Prince George to Hope
(Photos to follow)
Today was a no bear day. It was another day of serious driving. Since I’d done most of the driving yesterday, Debbie did all the driving today!
Before we set off, we noticed that the campsite had a pressure wash hose, so we gave the van a once-over, removing the worst of the dead insects and mud. It’s by no means clean, but at least the rental company will stand half a chance of telling whether we’ve damaged it or not.
South of Prince George, it’s pretty enough, but it’s understated in comparison to what we’ve seen. Also, this was repeated road for us.
In Quesnel, we stopped to buy coffee and donuts at Tim Horton’s. I am gradually converting Debbie into a coffee fiend. We got them “to go”, because there was driving to be done. In the car park, there was a van, with eccentric graffiti drawn into the dust on the back. “This Machine Kills Fascists” was written on Woody Guthrie’s guitar, I believe.
By now it was hot, and we were grateful for the van’s air conditioning.
We stopped at Lac la Hache Provincial Park for lunch. Families were cavorting in the lake. We had meat to use up, so I sliced up some steak that was probably too good to be treated in this way, fried it on the van’s gas hob, and we had steak sandwiches.
The scenery remained pleasant but undramatic, until we reached the Fraser Canyon. This was spectacular on the way up, and it was just as spectacular on the way back.
We intended to press on, but we couldn’t help but stop at Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park, where a ten minute walk through the woods, along old road surface, took us to the suspension bridge that used to carry cars over the Fraser River. Now the winding around the cables is rusting, but it’s fit for foot traffic, and it has a kind of faded glory — not to mention views down the churning Fraser river.
We had planned to stay the night at Harrison Hot Springs, but by the time we reached nearby Hope, somewhere we know our way around from the journey North, it was approaching eight o’clock. We reasoned that (a) it would be an unseemly rush to make use of hot springs before the closed, and eat too, and (b) it was too hot to be seeking out even hotter water.
So, we stopped at a lakeside campsite in Hope. I impressed myself by lighting a roaring fire with startling efficiency, and we cooked our last meat product - marinated lamb kebabs from the real Canadian Superstore. We reflected on the fact that we’d had essentially the same meal six nights out of seven for the last three weeks: meat cooked over a fire, salad and bread. Still, it’s been different meat, and nice.
Debbie has been packing things and sorting out rubbish, to facilitate an easier handover when we return the van tomorrow.