Randomly wandering the Internet one fine Saturday morning, while living on Lost Lagoon. I was thinking about life after Vancouver and where to find a cabin in the woods. Think and ye shall seek, behold… I learn of an island community of off-grid libertarians, no political connection to that U.S. party but also no connection to B.C. Hydro (the power grid).
Growing up in British Columbia I was always searching for that special place where I could envision one day finding a place to exist among, in my mind the area of Atlan is very compelling and attractive but it’s too remote, too cold in the winter and maybe a little too tough of a lifestyle, little too off-grid, so I started thinking about what was closest to Vancouver and yet remote enough to be the best of both close to the city and far away.
Without an editorial calendar or an intention for the voice of this blog, I’m just posting things that are interesting to me, that I want to swing back to in the future and add more content, improve this fill content and replace it with more meaningful dialog. I’m using this blog as a form of self-expression as I continue my self-analysis.
Lasqueti Island, British Columbia is now on my radar and before today I had never heard of it but already I learn that there is a non-caqr ferry that goes there and I see that there are roads on the Island, since there’s a Post Office, Pub and community Jetty, so that indicates I could ride my mountain bike there and it’s time for me to make an excusrion, so I think I just found a new destination for a bucket list that I don’t have _ make’em up as I go.
Lasqueti Island is an island off the east coast of Vancouver Island in the Strait of Georgia, Powell River Regional District, British Columbia, Canada and has a population of 399 people. A passenger-only ferry connects the island to the community of French Creek, near Parksville. The ferry makes two to three runs per day, five days per week, weather permitting.
History
Lasqueti Island was named in 1791 by Spanish Naval officer José María Narváez, commander of the Santa Saturnina.
The island community is an enclave of Canadian counter-culture. Lasqueti Island is one of the least developed of the major Gulf Islands. Its roads are mostly unpaved, and it is the only one of the larger Gulf Islands that is not currently connected to BC Hydro‘s electrical power grid. Solar, wind, micro-hydro, and fossil fueled generators power the island.
There is a hotel and a restaurant in False Bay, where the ferry arrives and departs. There are at least three B&B’s on the island, but services are seasonal and very limited. Potable water may be scarce at times, in different places on the island. There are local markets and an informal food cooperative but they operate at odd hours, depending on the season and demand. Lasqueti island has a yearly Arts Festival on Canada Day Weekend, and other activities. These different festivals and informal activities feature local painters, sculptors, poets, fiction writers, and historians. Performing arts, on the Canada Day long-weekend, include: The Bolting Brassicas (marching band), the Lasquirkus (circus), and other activities.
The island has a reputation for sailing and sea kayaking which is considered among some of the finest, but also among the most challenging, in lower British Columbia. Tides and currents may become foreboding without warning – the winter weather down the Strait of Georgia has been responsible for various mariners’ deaths.
Lasqueti Island photo credits LasquetiRonnie
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