Day 49-51: Victoria, BC

Day 49-51 6/16-18/2015

View from the ferry

With the fridge broken, Kathy working and Jerry headed out of town on a business trip, we decided to take the high speed ferry to Victoria, BC for a few days.  We couldn't get there as originally planned so this seemed like the way to go.

We took a limo to the ferry terminal and discovered that we would be taking a bus to the ferry terminal at Tsawwassem, BC to Swartz Bay and on to Victoria (another 3 hour tour?).

Our original schedule called for a 3 hour ferry to Victoria but the bus ride, ferry and further bus ride turned the trip into more like a 6.5 hour trip.  On the plus side, the ferry from Tsawwassem had what is reputed to be the best buffet dinner on any ferry anywhere.  We cannot disagree with that since it was really superb.  We had a table by ta window and watched many islands go gliding by as we ate our wonderful meal.  We arrived at our hotel at 9:30 instead of the planned 6pm but already had dinner and got to see sights not on our original itinerary. We'll call that one a tie.

Wednesday morning after looking at the Victoria map, we decided that a walking tour should be the first order of business.  The Fairmont Empress Victoria was our first stop, located on the inner harbor diagonally from the Government House, the Empress is a grand old hotel impressive in its architecture and with a staff that is tops in all regards.  We enjoyed wandering through some of the public parts of the hotel and enjoyed talking with a delightful young woman in the gallery shop.

Chinatown gate

Next we walked the 6 blocks along Warf Street to to Chinatown.  Always a treat, Chinatowns the world over are a blend of exotic smells, tastes and merchandise and Victoria's, though small, was certainly worth visiting.

Up the hill to the City Market where food vendors and live music were the draw.  Continuing doun Douglas Street, we stopped at the Cactus Club Cafe for a lunch of Steelhead and Shrimp accompanied by Prawns and Pasta - diet be danmed!

As we crossed the grounds of Government House, we watched a vignette on the history of Victoria and BC performed by excellent actors in period dress then we returned to our hotel for a short rest.

Next up was a carriage ride around the older part of the city with excellent narration on the architecture and history of the area.

Our carriage

We then walked around the inner harbor, chose from the 75 flavors of ice cream offered at the lomon shaped stand on the quay and walked the docks looking at everything from the tiny "Pickle Boats"to a Mega Yacht available for a bargain price of $22 million.

See the lemon?

Next we had a drink at the Milestones Bar & Grill on Warf Street before heading to our hotel for the night.

Pickle Boat

Thursday morning after breakfast at the hotel, we boarded our high speed "Victoria Clipper IV" for a fine 3 hour trip back to downtown Seattle.  Dennis our limo driver whisked us back to Jerry & Kathy's home and NO FRIDGE!  Frantic calls to Amazon and UPS informed us that our refrigerator was, indeed, missing.  Amazon agreed to ship another one tomorrow with expedited next day shipping for Saturday delivery.  On the plus side, we'll get a few more days of visiting and leave Greater Seattle on Monday after the hoards from the US Open Golf Tournament leave town.

No miles on our rig

Day 46-48 Greater Seattle Area

Day 46-48 06/13-15/2015

Space Needle

Our weekend is a bit of a blur, we have met visited with Jerry and Kathy, their son and daughter, grandson, friends and neighbors all wrapped up in a spectacular weekend of warm days and cool nights.  We expected the weather to be rainy and cool but that was not to be.

Catching up with my brother

Saturday we headed for the Issaquah salmon ladder and hatchery.  We are way too early for the Salmon run but the facilities and displays were interesting.

On the waterfront

Heading for the Seattle waterfront we ran smack into a marathon with 17,000 runners!  Lots of traffic delays but we did see some of the race and visited the Space Needle (but not the really long line to go to the top).

Pikes Place

We met Jill and Ron for lunch at Etta's on Western Avenue before wandering through the Pike Place Market and watched the throwing of the fish.

Jammin'

Back at home, we had another great BBQ and Jerry and Richard played music for a while.

Sunday we had visits from Trevor and Tyler and a friend then tried to launch the boat but found the launch line to be very long - sunshine in Seattle brings out droves of boaters.  Then back home to a family cookout and lots of conversation and catching up on lives, loves and wishes.

Fixing the burgers

Then the RV refrigerator died! We had been having problems with operation on Propane but today, no cooling on any power source.

Removing the fridge and cleaning the rig

Monday, Jerry and I called RV dealers, service centers and parts warehouses - no service for weeks, no parts and no replacements!  I found a replacement refrigerator on Amazon,com and ordered it for Wednesday delivery.  We removed the original fridge and spent some time washing, waxing and cleaning the RV.

No miles on our rig

Day 45: Hope, BC to Sammamish, WA

Day 45 6/12/16

 

Richard, Kathy and Jerry

9:40am on the road still following the Frasier River out of the mountain and along lots of vegetable farms and cattle ranches.

