THE 10^TH ANNIVERSARY “HORSESHOE” TOUR
GIBSONS TO SIDNEY
September 11 – 15, 2005

Story by Gary Russell

Pictures by Tom Andrus, Joyce Galleher and Gary Russell  

This year, was very special to us as 10 years is a good run for a local type of tour. While not a long time in the world of tours – the P. I National Tours have been around for 40+ years, for example, it has been a great run and one that we – Gary, Mike, Catherine and Lee are proud to have been a part of. I say part of for good reason. While it is true that we picked the destinations, the routes and organized the events, that is only part. The other part is – someone has to go on the tour! We really appreciate the high level of participation and support over the years. We thank all of you for that.  

Now – on with the tour.  

This year, by popular request, the tour was extended to six days, plus an optional pre tour event – the Langley Good Times Cruise In - www.langleycruise-in.com . This event has developed into a major car show with over 1800 vehicles of all types participating. For 2005, Packard was one of the feature cars and we asked as many tour participants as possible, along with anyone else that we knew of who had a Packard to put their car in the show. The result was we had 24 Packards on display, This was the largest public display of Packards ever seen in this area and we took advantage of the situation by having an information table with handouts for anyone interested. As the event draws over 50,000 people we had a good crowd! You should check out the website mentioned as there are some great pictures of our Packards.  

The main tour started on Sunday morning, Sept. 11 at the Campbell River Store, just north of the truck crossing. We, who had been at the Cruise In, drove there and met the rest of the participants. We now had a total of 33 cars and 65 people – well – almost. That was what we were supposed to have but Peter & Frauke Townsend were delayed with mechanical troubles resulting in a car change, and caught up with us later, and Virgil and Bertha May Fey had a major fire in their car, which resulted in them leaving it at Ron and Sandy Norman’s house while they continued on the tour with Art and Trudy Gamash. Thank goodness for cell phones – we were able to arrange all this while we were on the road. Don and Linda Arnold had the tour recorded on the wrong date on their calendar so, after a call from us they made the fastest catch up in touring history! Ahhhh- newly weds…..

For the record, Tony & Cleo Splane and Fred Gilchrist were on the tour, but were inadvertently left off the list of participants in the tour book.  

Continuing with the story – after pulling out on this bright sunny morning, we headed for the Horseshoe Bay/Langdale ferry, the first of three ferry rides on the tour, to get to the Sunshine Coast and our first stop at Gibsons. Arriving there we parked in a reserved area, courtesy of the City of Gibsons where our cars were on public display. This was promoted by the local Chamber of Commerce as a drawing card to bring people downtown, and downtown they came. We walked to The Club, where lunch was ready for us.  After lunch we were on our own to walk around Gibsons, check out the boutiques and antique shops and then make our way to the Cedars Inn Hotel for the night.

At about 5:30 the “First Night on the Road” icebreaker social started and everyone had a good chance to meet all the other tour participants. As a surprise, we had set up a display of pictures of all the previous tours, which brought back memories for many, as most participants had been on almost all the tours. We also had extra pictures available for the taking and most of them got taken. Eventually, we headed to the banquet room for dinner, door prizes, and retirement to our rooms so we could be fully rested up for the next day’s adventures.  

Monday, the 12^th we continued north up the Sunshine Coast to Earls Cove to get the next ferry to Saltry Bay . The timing was such that we had arranged a light lunch at Tom and Sherry’s Café, which is right at the terminal. The food here is very good and the borsch is excellent. Tom was a bodyman by trade and Sherry loves cars as well so they really enjoyed having our Packards in front of their Café. After lunch we boarded the ferry for the 50 minute ride through some of the most spectacular coastal scenery you could find anywhere. Arriving at Saltry Bay we then continued north to Powell River , our destination for the night.  

We had arranged a BBQ with the Powell River Chapter of the Vintage Car Club of Canada, which Mike and I are members of, ( as well as most of the other Canadian participants). This was no ordinary BBQ. They roasted a whole pig on a spit plus they provided locally caught shrimp and salmon. When I say locally caught, I mean by members of the car club. The event was very well organized and the food was delicious. Shortly after our arrival at the home of Lee and Christine Koleszar, where the BBQ took place, a chartered bus pulled up and took the ladies for their own special tour, which included a stop at Cranberry Pottery where many bought – pottery - I mean – what else would you buy? While that was going on, the guys were driven to “Studebaker Heaven” as it is locally called, to view a yard full of Studebaker bodies of all types. There were also logging trucks so Tony Splane disappeared right away. The evening finally came to an end and we all returned to the Town Centre Hotel for the night.  

Tuesday the 13^th – another sunny day – most of the guys went on a mini tour of Powell River that ended at the museum. This is a very well done small museum which clearly outlines the history of the area. The writer and Bill Gluth were interviewed and Bill’s car, an original 1928 443 runabout was photographed for the local paper. We’re not sure what was printed but the reporter was quite enthusiastic.  

We pulled out at 11:00 for the Powell River/Comox ferry terminal. The ferry left at 12:10 and we had a smooth sailing across Georgia Strait . Arriving at the Comox terminal we proceeded north to Campbell River and checked into the Coast Discovery Inn. On the way, the tour leader turned right instead of left at one spot so we had an extra at no-charge adventure. We enjoyed an excellent buffet dinner, more door prizes, and an overall, very pleasant evening before retiring for the night.  

