The sun has shone now in Bella Coola for two solid days and I'm still here. It's one of those places you could end up stuck if you didn't have a plan to ride on. I met Tommy G today, an 85-year-old local who came here 49 years ago to log and got himself 500 bucks into a poker debt. He couldn't afford to go home that winter and he's been here ever since. "Well, the way I see it you have to be stuck somewhere," he says, flipping casually through his morning Province, "and I can think of much worse places to be stuck." No kidding. If you want to see some untouched wilderness and people who are welcoming and kind and wave at everyone who goes by, locals, tourists, natives, come to Bella Coola before the high end eco-tourism people stake their claim.

Arline, an artist in her sixties whom I met the other day says she tells people to come to Bella Coola for "all the great things we don't have." "We don't have McDonald's, we don't have a traffic light, we don't have a mall, we don't have cell phones..." and she went on. You could wax poetic for days about all the great things Bella Coola doesn't have, but let's talk about what it does have: protected pristine wilderness, a vibrant local community who love their valley, the freshest air I've ever breathed, a clean, glacier-fed river running right through town, mountains on all sides except one where the river spews out into the ocean, hot springs not far away, very colorful characters, over 200 magnificent bald eagles, wildlife such as grizzlies, black bears, cougars, red and black foxes, wolverines and deer, abundant salmon, cultural diversity, great hiking trails to gushing waterfalls, an international population who get dropped off twice a week by the ferry, and most importantly of all--CHEAP REAL ESTATE!

I attended the Discovery Coast Music Festival the last two evenings. Chilliwack was good, giving all of us who remember their latest versions of "California Girl" and hmm, I can't remember the other ones. They can't quite reach the high notes anymore and their harmonies were a little off-key (they definitely weren't lip-synching!) but they seemed to be enjoying themselves and put on a good show. Valdy was the best. He is the absolute consumate Canadian Performer. He was decked out in red kneesocks and had the crowd gobbling from the palms of his hands. It was a perfect performance for a festival in Bella Coola, B.C. where children dance and stars laugh.

I got to meet the guys from The Cruzeros, a country rock band out of Kelowna. They sing sweet melody and harmony and I stayed for three or four songs before heading back in the dark on Henk to my campground. Twice now I've hit the same damn pothole on that road coming back to town going 80 but Henk doesn't even blink and carries on as if nothing's happened.

Today I lucked into an awesome acoustic porchside jam session. Mark, the grape farmer from Osoyoos who is camping in the same campground and happens to be friends with the guys from The Cruzeros, invited me down to their cabin to hang out, which, of course, I did. They've decided to stay in Bella Coola for a couple more days between festivals they're playing in Prince George, Williams Lake, and Quesnel. "We could go to Prince George and wait til Wednesday," Barry the lead singer said, "or we could stay here." I looked around at the stunning mountain view from their cabin porch and sucked in some Bella Coola air and simply nodded the universal "I get it" nod. Their rhythm section went fishing today and came back with two enormous salmon. They invited me back tomorrow night for a feast that's guaranteed to be out of this world. I don't get too hung up on being a vegan when I travel. Nor do I get too hung up on hurrying on when there's sunshine and music and feasting to be had.