FROM the SPIT

 In 1792, Captain Vancouver navigated these waters. He landed on Quadra island ( the right in the photograph) , which he named.Hewas so happy with the area that he decided to name a few more things, like the passage. He called it Discovery Passage.  First Nations people lived here peacefully  fishing in small communities.

 They lived and fished the salmon  ( K' u ta ' la) in the passage.

                                          

In 1778 Captain James Cook landed at Friendly Cove in Nootka Sound. By the 1880's there were many settlers who made this area  of Campbell River their permanent residence. All due to the salmon.It became a source of commercial livelhood and  the salmon fishing tourist was born.

 
 First Nations people became guides to those who came to fish on the shores of Tyee Spit. The Tyee Club was formed . They are still taking memberships to this day. You have to fish from a rowboat with a reel.....and try and catch a 30 pound Chinook.

In 1911 Strathcona Provincial Park was established.It was the first of the provincial parks. It protects over 250,000 hectares ( 600,000 acres)

      
 The Bald Eagle, (Haliaeetus Leucocephalus) is only one of over 150 bird species that live here.The  nests are in the arms of one of the tallest trees, closest to a food source. It's said that most eagles can live up to 50 years of age, and they mate for life. The day we were down at the spit, I saw tons of eagles fishing. Lots of young ones, with huge wing spans, swooping,sweeping, screeching......

     The Kwakwala word for Eagle is "Kwikw". In this part of the world, the Eagle is thought to be a leader of all wild things . He watches and protects .
   
 Across from the Spit is Quadra Island, and short ferry ride from Campbell River...............
                    ........Or you can hop on a float plane and experience the islands from the air. (I think I'll pass on that one)
 
 If you drive 1 1/2 hours north of Campbell River, you will hit Gold River, a town that popped up in 1965, during the days that the pulp mill appeared. From Gold River, you can also take a coastal ferry/freighter to Yuqot ( Friendly Cove). Tahsis ( pop over 800?) or Kyyquat ( pop 275?)( by last check of my info). This is where Captain James Cook showed up in 1778.

 "He clasps the crag with crooked hands, close to the sun in lonely lands, ringed with the azure world, he stands. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls. He watches from his mountain walls, and like a thunderbolt he falls" (The Eagle, Alfred, Lord Tennyson)