Tuesday, August 8 to Friday, August 18, 2017 (Tunkwa Provincial Park to Coquitlam to North Saanich...and back)

The summer is quickly slipping by! This week we made another trip down to the coast...yes, another truck appointment. We weren't needed here at the park, so we tacked on a few extra days and also went over to Vancouver Island for a quick visit.

Tuesday (8th), we worked a couple of hours covering for Doug and Sue who had gone to Kamloops. Steve was out by 6:30 to record the road counters and check the campgrounds for new overnight arrivals. He took this picture from the spit of the sun, barely visible through the thick smoke that continues to shroud the area...

Then it was time to pack our suitcases...we were on the road by 12:20, heading south. It was smoky all of the way down. The town of Merritt below...

Dry Gulch...

It was also very smoky at the coast, the mountains have disappeared. It was quite a shock when we got out of the truck...very hot and humid.

We arrived at Chris and Angela's around 4:30 and once we unloaded the truck, we relaxed with her on the deck until Chris got home from work...and then it was dinner time...

Wednesday (9th) morning Angela drove Chris to work and Steve headed off to drop the truck off at Bernhausen Diesel...so I had a relaxing start and then headed off (in Chris's car) to pick Steve up at 10:00. In order to get our truck in front of those white doors they had to do a truck shuffle. A couple of the trucks didn't run so they moved them with a forklift.

We ran some errands, had lunch out at Montana's BBQ and Bar and were at the movie theatre in time to see the 1:35 matinee of Dunkirk. We rarely go to movie theatres...can't remember the last time, it's been that long! So we decided to splurge and get the special seats..."D-Box Motion System"...This technology uses motion effects specifically programmed for each visual content. The resulting motion is perfectly synchronized with the on-screen action, thus creating an unparalleled realistic immersive experience. And what an experience it was, you don't get a sore bum from sitting so long! We both thought the movie was good but really didn't live up to expectations after all the hype about it.

After the movie, we went back to Bernhausen. They found no evidence of a soot trail around the engine to indicate a leak, however when they removed the shroud around the exhaust brake actuator it was very sooty. Geez, that was replaced a year ago last May (for free and a long story) and is no longer under warranty. Soooo...there goes another $1800 and no guaranty this has anything to do with the squealing but definitely needed to be replaced. They had to source a new one for installation the next day.

Thursday (10th) we pretty well chilled with Angela most of the day...but we did get out for a good long walk in their neighbourhood. That felt good! At about 2:00 we decided to head towards Bernhausen...we hadn't heard from them yet but they had said it would be ready by the end of the day. With any luck, maybe it would be ready sooner. We borrowed Angela's car and headed out to Langley...thanks for use of your car, Angela! But first we made a stop at Best Buy. Steve has wanted a Go Pro camera for years for ATVing, so he got his birthday present early... the Hero 5 Black. The strange thing is that we had been looking at them the day before and no one working in either Best Buy stores (we went to two) mentioned anything about an on-line special where you get a 14-piece accessory kit free...an $81 value. Deciding to do a little more research, Steve had decided to hold off buying it and went on-line and found the special.  Lesson learned...always check websites for specials!

As it turned out, when we got to Bernhausen, they just had to do a test drive and it would be ready. So I headed back into Coquitlam to pack our suitcases...we figured we should be able to catch the 6 pm ferry sailing over to Vancouver Island. Steve was back shortly after 4:00 and after loading the truck, we were off. After battling traffic to get over the Pattullo Bridge, we made it out to Tsawwassen, and the Park N Go, where we park the truck and catch the shuttle to the ferry. However as we pulled up to the wicket to get our ticket the young fellow said...We are not accepting motor homes or trailers during the summer. Almost loosing it Steve said...what...we've been parking here for years, and we're not a motor home or a trailer! What about all those tractors parked here? Oh...your a tractor, never seen one like this before. We got our ticket and arrived in plenty of time for the 6pm sailing. Geez!

This is one of the newest small ferries for the Gulf Islands just put into service. Built in Poland and sailed here instead of using one of our very capable local shipyards!

Rob picked us up and after a quick stop in Sidney, we were at their place...greeted by these two little cuties, who had been allowed to stay up late to visit with Gramma and Grampa...

Friday morning Angie was up early and had coffee and a visit with us before it was time to get ready for work...and the kids up and ready to go to playschool. It was Grampa's turn to have Conner and Bryce on his lap...

