We have a two hour wait for the ferry back to the mainland. This gives us a chance to reflect on the last 19 days in Beautiful BC. 

Dump Stations
I make extensive use of sanidumps website to find places to flush my RV. In BC, most small towns have free dump stations that are easy to locate.  Look for a blue information sign that looks like a trailer having a dump.  Not all of them have free potable water, but free dump is nice.  However, in the larger municipalities like Vancouver and Victoria, they are harder to find.  Therefore, plan your stops On the road from Jasper to Prince Rupert, every town had a free dump station.  There are also several free ones in the campgrounds, but those tend to close seasonally.

Drinking Water
We do not drink even the potable water from dump stations.  We prefer to drink exclusively bottled water during our travels.  Minor changes in local water can cause digestive problems.  There is nothing worse than being sick on holidays in an RV.  As for filling our holding tank, I carry a small squirt bottle of bleach.  A few drops g into each fill, regardless of the source.  This is the water we use fro washing only.  You might think bottled water is expensive, but you can get a gallon for $1 to $1.6.  If you save a few bottles, you will also be able to find reverse osmosis or UV dispensers in some supermarkets where you can get a gallon for. 60 to. 99 cents.  We use about one gallon a day for drinking and cooking, and the extra cost is worth the peace of mind.

Speed Limits
The speed limits are the highest I have seen in Canada. 4-lane control access highways have 120K speed limits, even those going up and down those mountain roads.  If you are exploring, and you should, you will travel some tricky mountain passes. There are many sharp turns at 80, 60,40,and even 30K. Those are not suggestions, especially when driving a high vehicle like an RV.

Traffic Signals
Many 4-lane roads with limits of 80K or more will have traffic signals at major intersections instead of overpasses. Most of those have flashing lights a few hundred metres back to warn of changing signals.  BC does not seem to use flashing green for priority turns.  Instead, those are used to mark minor intersections.  They are similar to our flashing amber and flashing red.  So the flashing green reminds you that crossing traffic has a full stop sign. It is not telling you that itr is safe to turn left in front of oncoming traffic.  Periodically (on demand I presume), those lights will turn red to allo minor road traffic to pass.

Road Information
Because BC roads cross mountains, weather conditions can change abruptly with changing altitude. Follow @DriveBC to get twitter feeds of changing road conditions.  BC also has several highway cams in strategic locations.  We made extensive use of the network from Prince George to Prince Rupert to see how much snow was on the steep inclines.  Twitter feeds will usually include a link to the website where you can check the webcams.

Wildlife
Wildlife is everywhere.  They tend to cross or even stay on the road.  We have seen Bighorn sheep, elk, peacocks, and several deer, especially in urban areas.  Beware of rubberneckers (like us) who stop to take pictures.

Today, we are taking the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver nearing the end of the Canada portion of our trip. Tomorrow we will cross into Washington State and hug the coast down to California, getting a bit warmer every day.

Guy

We left Prince Edward Island 8 weeks and 2 days ago.  We have finally arrived at the other Island on the West Coast.

First, let’s backtrack to Sunday.  We visited Downtown Vancouver and went to Canada Place to “fly over Canada“.  If you have not heard of that theatre, you must look it up. You are dangling in mid air with your nose on a giant screen.  You pivot and turn as you fly through some of the most beautiful places in Canada.  Not for the faint of heart and as much fun as a roller coaster.

We also went beachcombing and found a few treasures. Then we settled for the night in North Vancouver to be close to the ferry on Monday. We had a pleasant ride, except for getting booted off the INTERNET every 2 minutes – hence the lack of updates. On. The Island, we toured a bit in Nanaimo, worked our way up a few beaches in Parksville, and then headed across the mountains towards Tofino.

In the beautiful town of Coombs, we stopped at “Goats on Roof.” That is a must shopping spot for the connoisseur. First, the attraction.  There is grass on the roof, and goats in the summertime.  Before entering the store, you pass by a wonderful ice cream shop with great flavours and affordable prices. Inside, you will find imported and specialty foods from all over.  They have sauces, chutneys, jams, baked goods, smoked and canned seafood, a huge gluten free section, and many more items.

