Mary went to the store at Sullivan Bay at 9:30 AM. She bought each of us a freshly baked cinnamon roll and an apple turnover. They were delicious.
Mary made two sketches of buildings at Sullivan Bay. Meanwhile, I was catching up on delinquent blog posts for the past three days.
We departed Sullivan Bay at about 11:30 AM for the 17 mile trip to Echo Bay Marina. The conditions were beautiful. The sky was partly cloudy. The sun peaking through the clouds, provided dramatic lighting for the mountain slopes that surrounded us.
We arrived at Echo Bay Marina at 2:30 PM and were greeted by the marina manager Trevor. Trevor took our lines and helped us tie up. Our timing was perfect. The marina had just reopened after replacing all of their docks over the winter. Trevor is a "one man band". He runs the marina, the fuel dock, and the grocery store. The marina was relatively quiet today with just five boats present. In July and August, when up to twenty five boats may crowd the marina, Trevor will be extremely busy.
Mary's sketch of a floating home at Echo Bay
After visiting the marina store to pay our slip fees, we walked the mile long path to visit Billy Proctor. Billy is an 88 year old, long time resident of the area. He worked as a logger and fisherman. He is retired now.
He built a home for his wife and family in the small bay adjacent to Echo Bay. Billy invited Mary and I to see his home. The house was modest on the outside. Billy milled all of the wood for the house himself using native cedar, yew, and other local woods. The floor joists supporting the second floor were made of whole logs from which the bark had been removed. The door frames were made from naturally occurring timber knees. The beautiful woods Billy had chosen for the interior gave the house a warmth and character that felt magical.
Over the years, Billy has collected native artifacts, old glass bottles, logging and fishing paraphernalia, old telephones, a very old working cash register, a mimeograph machine, and the like. He runs an informal museum where he displays his collection.
He constructed a replica of a trapper's cabin. He constructed the entire cabin using the wood of a single large cedar tree that he salvaged. He split the cedar wood to form posts and beams to frame the cabin. He hand split shingles that measure a foot in width and four feet in length to sheath the roof and sides of the cabin. He furnished the cabin with a wood stove, bunk, and table. The cabin contains items that a trapper would have used.
Billy constructed a single room school house and equipped it with a chalk board and school supplies.
Talking with Billy, and visiting his museum, has been a highlight of the trip.
In the evening, the boaters staying at the marina and some local residents gathered to visit and share food. I talked with a couple who own a 36 foot Grand Banks trawler. They came up from Anacortes Washington. Like me, he had worked at Microsoft. He had recently upgraded his boat's electrical system to use lithium batteries. I had recently done the same. We enjoyed comparing notes on what we had done.
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