Dave and Jeannine departed early for the south and Phil
& Linda along with Bruce & Kim, enjoyed two days relaxing on the shores of Boya Lake in one of British
Columbia’s finest campgrounds. Jade City
beckons a few miles south where giant blocks of the mineral are chopped from
the earth and sent to China for processing into various trinkets for the
traveling public. This area is also home to the now closed Cassiar asbestos
mine which lends its name to the highway, and to several gold mining
operations. This is a very scenic trip leading to the Town of Dease Lake where
gas fill ups and tank dumping took place.
Further down the road is a wide swath cut through the forest which
eventually will bring power to the communities and residents of northeastern BC,
replacing the need for diesel generators. This multi- billion dollar project is
impressive in its magnitude and will bring new development to the area.
Our next campground will be
at Meziadin Lake. We arrived and were
fortunate to score two sites on the lakeshore, with power, normally unavailable
in Provincial camp grounds. Linda was
pleased to hear Loons and see them swimming close to the shore. Since the sites were not reserved we spent two
nights here and took a day trip to Stewart and Hyder. In Stewart we found that Canada Day was to be celebrated with a Parade and cookout/bake sale/ community celebration. As is the case in many Canadian communities
the RCMP provide a prominent and colorful lead dressed in their Dress Red
Uniforms. With half of the population in
the Parade the spectator crowd was limited, but we and a few other tourists
fleshed out the cheering squad.
On to Hyder, AK we went and
up the road to see the Salmon Glacier hoping that the meal we ate at a ‘roadside
trailer stand’ would not do us in.
Twelve miles in, and great views of the glacier convinced us that was
enough, plus the fact that Bruce was now succumbing to the bug.
So we left the town that
bills itself as the friendliest Ghost Town in North America. We cleared customs back into Canada and
retreated to our campsite.
At Kitwanga we gassed up and
headed to Prince George where, lo and behold, a Costco exists for your purchasing
pleasure. Down the highway to Fort
Telkwa with a campsite overlooking the Bulkley river which also had views and
sounds of the passing freight trains. Houston
soon appeared and Bruce looked with envy at the world’s largest fly fishing rod
and imagined himself reeling in the big rainbow caught with the famous “wooley
bugger”.
Later that day we checked into yet another well
managed BC Provincial Park at 10 Mile Lake.
No spots on the lake but lots to choose from, at the upper level. We
camped and had a fire using up the last of our transported firewood. Then, from here we were on our way to a much
anticipated stop at 108 Mile Ranch Resort, which Jeff and Bev Kendy manage
during the summer months. Our arrival
was noted on a leader board in the Lobby and Jeff soon showed up to welcome us
and get us settled in our RV sites. We
spent the evening having a great dinner with Jeff and the next day challenged
the Resort’s golf course. The course won
but we had fun and were very pleased with the generosity of Jeff and the staff
at the resort.
Not much further south lies
Kamloops where Yusi and Vish Malliah were anxiously awaiting our arrival. We checked our rigs into a campground up the
road from their home and went back to spend the night with them, where we could
enjoy a great Indian feast and drink copious amounts of wine etc., in addition
to a birthday cake for Linda, without having to drive home.
Golfing at Rivershore Golf Course,
where many Anthem people hang out in the summer, proved once again that our golf skills need
honing (we’d all brought ‘Sunday’ bags of clubs, so were without many of our
trusty clubs). We did blame the heat, however,
just as most golfers do. Bruce and Kim
headed out early the next day for Seattle, while Phil & Linda stayed
another night before heading to Chilliwack to visit Linda’s sister and family
and a second birthday cake.
Returning to the U.S. for
each of us was a different experience. Ayres
crossed first, taking close to an hour.
Odegaard’s were next, and found that the “ Agricultural Boys “ wanted to
board their trailer, checking to see what remained of an eight week trip and
several border crossings. Drapers
returned a couple of days later and were greeted with “what did you see, any
meat or veggies (yes, to some Elk meat from Alaska) and a ‘welcome home’”. We had all pretty much cleaned out
refrigerators and cupboards before hitting the Border.
Everyone would head back to
Arizona after visits in Washington with family and friends. Mind you, we think Ayres are still on the
road…..they were heading to California and another visit with their
grandson. Odegaard’s drove back in three
days and two nights. It took Drapers
longer….they’re the slow ones!! First night
out, it was discovered the AC unit in the trailer had ‘bit the dust’ and
temperatures were in the high 90’s!! A
Mobile Repair service confirmed that the ‘motherboard’ was done in and it would
need parts from the manufacturer to be repaired. The second night in Idaho proved reasonably
comfortable after opening all the windows.
The third night, south of Provo Utah, they headed to higher country where
a promise of trees and hopefully cooler temperature might prevail. The camp
site in Nephi UT turned out to be a winner with lots of trees and a refreshing
breeze. Since the last leg was a bit far
for driving all the way to Anthem they spent the night in Flagstaff in an
interesting and very full KOA campground.
After eight weeks and close
to 11,000 miles of travel, it was good to slip into our own beds. Odegaards were in three days ahead of Drapers
and had just about completed their trailer ‘clean out’. Drapers arrived to 100 degree temperatures,
cleaned the trailer out and took it to the dealer for ‘fix ‘n repair’ and await
its return before heading back to Washington.
What a wonderful experience!! We all realized just how fortunate we are in
living where we do. We saw amazing sights
and beautiful scenery in both countries. Some of the animals had not received
the ‘memo’ that we would be passing through but we did see lots of wild life. We were welcomed by family and friends in
several spots and will have lots of memories.
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