May 5, 2009 by Rae

Being Back on the Road

The Bad:

Being on the road this time around is different than it was in the early days of September 2008. I’m enjoying it a lot less this time, finding driving the rig to be exhausting. Oh, I still adore the portable lifestyle, as my friend Donna calls it, but I’m not so loving being 50′ long. While a lot of RVers regret buying too small, I am beginning to regret buying too big.

I’m caught in a sort of conundrum: my rig is perfect for me in terms of living space. The 31′ feet rear bedroom + dressing room layout is the difference between having an RV and having a home. But for driving, it is a pain, especially when I am towing. I grow weary of missing potentially interesting turnouts because it’s not clear if I’ll be able to pull out. I know from last September that hooking and unhooking several times in a day is unacceptable and that there is also the matter of getting caught in a place where you can’t unhook. I’m starting to dream of having a 24″ rig that wouldn’t require me to have a toad and, yet, I can’t imagine living comfortably in something that small. Perhaps the solution would be to ensure that I never go to a cold climate so that a small scooter would be a good toad for me.

Another thing that I am weary of is being The One Responsible. Even if someone cuts me off or otherwise does something that could cause me to cause an accident, I’m at fault because I choose to drive a huge vehicle. It doesn’t matter that the car drivers are not letting me get into the proper lane, forgetting that I need a large breaking distance, and ignoring my wide turning radius. I just don’t find this fair. Yes, I choose to drive a big vehicle, but they choose to be idiots!

The Good:

I’m on the Gold Rush Trail heading to the Yukon. In terms of milestones, I’m a third of the way there. My next big milestone will be Dawson Creek, mile 0 of the Alaska highway. I cannot even express the mess of emotion that I’m feeling right now, how I tear up every single time I realise just where I am and where I’m going. I was convinced that the North was lost to me, after dreaming of it for so long. I just couldn’t see myself making it there, not with the way my old life was going. I think I know why I can’t imagine the future beyond September: the Yukon was the last dream of my old life and when that dream died, no dreams replaced it. Oh, there are things I want to see and do, of course, but there was nothing that could replace the North. It was like with Scotland, had to go there to be free of it.

So far, this trip is exactly what I dreamt it would be–desolate, mountainous, isolated, and breathtakingly beautiful. If I am happy so far, in still relatively non-remote British Columbia, imagine how I will feel once I pass Dawson Creek!

It is good to be back to a schedule-free life, to not know where I will stop each night, to fill my days with wondrous sights, and to sleep in my own bed everywhere from a Walmart to the rim of a gorgeous chasm. Much as I might complain about some of the hassles of RVing, this is where truly belong, on the road, heading towards a dream.

May 5, 2009 by Rae

Lake McLeese to Just Shy of Prince George

Well, the one night at the Chasm wasn’t enough to catch up on so many weeks of poor sleep! I fell into bed at 9 last night and woke up at 8!!!

Checkout at McLeese Resort was a civilized noon, so I took my time. I dumped the tanks, topped up the fresh water, and actually spent a couple of hours reading before rolling out. With the way I felt yesterday afternoon, I had envisioned myself tearing out of there at first light, but it was almost 11 before I left.

This was one of those non-memorable days. I just drove about 150km with only three stops.

The first one was at the Walmart in Quesnel (Kweh-nell). This was my first time seeing a big box store since Chilliwack and it was like an oasis in the desert! I felt like a pioneer reaching an outpost with a fully stocked general store! I bought a new sewer hose and then moved two blocks down to a Canadian Tire, another welcome sight!, to get some clamps to effect the fresh water intake repair.

Getting out of Quesnel was very difficult as highway 97 was closed for some reason. I used a combination of Majel and following the crowds to get around the block.

Here is the view parked at the top of the big hill as you exit Quesnel:

view in Quesnel

Part of the route went over a narrow bridge where I scrapped one of Miranda’s side mirrors (it now has a nice yellow mark on it). If the adage of bad things happening in threes is true, I should be good until I get to the Yukon! 🙂

There is a string of RV parks on the south side of Prince George and I decided to try each one until I found internet compatible with my Mac. The first one worked out fine! I’m at the Bee Lazy RV Park (BEE because they do apiculture here). I had thought to stay a few days in the vicinity of Prince George, but this is one of the cheapest parks and it’s not cheap! Plus, you have to pay for internet! That said, the connection is so good (I can’t remember the last time I surfed so effortlessly) that I feel it’s worth it. I was just going to sail past Prince George and find lodging on the other side of town, but am glad I stopped before. A checking of my email revealed a tantalizing offer that could keep me here for a bit. I will say no more on the subject at this time. 🙂

One of the reasons I was eager to stop this afternoon was that I could feel a storm rolling in. I had just enough time to get settled in here when the sky opened up. This was the sky just after arrival:

storm rolling in

May 5, 2009 by Rae

The Chasm to Lake McLeese

This day was like the one from Thunder Bay, starting off great, with no warning of the disaster to come.

