Last Night on Gabriola... and beyond

I suppose that once you have been in this region of B.C for a while, you might consider eating something other than seafood.  We never came near that point.  This was the last of our five-dozen oysters from Fanny Bay.  Jeff's approach was to shuck two, eat one raw.  The uneaten half got broiled for our appetizer.

These oysters are broiled for only a minute under a very hot broiler--just enough to keep them tender but to brown the grated cheese.

Sally's neighbor, Rob, brought us these perfect salmon steaks, which we grilled with olive oil and garlic.  Simple sauteed potatoes and a side salad were all we needed with this freshly caught fish.  That and a crisp B.C. pinot gris.

The next morning we said goodbye to Gabriola and headed for Victoria where we planned to get our car into the ferry queue, then dash up to a fantastic Vietnamese restaurant where, on our way up, we had scored a sumptuous Bahn Mi sandwich.  We also planned to get more of the spectacular chocolates from Le Chocolatier.  Alas, the inspection people from customs insisted that we remain with our vehicle until boarding. Live and learn.

That night, we had driven down the eastern side of the Olympic peninsula to Olympia, Washington, and we ate at the Dockside Bistro where we enjoyed this delicious beef tenderloin.

While in Olympia, we stayed at this B & B called the Swantown Inn.  It was luxurious with a huge canopied king bed and a double Jaccuzi tub.  We hope to return here some day.

The next night, we made it about 525 miles to Missoula, Montana where we ate at one of Sally's favorites, the Red Bird restaurant.  This dish is Montana lamb chops with raviolis and a brown jus.  The Red Bird featured an outstanding wine list.

Our journey east from Missoula ended up more eventful than we had planned.  We expected to camp in a park south of Glerndive, Montana, some 540 miles east of Missoula.  Our campsite was to have been a state park that was called the Badlands of the North.  I had hoped for a dry, clear, starry night.  Kathy checked the weather forecast and found a 70% chance of thunderstorms that night.  That was an understatement.  By the time we were within 50 miles of Glendive, we were inside the most violent and continuous thunderstorm that I've ever driven through.  There was hail, massive sheets of rain.  (Rain seems like too gentle a word.)  We later discovered there were tornado warnings on top of all that.  We drove through this for three hours--white knuckles and zero vision the whole time.  Luckily, we had called ahead and booked one of the last two remaining hotel rooms in Dickinson, North, Dakota.  We landed in a good Mexican restaurant and slept through the remains of the storm.

The next night we stayed in Minneapolis and had a great French meal at Vincent, in the downtown.  We are now back in Stoughton, happy and relaxed after an adventurous journey.

Sunday through Tuesday

On Sunday morning, we got back on the ferry to Nanaimo and headed to one of the premier spots for West Coast oysters.

We ate at the F.B.I, a.k.a. Fanny Bay Inn, where we had naked oysters, breaded pan-fried oysters and seafood chowder.  The FBI is a British-style pub. 

Once home again, we broiled a dozen of the "small" oysters from Fanny bay, plus had the raw "extra-small" or Satori oysters.

We followed the oyster course with broiled Manila clams over cheese raviolis.  The raviolis are topped with Dungeness crab meat warmed in melted butter.  We are drinking a BC vin gris.  The wines here are superb.

The next day, Monday, was the sunniest yet.  This is the view south from Sally's front deck.

Hey!  More oysters!  Kathy only eats the cooked ones, so once again, I broiled some up.  We bought five dozen total.  We'll finish off the last two dozen or so tonight.

Today is Tuesday and we'll do some more beach combing and visit some shops on the island.  Rob, Sally's tenant, brought us up some freshly-caught spring salmon.  We'll be cooking that up tonight before we had back to Victoria to catch the ferry to Port Angeles, Washington tomorrow afternoon.

Day Seven - We arrive in Gabriola

Our ferry arrives at the Gabriola Island ferry port.

This view shows a tug hauling logs. The view is from Sally's porch.

We stopped at local markets to get great pate, cheese, crab meat, and fish to prepare for tonight's meal.

We are sautéing salmon with young sweet onions.

We had sautéed salmon with pizza and Dungeness crab.  The lady from the fish market was proud that she had just shucked this crab meat.  It was sweet, tender and flavorful.

We enjoyed chocolates from Chocolatier de Victoria.  They were rum barrels, salted caramels and coco truffles.

These are Ranier cherries picked fresh from one of Sally's trees.

The sun sets over the Strait of Georgia, as seen from Sally's porch.

Cherries are blooming.  Is there a pie in our future?

Vanna?  Tomorrow, we hope to post from one of North America's premier oyster sources.  Stay tuned...

Day 5 - Walla Walla to Portland, Oregon

Today we drove from Walla Walla, Washington, down through the Columbia River Valley to Portland, Oregon.  We passed many wineries, even Ecole 41.  They make some luscious wines, including an opulent merlot.  The road to Portland hugs the mighty and powerful Columbia River, which is edged by enormous cliffs of volcanic origin, and brown hills.  We passed the majestic Mount Hood, and saw hundreds, maybe thousands of giant wind turbines along the valley.

