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| The San Juan River estuary |
Susann and I and our friend Judy headed over Port Renfrew way this past week, and although the road from Lake Cowichan to Renfrew is now paved all the way, there are lots of logging trucks, one-way bridges, and dips in the road, making for a slow journey. It took us an hour and a half to go the 60 k from Lake Cowichan to Renfrew, but we were pulling a tent trailer.
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 The campground is ideally located, although, as you can see from the sign, with limited services.  Spacious, beach-front campsites |
Drift-wood sculptures on the beach
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| Tuesday we strolled down to Botanical Beach, one of my favorite beaches on the Island. |
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| Treacherous footing along this stretch, though! |
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| But great tidal pools |
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| and cliffs |
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| My 800mm lens zoomed right in on this mother bear |
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| Salal is beautiful as this time of year |
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| Ferns too |
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| Wed. morning I paddle-boarded up the San Juan River |
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| I watched two mink scampering along the shore |
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| Wednesday afternoon we drove up to nearby Avatar Grove. It's a rough road, but even on this drizzly afternoon there were 10 other vehicles there, many were smaller cars. (You can "Google" Avatar Grove for driving instructions.) |
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| Huge cedars! |
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| And photogenic moss |
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| A rough trail in places |
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| Reputedly the "gnarliest tree" in Canada! |
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| My high-priced model |
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| Along the lower trail |
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| Another gnarly one! |
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| And we finished off our stay with a meal in the beautiful Port Renfrew Pub. |
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| A rainy trip back to Nanaimo |