I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in about a month, so imagine my shock on Monday morning when I discovered I’d slept ten hours straight! The chasm turned out to be a great spot for a good night’s sleep, being pitch dark and blessedly quiet.

This was my first time ever waking up somewhere that did not require me to be out by a certain time, not counting Revelstoke that required me to leave because of my non-existent battery issues. I took my time, savouring the crisp, cold morning. I had fretted about how to get out of the site without unhooking, finding the turn to be very sharp for an RV, but the The Milepost, my bible for this journey, kindly informed me that Chasm Road loops back to the 97 highway.

I stopped just 30km from the Chasm to climb up to Begbie Summit, where there is a fire watch station. This was a 10 minute hike that told me that I really need to do more of these if I want to be ready for the Chilkoot. 🙂

My next stop was for lunch at the 108 Mile Ranch site. I’d topped up the groceries at the Save-On-Foods at 100 Mile House, so I had a very nice picnic.

My water levels were getting low, my tanks were getting full, my house battery was ready for a bit of juice, and I had a mountain of laundry to do. So, I decided that a night on full hookups was in order.

Using the Milepost, I determined that the McLeese Lake Resort, between Williams Lake and Quesnel, would be a good place to stop as it boasted full hook-up sites, easy RV access, and wi-fi.

Williams Lake

Williams Lake

Well…

This was a beautiful resort, but really not made for RVs over the size of a class B. I took a turn too sharply to get into my site and clipped the post holding the water outlet, then drove straight over it with the toad. Miranda has a nice scrape down the side of the battery compartment door and one of its closures is dented.

Damage at the site looked really bad and the owners thought they would need to call in for a backhoe to get to the underground leak. I was told that I was looking at a 500$+ repair bill. They were very nice about the whole thing, but I was beyond mortified and freaking out. My trip was over if the bill came to fruition; I’d have to dash straight to Whitehorse to get work.

Several hours passed as I did laundry, puttered around the house, and otherwise tried to keep myself occupied as I waited for the final verdict.

Finally, the groundskeeper came around to announced that he got to the leak with just a couple of spadefuls. As it turned out, the water hose was just that, a flexible hose, not a pipe, and all I’d done was rip a connection apart. It was a two minute repair. As for the post, it seemed pretty rotten and did not factor into the equation when they came up with a bill for me–50$ for the inconvenience and labour. Fair enough. *relieved*

The people at the resort were just so nice about the whole thing. I paid them in cash last night, but still went into the office this morning to make sure that everything was okay. The manager took me around the outside of the office and showed me where someone had just about taken the roof off the porch with their rig! I could tell that she was trying to make me feel better and it worked somewhat. She told me I’m welcome back anytime, but I’m not going back there!

The resort is absolutely gorgeous. I had a nice spot by the water, something that enchanted the kitties. But the ‘pull through’ site was barely so and their wi-fi is WEP encrypted so I couldn’t get on. So, while my night there wasn’t a complete and utter disaster, it won’t bring back pleasant memories. 🙂

Tabitha being absolutely enchanted by the waves on the lake. Love her perch!

The picture of food cooking is a secret message to my former boss. Thanks for the bag, it was delish!

May 5, 2009 by Rae

Sidebar: The Mighty Fraser

In English, there is no word for a great river that flows to the ocean. The French call them ‘fleuves.’ Two of the most famous such rivers in Canada are the Saint-Lawrence, on the east coast, and the Fraser, on the west coast.

I grew up along the Saint Lawrence, have traveled it in its entirety. It has lost its mythical qualities through familiarity, but, for some reason, I think the Fraser will always possess that magical quality that stokes the imagination.

Four months I spent commuting across the mighty Fraser, competing with other Lower Mainlanders for one of its few crossing points. My bridge of choice was the Alex Fraser, named for a former BC Minister of Transport. The Fraser itself is named for the famed Canadian explorer, Simon Fraser. I think they just like to confuse the tourists.

In the Greater Vancouver Region, the Fraser is muddy and smelly, but as you go inland and climb north, it becomes fresher, wilder, more like the river I imagine Simon Fraser discovered.

