Tuesday, 23 November 2021

The Journey Begins


August 31, 2021









After a six-hour drive up the Fraser Canyon, we arrived at our Green Lake rendezvous just outside of 70 Mile House.  Driving the motorhome was a little different but after the first hour, we had adapted to the much larger vehicle.

Kick-Off Meal At the Hughes - Green Lake

After an evening meal with our travel companions and a few drinks to kick off the holiday and our first sleep in the motorhome, we woke to a sunny, chilly day at the Hughes’ Family property on Green Lake.  We were ready to go at 8 am.
 
Unfortunately, our day started with bad news as Randy and Doreen were called home to tend to a family emergency.  The news put a damper on our plans but the rest of us pledged to continue on and make the very best of it while keeping Randy and Doreen in our thoughts.
 
We started with a quick breakfast stop at the 70 Mile General Store for breakfast sandwiches and coffee.




 
This was followed by a quick Save-On stop in 100 Mike House and then a fuel stop at Williams Lake before leaving the Caribou Highway 97 onto the Coast Trail, Highway 20.  As soon as we climbed out of the valley we were in the plateau grasslands of Riske Creek.  The plateau's cattle ranches that got their start in the 1800s are still actively evident today.




 
We passed the road to Farwell Canyon and made a mental note for a visit on our return to see the water-carved limestone and sandstone hoodoos, and the rolling sand dunes.
 
From there it was on the Alexis Creek.  The settlement itself is located on the benchlands overlooking the glacial blue waters of the Chilcotin River.  The Chilcotin valley is broad, green, and populated by grasses and beef cattle. 







We made camp at Bull Canyon Provincial Park nestled up to the Chilcotin River.  Deborah and I did a little learning while setting up camp while others chatted with the locals about the abundance of salmon in the river.  Most of us took a stroll along the River Trail before enjoying a fine meal and a few drinks to end the day.


Thursday, 11 November 2021

Exploring The Chilcotin

Another Late Entry

August 31, 2021




COVID has certainly limited our ability to travel and while an inability to travel is certainly a first-world problem and hardly compares to the serious outcomes that have befallen many of our friends and neighbours, for us retirees bent on seeing the world, it has been frustrating.  That ended today.

We are off to explore the Chilcotin Road (Highway 20) running from Williams Lake on the east to Bella Coola on the Pacific west.  We have rented a motor home and are joining experience RVers cousins Randy and Gordon, their wives Doreen and Margo, and their friends Doug and Debbie Hughes.  The Hughes will be our guides on this exploration.


This adventure is Deborah’s Christmas gift to me back in 2020.  She promised an RV trip to a place of my choosing.  For those that know Deborah’s disdain for anything camping or “roughing it” in the great outdoors, you know what a sacrifice this is and is indeed a gift.  

The motor home is packed and we are ready to go.  We will head up Highway 1 to Hope, through the Fraser Canyon to Cache Creek, along the Caribou Road to 100 Mile House and a short trip east to Green Lake to rendezvous with our travel companions.

We knew we would be “off the grid” as soon as we left Williams Lake and ventured west to the Pacific but we didn’t know updating the Blog would prove impossible.