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Published: August 15th 2017
Sunshine!!! We had a day full of sunshine, today!!! I’m feeling restored.
We left the hotel this morning at 8:30 and 57 degrees and pointed the car toward the Canadian boarder. Yes, we are back in Canada for a few days. Our target was Kamloops, but the drive was going to get us there around noontime, so we had to find something else to do. I know…tough assignment, but we had to do it. We chose to follow the Fraser River north and it turned out to be a great choice. Yes, another river byway. Seems to be a theme here, Mississippi, Payette, Snake, Columbia, and now Fraser.
It took about two hours to get to the border and cross over. The crossing was totally uneventful. There was a long line of cars waiting to cross into the US, but not a single car waiting to cross into Canada, so that went like a snap. And we mused about a conversation we had earlier in the week. As you know, among others, Colorado, Washington and Oregon have legal recreational marijuana. And we saw many “cannabis” stores. We discussed going into one and buying a joint or two for the
fun of it. I have never tried it and have always wanted to. We passed by several of these stores and did not stop, thinking it will be a problem when we get to the Canadian border. Today, it would not have been a problem. We were sent through without a close look. And I said, “aw, shucks”. Oh, well. Maybe we will have another chance some day.
The drive to the border was very scenic and, with clearer skies today, it was pleasant to see. The Cascade Mountain Range was to the east of us and rising high into the sky, kind of in a shadow, with the sun behind it. Northern Washington is beautiful, with the mountains and the fertile fields of corn and potatoes and, no surprise, the vineyards. We saw fields and hillsides filled with healthy grape vines, all propped up on trellises, planted in neat rows, coded with colored poles at the end of each row. We did not see a single sign to a tasting room or a vineyard, but they sure were growing the grapes. As we all know, wine makers often don’t grow their own grapes, so I guess these were
grape farms, raising crops for sale. Again we left Washington without going to a single tasting room. Good intentions not kept once again. Oh, well. As I say every year, maybe next year.
We passed through areas where the road was shrouded by trees lining the highway and it came to me. When it comes to trees, Washington is very patriotic. How do I know??? Well there is the red cedar, the white birch and the blue spruce, all living in harmony. I know, it’s corny, but I couldn’t help myself.
We got onto Trans Canada Highway 1 and headed for Hope. And the vistas were more of the same we saw in Washington. We passed through a few tired little towns with tiny houses thirsting for paint and a few healing touches. Steve seems to notice every business that is closed, or so he thinks, and so he noted those for me as we drove along. There is no prosperity in these parts, although I will admit, there seemed to be more poverty on the US side, sad to say.
We saw glassy lakes, lazy rivers, towering mountains…some heavily treed with tall, full, Douglas fir, some
with large rock faces projecting out of the forest, reaching for the sun, and some with bold patches of terrain bare from clear cutting.
When we reached Hope we followed the highway north towards Ashcroft, through the Fraser Canyon. We were not the only ones who had chosen this route today. In fact, we met two couples at one stop and ended up seeing them again several times at pullouts. One couple was from Australia and the other from Vancouver, and they were traveling together. At one point, they accused us of stalking them. And interestingly, they too, were headed for Kamloops.
We stopped for lunch at Fort Yale, a place on the Fraser River where James Murray Yale struck gold and started a rush for the gold on this river many years ago.
I took a lot of photos of the Fraser River, which is the longest river in BC. You will see that it is an interesting creamy pea-green color. I have never seen a green river before and have no clue what makes it that color. My research has not enlightened me on that. In Lytton, there is a small river delta where the
Thompson River flows into the Fraser River. You must see the photos for an interesting phenomenon. The Thompson River runs clear and it merges with the Fraser River which is a cloudy green. It is my photo of the day.
As we approached Kamloops, the valley below us got very smoky and remained that way all the way in. Clearly there are more wild fires up in BC. We landed at our hotel around 4:30 and got settled in for the night. Tomorrow, we drive through Banff and on to Calgary.
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Kelli kernkamp
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Another adventure postponed until next year.
Good evening to my adventurous friends. And found you almost trying another adventuresome moment - almost buying some interesting items you never had before. Almost! Maybe next year. We have friends/neighbors in Solivita who live in Kelowna six months. Not sure if that is anywhere near you. Hope you have a good day tomorrow.