We passed Herrling Island and Bridle Falls before crossing back into the US  around 11.  Next stop was a Great Clips in Bellingham, WA for haircuts for both of us. One of the ladies in the shop suggested we have lunch at Anthony’s Seafood on the harbor. Excellent!

We arrived at Kathy & Jerry’s home in Sammamish, WA around 3:30 and began a planned long weekend visit with steaks on the Barbie, catching up on family and lots of hugs all around.

Odometer: 83003 Miles Today: 171 Total Miles: 5803

Day 44: Lac le Hache, BC to Hope, BC

Day 44 6/11/15

 

Thompson River

We got on the road about 10am (that seems to be our normal starting time) and continued South then followed the Thompson River through land with fewer trees and more ranches and cattle.

We started noticing southbound trains stopped across the river from us.  As we continued, we began to smell wood smoke and then to see smoke above the ridges.

After passing through Litton, BC we actually saw the fire on the opposite side of the river.   

We spoke with a native of the area that said it appeared that a railroad repair crew was welding and started the fire.

 

Smoke hiding the sun

The Thompson River merged into the Frasier River near Hope, BC and created a very large river roaring toward the coast.

We reached our goal at Coquihallo RV Park in Hope around 3:30pm and enjoyed a walk along the stream before dinner.

Odometer: 82832 Miles Today: 223 Total Miles: 5632

Day 43 Frasier Lake, BC to Lac la Hache, BC

Day 43 6/10/2015

We had a lazy start this morning not being in a hurry to leave the White Swan park in Frasier Lake.

 

Fudge? Surely not!

Mary set to work re-organizing her ”Closet” while I took the time to check fluids, tire pressure and batteries.  Last night was our second totally off grid night and the batteries were at 12.5V or 90% charged after lights and a dvd movie last night.  The fridge was off and measured 30 degrees this morning – Looks like it is losing its ability to cool when the generator runs, the propane part has been dead for most of the trip and 12v works but sucks down the battery unless the vehicle engine is running.  This isn’t good.

 

Lac le Hache

We did close to 300 miles yesterday and planned the same today.  Most of these two days were retracing our path from Hyder to Prince George since we couldn’t get a spot on the ferry.

 

Mary checking the view

We stopped in a nice fudge and gift shop in McLeese Lake and planned to get a place for the night when we got to Williams Lake but no luck – no campgrounds.

 

Another beautiful view

We continued South to Lac la Hache and the Crystal Springs RV Resort.  Nice place, beautiful view and full facilities so we took advantage doing laundry and taking nice long hot showers.

Odometer: 82609  Miles Today: 284  Total Miles: 5409

Day: 42 Mezadin Lake Provincial Park, BC to Municipal Park Campground, Frasier Lake, BC

Day: 42 6/9/15

Meziadin Lake at sunrise

We looked out our bedroom window this morning to a fantastic millpond view.  We hated to leave but were both itching to move on down to the US border.  I don’t know why but we both just seemed to want to get back to the USA as soon as practical.

 

Sealy Lake - another millpond today

We crossed the Nass River wood bridge about 8:30 and the water looked higher and muddier than it had last Saturday.

 

Lunch at the Cantina

Once again, this stretch of Highway 37 was a wonderful road for wildlife sightings.  9:10am – Black bear on the side of the road. 11:14am – Black bear ran across the road behind us. 11:17am – Deer on side of road (Under “Watch for Moose” sign).

 

Smithers railway station

We stopped for groceries in Smithers, BC and Mary asked a local policeman if there was a Mexican restaurant in town.  He gave us directions to the Cantina at the railroad station.  Great lunch in a delightful restaurant, Mary nerly always finds gems when looking for good food.

Another bear along the road at 4:17pm and we arrived at the free municipal campground in Fraiser Lake, BC. A long travel day but fun.

 

Free campground on Frasier Lake

It was pretty warm this evening (80s) so we fired up the generator for the first time since Nebraska and ran the AC for half an hour to cool down the coach.
 
Odometer: 82325  Miles Today: 298  Total Miles: 5125

Day: 41 Hyder, AK to Mezadin Lake Provincial Park, BC

Day: 41 6/8/15

 

Looking across the Salmon River

After breakfast and breaking camp, we headed to fish creek overlook about 5 miles up river from our campground. 

 

Fish Creek observation walkway

When the salmon are running in July and August, bears and salmon are seen here in great number. Today there were no bears and no salmon so we contented ourselves with ducks, a beaver pond and beautiful scenery along the bear resistant walkway.

 

Meziadin Campground site

Back down in Hyder we drove out the causeway to look at the mountains along the canal to the Pacific before heading back into Canada.

 

Campsite from above

We filled up with gas and dumped tanks in Stewart before heading up 37A past the Bear Glacier and on to Meziadin Junction Campground for the night – we checked in at 1:15 and eased into a stunning lake front site.  (Sometimes $25CA buys a lot!)

Odometer: 82027  Miles Today: 51  Total Miles: 4827