Digital Nomad Life: Month 133

Month 133 was an incredible month as I finally got to tick two big things off my travel list – traveling through the Inside Passage by boat and visiting Haida Gwaii. I didn’t have the best weather for either but it was still such an incredible experience that I will remember forever.

I started the month with a couple more days onsite, preparing for Beyond Wonderland, then working that for five days. It was the most fun event this season so far as we had a great crowd and our friend Chang came and worked for us. Toby and I even went into the festival for a couple of hours.

I left the day after the show finished for my big three-week Canada trip, driving from site to Vancouver, taking a ferry to Vancouver Island, driving to Port Hardy in the north of the island for a couple of days, then taking a 17-hour ferry to Prince Rupert through the Inside Passage.

I had a couple of days there, then I took a 7-hour ferry to Haida Gwaii where I spent nine days exploring the two main islands independently and taking a four-day tour of Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site – what I had been looking forward to the most on this trip.

After catching the ferry back to Prince Rupert, I spent another five days driving back to site over 1200 miles with detours to the culturally rich Nass Valley and historic Barkerville. What a road trip!

I spent the last couple of days unpacking, doing laundry, and working, as well as spending time with my little family – Toby and Joni – before the next show of the season: Chris Stapleton.

Now onto the stats!

Countries Visited: USA, Canada

Places Visited:

• Washington: George, Wenatchee, Oroville.
• Canada: Vancouver, Campbell River, Port McNeill, Alert Bay, Port Hardy, Prince Rupert, Port Edward, Sandspit, Daajing Giids, Masset, Old Masset, Port Clements, Tlal, Skidegate, Rose Harbour, Gingolx, New Aiyansh, Hazelton, Smithers, Gitwinksihlkw, Burns Lake, Wells, Barkerville, Williams Lake, Merritt, Hedley.

National and State Parks, Monuments, and UNESCO Sites: Elk Falls Provincial Park, North Pacific Cannery National Historic Site, Gwaii Haanas, Naikoon Provincial Park, Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park, Barkerville National Historic Site, SG̱ang Gwaay UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Islands Visited: Vancouver Island, Cormorant Island, Kaien Island, Graham Island, Moresby Island, Anthony Island, Kunghit Island, Kat Island, Hotspring Island, Lyell Island, Louise Island, Tanu Island.

Days on the Road: 21 days.

Best Meals: Southwest chicken salad from McGlinn’s Public House in Wenatchee; pretty much every meal on my Moresby Explorers tour including Salmon Wellington, salmon dip, and apple crumble with cream; Buckwheat pancakes with ginger rhubarb compote and maple syrup from Rose Harbor Guesthouse; Whipped ricotta, pistachio and honey with housemade sourdough bread from Blacktail Restaurant in Daajing Giids; Chicken and cashew salad from Roadhouse in Smithers.

Hikes/Walks:

• Elk Falls loop in Elk Falls Provincial Park, BC 2 miles
• Rushbrook Trail in Prince Rupert, BC 2 miles
• Tow Hill and Kwahtsiida Blowhole Loop in Masset, Haida Gwaii, BC 2.2 miles
• Pesuta Shipwreck Hike in Tlel, Haida Gwaii, BC 8.2 miles
• Spirit Lakes trail in Skidegate, Haida Gwaii, BC 3.2 miles
• Saasak’ Hill Lookout Trail in Gitwinksihlkw, BC 1.6 miles

Watching: Two shows I absolutely loved this month – Supacell and North of North. I also enjoyed Unchosen and Road House, although Conor McGregor absolutely gives me the creeps.

Reading: Emily Carr’s BC: Northern NC and Haida Gwaii by Laurie Carter, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke.

New Posts: I just published my first new post for a while, all about how to visit unique and pristine Gwaii Haanas in the Haida Gwaii islands of Northern British Columbia. 

