Leaving friends and a cosy, warm house was hard, but winter was starting to bite in the mountain air, so we loaded up and pressed on. Our goal was Vancouver, which is south of Kamloops, so naturally we first headed north. Up through Cache Creek, north to highway #99, and then (finally) started south along an amazing twisty and secluded highway leading to Lillooet. The drive along the mighty Fraser River was incredible. Tight, twisty, steep and stunningly beautiful … which is doubly hard because with a route like this you need to keep your eyes on the road, and not the amazing scenes all around you.
The Town of Lillooet is perched on a bluff above the Fraser River, but we had to initially pass it by as the day was getting on, and we still had no place to pitch our tent. We were making for a free campsite some km south of the town along the Duffy Lake Road, but as as we crossed the Seton River just past Lillooet Ann spotted this sign for a BC Hydro campground. We did a quick U-turn, and headed into a lovely car camp tucked into the forest along a couple of creeks, with high mountains reaching skyward all around us. We took a spot right next to the babbling brook and set up home.
Turns out the campsite was not only free, but also included free wood delivered right to our site. Gotta love BC Hydro!
We set up camp and settled in for what we’d hoped would be a number of days. Sadly, we learned the park was slated to close in a few days. But we remained there for three wonderful nights. The first night, and then through the next day, the wind howled down the valley. Most of the wind was up at the tree tops, but gusts would find their way down to us every once in a while, shaking the tent and sending our gear fluttering. Going into town the second day (Thanksgiving Day) we stopped in at a local restaurant. Gotta love locals … we got chatting with some guys next to us about how far we’d come, and then the waitress started talking about the weather, and that something big was “Comin’ down the Duffy!” No kidding!!
We ate a lunch, which turned out to be too big but very yummy, and went back home to cook our Thanksgiving turkey meal, complete with fresh veggies, canned gravy and “fresh” turkey. We decided to cook it all on the 13th though, b/c neither of us could eat after the big restaurant meal. Still tasted great one day late.
The campsite was beautiful, but with towering mountains all around us and being rather high in altitude, the days were short and cool, and the nights even longer and colder. It was sad to pack up, but Ann’s toes and nose appreciated when we finally started to head south and down.
The road south was once again a stunningly gorgeous but challenging drive on the bikes. Temperatures were running around 3˚C at times, and Ann even spotted some frost on the road. But as we rounded past Pemberton and headed to Whistler the road slowly started getting lower in altitude, and busier in traffic. By Whistler we were back in urban traffic yeck. Drivers speeding like maniacs, and wall-to-wall cars. Oh joy…
We still had a few days to kill before our planned meet up with Donna in Vancouver, so planned to stop at a provincial park somewhat north of the Big City. Since it was my lead day I wisely drove past the first option (OK … I missed it on the highway), so we ended up in Porteau Cove on Howe Sound. We found a walk-in site right next to the water and settled in for a few days. It was wonderful being by the sea; the smells, the relative warmth, the wildlife. We were chatting near the shore when I see this little whiskered head pop up and look at us … my first seal! I love the Great Lakes, but the oceans are just teeming with life. It’s amazing.
We spent three days at Porteau Cove, enjoying the scenery, the wildlife, and the showers. It’s an amazing spot, but I was glad we were there in the off season. During the warm months it would be insanely busy.
We finally packed up and headed into the scary Big City of Vancouver to meet sister Donna and niece Tasha.