We pulled the trailer out of summer storage and went to Chilliwack today. It is only an hour from home to the RV Park. But it feels like we are on the road. We chose this place because it is near a large RV sales and repair complex so we can buy any parts we need as we prepare for our trip. It is also near a large shopping complex to stock up on supplies. We will camp here for two nights and spend a full day getting ready.
I forgot to go through the pantry at home so I have a long grocery list. Most of the staples were left behind. We had a leisurely day going from store to store. Did you know Thursday is Senior’s day - 10% off at the LIQUOR Store???? Too bad it was Wednesday! It would have helped as we chose a few nice bottles of wine and a case of beer for sharing along the way.
We spent time at the RV shop just looking to see what was available – then had to go back when we realised what parts we really needed.
Back at the park we fixed and cleaned the trailer then stowed our purchases.
There were far too many mosquitos to step out of doors for long. I did manage to get some photographs of the beautifully scented flowers lining the drive along the river.
By nightfall the chores were done.
In the morning we were on the road, driving up the Fraser Canyon. We picnicked by the side of the road making lunch in the trailer. It was too cool to hang about outdoors. We drove out of the rain and cold into warm sunshine as we passed Lilloett. There was a construction zone of one way traffic that allowed us to take a pleasant break by a waterfall. All the creeks and rivers are very high this season. The Fraser is raging, covering most of the large rocks that are normally visible.
We turned off the highway north of Clinton heading 30 Km. along a gravel road to Big Bar Lake. It was a long, slow 30 Km. on mud road today. Towing a trailer made it a much different trip than the one we remembered camping with our children years ago! We reached our goal and it was beautiful. It was also cold, raining off and on and the mosquitos were as big as house flies. It was not a place to linger this week!
By the time we reached the highway again, the truck was mud to the roof and the trailer had a brown front end. We stopped at 70 Mile House – named after the old stage stops along the highway. The old general store caters to every need – food, hardware, miscellaneous gear and licences. Reza bought a fishing licence. She wants to do some fishing on our travels.
We traveled east from there to Green Lake where we stopped for lunch. The lake was a pale green in places! The day use site was empty. It was a lovely place but raining again. We had missed the turn up the west side of the lake so we back tracked until we found it. Once we were on the right road, we followed the lake back to Highway 24, our route to Deka Lake.
My brother-in-law, Joe, lives in Deka Lake one of the few “full-timers” in a small village of “summer people”. He was expecting us and gave us our usual warm welcome and a place to park the trailer. We made ourselves at home. Reza and I took over the kitchen. One night, a neighbour brought his special curry dinner while we provided the side dishes. We had good times exchanging stories around the dinner table!
Summers are lovely in the high altitude Cariboo-Chilcotin. Usually warm and dry. This year it has been wet and was still quite cool. We needed our down duvets at night and had the heat on. Joe had the fire burning in the house so it was always cosy. The walks are always lovely, views over the large lake or just endless empty roads lined with a variety of wildflowers. Today we picked deep purple lupin, brilliant red Indian Paint Brush, bright yellow daisies, White Oxeye daisy, and the trailing white flowers of vetch similar to garden peas. There was another small white flower like a trillium with an extra petal. We looked it up and found it was “Bunchberry”. It will have an edible red berry later in the summer. Wild strawberries and wild roses had yet to bloom.
I left everyone there and went on to Williams Lake by myself. A family member was going into hospital and I wanted to be there with her. Leroy and Reza stayed a little longer. Joe took them on a tour of the countryside where they did a little fishing and walked the “Stone Bridge”. Then it was just Joe and Dan enjoying the quiet days in the country.
All went well in Williams Lake and I returned just before the July 1st long weekend. That is when Deka Lake changes. People were now driving in at a steady rate. The roads were no longer empty and you had to be sure to look BOTH ways! This first holiday weekend of the season was spent clearing up yards and opening up the cottage. Lawnmowers made the background noise of the day. As we walked about we could see that many people had large groups of company enjoying a cool drink in the sunshine. Young people rode up and down on motor bikes and ATV’s. That did not seem to deter the deer from eating their way through the village. We saw two young buck nibbling the fresh greenery in an empty homestead.
July 1st we shared Canada Day dinner with a couple from up the road. We retired early and watched the fireworks from another neighbour’s display out the trailer window. Very low key but pleasant. Our friends in the south might say – very Canadian!
As the weekend ended the “summer people” started moving out. We joined the exodus. Saying good-bye to Joe, we headed east and south. Leaving the green grass and pine forests of the Cariboo high country, we passed through the sparse brown hills, sage and long needle pine of the Thompson Okanagan We kept heading east to Revelstoke, the beginning of the green hills and mixed forests of the Kootenay and Rocky Mountain area.
We had a nice lunch break at a rest stop east of Chase. I walked the path to a beautiful waterfall along a river the colour if clear iced tea. By 4:00 PM we were settled in the Revelstoke KOA. We are checking it out as a possible place to hold the next family reunion in three years. The BC branch of the Porter’s will be responsible for that one. That means us! We are gathering suggestions as we go and will see what suits the group before we begin our preparations.
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