Rainy Days and Tuesdays

May 30, 2016.

We left Clearwater BC on Friday morning and drove north on Hwy 5 in light rain. Almost every vehicle we saw (both directions) was an RV, most of them rentals. When we reached the junction of Hwy 5 with 16, the Yellowhead Hwy, all of the traffic turned east, toward the Canadian Rockies, and we had the road westward to Prince George to ourselves. Despite the drizzle, it was a lovely drive along the Thompson River with occasional glimpses of the Rockies. At Valmont we filled up our spare gas can for the first time as it is a long haul between gas stations. We saw our first bear between McBride and Prince George.

We stayed two nights in St. George at a so-so campground. It rained most of the time but we got our laundry done and went to WalMart and Costco. We met a couple from the RVillage North to Alaska group, John and Rocki. They are from Pensacola and recently retired from the military.

It was still raining on Sunday morning but we decided to push on in search of better weather. Continuing west on Hwy 16, we saw vast improvement within an hour. This is such a beautiful road; it has lakes and rivers and mountain ranges and it just gets better the further west we go. We stopped that night at Fort Telkwa RV Campground. It is on a little bluff overlooking the Bulkley River with the Hudson Bay Mountains in the distance. The sites are basic (although we have a lovely aspen tree and a briar rose bush) but the views are to die for! 

Monday was a super day. First we went up to Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park to walk up to the fossil beds. The ride out there and back was gorgeous and the walk was neat. They ask you not to remove any of the rocks but we had fun shifting through the piles of shale looking for fossils. There have been some very significant finds from this site, including a fossilized prehistoric bird complete with feathers. We did find some worm casings and tiny plants.

The Telkwa – Smithers area is known for its world famous steel head fishing. The season hasn’t started yet but there are all kinds of outdoor activities going on. Smithers is a real G & B (Granola & Birkenstock) kind of town and we enjoyed our lunch at the Two Sisters Café and our stroll through the village. Afterwards we drove out to Twin Falls Provincial Park and hiked up to the overlook to the Falls. The variety of wildflowers was just amazing. We liked the Falls up we loved the flowers.

On the way back we stopped at Lake Kathlyn for some local color. We chatted with a young lady who is an Olympic sprinting kayaker. She was at Lake Lanier in 1996. Also watched a First Citizen toddler enjoy his first (nude) plunge in the lake. His laughter was absolutely delightful. A group of young folks spread out on the grass to make music and let us enjoy their totally amazing little dog. A toy Poodle-Boston Terrier mix, he had so much personality he should be a politician. I really wanted that dog!

It rained again today and there is rain in the forecast until Saturday. We decided to drive on to Prince Rupert, set up, and wait for the ferry. PR is a good sized town and has indoor activities we can pursue. The drive was marvelous even in the rain. Most of the time we were beside rivers; either the Bulkley or the Skeena, or one of their tributaries with towering mountain ranges on both sides. As we neared Prince Rupert we began to traverse deep canyons with waterfalls streaking down the walls. Stunning!

Our campsite at Telkwa

Twin Falls

Kayaker on the Lake

Fi

Concert on the Green

My new best friend

The Church of What's Happening.

It rains a lot in this part of the country so there is no point in getting bent out of shape. One of the advantages to a leisurely trip like ours is that we have time to wait out the weather. The advantage to an RV is you can be warm and dry while you do it.

Slip Sliding Away

"Romance often begins by a splashing waterfall and ends over a leaky sink" (Ellen DeGeneres)

Dawson Falls    Wells Gray BC

Helmcken Falls  Well Gray, BC

Spahats Falls :  Wells Grey PP, BC

Our drive through Oregon and Washington was uneventful and we made the border crossing at Osyoos in five minutes. We then spent over eight hours driving 300 miles to Clearwater BC. The entire route is through a succession of towns spread along a chain of huge lakes. It is a major resort area and also has lots of vineyards, orchards, wineries, & etc. It reminds me of US 98 in Florida from Tarpon Springs to Crystal River; just one traffic light after another. Slow going.

We wanted to make it to Clearwater so that we could make a return visit to Wells Grey Provincial Park, one of our favorite places.  In the US this would be a national park as it contains over 3,000 sq miles and has many, many attractions including fabulous waterfalls. Geologically, this area of BC is mostly basalt and some of the falls are “plunge” falls. Here is the description of my personal favorite Spahats Falls;
 “Spahats Creek emerges from a narrow slot in the headwall and plunges 280 feet into the huge amphitheatre of sheer basalt walls over 328 feet high.

 Helmcken Falls is really more spectacular (463 foot drop), but I like Spahats.

If it is still raining in the morning we will continue on toward Prince George.

Still Goin' Still Flowin'

5/23/16

Since we left the tedium of the interstate I am constantly amazed with the variety and diversity of terrain that we see in the course of just a few hundred miles of driving.  We are on US 97,  a major north-south highway that begins in Weed, CA travels through Oregon and Washington and ends at the Canada-US border at Osoyoos, British Columbia.  The Cascade Range is always to the west of it and we frequently catch views of the really big mountains like Shasta, St. Helens, Hood, and Baker. Today we drove beside the Columbia River for miles and miles. We went from almost barren volcanic hills to the huge, deep Yakima Valley with its thousands of fruit orchards.

