49 F/ 9 C

In a rainforest, 
one must expect rain, so we
have our umbrellas! 

~carliewired

Breakfast was rather late this morning. It was almost 10 before we emerged from our motel room. It's very quiet so nothing much to disturb our slumber. 

We drove to the Coastal Kitchen Cafe for coffee and a breakfast sandwich. This is a busy little place serving all of us without our own kitchens. Like all other buildings here, it seems to have been carved out of the forest.

We made a brief stop at the local grocer. The building looks more like an apartment building than a grocery store. It supplies this community of about 300 with canned, frozen and fresh food items. The prices were acceptable. 

Coming from the semi-arid interior grasslands of British Columbia, this area is quite a contrast. This is west coast rainforest. Port Renfrew averages 108 inches of rainfall each year. No surprise that we can expect light rain for the rest of our time here. 

Port Renfrew is known for tall trees - cedar, Douglas fir and Sitka spruce. Trees can be 3 metres wide and 100 metres tall. When my parents lived here after WW2, logging was a big industry. My father earned his living that way. Today, Port Renfrew has rebranded itself as the "Tall Tree Capital of Canada. The battle to eliminate clear-cutting of old growth forests has not been completely won, but Port Renfrew promotes itself as a centre for outdoor recreation for wilderness seekers. 

We took a drive down from the main road into a marina to have a look at the Port San Juan inlet. This morning it is hung with brooding clouds and we are promised 'light rain'.