Fri - 23 from Houston, BC

Shady Rest RV Park
Site #33 - $22, p/w/s, Internet, Temp 17C

We spent the night in this nice, well kept campground just out of Houston. It was one of the cheaper places we've stayed, with full hookup (including internet). It was a treat to have the power for coffee and my hair blower this morning!! I also was able to do a couple loads of laundry.

The drive continued -- We walked on and then drove across the Hagwilger Canyon Bridge at Hazelton, one of the highest suspension bridges in N. America.



This was also supposed to be Totem Pole capital of the world with it's more than 50 poles. I don't know, we drove through what seemed like the entire community and never spotted one!!?? go figure! It was an interesting old native community, however, but not really for larger RV's. We nearly 'dead-ended' a couple of times! (Things that make my hair go gray!)

Pulled off for lunch in Kitwanga where it was 19C (!!) and then headed up Hwy 37 (Cassiar Hwy). The temp reached 22C. The 153 km stretch we did today on 37 was probably some of the best/smoothest hwy we've been on. (If only we should be so lucky the rest of the way!) There was very little traffic - (Only passed one vehicle going our direction.) We haven't been very lucky with the wildlife. One black bear ran across the hwy today and we saw one near Barkerville plus 2 coyotes.

Tonight it's back to a Prov. Campground (Meziadin Lake) with no hookups. It sounds like a beautiful spot and a popular stop for visitors going to Alaska and up this Cassiar Hwy. I'm a little concerned because I was reading on the internet last night that the opening of this campground was delayed because of higher then normal snow pack and in fact, today is opening day!

Drive to Meziadin Lake

P.S. Yes, Charlie, we did 'smell the mighty Skeena'. The fish are just waiting for you!

more from Barkerville trip

I sent that last email from Barkerville. On the way out of Barkerville, we stopped at the graveyard. I found it more interesting then the town site.... up the side of hill, with picket fences around many of the individual graves.



Lots of men died in 1863 during the gold rush - average age 32 yrs. We chuckled at the description of the first burial in 1863 - Peter Gibson. Upon his death, his employer "dragged him up the hill and planted him there."

On the way back to camp, we did a bit of a tour of Quesnel. Looked for the hoodoos and rock formations from where one could supposedly view the city. We forgot to bring the booklet describing how to get there -- and no, we couldn't stop & ask :-) So we didn't find the place.

Back to the campground for supper and another campfire. We had the furnace set to cut in at 12C last night, but when we woke up this a.m. it was 9C (7C outside) and we had run out of propane!! It was pretty chilly and it was tough to crawl out of that warm bed!!@

On the road again Thurs a.m. We will stop in Prince George for milk and coffee (and hopefully send this email). We will probably spend tonight in Houston or Smithers.

Wed - 21st Quesnet and Barkerville visit

Ten Mile Lake Prov Pk
Site #7 - $19, n/s, no Internet, Temp 14C

We enjoyed the trip up Hwy 97. Beautiful scenery, great highway. It was only 14C when we pulled off for lunch at Williams Lake and I figured that was a sign of things to come. However, it actually warmed up as we headed north and it was 18C at Quesnel.



We camped at Ten Mile Lake Prov. Pk, 12 km. north of Quesnel. Nice private spot right on the lake, but wouldn't you know it, it started to pour rain just after we set up at 4 p.m. It did quit after supper and was quite pleasant,  We watched the sun set over the lake. We had a short campfire. (Things were pretty wet and Ron resorted to using his propane torch to get the fire burning! I don't think he learned that in boy scouts!)



This morning it was off to the historic gold rush town of Barkerville (80 km from campsite). We were glad we chose to make it a side trip without 5th wheel as it was a twisty road up the mountain and over the pass, plus there was snow along the roadway and many of the lakes still had ice on them.

So, Barkerville? It was okay. I think Ron enjoyed it. Your typical historic town involving lots of walking and reading





We did enjoy a nice lunch in the Chinese restaurant. We also enjoyed the musical entertainment, song, dance, ukelele, banjo etc at the Theatre. It was fun. They had Ron on stage with 2 others doing a 'dum ditty ditty song" with hand movements. lol, Mr. Co-ordination he isn't, so THAT was rather amusing!!

