As usual I began singing Willie Nelson’s « On the Road Again....One more time we’re on the road again. ». Laura said she’d had that album when it came out and Gilbert barked excited to be part of a new adventure.
In Chilliwack we picked up the Adventurer Truck Camper. Each time loading was getting easier, especially with Laura watching while I carefully back the truck in place before lowering the jacks. « Stop! Stop!, ‘ she screamed as I backed up nearly knocking the camper over.
At Hope we picked up DQ hamburgers with cheese and a patty for Gilbert who doesn’t like the bun. It had begun as a stormy cloudy day with heavy rain in Abbotsford but by the time we reached Hope the skies were clearing. I love the drive up the canyon on #1. One summer we’d left the RV at the Boston Bar RV park coming up Friday night to enjoy several weekends there.
At Lytton we saw the goats again. A whole herd with babies on the side of the road.
« The goats were here a decade back when we came this way, » Laura exclaimed. « I wonder if it’s the same herd. » I loved the photos I took then and took more now. What a treat to see. Wildlife up close. The babies were precious.
I love the High Country. Vancouver by the sea is on a lowland plain but as you go up the canyon you eventually arrive in the most incredible high country with sage and tumble weed. Great rolly hills. Cattle and cowboy country. BC is world renowned for the great ranches of the area.
The sun was out. The heat was dry. One of our favourite stops is the rest area with the fenced off leash dog park, picnic tables and toilets. Gilbert loves all the smells and wandering about, big dog, off leash. He still bumps into things but he’s safe. He loves it. I think he has the memory of these places we’ve been so many times before.
I always feel the mould and fungus from the lowlands zapped dead with every breath I take. The joints felt better. The head felt clearer. Once in the high country the smog and city congestion seem a world away. You really can see for miles. Who music plays in my head.
At Cache Creek we stopped to supply at the Grubstake Market. A terrific country store with excellent food selection and lots of odd bits for campers and sportsman. We headed north on #97 highway.
I’d not booked a campsite. The BC Provincial Parks allow you to reserve them. They fill up early for long weekends. When I first looked I could have booked Big Bar or Green Lake but wasn’t ready to commit. I wanted to be off the clock and explore. We’d stayed at Gold Trail RV Park in Clinton before and could again.. Highway #97 continued on to 70 mile house and 100 mile house.
Laura and I have always said how much we loved Hundred Mile House each time we drove through. The even have a little hospital clinic. It’s named 100 mile house because it’s one hundred miles north from Lillouet on the Frazer River where BC’s gold rush trail began. Heading north from Clinton the rolling hills gave way to rich green forest, Douglas, Fir, Pine, Spruce, with marshland and little lakes were ducks gathered.
« We actually considered moving here, » she said . They had a little hospital clinic that looked so inviting. I’ve loved the Pawnbroker Exeter Sports store and Laura the pharmacy and town stores.
The little Hundred Mile Motel and RV park was full but the manager kindly directed us to nearby in town Campground on Horse Lake Road. It would have been perfect but an addict’s needle left on the picnic table. Coming from the downtown east side Vancouver where I work in an addiction methadone clinic seeing this here was saddening. There’s no getting away from the government mismanagement of an epidemic.
We were mostly stopping to sleep after a long drive. We love the camper. Jacks out, camper stable, We were set up. I took Gilbert for a walk at dusk. After dark we’d step outside and looking up enjoythe expanse of stars in the glorious sky. There was a trail around the town that began there. Gilbert and I walked down it a little before returning. We snacked on late night sandwiches before turning in for a great sleep..
The morning was perfect. . Laura loves having the Adventurer shower and bathroom. I just loved making stovetop expresso coffee and reading my western novel. I’d found this Johnny Black Classic Western series by Gary Church and was absorbed in escapism. That historical fiction revolves around the 1860
The Gold Rush Trail here began in the 1850’s.
We pulled up the jacks and saddled up in the Ford F-350 Lariat to continue East on the Horse Lake Road into the famed BC Interlake country between Litle Fort on the Thompson and 100 mile House. It’s all part of the Caribou Region and includes Canim Lake, Green Lake, Lone Butte, and Fawn Creek.
I’d been curious about Lone Butte a little settlement I’d checked out on Google Earth earlier in the week. It was a short drive. A gas station and country store with an amazing Lone Bute Sporting Goods Store, so well stocked for fishing, hunting camping. I’d later buy a sweet spin casting rod and reel there when I concluded my fly rod was the reason I wasn’t catching fish. We were on Horse Lake then and everyone was catching great trout but me so it had to be the equipment. On Facebook I was looking at pictures of Bill catching huge trout in the interior and Doug catching gargantuan salmon off English Bay.