Our good friends, Nancy and Rob, came over, picked us up and we went into Sidney for coffee. Nancy just happened to making a trip to Costco that afternoon and asked if I wanted to join her....Absolutely! We dropped Steve off back at home...and after dropping Rob off, we were on our own to enjoy a little girl time. Thanks, Nancy...I really enjoyed our afternoon together!

While I was gone, Steve went out for a hike on the trails in our old neighbourhood...and around the property, taking pictures of our dream home we built 27 years ago. So nice Rob and Angie were finally able to buy it and keep it in the family...

It was after 5:30 when Rob arrived home after work, picking the boys up on his way. He's been working overtime for the past few days...4 am to 4 pm, which means he has to get up by 2:30 and leave the house just after 3 am! Hopefully it doesn't carry on too long!

As soon as the kids got out of the truck, they had to show us the zip-line and rope swing dad had set up in the yard for them...pretty cool....

Brycie...

Saturday morning, with Rob still working his long OT shift, Angie and the boys were meeting a friend and her kids at a beach in Sidney for some playtime. She dropped me off for my hair appointment on her way.

While we were gone, Steve got out for another hike in the neighbourhood. This time he hiked up the hill to a spot with great views across to the main island (we are on the Saanich Peninsula). This is a spot we have walked to many times over the years...unfortunately, the vegetation is really starting to crowd out some of the view. It's even been smokey here too...

Steve's sister, Nadine and her husband, Mike, had just arrived when I texted to say I was finished and needed to be picked up. Steve came back into town, picked me up and soon we were all sitting out on the deck visiting...

Sunday we met Rob and Nancy for breakfast at 9:00...so wonderful being able to see them twice during our short visit.

It worked out well because when we got home, Angie was almost ready to head off with the boys to a kids beach festival in Victoria. We quickly finished packing our suitcases so she could drop us off at the ferry on her way into the city.

We caught the noon ferry...when we reached Active Pass, Steve went out on deck to take pictures...

About to exit Active Pass and Vancouver is on the horizon...

It was perfecting catching the noon ferry because that got us back to the mainland just before 2:00, giving us time to make a couple of stops for some shopping on the way to Chris and Angela's...better than having to do it in the morning before we head back to Tunkwa.

Chris and Angela wouldn't be home until about 8:30 tonight, so once we unpacked our stuff from the truck, we relaxed on their sundeck...making ourselves at home and barbecuing burgers for dinner. Once they got home, we managed to have a bit of a visit before bedtime.

Monday morning, we said goodbye to Chris as he headed off to work and then got ourselves ready. Once the truck was all loaded up, we gave Angela big hugs and then hit the road. Thanks again, for all of your hospitality...seems like we have seen you a lot this summer (bonus!)

We had an uneventful trip back up to the lake with no squealing this time. Steve swears though he can hear a very faint sound, but the real test will be once we start towing. Once we hit the Coquihalla Summit, we could see thick smoke in the distance...oh geez, are we back into that again?!

We stopped in Merritt at Boston Pizza for lunch. A fellow towing a flatbed with a helicopter was parked in the lot...which meant we had to park down the street in the Walmart parking lot; not enough room for two big rigs in the BP lot!

Yes, the smoke has definitely returned to this area. It had rained a bit last Saturday night on both the island and coast clearing the air...it had been so refreshing! Oh well...back to smoke...

Arriving at the town of Logan Lake...

Tuesday morning Steve and I worked for a bit while Doug and Sue made their weekly trip into Kamloops. Steve cleaned the outhouses and picked up garbage over at Leighton and North Leighton campgrounds while I did Tunkwa. He only had 8 outhouses over there, and I have 16 here, so he helped over here once he was done at Leighton.

Once we were done that, he went fishing, and lost a couple. I showered and puttered around here, playing with Tucker, and then went out again registering/collecting from the campers.

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty laid back days as we puttered around here just doing "stuff". It's amazing how quickly the day can slip by doing "a little of this" and "a little of that"! Steve helped Brian (volunteer) take a load of garbage to the dump and then went fishing again. Got skunked this time...

I did some budget/banking stuff, a little laundry and some baking...and somewhere in there Steve and I even washed the outside and inside trailer windows!

We also took Tucker for a walk down to that point...

I made him sit and wait for us to catch up...he's just dying to get into the water!

Friday morning Steve and I did a round of cleaning outhouses together. After that, Steve helped Doug on a project...insulating the pump house. We're up over 4000' here so it's not unusual to have frozen waterlines in the morning, even in summer.

While they were doing that, Sue and I went into Logan Lake...she had to go to the bank and I tagged along to pick up a few groceries.