The weather is much cooler up the mountain and quite a bit of snow laying around yet. It was raining a bit when we first arrived, but sun came out and it appears to be warming up.

Then, it was back to the campground  We had a couple of things to pick up in Quesnel and we will continue north tomorrow.

PS. We are finding our GPS very helpful. I can key in our destination and it gives us directions, mileage and arrival time Also, I've been putting in the address for the PetroPass's (we have their locations booklet) and it eliminates the guess work as to where to go!

Town Campground, Tuesday - 20th

Cayoosh Campground
Site #8 - $26, p/w, no internet, Temp 22C & windy

Well that was quite the travel day, yesterday. All of 20 minutes to the Lillooet Campground. It is actually called the 'Cayoosh Creek Campground'. Same creek, but not nearly as nice of a camping spot as the one we had at Dave's!

The drive wasn't too bad. (Ron said he didn't need to lose sleep that first night after all.) It is a very steep grade -- 13 % which Ron has never been on, even WITHOUT the 5th wheel in tow !! Very spectacular scenery though!! We were able to enjoy it more on the way out than on the way in, when we were both a little stressed. Also the weather was much cooler this time around, so the truck didn't heat up the same way.

We had a pretty quiet day back in Lillooet. Stocked up on groceries and fuel, did a bit of cleaning and hand washed a few clothes.  It is nice to have water & power to catch up on some of those things.

Our goal today is the 390 km north to Quesnel. We will likely do a side trip to Barkerville from there.

Mon - 19th Lillooet

We are hooked up, turned around and ready to leave Dave & Elizabeths. We will pull out while Dave is still around in case we require some help getting up that hill !! :-)

We'll just spend the night in Lillooet and leave tomorrow a.m. to avoid the traffic. Everyone is busy at the moment.

Ron throwing rocks down the hill, Kids loading them on the tractor/trailer, Eliz. adding to her rock wall. Dave about to cook some eggs. We will likely all get away by about 2 p.m.

Hope you all had a great wkend and I hope we can stay in touch. On towards Barkerville and never sure of internet connections.

Sunday - 18th Cayoosh Creek

And we are at Dave & Elizabeth's. It's an amazing place in a forest of trees, alongside the rushing Cayoosh Creek and nestled in between the mountains. So peaceful and relaxing and the cedar/pine smells are wonderful.







It was a bit of a stressful trip here and I'm trying not to think about leaving. The last stretch of road is very very steep and winding and we had an overheated engine and overheated brake pads. Yikes, nerve racking to say the least! It's a big climb to get out of the property and I just hope we can make it!!



The kids - big & little alike - have been keeping busy and having great fun -- damning up the creek, building forts, playing bocce, roasting marshmallows and at the moment the medal dectector is getting a work out.... (maybe that piece of gold will be found!?)





Anyway, that's the report from here. It is amazing to have internet out here in the middle of nowhere! (satellite)

Kari & Gerry will be leaving later today and the rest of us will head out tomorrow.

Sat - 17th

Well, the campground was "really hopping" last night. It filled for the long weekend and people were out to party !! Also, we were in the direct path to the washroom, so we had lots of drunks and other 'interesting' persons cutting through our site... busy busy.

Jeff came for lunch after writing exam. He said it was difficult, but he feels he passed.... so... we hope!! I'm sure he did just fine!



Odin entertained us at the beach fetching sticks and romping with the other dogs. (A dog area at one corner of the lake.) I'm well known for not being a dog fan, but I have to admit this 'grand-dog' has impressed me. For 6 months old, he is unbelievably well behaved and quiet... Never heard him bark, even at other dogs and for the most part, he just lay at Jeff's feet with all the activity in the campground. Really something for a young pup.

Christal came by after work and we enjoyed dinner and a campfire..... We introduced Christal to s'mores.

They left about 11:30 and despite the prior noise in the campground, things settled down and with our fan blowing for 'white noise', we slept pretty good.

So now we've left Vernon (9:30 a.m.) and are now on our way to Dave's at Cayoosh Creek. Kari, Gerry & family are already there. I think I mentioned there is an abandoned gold mine on his property, so.... who knows, we may come away rich! -- that illusive nugget! 

