Sun again today, poor us. Drove north to the end of Graham Island on this holiday Monday. Through Skidegate, past Tlell to Masset the drive takes you along miles of beach before turning inland towards Masset Inlet. This part of Haida Gwaii is flat, windy and mostly boring with scrub trees and second growth. Finally ate breakfast at Port Clements (nothing else was open). Thought we were going to starve!

The village of Masset is very poor. Apparently there is a big problem here with alcohol and drugs which probably accounts for the look of the place. Quite different from Queen Charlotte city and Skidegate.

Wind, fog and derelict abandoned buildings make this area seem so very different from the south.

The beaches past Signal Station are pretty wild. Colleen got her sand for her collection here and I found a rock for mine. Actually I think we all brought a sand collection home as the wind seemed to find any available crevice to fill.

Stopped at Sarah’s Gifts (bought a book and some cards) then again at a local (not very good) carver.

We’re a little surprised at the poor quality of carving and at the high cost. The big name carvers sell their work mostly in Vancouver, Victoria and California. Probably the jewelry goes the same way.

We tried to find the old Haida Gwaii canoe (a carving in progress somewhere up a logging road) taking my poor little Prius on yet more washboard roads before turning back unfulfilled. To compensate for the loss of the canoe sighting we decided to take the nostalgia walk to see where the Golden Spruce used to be before a protestor cut it down. It’s kind of odd to reach the end of the path, stare across the river and pay homage to, well, nothing that you can see. The golden spruce was a genetic defect which has one of it’s babies gently nestled behind a 7 foot fence topped with barbed wire. A little scrub of a thing struggling for life next to a church in Port Clements. Maybe the congregation prays for it’s continued good health?!!

South to the Balancing Rock where we took the o obligatory shots of us holding the thing up (or trying to push it over). Apparently the locals tried to knock it over with heavy machinery … even considered blasting…. Before they thought perhaps it should be left as is. Don and Shane decided to balance a number of rocks (up to 10) before trying out their pitching arm which, thankfully, didn’t connect.

Good dinner and last minute repacking…. Tomorrow we are on the Anvil Cove.

Don talked the ophthalmologist’s ear off before heading off to sleep in our shared accommodation.

This is the day …. Heading south to the park.

Sun again on Tuesday as Jean came to pick us up in the taxi.

It was on the trip to Alliford Bay that we heard of the fire in Kelowna. Not a forest fire but one that devastated a business area on Kirschner Road.

Jean was full of info about Haida Gwaii as well. From the nasty over crowding of deer and raccoons (introduced species) to Island Joe’s Tomatoes, a business run by a guy named George?….huh? Info on the Canadian armed forces base on Morsbey during WW II and the fact that fox gloves are not an indigenous species. Our heads were spinning as we arrived at Morsbey camp.

There, gently nestled in the cove, was our home for the next 8 days.

I’m such a mush….tears came again to my eyes. Idyllic is all I can say! We’ve heard from a few people of how wonderful Keith and Barb are (Vebeke, a tourist from Denmark who is joining us on this trip, is on her 4th excursion with them) from returning guests and people in town. The moment I saw Keith’s warm smile and firmly shook his hand I knew we were in good hands. Both of them are friendly, competent, knowledgeable and not over bearing. We all relaxed and settled in to an orientation film from Haida Gwaii (a must for all visitors) and a tour of the boat.

We left Morsbey Camp heading out Cumshaw Inlet past Skedans to Windy Bay. It is so hard to believe that we are here. The area has over 1500 islands, each diverse and each with it’s own unique history. At Windy Bay we stopped to go on shore. I put on my flowered Wellingtons and boarded the zodiac to begin a journey to ‘Perfection’ as Colleen would say.

Huge cedar, spruce and hemlock trees loomed over (and under) us as Keith explained the biodiversity to us along with information on culturally modified trees, river otter sign, cedar bark usage , the arid conditions and the devastation deer are having on the island.

Met with the Watchmen (women) who joined our walk and stamped the books you need to take on shore every time you set foot in a watchman site.

The watchmen program is a brilliant idea which not only provides some control (protection) over the ancient sites but gives local Haida a chance to meet with tourists, get away from the city, carve, weave etc. It was good to see young children with their parent(s) beaming with pride over their heritage.

The area is well protected and so are we. All of us feel well fed and we;; cared for…. In other words another perfect day and a stunning start to our Haida Gwaii Haanas experience.