I went out to Telegraph Cove today, May 4, to connect once more with this place that has been part of my life ever since we moved here in 1974, when it was still a mill town. Back then I would have certainly run into Eric Vinderskov because he ran the place. The original owner, Fred Wastell, was still around but Eric was the manager.

The lumber they milled was shipped all over the coast to an array of small communities. The quality was incredible! I remember buying 1” x 10” Cedar boards 20 feet long with not a knot in them. They could get these kinds of logs for milling from the logging companies because there was no market for Cedar in those days. It all changed a few years later and by 1982 it had become a tourist resort. Since then each year has brought new changes

Today I zipped out there on the new super highway, Bill Shephard Way, to find anticipation in the air. It’s always like that just before Mother’s Day, when they officially open, when the staff is working with a sense of urgency, not quite sure whether they will get it all together in time. There are two businesses operating at The Cove: Telegraph Cove Resort and Telegraph Cove Ventures and both of them were readying for another season.

I wanted to do some sketching of some of the buildings in the old original Cove, deciding on a viewpoint from the Ventures side. Here a couple were busy getting a freshly arrived stack of kayaks ready for rental, sounding very optimistic about the coming season. I walked about, looking for new views and made my way to the Telegraph Cove Resorts office where folks were having their lunch. Familiar faces, here for another summer, greeted me, including Karen Watkins, office manager and Leo Tureszek,, jack of all trades and right hand man to Gordie Graham, the owner. Also in the office, newly arrived, were a couple who have been coming to The Cove for many years, the McShanes. They were early but would be the first of many.

Several weeks ago I did this painting of a view of The Cove similar to one I had done a dozen years ago, with Orcas in the foreground; but times change so I included part of the new Telegraph Cove Ventures’ complex in the painting. I do hope you enjoy it as much as I did painting it.