Then we undertook about an hour of windy roads through the mountains.  There were no great altitude changes (only about 300 metres) but the number of switchback roads was incredible.  It seemed, every minute, there would be a slow to 60, or 50 sign.  After awhile they just said “slow to 50 for the next 5 kilometres”.  When I got to the slow to 40, I knew the curves were sharp.  There was also a point where the oncoming high trucks would have to drift into my lane because the cliff overhangs the highway. As with our experience in Vancouver, this is not for the faint of heart but well worth the trip. Cindy will have more pictures of this drive on her blog at 2fromaway.ca

The sign going this way says watch for high loads crossing the line. The sign going the other way is a truck with the top of the box hitting the mountain. Somewhere close to there was a steep hill saying 18% grade. This is the biggest we have encountered so far. However, I see a true switch back road on the horizon for tomorrow. Time will tell.

Along the way is Port Alberni, where you can find all the services you need in Central Vancouver Island. We made it to the Pacific Rim highway just before sunset so we found a place to stop for the night.

Tuesday, we are off to Tofino. There are several nice lookouts and beaches along the way, including the site of a cold war radar installation to watch for threats in the Pacific.

We went as far North as we could on the pacific rim highway, then as far South. In Ucluelet, we found a little beach called little beach. It had lots of fine gravel and lots of seaglass – our first major find on the West coast. This trek took us past the 126 meridian.  We were further West in Haida Gwaii but I forgot to note. We were also South of the 49th parallel for the first time since Ontario.  Remember that Vancouver Island dips much further South than the mainland.

We hurried back before dark to traverse the mountain passes before nightfall and make it back to Goats on the Roof before they closed. We spent the night in Duncan, waiting for first light to head for the other part of the Pacific Coast on the Island.

Friday, we became optimistic about the weather.  We loaded up with propane, flushed the antifreeze out of the system and refilled the water heater.  We are heading for Vancouver and the forecast low there is only -2 so we should be able to maintain our running water overnight.

Just when we thought we were out of the high hills, we started climbing out of West Kelowna. It felt like 10 minutes of uphill all the way. Nice 4 lane road with additional passing lanes and a speed limit of 120.  We climbed up to about 1725 metres if memory serves right. We found a lookout stop near the top with an interesting dead tree.  Good place for lunch. Yes, there is a pallet on top of the tree making a good spot for an eagle’s nest. See the closeup at 2fromaway.ca

The descent towards Merritt was much more gradual, but still a few steep sections and some more “check your brakes” sections. From Merritt to the greater Vancouver area was also very nice.  Still a few more ups and downs and we finally saw the altitude dipping down to double digits. We arrived in Abbotsford just before the visitor centre closed.  The young lady there was very enthusiastic and gave us excellent advice on places to go and things to do in the area, in Vancouver, and on the Island. 

Our task now is to prioritize places to go with staying on schedule. We are now back to a reasonable 9 days behind schedule and considering we have taken Texas out of the loop, that puts us on track to arrive in North Carolina a week before Christmas.

I have heard so much about the Okanagan Valley. Rich and luscious, full of apples and grapes, the wine destination in Western Canada.  It took us 16,000 kilometres to get here.  There is no snow and the grass is still green, but it is still bitterly cold compared to normal.  The thermometer dipped to -10 in Kelowna last night and we are still not ready to turn the water back on in the RV.

In getting here from Banff, we went through the Rogers Pass.  The highest point was only 1330 metres if I recall correctly, but it sure is a treacherous drive.  It is a good thing the roads were clear, unlike the icefields of the day before. There were switchback roads,spiral tunnels (for the train), and several tunnels to help prevent avalanches from blocking the highway.

Once we cleared the mountains and headed towards Kamloops, the snow had left the side of the road, and the frost was gone from the trees and grass.  It was like opening a window to a garden. We went through Salmon Arm and Shuswap, the houseboat capital of Canada.

The drive into Kamloops along the South Fraser River was nice.  The hills lining the river valley were a golden brown. Instead of the black and white we have been seeing for days. We stopped in Chase for a short walk along Little Shuswap lake.  It was lined with dead salmon . . . The run is over and they have done their duty.

Kamloops is very pretty. Like most mountain cities, you go down forever and when you get into town, you can see houses lining the hills on both sides. From there, we headed to Kelowna. The drive from Vernon in was interesting.  Mountain on the right with rockslide screens and retaining wall (I think), divided highway (thank goodness) and houses lit up on the other side of what I though was Lake Okanagan.  All these suppositions because it was dark then, and we probably missed some sights.  I checked the map and found that the lake is in the other side and all those houses were in the valley, not on the lake.

Today, Saturday, we are heading towards Vancouver, where at least the daytime temperatures will be above zero.

You can see Cindy’s rendition of this leg at 2fromaway.ca

Before I start, I must remind you that Harry Manson, over100 years later, was  inducted into the soccer hall of fame in Vaughn Ontario last weekend.  This is indeed a great day for aboriginals in Nanaimo and everywhere.

