Aldergrove, BC to Prince George, BC (SIDE NOTE: WE SAW A MOOSE!)
The rain is becoming a normal event, we?ve even stopped looking for sunshine. Yesterday we had the tow car washed so at least we won?t be adding more dirt on top of old dirt. I decide I don?t like not having any Canadian money on hand except a bunch of ?loonies? (one dollar coin) so I quickly take off to find a bank where I can exchange my US for Canadian. Jill, my new GPS, calculates that there are several within 10 or so kilometers. For those not versed in metric, that?s about 6 miles. Off Jill and I go in search of a bank. The first two she finds are only ATM locations, the next one was closed. Finally we find the ?Royal Bank of Canada?, make our transaction and are back to the campground ready to hook up.
The night before, Tim and I decide to push a little further than our original plan with this day?s drive, so we end up in Cache Creek. The drive took us along Canada Highway 1 which swings north and follows the Fraser River; which is a beautiful drive. Tim loves it because the Canadian National Railroad is on one side of the highway; while the Canadian Pacific is across the river and in sight. We are reminded of the last time we were in BC and how we stayed at a campground with both railroads situated just like this. As we are ?whipping? by, we saw that old campground which is now abandoned and full of weeds. When we stayed there the first time we had to turn the A/C in the motorhome just to be able to sleep. With big semi-trucks and their exhaust brakes chattering down highway 1, and both railroads on either side, it was loud.
The sun peeks in and out of the clouds; the terrain is more dry and barren. This area is heavily used as farming. The dirt is pitch black and looks very rich. This part of BC is called ?The Arizona Stretch? because of its climate. It gets far less rain, has less timber and more rock. However, I?m sure Arizona is much warmer. We were hoping to stay at an old restored roadhouse where there was an RV park on sight; but we never found it. We saw the sign, but no direction and not a clue as to where we should go. I have a backup campsite which is easy to find and on the way. It?s raining when we pull in; but the next morning we both are very excited to see the sun. Not much to do here, we take off for Williams Lake. We are trying not to just?drive?drive?drive, so the miles we are putting on are under 200 per day. This stretch of the road is called The Caribou Highway and is following the old gold rush trails. They have road houses spaced along the highway that used to provide food, shelter and equipment to the gold miners going up and down for gold mining. As we were driving we would see 100 mile house, then 120 mile house etc. All of this area up to Prince George is heavy gold mining.
Williams Lake is much bigger than we expected, but doesn?t seem to have very many campgrounds. Our first thought was to stay for free at the Indian Casino; but that didn?t work out. I was driving and we needed to pull over to find a suitable place so that we could make some decisions and by chance pulled in at the Stampede Campground, with a horse show going on no less. I was in horse manure heaven?.listening to the whinnies, watching the cowboys and cowgirls ride their horses. The campground was tight and very narrow, but manageable for an overnight.
It was Tim?s birthday, so I took him out for dinner; but that was only to lift his spirits as well as to celebrate. Earlier in the day we were going to do some sightseeing and check out the visitor?s center. I had parked our little tow car between the motor home and a cute little rustic fence. We both forgot about the fence and Tim clipped the front right bumper and pulled loose a fitting for the window washer bottle. At first I thought he had ruptured the radiator and was relieved it was only the window washer. But I?ll tell ya, these little foreign cars are like Legos pieces, they snap back together like a charm. Tim took a hold of the bumper pushed it back into place snap?snap?.and we looked like nothing ever happened. We did end up with a section that wouldn?t tighten up, so the campground host gave us a bungee cord, which we slipped in the right place, tucked it under the ?bra? of the front of the car and voila` we are stylin?. I felt right at home, being a redneck from Alabama that looked like a pretty good fix to me.
This trip has been about ?adventures? and new things to deal with. Friday night was a new adventure. During the middle of the night I hear this horrible sound and lots water hitting my side of the motor home. I came out of a dead sleep thinking we were in a flood zone and were going to be washed away. It was a high powered sprinkler that had nearly a 20 foot span and would rotate 180 degrees to cover the lawn. We were really close to the sprinkler head so the force was pretty strong against the side of the coach. I was prepared to run out in my pjs, grab the sprinkler head and change it?s rotation pattern. Tim in his ever so clear engineering mind says: ?I?ll just go put a rag on it??..I respond with: ?A rag on it, really?? Well, he put a rag on it and it kept it from spraying. Adventure averted.
Saturday dawned beautiful and sunny. We were over our yucky feelings from the fender incident. Hooked up, headed down the road and within a mile, the tire pressure sensor went off for the tow car right rear. Well, at least we are in a town where we can get a new tire. I jump out to see how bad the flat is and there is no flat tire; it?s a good tire?no problems. The problem is the sensor, we remove the sensor, throw it in the drawer and continue on down the road; heading for Prince George.
The terrain begins to change with more rolling hills, denser forest, shorter trees and less and less population. We notice more pickup trucks; rugged pickup trucks with big grills on the front?..a real man?s truck.
Since we had not filled up with fuel since Bellingham, WA we started keeping our eyes open for fuel stations. Canada has a lot of commercial stations; but the further we go north the less public stations we are seeing. We have plenty of fuel to get to Prince George, but we don?t like to it get too low. About an hour south of Prince George we also begin to see road signs warning of moose and by golly right in the ditch both Tim and I see a female. She is big?really big. Then not a minute or two later we both see a deer. Now deer are not an unusual sight for us, they graze right near our house. But then only a minute later I see a black bear also down in the ditch but on my side so Tim missed seeing it. We think this is an omen for good wildlife viewing; a moose, a deer and a bear all within 5 minutes. This will be good trip.
We are now set up at Southland RV Park in south Prince George with 5 TV channels and wifi. We plan to stay here a few days, do some sightseeing, grocery shopping and soaking up the sunshine.
