July 5  Ocean Falls BC

Cruised into Ocean Falls yesterday afternoon after a leisurely trip from Shearwater...only about 25 miles of flat protected water.  Ocean Falls is a truly interesting place.   It was once a bustling town of about 5000 people with hotel, dept. store, theaters, hospital, schools, swimming pool, mill, power plant.  Some years ago...'73 I think...the mill pulled out and there went the town.  The infrastructure is crumbling in one of the most beautiful, serene settings you can imagine.  The hotel is empty and chained shut.  The old Hudson's Bay Company is collapsing.  The pool has been back filled.  The mill is GONE.  There is still the power plant that supplies electricity to OF and Shearwater and Bella Bella so there are a few people here.  But all that aside they have the best water on the coast and they have new docks.  The moorage is cheap, the view fantastic and what people are here are friendly.  Nearly Normal Norman...the local usually intoxicated scavenger...brings fresh flowers to the dock every morning!!  Not to sell but to put outside The Shack...the little building on the dock which provides a nice shelter for evening happy hours and houses two complimentary computers if you forgot yours.
Once of the nice things about being here is that we don't have to consciously conserve water while we are here.  We carry 120 gallons of water and that will easily cover our needs for about 8 days, 10 if we are careful.  And that is showering daily and a lot of water usage for cooking.  But that means rinsing the dishes in seawater before the wash and rinse with fresh.  In the shower we wet down and turn off the water.  Lather and shampoo and then turn the water back on.  It is called a Navy shower.
You get used to it.  BUT this morning I stood under the shower and let it run....because we are in the land of plenty for today and tomorrow morning.  Showers a go go!!
There are two boats on the dock which were with us at Shearwater and another coming today....Scruples III ( Tolly friends) will be in today.  The "boys" have been out crabbing and prawning and are gathered on the dock admiring their haul.
I used this leisure time to clean out the bunk room.  We have two staterooms...ours with the queen bed and a bunk room on the port side.  The bunk room gets used for storage and after awhile starts to take on a life of its own.  That is all straightened out and "neated" up. 
I bought a new raincoat in Shearwater so I have packaged up the old one to give to the thrift store in Port McNeill when we get there.  The old one got a slit in the rubber in Ketchikan.  I didn't want to trash it because it has a quilted lining and is warm so we patched it with Shoe Goo until I could find a replacement that suited me.  Found a nice one in Shearwater that has a zip out fleece liner.  That should do the trick and make my brother happy.  He seemed mortified that I was wandering around Alaska and BC in a coat with Shoe Goo all over the front.  Hey, you do what works!!
Diesel got a bath yesterday at the laundry and Gary and I clipped him last night.  We put him on the fish cleaning rack on the back of the boat, ran the extension cord to the cockpit and fired up the clippers.  He actually looks pretty good.  Maybe a new Profession??????
Later