We recently returned from a memorable visit with our dear friends in a remote village called Kyuquot. It is one of the five major sounds on the West coast of Vancouver island and is accessible only by air and water. The driving portion of our trip was fairly painless- minimal whining and no puke! The scenery was incredibly and it was interesting to see the children freak out when logging trucks came roaring around the corner. It's so easy for Nate and I to forgot that our children are unaccustomed to dirt roads and pot holes and cliffs.
It was really neat to drive behind the mountain range that I grew up looking at in my hometown village of Tahsis. I loved seeing it from another perspective. In Fair harbour we parked our truck and then took a water taxi for the remainder of the trip.
There are so many neat homes built on the various islands in and around Kyuquot.
I have a friend who lived in in the old schoolhouse portion of this building. Apparently it has been converted into a restaurant.
The view from Heidi and Steinar's home up on the hill. They have a lovely protected cove in front of their home and the wild, untamed open ocean in their backyard.
How I love visiting with this wise, inspiring, kind and thoughtful woman. She has been and continues to be such a gift.
These are just a few snapshots from the lovely area behind their home they refer to as "flat rocks".
We got to explore quite of the island. I was blown away by not only the incredible scenery, but also the weather. I had packed for a monsoon and instead we found ourselves wearing t shirts in March! It was wonderful! The children thoroughly enjoyed the tidal pools, untamed beaches, rock climbing, and beach combing.
The kiddos found squid eggs, man of war jellyfish, and even some pearls in a few frilly looking oysters they cracked open with the help of Nate's buck knife.
I love that whenever we needed to go someplace, we would all hop into the skiff and bomb across the bay. Heidi drives a boat like a pro!
The next day we went out in the punt to explore one of the outer islands. Heidi ferried us in the green canoe to the shore while the men tried to secure the boat with an anchor. At one point the anchor came off the rope but they managed to retrieve it from the ocean floor.
It was so nice to see Heidi's cousin Becky again! She is married now with a sweet baby and lives in a tiny home perched on the edge of mountain.
On Easter Sunday, which also happened to April Fools AND Claire's 7th birthday, we had a ton of fun. We started the day with a pancake breakfast at the community hall and then had an Easter egg hunt with the children on the reserve. Afterwards we attended a Easter Service lead by Steiner.
Afterwards the kiddos enjoyed ANOTHER Easter egg hunt at our friend's home.
The adults got some loot as well! Actually, we had stayed up WAY too late the previous evening stuffing plastic eggs and our faces with chocolate while blowing up balloons for Claire's party. At one point, when we were delirious with exhaustion and sugar, we cranked up the music and got silly. I found myself marveling at the fact that all of our six children slept through it, when only eight years prior we were tip toeing around when they slept for fear of waking them.
What a wonderful change!
Heidi and Steinar have one of the BEST collections of books and I always find myself writing down the titles of books I would like to read at some point in the future. I think this one would be especially helpful for the work I am doing now.
These sweet girls baked a cake together.
Yes, this is six children jumping on an ancient trampoline with no padding and only half a net... and balloons. Doesn't it look like fun?
It was so special to celebrate Claire's birthday with these precious friends.
And then it was time to return home.