Highlights

A Lovely Afternoon and Evening in Vancouver

I arrived in Vancouver mid-afternoon and left early the next morning so I didn’t have a lot of time there on my last visit, but I always appreciate any time I get to spend there. I walked along False Creek to Granville Island Market, had dinner in Kitsilano, then drove over to West Van and walked some of the West Vancouver Seawall and watched the sunset at Dundarve Beach. I’m looking forward to returning for longer next month.

Alert Bay Day Trip

I took the ferry from Port McNeill on Northern Vancouver Island to Comorant Island to visit Alert Bay, a small village that is rich in indigenous history and culture. I really enjoyed wandering around, checking out the impressive house frontal poles, the world’s tallest totem pole, and the U’mista Cultural Centre with its priceless masks and potlatch regalia.

Working Beyond Wonderland

Beyond Wonderland has been our favorite show to work this season so far with wonderful guests, a fun team, and probably the most impressive sunset I have seen at the Gorge in the five years I have been working here. Toby and I went in one evening to see Green Velvet at the House tent and to see all the Alice and Wonderland themed decorations lit up at night. The decor team really outdid themselves this year.

Incredible Wildlife in British Columbia

What a month for wildlife! I was blessed with multiple humpback and orca sightings (including one humpback that kept breaching over and over again), as well as sea otters, seals, Steller sea lions, Haida Gwaii black bears, foxes, racoons, cute little squirrels, tons of deer including little babies, hummingbirds, a big pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins, porpoises, and more bald eagles than I have ever seen in my life. So incredible!

Visiting the North Pacific Cannery 

One of the best things to do in Prince Rupert is not actually in Prince Rupert at all, but twenty minutes down the road in Port Edward: North Pacific Cannery National Historic Site.

This is BC’s oldest surviving salmon cannery and there are numerous historic buildings with tons of information and displays showing how salmon was processed and canned before and after machinery was introduced, as well as what it was like living there.

It was super interesting and I also enjoyed the scenic setting, the cute squirrels and hummingbirds hanging around, and the guided tour of the site.

Four Day Gwaii Haanas Tour

I realized my dream of visiting the islands of Haida Gwaii this month, and my four day Gwaii Haanas tour was definitely the highlight. This protected park reserve, marine conservation area and heritage site is pristine, culturally rich, and home to so much wildlife including a subspecies of bear that can only be found on these islands.

I just wrote a guide about how to visit Gwaii Haanas that has a lot more information about this unique and special place. 

Experiencing SG̱ang Gwaay Llnagaay

The highlight of my above highlight was visiting the super remote UNESCO World Heritage Site: SG̱ang Gwaay Llnagaay. You could feel the energy at this place; it just felt special. Along with being stunningly beautiful, it is home to some of the oldest standing poles in Haida Gwaii as well as remains of historic longhouses.

The whole experience from hiking through a mossy fairytale forest on a boardwalk, to having an informative tour of the site by one of the Watchmen was just incredible and something I will cherish forever.

Visiting the Haida Gwaii Museum

The Haida Gwaii Museum and Heritage Centre in Skidegate absolutely blew me away with how engaging and well thought out it is. I spent three hours here and it was such an interesting place to learn more about Haida Gwaii and the Haida people. 

Nass Valley Detour

As I learned more about indigenous culture and history in Northern BC, I knew I wanted to add the Nass Valley, the home of the Nisga’a people, to my itinerary. It was a few hours in total out of my way but I have no idea when I will be back in this remote part of Canada so it made sense to visit now.

I spent a night and two half days there and I was so pleased I changed my plans to visit because it was such a beautiful and interesting place, and I hardly saw any other visitors, which is wild because it should be on people’s radar.

I visited the informative Nisga’a Memorial Lava Beds Information Centre and the Nisga’a Museum, did the short hike to the emerald green cascades of Vetter Falls, soaked among the mosquitoes at forested Hlgu Isgwit Hot Springs, visited the native village of Gitwinksihlkw to walk the scenic suspension bridge and do a short hike to a viewpoint over the hardened lava beds, and drove the scenic road beside the Nass River as it opens up into the ocean to Ginglox, a stunning native village with an oceanside path and lots of bald eagles.

