Lakelse Lake and Prince Rupert

July 18

We spent 2 days (July 15 & 16) at Lakelse Provincial Campground that is 19km outside of Terrace towards Kitimat.

When we arrived, there were only 2 spots left of which one was jus a tad tight for us to get it. The campground was practically empty – I guess all those bookings were only on paper.

While at Lakesle Lake, we visited the Nisga’a Nation. For some of us the word Nisga’a might be familiar because of the Nisga’a Treaty. The Nisga’a Treaty is the first treaty between the BC Provincial govement and the Nisga’a people.

We did a self-guided tour through the Nisga’a territory. The drive was beautiful and twice we saw a bald eagle soaring above us. One of the most famous attraction is the Nisga’a Lava Bed Memorial Park.

The lava flow is one of Canada’s most recent volcanic eruption that killed an estimated 2000 people in the early 1700. The lava bed stretched for many kilometers and there is a beautiful turquoise lake aptly named Lava lake. We also visited a small waterfall along the way and it is at this waterfall trail that Marcus pulled his groin and the whole family had to cut back our activities – but who are we kidding? We haven’t done much hiking!!! Just eating and snacking all day long…

We are now at Prince Rupert and camping at the only RV Park in town. As Prince Rupert is a deep seaport, it is a fishing town and you can spot the fishermen easily.

The other day we went on a popular hike called the Tall Trees Trail. It was a nice hike despite the on and off again rain. After our hike, we picked up dinner at this place called Dolly’s Fish Market. We had the best fish and chips ever!

July 19

We checked out of the campground at 11am and had to kill a lot of time… we were to arrive at the ferry terminal at 8pm for our 10am ferry. We found street parking close to Cow Bay Road. Cow Bay Road is the main tourist area in Prince Rupert.

We walked along Cow Bay Road and before you know it it was lunch time. The vote was to go back to Dolly’s for fish and chips. After lunch we explored more of the town and walked by the mall and saw a Pet Valu with a dog wash. Hmmm… Time for someone to get a bath! We got Harry cleaned and in returned we had a grumpy dog.

We went back to the 5^th wheel to kill time before dinner. We did some research and decided on sushi at Opa Sushi. Opa Sushi is a family-run restaurant that has been operating since 1998. As I did not want to be “burdened” with ordering, I decided to go “omakase” – which in Japanese translates to “I leave it up to the chef to decide”. We had the best sashimi (raw) ever and it was also very cheap compared to what we normally pay in Vancouver.

We arrived at the ferry terminal at 8pm and just before 9pm the ferry workers started loading vehicles – the loading eventually slowed down as the vehicles had to back up the ramp about 200meters to load.

If you are not able to back up, BC Ferries has a professional driver that will drive your vehicle for you. Jeff managed to back up the 5^th wheel and truck – slowly but surely. Once parked, we put Harry in the trailer and we headed to the passenger decks to explore. After the ferry set sail we proceeded to our cabin to sleep. The cabin had 4 bunks and a washroom – it was sufficient for our needs and well worth the $100 “splurge”.  We woke up at 5am for our 6am arrival at Haida Gwaii.