More Powell River exploring, and beers at Townsite Brewing
I didn’t have many plans for Powell River other than having a good look at the historic Townsite on Day 38 of the trip (June 2nd). As it turned out, though, it was quite an eventful day, meeting some former Yukoners, having some excellent local beers, and spending more time with my local friends.
The day started as most do, with dog walks and lots of writing and photo-sorting/editing time. Just after 11:00, the dogs and I headed out for some exploring. I thought that Bella and Tucker needed some good play and socialization time, so went to the Visitor Information Centre up the hill to enquire about a leash-free park. After a long search, the staff found that there was one, but another staff member came along and warned me that some small dogs have been hurt by big dogs there. I also asked about any commercial campgrounds down Sechelt way, and was told that they only deal with the Powell River area.
We drove a few blocks to the leash-free park, a fairly small fenced and grassy field, but there were 2 very large dogs there playing ball-fetch, so given the warning that I’d just gotten, we continued on.
Wandering around town, I found a nice waterfront trail, and small towns being what they area, Barb and Dave were just leaving! They came back down and told me that the trail is a good place to give the dogs leash-free time. The trail is a really nice for a long walk, but there were too many people and other dogs (all leashed) to let my kids loose.
The ocean water is so clear! More and more, I really wanted to go diving, but having not brought my scuba certification card, that wasn’t an option this time.
I was able to get some good photos of the Salish Orca, the new ferry that I’d come over from Comox on, as she left the dock in the sunshine.
The amount of small-dog poop along the trail was maddening. None from big dogs, but “it’s just little, you can’t even see it” must be some people’s attitude. People like that make us all look bad. I noticed that the poop-bags that the city supplies are both very large and very heavy weight – I much prefer the more efficient ones I buy by the roll from Canadian Tire.
As I was in the car getting ready to leave, a woman came over and asked where in the Yukon I was from. When I said “Whitehorse”, she introduced herself. It’s a long story best told over a glass of wine or three, but I knew Dawn Kostenik by reputation as a realtor and writer, though we had strangely never met. I walked over to her car and met her husband, Rick, and we very quickly discovered many mutual interests. They invited me out for a beer at their place, and offered a place at their B&B that also has 6 RV sites. I had to figure out how the coming days were going to progress, so departed by just thanking them for both offers.
Right above the walking trail parking lot, I found this lovely viewpoint with totem poles and interpretive signs. It was built by the Rotary Club.
This lovely water fountain was also at the viewpoint, but the doggie part needed cleaning so I kept my kids away from it. The fountain was installed by the Powell River Garden Tour Committee in memory of a member.
The day was marching on rapidly, so I dropped Bella and Tucker off at the motorhome and then the historic Townsite was the next stop. What better way to start a walking tour of a historic town than with beers and then lunch? Townsite Brewing is located in the old Federal government building.
Ooooo, look at all the beers! When in doubt, try a flight 🙂
There we go – from the left, the Tin Hat IPA, Zwarte Dark Whitbier, Zunga Golden Blonde, and Suncoast Pale Ale.
For me, the Tin Hat India Pale Ale was the winner, and I had a full glass of it. Great body, with a real bite to it.
New beers being added as I sat there 🙂
Townsite Brewing is a comfortable place that’s very popular with locals. Unfortunately, not only is there no food service there, there’s no cafe or restaurant in the Townsite! I’d have to go back into new Powell River.
On the entrance hall in the brewery is this painting of the hut at Tin Hut Mountain on the Sunshine Coast Trail. It was painted earlier this year by Powell River artist Anna May Bennett.
I was really hungry, but tried to see a bit of the Townsite. Looking down towards the mill, I tried to imagine what it was like here a few decades ago.
Above the mill workers’ small homes are some much grander homes for mill managers.
The original hospital has been converted to apartments, many of which have great ocean views.
One of the things I noticed was the number of long-unused parking lots from the days when the mill had 2,500 or so employees instead of the current 400.
I had to eat, so went back to the RV and had lunch/dinner. Then it was, of course, time for a dog-walk, and it was a long enough one that a nap seemed to be next in order. The “nap” turned out to be a very long one 🙂
That evening, I dug through my papers and had another look at the strange course of events that led me to meeting Dawn and Rick. It had started a few days earlier when I was fretting about the cost of ferries and thinking about cancelling the Sunshine Coast part of my trip. That evening, in my pile of campfire-starter newspapers was this article. I took that as a message that the Sunshine Coast needed to remain on the itinerary. Note the name of the writer – Dawn Kostelnik. In the article, she was talking about buying the property that she had just invited be to stay at. Spooky, eh? 🙂 I sent Dawn a text, saying that I’d like to see them again, and to stay at their RV site for a couple of days.
Dusk in front of the Willingdon Beach Campground, at 9:15.
The next day, I’d move halfway to the next ferry, which was only 27 km away, and start exploring a new area.
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