First Day in Alert Bay

Could it be?? Has summer finally arrived??? Sure, the mornings may be cool and foggy, but this is our third afternoon of sunshine! And it is beautiful. So we head out to enjoy it!

The marina is adjacent to the ferry dock, and at the head of the ramp we are officially welcomed.

Traffic jam! Ferry, cruise ship, and small fisher -- this shot doesn't show another approaching pleasure boat.

Alert Bay is known for its totems. The next few shots are from the original Namgis Burial Grounds. Viewing is only allowed from the street, as it is sacred ground, but all the totems can be seen easily.

Old and new together.
 From the information pamphlet we received, the totem most right in the photo is from the early 1940's.
The 4 Warriors pole in front was unveiled in 2011.

From the waterfront, we climbed stairs and followed roads up to the Ecological Park. There are miles of trails on the island but we just did Trail 1 to the boardwalk, then found our way back down the hill.

We passed through some HUGE cedar trees. I mean, these were the size of REDWOODS!
Later we saw on the map a trail called Big Tree trail. I wonder how big THOSE are?
(This one reminded us of the book  'Snow falling on Cedars' )

The boardwalk is over a large marsh, flooded since 1886.
( Math test answer: 130 years ago!)

We wondered what killed the trees.
We didn't find out until we got back to the boat and read the pamphlet on the park.
A dam was built in 1881 for the cannery. It took five years for the top of the hill to flood.

We think this is the highest in elevation we have been since leaving Friday Harbor.
 It seemed higher than what we later learned was 100 feet.