Canada, oh, Canada!

In Fraser Valley next to Thompson River

On Friday, June 15th, we left Seattle and drove through drizzle and overcast skies to the border crossing at Sumas, WA. Only 15-20 minutes of waiting on the cars in front of us and we finally got our turn in the barrel. After a few minutes of questioning about our first born, our terrorist connections, our drug and drinking habits, and our parents’ genealogy, we finally got into Canada. Whew!!

We drove for several miles before finding a British Columbia visitor center, where we were treated royally by a lovely lady who overwhelmed us with literature and maps on BC, the Yukon Territory, and Alaska. (What a welcome change from the rubber glove treatment at the border.)

In British Columbia

We sped off to the little town of Boston Bar, as our first planned stop, but with plenty of light left in the day (and precious little else in the town), we continued onto Cache Creek, a bustling metropolis of about 50 residents, half a dozen shuttered businesses, two restaurants and a gas station. We ate dinner at the Bear’s Claw Lodge, a nice log cabinesque décor with extremely high prices, our first taste of Canada's norm. Our drive up to Cache Creek took us through Fraser Canyon, along Thompson River, which was pretty spectacular, though very cloudy. We continued up the road a few miles more and found a nice rest area where we boondocked for the night. We spent the evening reviewing our Canada travel plans and wound up modifying them significantly, since we now had a treasure trove of maps and other literature in our possession. After a lengthy happy hour, we turned into pumpkins, looking forward to our next day’s travel.

On Saturday we continued our trek northward in (temporarily) better weather. We were actually able to take a few pictures of the scenery with some blue sky behind the clouds. We stopped in Prince George, an actual metropolis of 31,000 people (!), 4 Starbucks, a casino, several food stores and a bunch of little shops. After partaking of the free wifi at one of the Starbucks, we parked at the casino for the rest of the evening. Thankfully losing only $1.50 at the casino, we played dominoes in the RV over happy hour while it began to rain significantly. Grr.

Alpenhorn in Smithers, BC

Smithers, BC with
Hudson Bay Mtn in back

On Sunday morning (June 17th), we rolled out and through several tiny towns in the Lakes District of BC, though why it has this distinction specifically is unknown since most of our trip thus far through Canada has been next to all manner of waterways. As we continued westward, the mountains grew taller again and we were awed by the gorgeous snow-capped peaks. We soon discovered the adorable town of Smithers with the enviable backdrop of the Hudson Bay Mountain right behind the town to the northwest and the Babine Mountains a bit farther off to the northeast. All of the mountains around the town were covered in snow and high cliff faces…wow. We stopped in at the visitor center there and the guide gave us some maps of the town and some suggestions for where to park for free overnight (at the Safeway). We walked into the little downtown along Main Street and window shopped at all the closed businesses. We ate Father’s Day dinner at a completely forgettable Chinese buffet that was, nonetheless, slammed with customers. We retired for more dominoes and to watch the sun set behind the mountains from the windows in the RV. At 9:30, the sun still hadn’t set, though it was definitely a bit lower in the sky. What a fantastic day.

New Hazelton, BC

We started our Monday with a brisk walk around Smithers that was, per normal, longer than we originally anticipated. As we drove out of town, the clouds began to clear a bit and blue sky started to peek out. We passed a rushing river in New Hazelton, BC. On our way toward Stewart, BC, we caught sight of two black bear cubs playing in the grass off the side of the road! Not 10 minutes later we saw a moose –an actual moose!—running across the highway some distance off. We weren’t fast enough with the camera in either case, but, still, how exciting! Hopefully an indicator of things to come...