When in Portland, eat oysters.  We went to the Dan and Louis Oyster bar which has been there since 1907.  Kathy ate the fried variety which were breaded and crispy on the outside, and hot and tasty inside. I started with the sampler plate which included two of each variety you'll see on the board below.

For the second dozen, I settled on the Nasquallys.  They are medium in size, briny and carry a nice iodine flavor. 

Across the street, masses of people were queued up for this odd purveyor called Voodoo Doughnuts.  Turns out they make bizarre-themed and some naughty doughnuts.  We'll leave the smutty doughnut themes to your imagination--or check their web site.

Tomorrow we're off to Port Angeles, Washington to catch to ferry to Victoria, British Columbia.

Day Four - Bozeman to Walla Walla

Day Four took us from the Hyalite Canyon, south of Bozeman, to Walla Walla, Washington.  Walla Walla is famous for its sweet onions, and now has excellent wine.  

The drive was our longest yet--more than nine hours.  It seemed like we went downhill forever following the Lewis and Clark Trail and the river valley of the beautiful and raucous Clearwater River. When we got to our Hampton Inn motel room after two days of camping and driving, it felt like the lap of luxury.  We might as well have been at the Ritz.

We dined in Walla Walla at the Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen.

The first course was a fresh and tangy carrot and arugula salad with feta cheese.  We sampled some local wines--a rose and a viognier. 

Next, we ate this colorful lamb tartare with their homemede grilled pita bread.  The main course was a tasty adobe marinated hangar steak with fingerling potatoes and almond & caperberry salsa.  We got to eat outside in the perfectly pleasant weather.  The food was all delicious, especially after two days of camping.

Day Three - Dayton, WY to Bozeman, MT

BEAR COUNTRY - Today we drove from lovely and historic Dayton, Wyoming to a campground south of Bozeman, Montana in the Hyalite Canyon--a place Kathy insists on calling nothing but "Bear Country".  (As we hinted at yesterday, grizzly bears and camping were in the forefront of Kathy's mind.  We stopped at a camping store in Bozeman and asked to buy some bear spray.  A combination of the $50 price tag and our salesman's assurance that we wouldn't need it convinced us that we could pass on the spray.)

We arrived at our stunningly pristine and refreshing campground and pitched our tent.  (See photo above.)  We were greeted by fellow camper, Mike, who offered us some of his firewood.  We talked and, guess what, Kathy asked if we should be afraid of bears.  Mike had to bring up the fact that someone had recently been killed in nearby Yellowstone by a grizzly--though it was a rare occurance, and that he carries a pistol just for such occasions.  Mike was our new BFF.  Then he went on.  Mike said that the mountain lions were a larger concern for him, at which point Jeff asked him to shut up.

We eventually figured out that the nighttime temps of less than 40 degrees F were way too cold for the bears to venture out anyway.

This "cuisine sauvage" consists of basmati rice, green chilis, and Springfield chilli from Joe Roger's Dew Chili Parlor.   Just what the bears ordered.

Day 2 - Dayton, Wyoming

This fellow was posing for us near the entrance to the Badlands in South Dakota.    It is a prairie dog.

Jeff stands before the dramatic rock formations that define the Badlands.  We had a picnic later opposite the scene of a famous and tragic  Indian massacre.

This is Devil's Tower.  According to Indian folklore, a huge bear clawed these striations up and down this huge igneous tower.   Previous to this shot being taken, Jeff took the photos of a group of bikers from S. Dakota.  He had four cameras strung along his arm.  One of the nice bikers obliged and took our shot next.

When we arrived at this luxurious resort, there was a severe rain and wind storm with lightning.  We weren't so sure about camping.  

Then the rain and wind let up and we were free to explore the estate.

Time for a little dinner by the tent, which was set up next to the Tongue River.

Kathy says goodnight as we rest up for tomorrow's trek to the Gallatin National Forest, south of Bozeman, Montana.  Kathy's fixating over bears and insists that our first stop in Bozeman is to acquire some bear spray.  More on that tomorrow...

Day 1

We drove nine hours today.  The first eight got us to Mitchell, SD.  The last hour took us to Chamberlain, SD on the mighty Missouri River.  We may not get to posting over the next two days.  Tomorrow, we're camping in Dayton, Wyoming.  The next day we groove with the grizzlies south of Bozeman, Montana at Langhor campground.  Not sure if the primitive campsite has wireless.

We made it to Mitchell, South Dakota after exactly 500 miles of driving.  This historic and culturally compelling outpost of the west changes its corn-based murals each year, and has been doing so since 1903.

American pride and Kathy's pride as well as she does a Vanna White in front of the majestic Corn Palace--(World's only BTW.)

British Columbia

We leave tomorrow...today will be filled with packing and checking things off our "to do" list.