Souvenirs From The Road: What?? Texans on the border!!

But before I get to Texans on the Border, let me get to Day 28, May 28 which found us at Deception State Park on Whidby Island. We had a 12:30 reservation for the ferry to take us from Pt. Townsend to Coupeville. We got there really early. And the ferry was behind because there were low tide issues. No problem though. We did a little shopping at Safeway, went to the tourist information center, and waited. It's a 30 minute ferry ride. There was great scenery! Good views of Mt. Hood. Our sites at the park are good, but most are really tight. It's Memorial Day weekend and this happens to be the most favorite park in the state of Washington. We just can't figure out why we have on jackets and all these families are on the beach in their swimsuits. Just doesn't compute for us!

On the ferry at last!

Back of the ferry

Mt. Hood in the distance

Our truck and RV safely tucked into the ferry.

Can you see the baby geese?

The bridge at Deception Pass

Day 29 - May 29 finds us Canada bound for that border crossing that we always dread. Our destination today was around Hope, British Columbia. We knew they had a great Visitor Center and we needed info! Today also marks our 4 week road trip anniversary! It was a cool 50 degrees when we left. We drove through such beautiful farming country from Bellingham to Hwy 542 to Hwy 9 to Sumas for our border crossing. Fate had it that we got tagged to pull into the bay for an inspection. Our friends behind us didn't. It looked like they were tagging every other RV for an inspection, but who knows. We were a little nervous now, although we had nothing to hide. It's the dang Texas license plates. We were asked over and over where our guns were, where did we keep our guns, if our guns were in our RV where would they be, over and over. We do own guns but they are safe in Texas! Finally, they let us through, we change the truck to start reading kilometers and all is well in this foreign land. In Hope we ate lunch out, bought a fishing license and found a good full service campsite on the banks of the Fraser River - which is really tumbling. They said they are 3 weeks behind in the snow melt. Puts a damper on fishing for sure. It ends up being a warm day - 80 degrees. We took a dirve to Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park. It is an amazing place. There are 5 train tunnels, all lined up and connected by bridges. Known as the Othello Tunnels. They were designed by Andrew McCulloch and they were built through granite between 1911 and 1916. Fun fact - McCulloch was a Shakespeare fan. He n amed the stations along the way after to Bard's characters - which included Iago. So.....we lived for a while in Iago back in Texas. LOL!

Waiting our turn for customs.

The Fraser River

See all the tunnels? Lined up.

Here's some history

Day 30 - May 30 finds us starting the day off with a pancake breakfast. It shows to be a 90% chance of rain today. We haven't seen rain since leaving Texas. It's a big decision as to where we'll land tonight but we all agree we will stop and do the Hell's Gate Airtram which is on our way. Glad we did. Learned a lot of history and had a good refresher about salmon. Although there's a lot of history given here, you can't help but have to deal with the touristry stuff they throw in like ice cream and fudge shops. All good..... A definite good trip through the Fraser Canyon.

That's a lot of river down there!

History - In 1808, explorer Simon Fraser described this place as a place "where no human being should ever venture, for surely we have encountered the gates of hell." There is an awesome gondola ride you take across the river (which is about 130' normal flow). You learn about the millions of salmon who go upriver here to spawn and die and what they have done to help them get through this part of the river. Water here is twice the volume of Niagara Falls during the spring runoff, which is what we encountered.

We landed at Juniper Beach Provincial Park which isn't too bad because they have electric sites and we're on the roaring Thompson River. But on either side of us are train tracks. Of course, the trains aren't blowing their whistles. But it's just weird. One side of the tracks is privately owned and operated, while the other side is government owned and operated. We are about 15 miles east of Cache Creek here.

Our campsite at Juniper Beach Provincial Park. Train tracks on both sides of the river....one is government owned and one is privately owned.

Day 31 - May 31 finds us looking for a lake and a place to fish. When we stopped at Clinton for a post office run, we talked to the locals who said we had to go to Hwy 24 better known as "the fishing highway" where we found lots of lakes and campgrounds. Decided to stay 2 nights at Loon Bay RV Park and we have sites right on the lake. Very nice. Finally got to launch our canoe. It was great! Did a little fishing but no bites. Spent the afternoon reading and sunning, which I haven't had a chance to do until now. The next day, Day 32 - June 1 finds us being lazy as the morning is cold and misting rain. We went for a drive to One Hundred Mile where we shopped a little, ate lunch out and got some groceries at the Safeway. Came back and went to the laundromat while a big storm came over. Came back and fished, cooked homemade bread and soup, sat around the fire and called it an evening. We need to put some miles in tomorrow!

Love the label on this Canadian bottle of wine!

Finally got to launch the canoe. Had a great paddle time!

Is it called fishing or chillin?

Bailey, the traveling dog.

Day 33 - June 2 finds us needing to make a little time up, so it's a big travel day. But we have enjoyed just piddlin' around. We drove from 8 until 3:30 when we landed at Whiskers Point Provincial Park on McLeod Lake. Beautiful! Snagged a spot on the lake. Guys had fun catching dolly varden fish. It's pretty chilly here. This is a great stop with a beautiful mountain lake and scenery. Sites are $22 CD a night with no hook ups.