We parted company with our fellow travelers on September 13 in Prince George , BC but it wasn’t the last time we saw those who we came to be friends with. The next night we camped with 2 couples in Clinton BC and then proceeded to Whistler BC via a road called the Pemberton Highway which was highly recommended by friends from Vancouver BC. This road proved to be the most challenging road of the trip! There were 2 grades of 16%. We have NEVER encountered such steep grades in all the miles we have covered in all our travels. In addition, there was a single lane tunnel under railroad tracks where we encountered a logging truck coming through in the opposite direction. Talk about close calls! The views were incredible, but most of the time our eyes were glued to the road. Two other couples took the same route to Vancouver, one said it wasn’t too bad (yeah, right!), the other said he was terrified and had to pull over twice to cool off his breaks. Please note in the following the runaway lane at the beginning of the video and Vernon’s breathing and reaction to one of the hairpin turns.
Here is the route on Apple Maps….
Tough driving in the family sedan, but absolutely nuts pulling a 30 foot, 10,000 pound trailer! As this blog posting shows, we made it, but the experience probably shaved a few years off our remaining time on this beautiful planet.
Next stop was Vancouver BC, which is an absolutely gorgeous city nestled up against coastal mountains that cascade down to the Pacific Ocean. Our campground was a tribal-owned facility at the end of the Lions Gate Bridge, which provided easy bike and pedestrian access to Stanley Park and downtown. We hadn’t been in Vancouver in many years and we still found it to be a fascinating and beautiful place.
On to Port Orchard, WA for an overnight visit with caravan friends John and Nancy Thrall and then onward to McMinnville OR. We had visited this area thirty years ago and discovered numerous wineries that produced very promising Pino Noir wines. We had no idea what to expect after all these years, but we were quickly blown away by how well the wineries had persevered and prospered.
From McMinnville, we traveled to Crater Lake National Park. Upon our first glimpse of the lake, we both agreed that it is nothing short of one of Nature’s great masterpieces.
From Crater Lake, we crossed into Northern California to Lassen National Park. With absolutely perfect weather, the park radiated with geothermal energy that permeated through mud pots and steam vents. The sparse crowds was an added bonus for two weary travelers.
Still having about 3,500 miles to go till we get home, it was time for a layover in the Bay Area to have some much needed repairs made on the trailer at the Airstream dealer. We’ll, it turned out to be a multi-week layover and we were fortunate to be able to park our weary butts at the home of lifelong friends, Shelley and Doug Corzette. (Mary and Shelley went to Chatterbox Nursery School together!) We shared many wonderful bottles of local wine and solved all the problems of the world!
Lucky for Shelley and Doug, we did a few short trips and visits and were able to give them a break. We visited nephew Andrew (Mary’s brother Philip’s son) and his family (wife Alex and son Bennett) in Marin County and spent the weekend with Vernon’s cousin Robin and her husband Everett at their home in San Francisco’s Marina District, visited Airstream friends Ted Ng and Marion Gin and took a 7 day trip to Santa Barbara, Hearst Castle and Carmel.
We set out from Livermore on Sunday, October 16 and headed to one of our all time favorite places, Santa Fe NM.
Stay tuned, we’ll keep you posted.