05_2025_REELLIFE_digital - Flipbook - Page 36
Not to mention the
beautiful scenery and ever
closer Vancouver Island
in the distance, growing
our anticipation with every
kilometer travelled (hey,
we’re in Canada now, eh?).
I had looked at the map
of Vancouver Island many
times, and in my mind I
imagined winding, narrow,
gravel, two-lane roads,
taking forever to reach our
final destination. Imagine
my surprise when we
unloaded in Nanaimo and
promptly got on a smooth,
four-lane freeway. The road
to Campbell River was
smooth sailing, and the
miles, er, kilometers flew
by. We gassed up the truck
and had to do some quick
and dirty conversions –
let’s see, there are about 4
liters per gallon of gas… but
the exchange rate is 22%
in our favor… so the cost
of gas here is – more. But
not that much more, so
relax, you won’t go broke
filling up your vehicle.
From Campbell River, the
road was reduced to a
two-lane road, but it was
still a nice road to drive,
and we made good time.
Wooded hills stretched out
in all directions and signs of
civilization were few and far
between. Towns composed
of a half dozen buildings
became the norm.
Finally, there it was, the
turnoff for Zeballos! Now
things began getting
interesting. Our paved road
became a gravel logging
road. Hills gave way to
snowcapped mountains as
we first climbed and then
descended through the
Haihte Coastal Range of the
Vancouver Island Ranges,
a mountain range that
extends along the length
of Vancouver Island. Creeks
and small rivers worked
deep and narrow canyons
into the hillsides. The
landscape is likely very little
changed from a hundred
years ago. There are clear
cuts here and there, but
nothing like what one sees
in Washington. Finally,
the descent smoothed
out, and a few small, worn
houses began to appear.
Then more, and finally we
had arrived, destination,
Zeballos. We had a scenic
nine-and-a-half-hour trip
from Seattle by car, two
hours of which was a ferry
ride. Very doable, and not
nearly as strenuous as I had
imagined it would be.
Once we arrived, we met
Adrian and his staff, and
other guests. This was a
Northwest Fishing “GetTogether” of sorts as
Adrian had given a special
discount to our members
and had filled up the lodge
with them. We enjoyed
meeting fellow NWF
members and sharing
stories of fishing past and
to come. To cap things off,
everyone graciously held up
dinner for us. We sat down,
and Chef Jason promptly
appeared to introduce our
first dish.
What can I say about Chef
Jason? A smile seems to
be a permanent part of his
personality. Always open to
conversation and playing
cool, eclectic music in
the background, he truly
made coming to dinner a
memorable experience. Not
to mention, Jason has his
cooking chops down! Our
meals were five-star affairs
every day. From a quick
morning breakfast before
fishing, to abundant lunch
packs, to afternoon snacks,
to appetizers and main
courses that had us eating
ever last bite off my plate,
we ate like kings!
We had the luxury of
fishing three days with
owner/operator Adrian
O’Connor.
