Tuesday August 8, 2023
Jon and Meg went exploring in Victoria first thing in the morning
We did laundry and relaxed with Danika and Nick then went for a walk at Gowlland Todd PP, McKenzie Bight
Meg and Aiden headed into Victoria for more exploring in the late afternoon
We drove up island to cousin Chris Buicks after supper and arrived around 7:30. The Malahat Highway was a bit of a zoo, it bottlenecks all the traffic heading up island, and at Coldstream there was bridge construction! 4 lanes down to 2 lanes then 1 way alternating traffic.
After setting up the RV's we drove into Duncan to fuel up our vehicles since we were both running low. Dodgy’s fuel light had come on as I was pushing the trailer backwards up the steep drive. This was the biggest and most expensive fuel up we would do on the trip. 115.46 litres which meant there was only 4.64 litres left in the tank! $225.03 for the fill, yikes! I had really under estimated how poor the fuel consumption was when doing stoplights, hills and crooked roads while pulling a 26' trailer. We were so low that when I filled and tried to start Dodgy, it wouldn't go and scared me!! It did start on the second try and I immediately put some fuel conditioner in it. I must of stirred up the bottom of the tank with the hills and low fuel. REMINDER, when you have a spare fuel filter at home…..BRING IT WITH YOU!
We had a quick visit with Chris and Theresa then to bed for early start. We had 2 nights of camping booked in Ucluelet so we could explore Pacific Rim NPR. We had to be at the barricade on #4 Highway before 9 AM. Highway #4 has been closed during the day for rock scaling at the Cameron Bluffs. In early spring a small fire made the bluffs vulnerable to erosion and rock/tree falls.
