I don’t recall where I’ve spent most statutory holidays, but I do remember the one I spent in Queen Charlotte City because it was the wettest I’ve encountered. It rained and misted all day, although there were a few short breaks wherein I left the dry comfort of my room at a B&B and went for quick walks through the small city.
Queen Charlotte City is the main city (really a town) of Haida Gwaii, situated at the southern point of Graham Island, the largest island in the Haida archipelago. It has a single main street where you’ll find services you’ll need — usually, anyway. Businesses have been known to close abruptly when the halibut are running and hunting season opens. When I visited (Canada Day) almost every restaurant in town was closed as, despite the moisture, the locals were enjoying a day off (no doubt consuming a lot of beer while doing so).
The city has a nice harbor and is in really a beautiful setting — quite a nice small town, really. But not a sunny one. One of my waitresses told me that in the 2 months before my visit they’d had 2 days of sunshine. Haidi Gwaii are known as the “misty isles” for a valid reason. A nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there…..
(the next day, as we left, the sun managed to break through the clouds)