Responding to my questions about camping, the lovely Asian ancestored lady in Lone Bute directed us to Bonanza Resort. It was only 8 km away in Paradise.
The Bonanza Resort had everything rustic, a row of little log cabins on the Horse Lake shore, docks for fishing boats, campgrounds and an RV park. There were shower and laundry facilities, wood for outdoor fires, and a little store. The people all were wonderful.
We were given the sweetest place on the shore before a great tree underneath which ducks liked to sit and preen themselves. I pulled in and jacked the camper level after hooking up to electricity and central water supply then running the sewage hose to the septic system. It was perfect.
No boom boxes. Lots of adults and children and dogs. Everyone so respectful. An older couple stayed nearby in an RV supervising this area while the office and campground had other folk available. It was an amazingly wonderfully run site with lots of Europeans by the mix of language we heard. We had a lovely young German couple beside us.
I got the KTM 690 MC off the truck and suited up to ride all over the back country exploring my new terrain. Laura sat at the picnic table with her buddy Gilbert who lay beside her fascinated by all the smells and sounds of ducks, dogs and children that came by.
I found a place where I could bow hunt the first day of the season and headed out at the break of dawn, well more like 8 am. I actually saw one doe running away a long ways ahead of me. Thanks to Deep Woods Off which I sprayed all over to ward of the pesky mosquitos I was able to have my nap with bow and rifle out in the woods undisturbed. No animals came by. So I killed some targets and rode back to join Laura and Gilbert.
Lawn Chairs, bacon sandwiches, Ethiopian expresso coffee and Johnny Black Classic Western. I felt exhausted with all the work and wasted the day away in the sun. I did cast a half dozen times with the fly rod but I’m impatient.
The other big task was to get the West Marine inflatable kayak out on the water. I’d picked up a pump and paddles at the great Canoe and Kayak Store in Abbotsford. I inflated the boat and now all I had to do was get out on the water.
Laura laughed watching me get into the kayak, not quite inflated enough, water running over the sides so I sat in a puddle. She got pictures of my graceful entrance with feet and legs in the air and me trying not to tip. I got the hang of it and actually paddled out on spectacular Horse Lake. The beauty of the area was unbelievable. One of our friends actually shared they’d once had a cottage there. Several others had been to Bonanza Resort and shared on Facebook what a great time they’d had.
We had a loon that called at dawn and dusk. We had great blue skies and fluffy white clouds. The weather was perfect. We watched a storm cross the lake one day, the skies going dark then the clouds moving along and clearing.
I loved my lawn chair and Kindle. I barbecued steak. We relaxed. It was over all too soon but heavenly while it lasted.
No terrorist attacks. No drug addicts screaming in the streets. No dead bodies showing up in the back woods. No daily traffic jams. No tv or radio though we could have had them if we’d wanted. We had wifi and cellular coverage.
We called this Glamping. Just peace and tranquillity. Here and there a dog barking. Old people young people. Camp fires. Children swimming in the lake. Lots of fishermen catching fish. Lots of lawn chairs. Apparently I wasn’t the only one doing nothing but enjoying there.
The place emptied a bit with the long weekend ending. Back to school for kids. We had Tuesday as a travel day and enjoyed the leisurely ride back to Vancouver. Definitely a long ride but the best of company. Gilbert sat in the back seat high up on the luggage and Laura beside me talked to him all the way home. She included him. When we stopped for A&W Momma Burgers and onion rings and fries he got his own burger which Laura broke up and hand fed him while I drove south.
The drive down the canyon through the various tunnels, Hell’s Gate, Sailor, Alexander was spectacular eye candy. I love this route never tiring of it. It’s so much more picturesque than the Coquahalla which of course is faster and straighter. We couldn’t stop at the fruit market we stopped at if we’d been on the Coquahalla. Leaving there we were munching on plums and BC apples. I had a fresh supply of honey and marmalade as well.
In Chilliwack we dropped off the Camper, one of the jacks needing to be done manually while the other 3 worked electrically from the remote. A minor problem to be solved another time.
The Langley bottle neck wasn’t even that severe given it was a weekday. We were home in record time and had the truck unloaded and gear stowed.
Laura stayed the night. Netflix snacks and couch. Some crazy folk were having lots of drama and acting badly on a spaceship. Then early to bed to work the next day.
What a fabulous time. BC is God’s Country. We loved Bonaza Resort, Horse Lake and the whole BC interlakes with the spectacular canyon drive. This country is truly glorious. We are so grateful.
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