After lunch, Steve helped Doug a bit more and then came in for a shower. He ended up relaxing in his chair reading for the rest of the afternoon. My time was spent working on this blog...and there you have it! We're up-to-date again. We're both really getting "hitch-itch"...looking forward to hitting the road south again...and not just down to the coast! We leave here September 8 for four weeks in Fort Langley before we start our trek further south into the USA on October 6.

Thursday to Monday, August 3 to 7, 2017 (Tunkwa Provincial Park, Logan Lake, BC)

For the most part, Thursday and Friday were spent hunkered down inside with the AC running. Smoke from the wildfires continues to be an issue here and throughout much of the province, mainly from the west central section right down to the coast and into the northwest US.
The sunrise Thursday morning...

Most of these two days was spent puttering around doing odds and ends inside, reading and watching TV.
Steve donned a mask to go outside to do some recycling and a few chores...







Very thick smoke...

Friday at noon a ban on off road vehicles came into affect. Not good for the riders already here. The long weekend was a bust, camper-wise here at the park. I guess the thick smoke is keeping campers home. Consequently, we weren't needed...hard to justify paying us to work with so few campers.

So Saturday, going stir-crazy from being stuck inside for two days, we decided to take a drive to Ashcroft...a little sightseeing trip. The smoke was a little lighter as we climbed to a higher altitude near the Highland Valley Copper Mine site ...

There are signs warning drivers to watch for wild horses...we missed getting a picture of some horses on the side of the road...but stay tuned, we captured a shot on our way back.

Highland Valley Copper is about 17 kms west of Logan Lake on highway 97D...we passed it on our way. We stopped at a viewpoint on the way back, so we'll have more pictures and descriptions further on.
This is the huge tailing pond that's approximately 10 kilometres long...






                                                                                                                                                                       
 (Click on any photo to enlarge)

Down we go into Ashcroft...11% grade for 6 km. Okay, so if you recall after our last truck repair we had a couple of squeals on the first two downhill grades once we left the Vancouver area, but none since. So Steve was certain it would squeal here and it didn't. Geez...things don't fix themselves! We want it to squeal so there is a soot trail for the mechanics to identify the area of the leak when we return to Bernhausen Diesel on the 9th.

There are many runaway lanes...

 Smoke is much thicker now as we near the town of Ashcroft on the Thompson River...

The hillside on the opposite side of the river is blackened from the wildfire. Ashcroft is where BC's largest wildfire began several weeks ago and has grown to over 10,000 hectares/39 square miles, and is only 30% contained...

 We turned off the highway to explore the Village of Ashcroft...

After a drive along the main street, we pulled over to take a walk in Heritage Place Park. This is a display about the Highland Valley Copper operation...representing their connection to the mining industry. The large haul truck was donated by the company...

Heritage Place Park is located on Railway Avenue and is designed to provide visitors with a “walk through time” to explore Ashcroft’s history. This picturesque park features many gardens and pathways that wind between the array of displays. These displays vary from historical markers and plaques with tidbits of history, to an authentic soddy house, an operating waterwheel and a refurbished railway caboose. 

The gazebo is home to a number of events throughout the year including musicians that entertain during the summer, the Can Can girls during Stampede weekend and a number of weddings.

In addition there is an area that honours our Japanese Sister City, Bifuka, Japan, that features a mural painted by renowned Bifuka artist, Mr. Kazuhiko Nagaki.

Steve wandered across the road to check out this building, thinking it might be the museum...nope, a private home but it does have historical site designation...

Next door is an automotive shop, complete with some vintage vehicles...

Back to the park...a refurbished railway caboose...

After a lovely walk through the park, we went to find the museum.
Located downtown at the corner of 4th and Brink Streets this brick buildings boasts one of the best museums in the BC interior. Open from mid-April until the end of October, visitors can learn about the history of the area, the people who settled here and our Chinese and First Nation backgrounds. Admission is by donation.

The building was built in 1917 and was used as the Federal Post Office up until 1980. The Village of Ashcroft acquired the building and after completely remodeling the interior the Ashcroft Museum was officially opened in 1982.
The main floor contains exhibits that portray the history of the Southern Cariboo from the original First Nations to the men and women who later settled here. Replicas of early stores have been created and visitors are offered a taste of what it was like to stroll down the street in the early 1900’s. A colourful combination of artifacts, text and photographs vividly illustrates life as it was in the early “glory days”.

Switchboard...

Chinese laundry tub left...

Soda fountain bar...

