PRINCE RUPERT I

We got up the morning after the ferry and checked out the campground to see if we wanted to stay at Kinnikinnick. (We had been in no mood to shop around the night before.) It advertised full hook-ups, but most of the sites had only 15A electric, no sewer and, at a few sites, the hydro (water) was a green garden hose lying in the leaves, all for $32.00/night plus HST.  (That stands for Harmonized Sales Tax—as if a sales tax could be harmonious.) 

We left and went 15km West of Prince Rupert to Prudhomme Provincial Park.

This was our first Provincial Park. They don't have hook ups.  Our site backed into the woods, a stones throw from the lake. Campsites were $16/night including HST  (which is 12%. Gulp.)  It’s a small park with only 24 sites.

The path to the biffy.

The water was labeled as not so good, so we drank bottled water, which is ridiculously priced in Canada.  But we loved the park.  It was a long week end (Victoria Day) and the park was filled with families.  We had fun watching the kids playing.  Most of the the people were from the local area and some went to work on Friday morning, leaving the rest of their family and camper at the park.  One Mom we talked with said she retired from the RCMP after 20 years to stay home with her kids.  Her little girl, Cindy, was very self assured (she was about 5 or 6) and we had some interesting interactions with her and her younger, red-headed brother.

On one of our morning walks we stopped to talk with Reverend Jim (a Lutheran pastor)  and his wife Judy.  They were originally from Ohio but have been Canadian citizens for more than 20 years.  Judy is a special Behavioral Teacher (using Glasser’s techniques) and she talked about one problem student who kept disrupting his class and how she handled it.  (Jenny, you would have liked some of the things she said.)

James, the Assistant Manager of the Park came over and gave us some fresh cooked crab.  It was delicious.  We had to put our pliers in a Ziploc bag so we could crack the crab.

This little boy and his family were camping in a small pop up tent camper.  They tied the cat to the bumper of the car.  The boy was very affectionate with his cat.  See, we're not the only ones who take their cats camping.

Sunset on Prudhomme Lake.

Another golden cocker spaniel, we think Poppy is better looking.

Skunk Cabbage.  We were told there are no skunks in Prince Rupert.  But it sure smelled like there were.   The the smell was from the skunk cabbage. Pretty blooming flowers.  We have seen the plant in the Sierra but have never experienced the blooms.