That is, until you reach Hell’s Gate, the narrowest point across the river, which Fraser claimed was not unlike the gates of hell.

Today, Hell’s gate is a tourist trap, with an airtram that crosses the river to a souvenir shop on the other side. It is possible to hike down and cross the river on a bridge and then return on the tram at a reduced price. I intended to hike down and back, having sworn to never ride on an airtram again, but May 3rd was ‘customer appreciation day’ and the tram was free! The ride down and then back up wasn’t as bad as that on Sulphur Mountain, but almost. 🙂

It is difficult to imagine what the river would have looked like in Fraser’s day, there having been so much construction since then. The building of a tunnel rendered the whole area unstable and half the mountain came down into the river, destroying a salmon run. Today, most of the debris has been removed, but for the salmon to return, manmade barriers that slow down the water had to be constructed. The views are still spectacular, but no longer wild, and I hope Simon Fraser would be appalled by this.

The first few pictures are of my commute to work, include some shots of the Skytrain bridge. These photos are my vision of the future, with environmentally sound monorails zipping about. Earlier in the gallery, there is a shot of Columbia Street in New Westminister in which you can see the concrete structures on which the Skytrains run.

The last pictures are of Hell’s Gate. The final picture in the set is of Miranda off in the distance, included because all I could think as I walked towards her was “Hey, I can see my house from here!” The simplest things amuse me. 🙂

May 5, 2009 by Rae

Chilliwack to the Chasm

The Gold Rush Trail!

My discovery of the day is that I can use the coffee grinder on the inverter with my new house battery!!!!!!!!!!

I left Chilliwack fairly early, before nine and eagerly pushed on past sort-of-familiar territory back to Hope where I finally began to head north! Of course, Transport Canada removes some of the thrill by labeling the highway direction as east.

This stretch of road is called the Gold Rush Trail. I cannot begin to describe the wave of emotion I felt when I saw the first sign welcoming adventurers heading north. I am certain that had I been born a century and a half ago, I would have been the same non-conformist heading north with her 1,000 lbs of personal goods.

I drove steadily, stopping occasionally to stretch my legs and take in the view.

My longest break was at Hell’s Gate, after which I actually started to look for a place to stop for the day even though it wasn’t even eleven yet! I’d mapped out a couple of possibilities, but they were difficult to get into, so I pushed on, stopping just shy of one at a rest area to have lunch.

The scenery was breathtaking and as desert-like as I’d been warned. There were moments I could have sworn I was somewhere in the Mojave desert en route to Las Vegas!

Drama at Cache Creek

I stopped for gas in Cache Creek, which was much smaller than expected. On the way out of the service station, I clipped a guy’s mirror with the toad’s mirror. It apparently made quite a bang, but I heard nothing, just saw a a crazy looking livid man running after me yelling “YOU HIT MY CAR!” He was beyond reasoning with even though, after inspecting his car, it was obvious that the only damage was a tiny chip of paint lost on the mirror casing, The chip could only be felt, not seen, so, really, talk about over reacting! I had no damage.

Thankfully, his wife was able to diffuse the situation by seeing the damage done, not the damage that could have been done. I offered them a 100 bucks for their trouble, but she could see that there was barely a scratch on the car, nothing worth her husband’s undue fussing and she said that all was well. I still felt horrible, of course, but, really, that guy seriously over reacted!

Why Do I Trust Majel?!

Just after that, I followed Majel’s directions to get to Chasm Provincial Park. Must. Stop. Doing. That. I drove I don’t know how far out of my way before I saw a turn around point then… I pushed on. The area was so pretty I hoped to find a turn off where I could spend the night, but the road was too narrow. At the next turn around point I came to my senses and doubled back to the 97, wasting I don’t know how much gas.

I saw a sign for another provincial park that was open and had room for RVs, but missed the turnoff. Signage is really, really poor and I wish I had a co-pilot. Sometime later, I saw the turn off for the Chasm lookout point and here I am. There is no sign saying no parking, so I’m staying. I am beyond beat; the Cache Creek thing ruined my mood. 🙁

Chasm Provincial Park

The chasm lookout is barely a turnout, just a strip of muddy road and not a particularly level place to stop. I picked the best spot and staked my claim. It’s very isolated out here and it feels so nice to be by myself.

The chasm is breathtaking, one of those gems you have to find on your own. It is at least as gorgeous as the Grand Canyon! It’s the most awesome backyard I have ever had and my most successful boondocking experience yet!

I arrived here around 4 and had a pleasant, homey evening that concluded with my watching a movie on the new laptop. Love the new laptop!!!