A Guided Tour of Ksan Village in Hazelton

Another highlight of my native culture-rich trip to Northern BC was a visit and guided tour of Ksan Historical Village in Old Hazelton. The village sits near the site of the ancient village of Gitanmaax, and it is a replicated village showing what life was like for the Gitxsan people in the distant past.

While the longhouses and poles are beautiful, what made my experience 1000% better was taking a very interesting guided tour. You aren’t able to access the displays inside the longhouses unless you are on a tour and they were seriously impressive. This was just a stand-out experience in general and I am so happy I stopped there.

Ten Hours in Historic Barkerville

Another massive highlight of my trip home from Haida Gwaii was also a detour. I drove two hours out of the way to visit Barkerville, and for a history nerd like me, it was heaven. Barkerville was the main town of the Cariboo Gold Rush in the 1860s and it is a National Historic Site. It is the largest living history museum in Western North America with over 120 heritage buildings!

There are thoughtfully put together displays in many of the buildings, with a smaller number operating as they would in their heyday including a blacksmith, general store, and even a theatre. There are numerous programs taking place throughout the day that are led by costumed actors/tour guides that fully get into character.

I spent an evening and a whole day in Barkerville and could have spent longer. I did a lesson at the schoolhouse, hiked to the oldest courthouse in British Columbia to see a reenactment of a real court case that took place there, went to a very interesting talk about mining, and I saw a period-accurate performance at the Theatre Royal.

I also ate dinner at Lung Duck Tong in Barkerville’s Chinatown, and had lunch at Goldfield’s Bakery – both were really good. 

Andrew Tate Arrested

This misogynistic, human-trafficking, rapist and his brother finally got arrested! Happy days. I hope he rots in prison.

Choose the bear

Lowlights

SO Much Rain

Haida Gwaii is known for being rainy but I definitely wasn’t expecting quite so much of it in July. I was bummed that more than half of my four-day Gwaii Haanas tour was rainy and cloudy, and I also had some rain and clouds during my time in the rest of Haida Gwaii, Port Hardy, Barkerville, and during my journey through the Inside Passage.

I made the most of it and still enjoyed my trip, although there were a few hours when I was freezing and being pelted by sharp rain on a zodiac where I questioned my life decisions.

Crazy Mosquitos in the Nass Valley

Relentless, massive mosquitoes dampened my time in parts of the Nass Valley, including when I was camping in Nisga’a Memorial Lava Beds Campground and soaking at the Hlgu Isgwit Hot Springs. 

The only time I can think of where I encountered mosquitoes as bad as in the Nass Valley was in the Amazon Rainforest; they were just brutal.

A Rough Detour

I had read about a gravel road shortcut between New Aiyansh in the Nass Valley and Hazelton that avoided backtracking to Terrace so I decided to take it. Turns out it is an active logging road and I nearly got mowed down by a speeding logging truck at one point – super scary!

After that, the road got really bad, with massive potholes that I had to dodge for about an hour. I had no service during this time and I was scared I was going to get a flat or break down in the middle of nowhere. After a while, the road improved, and when I finally reached the paved highway, I was so relieved.

Trump Destroying National Monuments

This joke of a man somehow just keeps getting more and more evil. I just can’t keep up with the evil shit he is perpetrating but one thing that particularly upset me this month was the shrinking of two of Utah’s National Monuments – Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante – by 90%.

There are many sites in these National Monuments that are sacred to Native Americans that now have no protection and are open to development, which is absolutely devastating. He won’t stop till every inch of this country is paved and commercialized. Make sure to sign this petition if you are as outraged as I am about the stripping of our National Monuments.

Spending

I don’t include international flights in my recaps. Some of my costs are shared with Toby or other travel partners.

