July 11th

July 11^th FIRST NIGHT and a DAY AT RIOT CREEK

CULPEPPER LAGOON

Rain has been forecast and I can hear its droplets announcing their arrival on the roof while we snuggle down under the bed covers. It is one of the joys of owning a wood boat with a roof that does not leak and has oil stove purring away in the main galley.  Its flame flickers through the Mica window. The OTHER REALLY GREAT THING IS THAT THE STOVE MAKES OUR WATER HOT for a very nice long shower in the morning.

 

I cannot put it off any longer, the guilt of not putting down the prawn traps. Chevy supervises baiting the traps as we put a can of chicken in each one along with pellets. There is always some fallout or drippings which she cleans up of the deck for Dad. GOOD GIRL. She loves the trip out to set them but she still puzzled why we throw good food into the water in a net. If you really don’t (she said to me in her eyes) want the yummies, I will look after it for you and clean it all up YUMMY YUM with her tail wagging. I said when you are a little older little girl I will explain it to you. 

 

The rain comes and goes. Penny works on our Blog. WE ARE A LONG WAYS NORTH IN A VERY DEEP INLET.  It is so beautiful.  You just continue to repeat again and again to yourself.  BETTER still NO one is here but us. It must be the best kept secret in the world. Not even a peep on the VHF radio and the signal can carry for miles. This is going to be a lazy day. Maybe Penny, Chevy and I will have an early nap.

Riot Creek

 

 

There is a break in the rain so we go for a gunk down to the tidal bore at the entrance. There is 80+ dark blue sail boat registered London, anchored (I was too busy not paying attention to catch the name). It had a RVYC/RV membership. We pull alongside and are invited aboard for snacks and a social blab. The skippers and owners name is David.  He has guests aboard. One couple were from Victoria are childhood sweet hearts and he was a developer.  The other was a Saskatchewan couple and he was in the cable business. I had the feeling that other than the skipper they were new to the North Country. We were blabbing about Butedale and had learned from boaters that the ramp was now gone but the docks remain as was, poor condition. David knew more about a new proposed development of the old cannery by a person from Kitimat. I had the feeling there was pressure to get David’s interested in it.

 

David told us he was in the newspaper business. Penny talked about her Dad being a Lino Type operator for the News Herald long ago. The Lino type was a colossus machine that cast letters out of molten lead boiled in melting pots. Lead sheets fabricated and fastened on giant rollers that spun and pressed with ink printed on immense rolls of paper spinning at the speed that was but a blur. He talked about the immense print room obscured in a fog of molten lead.  He reflected back as to the health consequences in this work place. It was a short visit as Penny had left the dinner baking in the oven. We arrived back and dinner was ready and waiting.