On the second floor the history of farming and ranching in the Hat Creek Valley has been recreated by following the stories of several of the area’s pioneer families.

Thought this was interesting because in 2013 our first stop on our way to Alaska was at the Historic Hat Creek Ranch and always wondered how the area got it's name. Did somebody lose their hat in the creek? Nope!

One of the first cars in the area...

I have no idea how long it took us to wander both floors, but we concluded that it was a very well done museum...and we were the only ones there. If you're ever in the area (and like museums), we'd highly recommend it.

On our way back to the truck Steve took a few more pictures. The Opera House...

Another Heritage Site...

This place reminds us of the architecture in Arizona...

Next on the agenda was a visit to Desert Hills Ranch. We crossed the Thompson River...

Truly one of Ashcroft's finest gems. Desert Hills Ranch is a family operation that produces a wide variety of crops and you can purchase them directly from the ranch. In the spring their greenhouses provide not only local residents with bedding plants, vegetables plants and flower baskets, but they supply large outlets as well. Then as the season progresses, take a daily trip down to the "wagon" and pick up your fruits and vegetables that were picked that morning. With more and more concern for the environment and for eating fresh foods produced locally, nothing beats Desert Hills.

We weren't in the need of any fresh produce but wandered through the market and ended up getting a watermelon and some corn-on-the-cob, along with a few tomatoes (65 cent/pound...wow!) for Hugh.

After that, we wandered around checking out the other sights...

The goat pen...

They weren't at all afraid, coming over to say hi...

Vintage tractors...

Steve kept coaxing the goats to climb and eventually one of them obliged!

Once finished there, we decided to drive a further 10 kms north to see Cache Creek and check out the fire damage. Quite the color contrast with the green crop field, brown grassland and burn't hillside. This is Elephant Hill for which the fire has been named...

Here the fire had jumped the road...

Ashcroft and Cache Creek were both evacuated when the fires began. Just north of Cache Creek the highway is still closed...

A trailer park in Boston Flats was lost to the fire. This trailer park looks like it was almost doomed too. The foreground is burn't and the distant hillside is red from water bomber fire retardant...

The distant trees at the other end of the trailer park are burn't. It must have been terrifying!

A couple of firetrucks and fire fighters on standby or taking a break next to the Bistro...

We turned around and retraced our way back towards Ashcroft...

More red fire retardant...

Wow, how incredible is this? The whole hillside has burned, leaving the house untouched at the base of Elephant Hill...

Back over the Thompson River as we enter Ashcroft...

The old fire hall...

The smoke is really thick down in the river valley.

Side note: Believe it or not a bonehead evacuee in the Williams Lake area that was allowed to return home decided to celebrate with fireworks and was thankfully caught by the RCMP!

The wild (feral) horses we passed on the way to Ashcroft were still there...

We stopped at the Highland Valley Copper Mine viewpoint. That hillside is all tailings...

Canada's largest open pit copper mine and one of the largest in the world...

The mine is on the opposite side of the highway but unfortunately too smokey for any detail...

Huge water truck watering the road...

Before heading back to Tunkwa, we decided to stop in Logan Lake for lunch...besides, we had a parcel to pick up at the Purolator drop-off (the video store). We had ordered some RV water filters from Amazon.ca....4 for $58 plus tax and no delivery charge, good value considering we normally pay around $32 each.

It was after 3:00 by the time we got home...a great day sightseeing! So nice getting out exploring.

Sunday morning Steve cleaned out the back of the truck and loaded the quads back in...with the back country closed to off-road vehicles, we won't be using them again unless we get a lot of rain. Plus the added weight will help smooth out the ride a little. While he was busy doing that, I gave my "new" runners a scrubbing...trying to get as much of the Tunkwa dust off of them as possible. The tops are mesh, so it wasn't easy, but they definitely look much better.

With our chores done, we basically spent the rest of the afternoon inside, out of the smoke...Steve watching TV, while I knit.

Monday wasn't all that different...we did some chores in the morning (laundry, pumped the tanks and some other odds and ends) and then hunkered down inside with the AC running. I worked on this blog update while Steve did some reading and watched TV.

And that pretty well brings us up to date again. We will work tomorrow morning covering Doug and Sue who will be making their weekly trip into Kamloops. After we have finished work, we'll pack our suitcases and head back down to the coast for our appointment at Bernhausen Diesel. After clearing it with Doug and Sue, ensuring they won't need us to work, we also managed to tack on a few more days to go over to Vancouver Island to see Rob, Angie and our grand kids...looking forward to seeing those two little cuties!