Total: USD$4640

An expensive month due to being on the road for two-thirds of it on an expensive once-in-a-lifetime trip. 

Accommodation $942.50

My 15 nights of paid accommodation for the month consisted of two nights car camping in a campground in Port Hardy, three nights in a private room in a hostel in Prince Rupert, three nights in a private room at Bayview Garden Guest House in Sandspit, one night car camping in a campground in Masset, two nights in a motel in Daajing Giids, one night car camping in a campground in Nisga’a Memorial Lava Beds Campground, one night car camping in an RV park in Wells, one night in a motel in Williams Lake, and one night in a motel in Oroville

My 15 nights of unpaid accommodation for the month consisted of ten nights in the staff RV onsite at the Gorge, one night car camping in Vancouver, two nights in a private room in the Moresby Explorers’ Float Lodge in Gwaii Haanas (comp stay), one night in a private room in the guest house in Rose Harbor through Moresby Explorers’ (comp stay), and one night in a hotel in Smithers (points).

Food and Drink $637

Food is more affordable in Canada with the current exchange rate so my costs were lower this month than usual. This doesn’t include my meals on my Moresby Explorers tour (this is under activities). 

Clothing/Shoes $0

Transport $1273.50

• Gas $333.50
• Ferry with car from Vancouver to Nanaimo $80
• Parking $4
• Return ferry from Port McNeill to Alert Bay $9.50
• Ferry with car from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert $500.50
• Return ferry with car from Prince Rupert to Skidegate (Haida Gwaii) $320
• Return ferry with car from Skidegate to Alliford Bay (Haida Gwaii) $26

Activities $717

• Umista Cultural Centre Museum in Alert Bay $11
• North Pacific Cannery Museum in Port Edward $12.50
• Four day Gwaii Haanas tour (one quarter, the rest was comped) $612
• Port Clements Historical Museum $3.50
• Haida Gwaii Cultural Centre and Museum in Skidegate $18
• Nisga’a Museum in the Nass Valley $6.50
• Hlgu Isgwit Hot Springs in the Nass Valley $11
• Ksan Historic Village and tour $11.50
• Barkerville Living History Museum $16.50
• Theatre Royal show in Barkerville $14.50

Other $898

• U.S. Phone plan $35
• Spotify $14
• OneDrive monthly storage $2
• Garmin monthly subscription $14
• Netflix $10.50
• Toiletries $91
• Charity $174.50
• Souvenirs $19
• Haircut $35
• 2 x pairs prescription glasses $83
• Joni pet agent deposit $130
• Gemstone bracelet $14.50
• Car storage for three nights in Sandspit $20
• Moresby Explorers tote bag $16
• Tour tips $120.50
• Laundry $7
• Cancellation fee for Merritt campground $28
• USB 512GB $84

Website Costs $12

• Keysearch One Month Subscription $12

Vehicle Costs $160

• RV and van insurance $70
• Oil and filter change on car $90

What’s in Store For Next Month

I will be starting the month working a four-day event: Chris Stapleton. This is a fairly quiet one for us as we are less than half full so that will be nice. Toby’s Aunt and Uncle are coming out for it so it will be fun to show them our life here.

From there, I am going to spend another day onsite to rest and pack, then I will be heading back to Canada for another almost two-week trip – visiting Vancouver, Chilliwack, EC Manning Park, and Nelson. I’m excited to revisit my favorite city and to do some hiking in the mountains.

After that, I will have a day back onsite to prepare for our next show and our longest of the season – Bass Canyon. Six days of heavy bass and 12-hour work days in the heat makes for a challenging show but we usually have a really fun crowd and lots of repeat guests for this one.

The last five days of the month I will be doing another road trip – this time to Bend, Crater Lake, Mount Shasta, and Lassen Volcanic National Park – my last National Park to visit in the West. As long as my plans aren’t thwarted by fire that is. It’s getting harder and harder to avoid every year.

To read additional Monthly Recaps, you can find them here