From 1967 to 1998, the town of Gold River on the west coast of Vancouver Island bustled with activity. Then the pulp and paper mill shut down and it became almost a ghost town.
It’s a tidy town, clean and organized, but there are not even enough people left to support a large grocery store. Two small general stores provide the basics and not much more. The civic centre and police station and two schools are all modern and neat, as if they came right out of a picture book.
Several miles out of town, we found much more activity. A mermaid welcomed us to the wharf area.
Although the mill was shut down, in the remote forests around the Gold River area, logging is still going on. It leaves ugly scars for a while, but the regenerated forests do have their positive effects, providing more sunlight for smaller shrubs and trees which make better food and hiding places for small animals. You can see the new growth in sections that were cut in previous years.
Logging trucks bring the cut logs to a sorting yard near the wharf outside of Gold River.
They are then rolled down the embankment into the salt water, to be put into sections according to type and possibly by size by the dozer boats you see in the photo. They push the logs into the appropriate partitions, ready for loading onto ocean-going ships.
Without the pulp and paper mill, the logs are sent out to other countries to be processed further.
It’s sad to see the mill in ruins. Eventually it will be dismantled.
Meanwhile, the town and the coastal inlets are destinations for eco tours and sightseeing trips by boat or by plane.
A small float plane company has set up shop near the wharf. It serves those who want a tour by air, and provides transportation for loggers flying to jobs in even more remote areas of the coast. As well, air freight is a quick way to bring in supplies and parts for machinery that may have broken down.
Here is the grand office of the seaplane service.
Book your ticket and fly on this float plane.
We had our truck so we made our way back by land this time.
June 19, 2019 at 12:46 am
What a beautiful area, Anneli. I think I could sit on that dock (first shot) for hours! Thanks for sharing your gorgeous photos.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 7:51 am
It was all so clean and pure and (relatively) quiet. It would be a great place to sit on the bench and read or just enjoy the view.
LikeLike
June 19, 2019 at 4:40 am
Gorgeous photos. They remind me of your books, with your wonderful descriptions of settings like these. I wonder who (what?) posed for the mermaid statue. :-0 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 7:52 am
Haha. It wasn’t me! Someone with a great imagination carved that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 6:12 am
I always thought it was such a bad idea to allow the logging without a manufacturing plan. The local economy suffered, and it left the town little to support it. I’ve been living on Vancouver Island since the 1960s, and watched this develop—BC governments were so short-sighted!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 7:55 am
I couldn’t agree with you more. But there is another factor, and that is all the protesting of groups against the cutting of trees (who would have us use plastics instead). The logging seems to have picked up a bit, in this area anyway, but we still ship away the logs (and all the jobs their processing might have provided).
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 7:27 am
It’s sad when a town dies. Now nature can take over! Beautiful shots, Anneli!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 7:56 am
I’m told that the homes are gradually being bought up by retirees. They have all the services in place – just no work.
LikeLike
June 19, 2019 at 11:35 am
It’s a beautiful place!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 11:45 am
A bit lonely and out of the way, but yes, beautiful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 9:35 am
Funny how we both have recently been to small towns. I think yours was a little more scarce with much higher mountains. I’m also reading a novel with mermaids, and I thought of it immediately when I saw that statue. Those photos are gorgeous. I love mountains.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 10:56 am
It’s funny how things go like that sometimes, isn’t it? You go along for months with no changes and then suddenly we’re both doing similar things. The mermaid factor is really a coincidence. Yes, Gold River is a pretty area. Beautiful rivers and lakes all through there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 12:28 pm
What a beautiful area. It’s a kind of blessing that man’s intrusion was limited. Although, a lot of pulp mills do a good job of forest management.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 1:56 pm
I think the regulations are getting so stringent that they have to do a good job of forest management – much better than in the old days. No one likes to see slash on a hillside, but after a couple of year the new growth is really good for the grouse and other small animals.
LikeLike
June 19, 2019 at 12:42 pm
wow, I would love it there
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 12:43 pm
beautiful photos!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 1:55 pm
TY. 😉
LikeLike
June 19, 2019 at 1:54 pm
If you like peace and quiet or you like to fish or take pictures, it’s a beautiful place.
LikeLike
June 19, 2019 at 3:58 pm
Any idea how many students attend the two schools?
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 4:11 pm
Sorry. No idea. But the population must be dropping because the new people are mostly retirees. Why? Are you looking for work, haha?
LikeLike
June 19, 2019 at 5:53 pm
It’s so pretty there they might be able to replace the mill with tourism eventually.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 6:03 pm
I think that’s what they’re trying to do but of course that’s only good in the spring, summer, and early fall. In the winter, the weather gets quite ugly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 6:37 pm
So beautiful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 7:49 pm
Yes, thanks, Jennie. It was a beautiful place to visit for a few days.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 20, 2019 at 3:17 am
You’re welcome, Anneli. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 19, 2019 at 10:42 pm
So beautiful. Sounds like a good spot to just relax and regenerate.
LikeLiked by 2 people
June 19, 2019 at 10:45 pm
It really was/is. It was good not to have to think about the everyday “duty” things.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 20, 2019 at 4:02 pm
Interesting post Anneli and lovely photographs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 20, 2019 at 7:24 pm
Thank you, Belinda. The harbour was busy but the rest of the town was very quiet. Pretty area in the summer, but I suspect the winters can be quite wet and wild.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 21, 2019 at 12:27 am
Beautiful place and beautiful pictures! Is there a hospital? Would maybe be better for the old folks to live there. A little house on the river side would be a dream for me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 21, 2019 at 5:46 am
They have several doctors and probably a clinic, but a hospital is about an hour’s drive away (or a few minutes by helicopter).
LikeLike
June 25, 2019 at 4:31 am
Gold River is gorgeous. I did a series on forest regeneration ca 1940 on my blog from a scrapbook my father made of when we lived and logged Port Renfrew. An equally lovely spot.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 25, 2019 at 7:55 am
Logging was a big thing back then. Kept a lot of people employed and the use of plastics was minimal.
LikeLike
June 25, 2019 at 8:10 am
I’m getting on. Use of plastics and other new materials vs regenerable resources must be viewed with all the pros and cons of the trade-off.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 25, 2019 at 8:11 am
I agree. There is a lot to be said for restraint on both fronts.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 27, 2019 at 1:10 pm
Enjoyed the history on Gold River Anneli. Very attractive location. Very upsetting that we ship our logs out of country to be processed. Such a shame that our mills were too expensive to operate. Grew up in the Cariboo where logging was the economy and employed a large portion of population. Big changes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 27, 2019 at 1:45 pm
Quite a change from the old days. Better in some ways, but worse in more ways. I feel the same about shipping our logs out.
LikeLike