2 pm:  Almost there... We are at service station in Lillooet. Hwy 99 was quite the spectacular drive... Little hard on the brake shoes tho !!!

the drive to Lillooet

Friday - 16th Vernon, BC

Sandy Beach Campground (Newport Beach)
Site #6 - $26.25, p/w/s, some Internet, Temp 19C

We are camped on the Okanagan Lake. It's a nice spot with a great view. Unfortunately 'Lakeshore Road' runs between the campground and the beach and it appears to be a bit of a drag strip !!

With the weather finally heating up yesterday, the 'cruisers' and speeders were out in full force! On the opposite side of the campground from the beach is the trailer park that Jeff lives in. Very handy walk.

As I write this, Jeff is in Kelowna writing that darn 3 hour IP exam. Ron's comment -- "I've never seen Jeff so uptight about something!". Oh well, it will be celebration time later today! (He won't get results for 3 wks.)

So we met Odin (Jeff's dog!) and we met Christal (Jeff's girlfriend!). Both are cute, friendly, well behaved, lol -- and obviously a very important part of Jeff's life! Christal just started summer school classes in Kelowna and works part time at Home Depot, here in Vernon. They had dinner with us, but left shortly after for more studying.



Ron & I went for a short walk along the beach and then had our campfire. Ron is off on his bike this a.m. It looks like it will be a scorcher with temps in 30's forecasted. Jeff will come for lunch and then he & Christal will join us for supper and campfire this evening. I'm sure he'll be much more relaxed tonight!!

We are leaving Vernon in the a.m. and will head to Dave & Elizabeth's rec property on Cayoosh Creek near Lillooet  which is about 300 km. from here. Kari & family will join us for the rest of the weekend. On Tues, we will begin our Yukon/Alaskan trek!

Day 7 - Wednesday

One week in to our trip already!! How time flies! This is our last day in Kelowna. We will be moving on to Vernon for 2 nights in the a.m. Jeff came for lunch again yesterday, but didn't make it today. He stayed at school for additional prep time. Some exam, eh!?. Anyway, we did get a bit of extra visiting in with him. He and Christal will come to the campsite for supper with us tomorrow night in Vernon, and then we will be able to celebrate the end of school for him on Friday. Sure hope he does well on his Inter Prov. exam. And then it will be back to work. Funds are low !! :-(

The weather hasn't been great for us. It is still on the cool side and Remy's ball game was rained out last night. It's looking up for the weekend though, with temps in the 30's forcasted! I'm looking forward to sweating as opposed to shivering for a change! :-)

This morning I did a load of laundry while Ron & Doug went shopping. (Men shopping??? weird, eh?? but Doug needed new runners!) When the kids got home from school, we got out Ron's medal detector and searched for treasurers in the driveway. Looks like a gopher has been through there now! We found lots of great things -- nails, one penny, nuts (not to mention the ones holding the 'stick')

Anyway, it's the last fire on the patio tonight.  I must get my marshmallow stick!

Day 5 - Monday Kelowna, BC

We are enjoying our time in Kelowna. The kids seem to associate our visits with campfires :-) so we light the propane fire pit and roast marshmallows every evening before bed!

Ron & Doug went for a bike ride this morning while I picked up a few groceries at Superstore. I was glad for our GPS to help me find the way there and back. I thought I knew where the store was, but I'd 'miscalculated' in my mind. The GPS set me straight!

Jeff came for lunch after his classes today. He's a little stressed about the Inter-Provincial exam he writes on Friday. (We'd thought Thurs, but find out now it's not til Fri.) It will be nice to have that over with and he'll be done the last of his schooling. Anyway, we had a good visit until about 4 when he left for home (Vernon) and more study time.

We had an early supper and then off to Ryley's 6 p.m. ball game. We'll see Remy play tomorrow night. Ron & Doug are still sitting around the fire. Did I mention Doug is off work for a few weeks?? He damaged the rotary cup in his shoulder. This was very unfortunate for him, but must admit that it's been nice to be able to spend the extra time with him. well, time for bed --