Thursday, August 9th, up bright and early to catch the early sailing off Denman to connect with our reservation in Nanaimo from Duke Pt. to Tsawassen. Truck, trailer, Ollie and Tom and I are ready to hit the road!!
One of the first things that an "islander" realizes is that the quiet roads of Denman (even in the summer Hornby rush) are no example of the volume of people who are "on the road". Luckily we had reservations on the very busy BC Ferries.
Heading East on Highway 1, Canada's TransCanada highway, we immediatly became aware of the extent of fires with the most visible being just outside of Harrison Hot Springs.
One of Tom's favorite things is driving roadtrips..and it was serendipitous, despite 37 degree temperatures outside, to have our Spotify music with us wherever we go. Roadtrip songs are abundant and who better than Willie Nelson to make Tom feel happily "on the road again".
Our first night was booked in Princeton, on the banks of the Similkameen River, we backed in to a rather "rustic" spot with neighbours very close on both sides,but something about the campground ethic kicks in and people who would not normally cross paths in life, are able to be temporary neighbours without boundaries.
The sky in the interior of the province is obscured with the smoke of fires from BC and Washington. The first night proved to be an "eery" precursor for the days ahead.
Up early and heading East on Highway 3, from the top of Anarchist mountain, the haze over the Okanagon was a sad indicator of the extent of fires surrounding BC.
Day 2 proved to be a challenge...between temperatures on the pavement soaring to 45 degrees, far warmer than the normal for us coastal dwellers,
and crazy fellow RV drivers in Creston where we chose to stop for money, gas and a picnic, we felt like we were in an oven with no relief from the heat wave gripping the province.
Perhaps a little heat delirium was responsible for this RV drivers failed attempt to drive his massive 5th wheel into the Petrocan...not a happy time waiting for him to get backed out through the traffic.
This is a province of RV travellers, all sizes, all styles and all ages. I've discovered that travel through this mountainous province is not inexpensive with the price of fuel, and the strain put on a vehicle. Tom is diligently driving using the features of the truck's tow package to brake, and tow efficiently. The strain of pulling trailers through high mountainous passes is evident, and even our modest to small size trailer costs a lot to operate in these conditions.
We were very happy to arrive at my longtime friends MaryDoris and JoAnn's properties outside of Kimberly on St. Marys Lake Rd. Friends from nurses school, these women have lived in the Kootenay's, raising families, working and are now enjoying grandparenting with kids returning from city life to the country they grew up in. There is something magical about life in the country that makes all time spent together more fun and memorable. I love country life.
We started day 3 with a bike ride, dog run and then off we left for the days trip ahead.
JoAnn and Freeman say goodbye from the comfy porch . Ashes on the cars, smoke in the air, we hope that all is well in the province of BC this summer. British Columbia is an amazingly spectacular landscape to be treasured forever.
Crowsnest Pass welcomes us to the next stage of the adventure..Canada's prairie provinces.
And if u get anywhere near 2 Tucson............
ReplyDelete