Yes, we're still in Prevost Harbor. When we got up this morning, it was raining. As Eric and I drank our coffee, we asked ourselves this question: check in at Bedwell Harbour today? Or tomorrow? We decided to do some boat projects and think about it. Eric embedded snaps in the floor, to keep the rug in place on the cabin sole; I caught up on some writing. When the sky cleared and the sun came out at about noon, neither of us felt particularly antsy to leave. But I did feel like taking a walk....

So, we splashed the dinghy. This involved hoisting it up off the deck, where it had been secured during our adventures thus far, and down into the water. It has that nice new yellow painter that Eric spliced on, during our last trip, when we were anchored in Murden Cove. We put on the motor and off we went, toward the dinghy dock at the state park float.



Stuart Island State Marine Park comprises a large chunk of land that includes both Reid and Prevost Harbors, with trails throughout. We walked up the ramp from the float and were immediately surrounded by forest. Madrone, cypress, and Douglas fir trees predominated, with some big leaf maples thrown in for variety. Eric and I had a really nice walk along the trail and county (dirt) road. Along the way, we saw a red breasted sapsucker pecking at a tree trunk, and some chickadees cavorting in some shrubs. Three banana slugs made an appearance--none of them yellow: one was army green with large black spots, one was just army green, and one was coffee-colored. All the other creatures we saw on our hike were humans.

Just over the first ridge was Reid Harbor, which runs parallel to Prevost Harbor. There were a lot of boats anchored there, as well as tied to short floats with picnic tables on them; they were sort of like floating, mid-harbor camp sites, accessible only by boat.



Further along the county road, we came to a small school, out in the middle of the woods. Near the school was a self-service, honor-system souvenir stand. We didn't buy anything, but there were about a dozen people who looked like they were considering taking home a tee shirt or two.



After we came back to Scoots, we relaxed a bit. As I was reading a couple of my Gulf Islands guides on deck, trying to figure out where we should go after checking into customs tomorrow, a couple with a dog came by in their dinghy. They started to pass behind us, then diverted over near where I was sitting on Scoots. They asked if we were really from San Francisco and when I said yes, they said they were from Mill Valley, and their names were Marylou, Jack, and Barnum, the dog. They keep a boat in the PNW and another in Sausalito.

When I asked them if they had any suggestions for where we should visit in the Gulf Islands, they recommended a "funky little place called Clam Bay," and Ganges Harbour. Clam Bay...that was the first place that Eric and I anchored, after crossing the Strait of Georgia on our honeymoon. We didn't know about the "funky" part, with cafes and shops, that's accessed by dinghy at high water through a cut. We may check that out.

We'd heard of Ganges Harbour, as well, though we hadn't visited it before. "If you go to Ganges," Marilou said, "don't anchor in Ganges Harbour. Anchor in Madrona Bay, which is parallel to it. It's less crowded, and it's just a short dinghy ride into town." That sounded like a place we might visit, as Ganges has a grocery store and laundry, which would come in handy at this point in our trip.

By that time, Eric was also on deck, so we thanked Marylou and Jack (and Barnum, the dog) and let them continue their dinghy journey.

Soon, a man in a kayak came paddling by. "Hi," he said. "Is it just you two on this boat?" "Yep." He shook his head. "How do you do it?" We explained that Scoots is set up for double-handing, and told him that she had even been single-handed between Hawaii and Seattle, causing him to shake his head again. He wasn't convinced. But he was friendly, and we said our goodbyes, and he paddled away.

Later, we had drinks and snacks--and then dinner--in the cockpit, and watched another boat put down an anchor near us. Then we just hung out and watched the sky change color as the sun went down.