7/26 - 7/28: Leaving Canada

From Jasper National Park and the ice fields, we went southwest on Hwy 5 through mountains and towering peaks (what else). While the mountains were covered by forests, they are mainly pine, and the beetles are killing them. Whole sides of the mountains were bright red -- bad sign.

We got down as far as Clearwater, BC, and found most campgrounds full. We accidentally wound up in a small campground behind a motel on a lake. The picture above is our view from our campsite. Not a bad way to wake up in the morning.


We were advised to see Helmicken Falls nearby. We then were told of a great drive up a small road, hwy 24, that avoided the heavy traffic of Hwy 5 and went by some lakes. The reason that there was less truck traffic was that the road went straight up a mountain (overheated vehicles lined the sides of the road). Although beetle blighted, it was still good scenery and all the campgrounds were full. We ended up in Clinton, BC, at an oddball private rv camp, filled with characters from a book. A French-Canadian visitor, Camille, repaired our muffler hanger. He and his wife are on a year long trip around North America. We may even see them in San Luis Obispo next Spring.

It was still hot, and we were advised to miss the Okanagan area, a desert within British Columbia of all places. We instead went down the old main highway, Hwy 1, down the Fraser River. While the scenery may have been beautiful, the drive was not. Large trucks, fast drivers, and what we have learned is characteristic of BC drivers, a disregard for double yellow lines on curves (One fellow traveler lamented that there should be a third yellow line for absolutely no passing in BC), made the trip a white knuckle experience. Thrown in for good measure was sitting for large chunks of time as they were repaving the numerous tunnels on the road.


At the end of this leg, we camped in Hope, BC, at a tribal campground along the Fraser River. It was muddy and moving fast, but so deep here that it was almost noiseless -- a little eerie.

Then it was off to cross the border into the United States -- only an hour's wait at the out of the way portal we chose. We were nervous about what foods they would prevent coming back into the U.S., but the only casualty were two oranges from our backyard tree in San Luis Obispo.

Next stop - a trip to the Olympic National Park.