We loved both Lassen Volcanic and Lava Beds National Parks but were forced back to the lowlands by threats of snow. We settled in at Collier Memorial State Park near Chiloquin, OR for three nights to give the weather a chance to clear. On the second day we drove up to Crater Lake NP. It started snowing on the way up but the road was good so we continued. It was lovely of course and we enjoyed it but it was sooooooo cold!

We left Chiloquin on Sunday and continued on US 97 to Bend. We needed to spend some time at a Verizon store before crossing into Canada. Unfortunately life does go on even when traveling and we needed more data to keep up with business. We will see how that works out! Last night we stayed in a sweet little Washington state park, Brooks Memorial. I’m not sure what it memorializes or why it is there, but it was a good place to rest. Our neighbors were two couples in VW pop-up campers. They reminded us of the old days of camping with the Farmers.

Tonight we are at a nice park in Omak, WA. This campground has three names (?) which made us think there were three campgrounds in Omak. Nope, they are all the same. Carl Precht Memorial, City of Omak, and Stampede Park, same place. We had a little sadness here; a young mother with two pre-school age boys camping out of her car. After talking with her I was reassured that she is not homeless or completely without support, just in a bad spot right now. We have done what we can to help. She is a sweet young woman with cute children, I hope she makes it.

Tomorrow we are off to Oroville to get the oil changed in the truck. If all goes well we may cross into BC in the afternoon.

Crater Lake in the snow

Ponderosa

 

Wild Iris along the Columbia River

I am not at all sure about internet access as we travel across British Columbia but will do my best.

"Off We Go Into the Wld Blue Yonder" (Air Force Song)

We left Sparks/Reno on Tuesday and began Phase II of our adventure. We very much enjoyed our stay at the super glamorous Sparks Marina RV Resort. It is the absolute epitome of “glamping” and is fun for a few days but not really our style.  We visited with my special cousins, Bill & Alice Tyner, and with Botch’s new-found cousin, Rissa Stackhouse and her husband, Stephen, who came over from Sacramento to spend the day. We did lots of errands too; got the laundry done, my hair cut, parts for the RV, & etc. A busy four days.

After only a few miles on I-80 we switched to US 395 to travel north to Susanville, CA. When we passed this way in 2013 Lassen Volcanic National Park was still closed and we hoped to see it this time. The road from Susanville to the Park was gorgeous with snow covered peaks all around.  Off in the distance we could see the Cascades Range. Arriving at Lassen we learned that the park road from the south entrance is still closed. The Visitor’s Center was open and they let visitors walk up the park road and will let RV’s dry camp in the parking lot. 

Butch and I walked about four miles round trip up to one of the thermal areas where we could see mud pots and fumaroles. There was lots of snow and the views were spectacular. This is an amazing NP and not one that you hear much about. Until Mt. St. Helens blew n 1980, Lassen was the only active volcano in the lower 48 states. It erupted periodically from 1916 until 1921 but has been quiet since then.

 Since the Visitor Center parking lot is at 7,000 ft and there was still snow on the ground, we opted for a private CG near the north entrance. This involved a nearly 100 mile jaunt on county roads to the community of Shingletown. The last 26 miles were on a one lane road that climbed to 500 feet much akin to our Joe Brown Highway in Cherokee County. The sign plainly said “Narrow, twisting road. Not suitable for large trucks”, but the young man at the country store in Manton assured us that we would be ok and we were. Picture Joe Brown Hwy lined with huge sequoias, a multitude of wildflowers and a variety of rhododendrons and you have Wilson Creek Rd. 

Tuesday morning we explored the north entrance to Lassen NP, driving in about 10 miles. We walked. along Marizanita Lake and got some great photos of the volcano.  Since we were headed north, one of the rangers suggested we drive the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway and gave us a map.  The distance from Lassen to Lava Beds National Monument is not significant except when the road is still closed by snow. Again, we set off again to do a circumnavigation but the drive was beautiful. We almost circled Mt. Shasta and traveled through a series of National Forests and National Wildlife Refuges and arrived at Lava Beds by late afternoon.

If we thought Lassen was good, Lava Beds is fabulous! Who would have thought it? The area is the result of a long history (500,000 years) of “gentle” eruptions from Medicine Lake Volcano. Instead of blowing from a single cone, it has 520 surface vents which have produced 30 separate lava flows. These, in turn, have produced over 700 lava tube caves found in the park. When the hot lava drained out, it left a pipe-like cave. About 25 of these caves are open to visitors. They are all different and beautiful in their own way.  The park also has craters, natural bridges, historic sites, petroglyphs, and stunning vistas.

We found a great campsite and had a nice evening watching the moon rise and visiting with the neighbors. We were up early this morning to see as much as possible of the Park since it is supposed to snow tonight. Believe it or not, I actually went into four caves! And is was SO worth it. Golden Dome was the most beautiful and Catacombs the most awesome. Butch and I were completely alone in these mystical places. Afterwards we drove over to Petroglyph Point to see the glyphs on the wall. 

Tonight we are camped at Collier State Park near Crater Lake. We camped here in 2009 with the Phillips and it is a lovely spot. If it doesn't snow tonight, we will try to go to Crater Lake tomorrow.

 

Inside Golden Dome Cave (We threw light on the ceiling from our flashlights)

Owls at Petroglyph Point

Our rig with Lassen Volcano in the background.

Butch inside a cave at Lava Beds NM

Butch at Lassen Volcano NP