Wednesday, the 14^th it was up and away for the drive west to Gold River . This is a drive through some of the prettiest scenery that there is. Virtually virgin forests flank both sides of the highway for the hour and a half drive. We arrived at The Ridge Pub in time for a soup and sandwich lunch. The Ridge Pub, as the name suggests, is located high on a hillside overlooking the valley where the Township of Gold River is situated. As the weather was good, we were able to sit on their balcony and enjoy the view while sipping our refreshments. After lunch, we were on our own to explore the area and make our way back to the Discovery Inn. Many drove to the end of the road which led to the ocean’s edge. Gold River Townsite is located (amazingly) on the Gold River , a few miles from the coastal inlet.  

At about 5:00pm we pulled out and headed north to the home of Nick and Barbara Judyski, P.I. National members and members of the North Island Chapter (NIC) of the Vintage Car Club of Canada. At our request, they had organized a backyard BBQ prepared by Rose’s Country Catering. Fred Rose, the proprietor, is also a member of the NIC. This was a delicious salmon and chicken dinner with all the fixings. We parked in the Judyski’s large back yard.  Nick kept saying that he had to keep pinching himself as he didn’t really believe there were that many Packards in town, not to mention his back yard! Their property is located on Discovery Passage, the waterway between Vancouver Island and Quadra Island, where the Alaska cruise ships pass through. We did not see one that evening but many members saw one the night before from their rooms at the hotel. Timing depends on the tides. As an aside, Nick and Barbara and Gary Russell all graduated from Burnaby North High School but we were about a year or two apart. Small world! After dinner, it was back to the hotel to hit the sack and get ready to pull out the next morning.  

Thursday the 15^th – another good weather day. We pulled out  and headed south following the old Island Highway , which takes the coastal route – a little slower but much prettier than the new inland four lane route.  Our first stop was the Quality Bayside Inn located in Parksville for lunch. This is a luxury spa/hotel with all the amenities and they provided a very nice lunch in their dining room with a view of Georgia Strait . After lunch we continued south to Chemainus for a two hour stop to view the many murals painted on the buildings. Chemainus was originally a logging based town but when that deteriorated the town almost became a ghost town. However, they reinvented themselves a few years ago by having local artists paint murals on all the buildings depicting the history of the area. The result is Chemainus is now a major tourist destination on the various tour bus routes and is now very successful as a community. After this stop it was a short run into Duncan and the Best Western Cowichan Valley Inn for the night.  

This evening we had a surprise for the tour as we had invited Sue Coleman, international artist, to be our guest speaker for the evening as well as to bring a display of her art. She has a distinct style of painting First Nations culture into her paintings. As an example she would paint a picture of a wolf and with it, somewhere in the picture, is the Native symbol for the wolf. Amongst her many achievements are:  

k             Guest artist at Epcot Center – Sept. /95-Dec. /96

k             Artist in residence aboard World Explorer Cruise Lines Alaska cruises past 10 years.

k             Guest Artist for the B.C. Govt. at their Embassy show in Tokyo 1991

k             Guest Artist World’s Fair Expo 86, Vanc.

k             Author and Illustrator of a Canadian best seller in it’s category – An Artists Vision

k             Author and Illustrator of Artist at Large in the Queen Charlottes – sold out, and Artist at large along the South Coast of Alaska .

k             Author and Illustrator of two very popular children’s books Biggle Foo meets Stinky and Biggle Foo becomes a Legend. Both books depicting the adventures of a small fictitious west coast animal.  

Her talent wasn’t lost on our membership and people were lined up almost all evening to buy her paintings, books, etc. We gave away two paintings and two books as door prizes and they were eagerly received. A great evening for all

 concerned. See www.suecoleman.ca website for more information.  

Friday the 16^th – the last day on the tour. We awoke to light showers but not enough rain to spoil things. Our first stop was a whole 6 minutes away at the B.C. Forest Discovery Centre across the street from the hotel. We had arranged, through Vern Wellbourn a friend and also member of the Cowichan Valley Chapter of the VCCC for our cars to be parked inside so they became part of the display. Vern’s father, Gerry. who was in the logging business back in the 30’s and 40’s  began this collection of equipment, which eventually evolved into what is seen today. For more information visit www.bcforestmuseum.com/centre_history.htm

Here, we had a ride on the steam train and saw all the many exhibits. Tony Splane had a few of his logging truck buddies bring their rigs in for display, which added to the attraction.  

After about l1/2 hours we left and proceeded into Duncan where we parked in the Town Centre that had been cordoned off for us by the City. This solved a potential parking problem. We were on our own for lunch at any one of the many restaurants, after which we looked around town. At about 2:00 we pulled out and continued south to the Dunsmuir Lodge at Sidney , the final stop of the tour. This facility is part of The University of Victoria and functions as a conference centre/management training centre but it is also open to the public as a hotel and fine dining facility. It is high on a hillside with a spectacular view south-east encompassing the Gulf Islands , the San Juan Islands and in the background, the mainland. On a clear night you can see the lights of both Vancouver and Seattle. We dressed up in our fancier duds for dinner in keeping with the atmosphere of the Lodge. After dinner we handed out our last door prizes, which were another painting by a different local artist, two wood carvings of bear cubs and a model Packard.  

To our surprise as tour leaders we were presented with a thank you gift consisting of dinner coupons at a Keg Restaurant for all four of us and the proceeds of a collection that had been taken up on our behalf to thank us for the 10 years of tours.

Next year’s tour in Washington State , The Cascade Loop Tour, was announced by Jim Linden on behalf of Gene Stout, the tour leader. We are going to try to alternate between B.C. and WA for future tours, which will be easier on the tour leaders and give the participants more variety as well.  

So - Until 2007 - Happy Packarding!!

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