Another one off the list

I had Thursday and Friday of this last week off. Thursday morning was spent at the lawyer's office signing documents for mom's condo sale that closes next week. After that I had a few errands to run. Then I had a package to deliver to mom so I drove out to see mom. Usually the trip takes a little over an hour. This time it took a lot longer as halfway there I got stuck behind a convoy of a few pilot cars and a semi with a very big low bed trailer transporting a sizable piece of oilfield equipment that almost took up both lanes. It was not possible to pass so I was reduced to travelling at thirty miles an hour. I got to see the route at a much slower pass than usual.

After visiting mom it was a little after five. I had Friday off and nothing planned. I got in my car and drove to Surrey, British Columbia. It had been some time since I got a ferry off my list. I have three ferries left in British Columbia. Now I have two. I drove to Rocky Mountain House, to Golden, Revelstove, Kamloops, Highway 5 to Hope, then Highway 1 to Surrey. I drove all though the night and got there before 7:00am Alberta time. Once I got to the ferry I drove back. I made it home before midnight on Friday.

The Barnston Ferry crosses part of the Fraser River across Parsons Channel to Barnston Island. The free on demand ferry - my ferry criteria for taking all the ferries in a province is that they must be free and not a private ferry - operates year round. From the bank you drive down the ramp onto a barge that holds five vehicles. The barge is moved to the island by a small tugboat. This is the only ferry I have ever taken where when you get to the other side you have to back up off the ferry and reverse up the ramp. To return you back down the ramp onto the ferry,.

I was not expecting to reverse onto a ferry. I injured my neck when I as t-boned in a car accident years ago and I do not have complete full motion in my neck. I managed to reverse down a narrow ramp onto a ferry beside another vehicle without any problems.

This is the terminal at Barnston Island. Kind of difficult to get a shot of the terminal at the other side as it is in an industrial area.

There really is nothing of note on the island. There are farms on the island and part of it is Katzie First Nation land. There is no public parking on the island. As a ferry experience goes this ranks at the bottom. There is nothing for a visitor on the other side and the captain and the ferryman were unfriendly.

Crossing Parsons Channel.

The ferry approaching the dock on other side as viewed from Barnston Island.

You can get some interesting views of this ferry by searching Google for "highway camera barnston island"