided to alter our route and ride to the northern end of the highway. It felt good to be at the top of the island. And we had no regrets about missing that gravel road to Gold River. Ubiquitous Pink Flowers on the Road to Port Hardy

Port Hardy is much more attractive than Port McNeil with a lot more trees and less clear-cut industrial areas. Again, we were lucky to find a room here. Apparently motels book up when a ferry from Prince Rupert is getting in at night, and that was the case today. But we managed to find a nice one with views of the bay, right in the heart of town.

View from our Hotel Evening in Port Hardy

The Billy Ruff'n

In my "other life" as a ham radio operator I've made friends with a whole group of sailors from British Columbia. And I often participate in the Pacific Seafarer's Net which makes nightly radio contacts with sailboats that are crossing the Pacific. So while ambling down a pier near our hotel I was shocked to see one of the boats that I'd heard on the net. John and I introduced ourselves to the owners of the "Billy Ruff'n" who were sitting out on the deck reading. It was a one in a million chance to run into these folks. We had a nice long chat about the joys of sailing and the blessings of having ham radio onboard when you're hundreds of miles out at sea.

We finally got to see some eagles today. We spotted several in the trees near our hotel and watched for about an hour as they perched near their nest and periodically swooped down to the bay to catch fish for an adolescent who was not quite ready to hunt for himself.

Today was the day we picked up our rental car out at the Port Hardy Airport, about 6 miles from town. I was surprised and delighted to see we were being given a sporty little Chevy HHR station wagon. Armed with motorized transportation we were able to expand our dinner options and drive over to a nice restaurant at a yacht club. What luxury... Next