AUG 1, Thursday, Pr.
Rupert
SUNNY!!! Got up at 8 am to clear sky and the sun
shining; wonderful! We had showers then
we went to explore. I had internet this
morning long enough to upload the blog and some pictures then it quit all of a
sudden. What is it with the North that
they still are living in the early century!?
This was a busy day. First, we went to the Info Centre then to
Walmart to pick up some groceries. After
that, we went to KAL TIRE where I had an oil change done on the truck, it was 1,000
km overdue! We went to Port Edwards
where we visited a Cannery (North Pacific Cannery National Heritage site). It was the most interesting I’ve done in a
long time. The guide was really
interesting and brought the whole tour to an almost reality show. A lot of the machineries were still working
and he operated everyone of them. It
really was one of the best tour I’ve been on (see pictures).
We went back to town and stopped at
the pub, the “Breaker’s Loft” then we headed to Save-on-Foods for vegetables
then home.
COW BAY, where the pub was, was an
interesting area. More like Granville
Island in Vancouver. Lots of interesting
looking houses and the harbor and Marina are right there. We watched fishermen cleaning fish and sea
lions swimming to catch the left over. I
definitely got a different insight into Prince-Rupert.
So tomorrow, we head out and aim for
home. It is still sunny, we watched the
sun set and it is a warm evening.
AUG 2, Friday; to Smithers
Well, what started as I thought to be
a quick job, turned out to be two hours.
We stopped at KalTire to repair the slow leak on the rear trailer
tire. He fixed it, put the tire back on
and found another leak so off it went.
Finally we were on the road by 11 am and the total price was $37. so I cannot be complaining too hard.
We had a beautiful sunny day and it
became warm quickly as we got away from the coast. We followed the Skeena river all the
way to Gitwanka where it turned north and we began following the Bulkley
River. The highway was very quiet on
our side heading East but not the other way.
We stopped for lunch at a roadside rest area beside the river then
continued to Hazelton where we stopped again at the Info Centre.
The scenery is absolutely superb! I had forgotten how beautiful this part of the country is. We soon arrived in Smithers and
stopped at a campground about 10 minutes from town called GLACIER RV PARK, so named because across from us
is this huge glacier on top of this gorgeous mountain with a valley forged by
the same receding glacier.
After paying $38 and setting up, we
drove to town and looked around. This is
Val’s old stumping grounds so she was the guide. We then drove to TELKWA where Val actually
lived, 15 minutes from Smithers.
We found the street she lived on but she couldn’t remember where exactly
the house was so we came back to town. It
was in interesting area with a great view of the surroundings mountains and
farms. We stopped at a local pub, that
she remembers frequenting, so we went in.
What an interesting and awesome place.
We had a beer and appy then came home.
I caught up to the log and Val read
her book. We have internet but it is
slower than the second coming!!!
I gased up in Terrace @ $1.32 and
again in Smithers @ $1.34
We drove 213 miles in 4
hrs and 15 minutes @ an average 50 mph.
Stopped for 3 hrs including tire repair
N: 54* 51.083’
W: 129* 13.275’
ALT; 1685 ft
AUG 3, Saturday; to Wells/Barkerville
We left at 9 am, drove through
Smithers and made our way East to Prince George. We didn’t stop for breakfast until Vanderhoof
because everywhere else was closed and even then, we never had breakfast but
lunch! We also filled up here at $1.28/L
After Vanderhoof, the drive was somewhat boring. We finally reached PG and headed south on Hwy
97 for Barkerville/Wells. What we didn’t
count on is the Musical Festival happening here this weekend and we were lucky
to get a spot at Nugget RV Park for $60 for 2 nights with full hook-ups.(We had
called but he never said anything about the festival)
We sat out for a while then Val cooked dinner and we ate out on the
picnic table. Lots of young people but
so far they are well behaved.
We have now completed a full circle.
What an incredible adventure! We
are 2 days max from home.
We drove 353 miles in 6 hrs and 45 minutes @ an average 52 MPH. We were stopped for 45 minutes total.
N 53* 06.010’
W 121* 33.994’
Alt 4020 Feet
AUG 4, Sunday, Barkerville, Historical site
Woke up to sunshine again. We had
showers then went to town to explore. We
stopped at this local restaurant which turned out to be a real
disappointment. Service was slow and so
was the food. They ended up closing the
place because they ran out of hashbrowns!??
SERIOUSLY!!! We did get our
breakfast eventually.
From here we went to explore the town and tent city. The place is packed and there is no RV
campsite to be had. We explore some of
the stores then headed to Barkerville.
This was an interesting historic site, especially seeing it in the
summer. The last time I was here was in
the fall and nothing was open. Anyway we
spent over 2 hours here then came back to Wells.
We went home then at 5 pm, we headed out for dinner to Barkerville then
noticed the Pub was opened so we stopped there and had dinner and a few drinks
instead.
It was a good day and one day is long enough. We can hear the bands playing in town.
I really don’t know why this program indents my sentence !???
AUG 5, Monday; To Logan Lake
On the road by 9 am and on Hwy 97 about an hour later! Drove through Quesnel and stopped the other
side to fill up @ 1.30/L. Through Wms
Lake where the traffic became heavier.
We were gonna come down to Cache Creek then at the last minute, we
decided to take HWY 24 to Little Fort on HWY 5.
It was a pretty drive and we stopped a couple times along the way. Down the “BIG HILL” at Little Fort with no
problems and stopped for another fill-up @ $1.28/L. We stopped in Kamloops for dinner then headed
on the Coquahalla to Logan Lake.
We had a great reunion with the Kirkby’s and his grand-son was also
there so that was a bonus. He was there
with his other grand-father. We were in
bed by 10:30 pm
We travelled 344 miles in 6.5 hrs @ an average 52 mph
N: 50* 29.897’
W: 120* 48.935’
ALT: 3652 ft
Aug 6, Tuesday; HOME, Oliver!
We were up at 8 am and visited with everyone with coffee in hand. It’s already warm so we sat
outside. By 10 we were on the way to Merritt
via the back way after saying our goodbyes to all. I filled up in Merrit @ 1.32/L and had
breakfast at “HOME” Restaurant.
Back on the road, it was the connector(97C) to Kelowna then down 97 to
Oliver. We were met by a huge fire on
the hills just before our place. What a
welcome!
We did a total of 12,829 KM! Spent $3500 on gas; approx $2500 on
campground and a whole bunch more on entertainment, dining and souvenirs.
Was it worth it? We both are glad we did it. Highlights were the Artic Ocean and the viewing
of glaciers at different location.
Would I do again. YEP! but not soon and I would not return to Alaska.
We are HOME, it is hot and smoky!
We travelled 195 miles in 3 hours
N;49* 11.274’
W; 119* 32.201’
ALT; 998 ft
