Did I ever enjoy living in Vancouver? I recall yes I did, and yes I drove in the city but that my friends was a LONG time ago!
Allow me to build that back story: On June 29 i caught the early ferry from Duke Point in Nanaimo to Tsawassen just out of Vancouver. I had the good fortune to strike up a conversation with a mother and daughter standing in the food line, who were on their way to Williams Lake. Two very nice women!
For some reason I was convinced we’d docked on Hwy #1. Apparently not and the “talking bossy google map lady” kept trying to divertme to routes and streets I was NOT familiar with. I became more and more annoyed and skeptical when I drove for an hour, under the Alex Fraser bridge, then under the Port Mann bridge, then the Patelo bridge…dang it this crazy route took me past Mission, New Westminster, into Surrey….what had I done? All the while I could imagine Mac in my head tsking and “Jeez Marilyn you’ve done it now” but I was determined! My long distance adventure was going to work out!
My goal…drive through BC stopping to see friends ,
then into Alberta seeing more buddies…carry on to Montana to crash the Widows Son’s north south rally, then up to Saskatoon etc to see family before heading home.
When I finally reached Abbotsford, all lanes, both directions were barely moving. And nose to tail solid traffic. This O was not expecting! Its got to get better…but noooo 2 hours to Chilliwack from Vancouver, 2 hours to get thru to Abbotsford….ridiculous!
Ok first stop the historic Coalmont Hotel. Its over 100 yrs old in a tiny hamlet, founded on coal and was why the Kettle Valley Railroad (KVR) was built. Lots of history.
The landscape is wild and rugged..steep roads up and down the mountains, lots of ATV and Side by Side trails…i had an in depth and potentially scary tour with my friend who’d grown up driving on those roads. Likely much faster than we travelled that day.
Then hit the road to Creston via Osoyoos. Totally forgetting it was Canada Day aka big local parade day…and the shut down of Hwy #3 east.
Great. I drove around for over an hour before a kind soul tried to give me directions to leave town. Alas I ended up crossing into the United States, very briefly. Explained I was recently widowed trying to get to Saskatchewan to see my family…gadzooks! So turn back into Canada where the border guy gave me the stink eye and let me in…by then thankfully the Osoyoos parade was over and I carried on to my destination for the night, the Pair a Dice RV park and campground. An older place, meticulously maintained and its a good thing I reserved for a couple of nights. Free hot showers, good wi-fi, and pretty quiet until a train came thru. And I thought fog horns were loud!
And here I am, impressed by a beautiful full moon, in my comfy camper car, on the road to adventure. Its odd driving a road I’ve ridden on many times, past Salmo - the ghosts of a past adventure with my darling Mac, the riding partner I adored. Yup a couple of tears, a lot of smiles and a long conversation as I drove recalling times past.
Tomorrow its day 5 on my grand adventure. I will hunt down a grocery store and a fruit stand. I’ve got a hankering for corn bread and fresh peaches! And a big pot of coffee.
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