The atlas says it is 6340 kilometres from Charlottetown to Prince Rupert.  We have travelled over 14,000 to get here.  But then, if you want to experience this great land of ours, you cannot do it in a straight line.  Every detour has been interesting, and some were fantastic.

We arrived in Prince Rupert just as the rain and fog were subsiding.  Yet another day of little to see on the highway because of the fog.  We went to the visitor centre and learned a bit about this important port.  Among other interesting facts, I recall it is the deepest natural port and the shortest distance from the Americas to China.

After exploring the town, we pulled up to the ferry terminal to be among the first in line.  You may have heard that Haida Gwaii and Vancouver Island were expecting 100km winds.  Well, the RV was rocking throughout the evening.

Thursday, all was calm and we boarded the ferry for the 5 hour trip.  We had a fairly sunny day so we could enjoy the inner islands, the birds and the fish on the way out. The sun was close to setting when we arrived in Skidegate, so we made our way to Balance Rock and then found a place to pull over for the night.

Friday, we explored the coastline for a bit, until the road took us inland towards Masset. We went looking there for some wi-fi without success. So we explored old Masset and the totem poles.  Then, we went to Tow Hill to see the blowhole, but it was not blowing. You need to get there on a rising tide.  However, we enjoyed the drive up through the rainforest.  I have yet to see so much moss on so many big trees.

Saturday, we went to Queen Charlotte. The visitor centre is normally open Saturdays, but not today. So we explored the village on our own.  Odd that a place with a population of about 1000 is called a city. We found a health food store and a school bus shelter with books for reading during the wait.

Sunday is living up to its name so we are off beachcombing to see what Pacific seaglass looks like. We did not find any agates, but we found a piece of petrified wood, a tooth, a few pieces of glass and some neat looking rocks.

Monday, the visitor centre in Queen Charlotte was open and we learned a bit more about aboriginal life, the protected areas, and the history of totem poles, and

November 11, the ceremonies in Ottawa were jut starting when we got into the ferry line up. We had good weather for the crossing. The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month was marked by the slowing of the ship, the sounding of the whistle, and two minutes of silence.

We arrived in Prince Rupert just before dusk, in time to load up on propane, fuel, and begin the three days of frigid weather heading back towards the interior. A cold front has moved in. Prince George is expecting -20 and Jasper -30 for the next 2 nights. So tonight, we flush the tanks and winterize the water system until warmer weather resumes.

Guy

After a refreshing break with friends in Francois Lake, we resumed our trip regenerated and reloaded with fresh lake water and moose meat.

We left earlier than planned to avoid some of the snow and fog and made our way past Smithers.  We pulled into a rest stop and woke up today next to some impressive mountains.  After leaving the Rocky Mountains, we have now entered the Coast(al) Mountain Range.

We missed the Seven Sisters because of cloud and fog.  We will try them again on the return trip.As we passed the turnoff to the Alaska Highway, the overhead sign said the road was snow covered.  Good thing we were not planning on going father North.

The highest we went was 55 degrees, 15 minutes, 15 seconds according to the GPS.  We also travelled quite a bit downhill, going from an average of 800M down to about 200M.

We arrived in Terrace early enough to consider some sighseeing before nightfall.  So we had a chat with a nice lady at the visitor centre who showed us how to get to 2 “MUST SEE” attractions.  We had to pick only one

We visited a volcano eruption site Northwest of Terrace. After 250 years, some large areas still have just moss and lichen growing. Read more about the Tseax Cone.

If. You want to visit the Nass Valley, the turnoff to route113 is clearly marked as you leave Terrace towards Prince Rupert.  It is about an hour’s drive on a windy road and the drive around Lava Lake can be breathtaking. After you enter the PARK, it is but a short drive to NUMBER 3 on your right Have a look at the plaque and heed the warnings. Then turn and face the lava pit, then follow the trail a bit to the right.  You will see 3 information stations along the way.

When you are finished here, keep going down the valley and look for VETTER FALLS on your left.  A short walk into the rain forest will leave you to a platform where you can view the rapids and witness a HUGE tree on your way out.

Keep going down to the Y junction to see acres upon acres on lava flow that still have nothing but lichens on it.

We called ahead to reserve our ferry to Haida Gwaii and asked about cancellations re the high winds expected tomorrow.  Those decisions are made last minute so we are forging ahead.  We will arrive in Prince Rupert Wednesday, marking 14,000km, and line up early Thursday for the ferry.

Guy