Simple Gifts

One last post about our backwoods adventure. Casey and Julia live simply. There is no store or post office on Sonora Island. They go to Campbell River every 6 weeks or so to purchase staples, check their email, and pick up snail mail. They have no refrigeration or electricity, beyond solar power enough for a light in the evening. In the winter a neighbour with a small hydro plant, shares enough electricity so that they can have light all day and watch a movie on their laptop computer. 

Casey built this clay oven. One evening during our visit, I walked up the road and purchased a freshly killed chicken from a neighbour. Julia gets her eggs there as well. 

Julia and Casey made pizza and then we roasted the chicken, along with a few vegetables, in the oven. It was all delicious.

Tuesday was bright and sunny, so we went for a short sail in their small catamaran. It was fun to get out on the water. We've missed sailing since we sold our sailboat.

The water sparkled. Warm sun poured down. Waves lapped, and the boat movement lulled us.

On Wednesday, before we left the island, we visited the former home of one of the community. This gentleman has since sold this property and built a home on another property.

Above is the stump house - constructed around a tree stump. It's like a cave, with a dirt floor, and apparently Dave spent several years living here. The sign says, "Beware of angry hermit."

Another sign warns of "precipitous zigzag ahead" -  

The trail was indeed precipitous, but there's a sturdy handrail as well.

And at the top of the "precipitous zigzag" is a castle door.

This is the view from the top, in another direction than the one I showed previously. Can you imagine waking up every morning to this? Amazing.

And then it was time to leave. We packed up the tent, loaded everything into the bicycle cart, and Tim took it down to the dock.

Here we are, ready to leave. We really didn't carry our packs very far, but it looks impressive. I'm clutching a bag of plants that I'll add to the landscape in my yard. They will always remind me of this wonderful experience.

I'm so happy to go on adventures with my husband. Today is our wedding anniversary. It's been a wonderful 34 years.