Flatbed Falls, Bob Goes Swimming, and "We've Got Us a Convoy!" - Tuesday, July 19, 2022

On Sunday, we met Matt and Margret who are on our summer Alaska caravan trip. They love to hike to waterfalls. 

Today, spontaneously, I sent them a message on Messenger asking if they'd like to go with us to Flatbed Falls. The answer was a resounding, "Yes!" That's where they were planning to go today.

At 10:30 am, we piled into their pick-up truck for the very short drive to the trailhead. Their poodle, Xena, was such a sweetheart. She has her own travel bed in the back seat area of the cab, but she preferred to be on her hind legs with her two front paws on the console between Matt and Margret.

Tumbler Ridge (TR) has a trail that circles around three-fourths of the town. This is one of five places to access the trail. Here is a sign that explains what there is to see along the way.

The signage at the Flatbed Falls trailhead was excellent. Two trails start here, one from each end of the parking lot. We picked our trail and off we went. After a few feet, there was a short spur to an overlook of Flatbed Canyon. 

Overlook of Flatbed Canyon.

From here, we walked around a blue gate and then went down and down and down some more. After all, we started out on a hill and we had to get to the creek.

The wildflowers were putting on a show. I'm still trying to identify some of them.

Sitka valerian
(Valeriana sitchensis).

The four of us talked and talked. In fact, I was so wrapped up in the conversation with Margret AND watching the trail for roots, that I completely missed the huge log shelter and outhouses. Coming back up after being at Flatbed Creek, I didn't remember going down the long staircase. How could I possibly miss all that?

The staircase...not something you
can easily miss! We even walked down it.

The log shelter with picnic tables and
two outhouses.

When we got to the creek, it was a great spot for photos, swimming, people, and dogs! Xena pranced around on shore, not sure what to do about that water. Apparently, she never went to doggie swimming school. It was fun to watch her.

Bob, on the other hand, is a water baby who grew up on Oahu, and when he was a teenager, his family moved to Thousand Oaks, California. He immediately checked the water temperature and decided to go swimming. 

Flatbed Falls and swimming hole.

First, check the water temperature.
"Not too bad," he says.

What Bob considers "not too bad," I consider being glacial meltwaters! Just for the record, I have cold urticaria which simply means I am allergic to cold.  If I eat a snow cone (shave ice if you're from Hawaii), my lips swell up as if I had a Botox treatment. 

One time when the kids were younger, we went camping and stopped at a convenience store to buy cold pop. It was a hot day, I was wearing shorts, and I put the six-pack of pop on my lap. By the time we got to the campground a few minutes later, I had six-pack-ring welts on my legs. It takes about a half-hour for the swelling to go down.

That huge smile means, "I'm
going swimming!."

Check out this huge debris pile. You
can tell this water really rages during 
rainstorms.

Next, Bob checked out the pool from
the top of the falls.

Satisfied, he went and changed into his swim trunks. So far, so good. In order to be safe, he got into the creek and swam out to the pool by the waterfall to test how deep the water is. 

Xena REALLY wanted to go, but
wasn't sure how to do it.

Okay, all systems go. It's time to swim.

Bob is jumping, NOT diving.

He came out and went back around
to do it again. 

This time Matt and I both took a short video. Here's my version.

Bob had so much fun today and we enjoyed watching him. Then, Xena wanted to play, but she just wouldn't get all the way into the water. Matt and Margret said she tried floating once and didn't like it at all. 

Here's a short clip of Xena getting all revved up.

We all had a nice time down at the ole swimmin' hole. After Bob got dressed, we all walked to the top of the falls for our photo shoots. Bet you didn't know we were models, did you? Ha ha. 

Matt, Bob, and Margret with Xena.

Xena and Margret.

Margret, Xena, Matt, and Bob.

Matt, Xena, Bob, and Margret.

A waterfall lover extraordinaire.

Me and Bob.

Looking downriver from the falls.

After we returned to the truck, Margret, Matt, and Bob decided to go to Quality Falls for a 6 km hike. It wasn't very far back to the campground, so I asked if they could drop me off so I could work on my blog. No problemo. Bob got to change out of his wet swim trunks, too. 

They went off and got another waterfall notch on their belts. Bob and I had just hiked there yesterday, so I didn't feel like I was missing too much. 

Then, after all that, Bob took a short nap and took off on a walkabout. He did a number of miles on the Tumbler Ridge Trail. When he returned, we saw that Happy Hour was happening, grabbed our chairs and our drinks, and headed over.

This is the group that will be heading out Friday for the summer caravan. We learned each other's names, where we traveled from, what we've seen along the way, how long we've all been RV'ing, how many people have pets and what kind, and told funny stories.

[Note: I took photos from where I sat, so the people across from me are in more of the photos. As we get into our trip, I'm sure I'll get more photos of everybody. I was not purposely leaving anyone out.] 

Bob & Kelly, Joan & Joe.

Cindy B., Karen & Tom, Rocky & Cathy,
and Carol.

Ellen, Bob, Cindy B., Karen.

Joan & Joe.

Karen & Tom, Rocky & Cathy, Carol.

Karen & Tom, Rocky.

Cathy, Carol & Anita.

Lowell & Ellen, Bob, Karen & Tom.

Lowell & Ellen, Bob.

Mary Jane, Lorraine. (Their hubbies
were listening to the All-Star game.)

Wednesday morning, we will have rig safety inspections, and Wednesday night is our welcome dinner at the steakhouse in town.

It looks to be a fun group. "Mercy sakes alive, it looks like we've got us a convoy." (I think I've listened to C. W. McCall's "Convoy" too many times!)

10-4, good buddy. Over and out.