My Flog for March 7 - Down the Gorgeous Fraser Canyon and Back Home Again - Road Trip Day 4

I have really lost track of time and place by now, but I do know we are headed south from Prince George. Our first stop is a pulp mill at Quesnel to pick up a load of .... you got it .... pulp. The scenery is fantastic, the weather is great.

We passed by a lot of small towns on the way, some of which have caused an itch in my brain. I really want to explore Clinton, 100 Mile House and Cache Creek, to name three. I doubt if I'll make it on Breehy , though - so it looks like some mini vacations are in the future for me and a travelling friend.

Pulled over at a snowy truck stop - this must be the only one that didn't have great views to capture on camera. Except for the son, of course.

After going shopping several times in Surrey and seeing women doing their daily stuff wearing their jammie bottoms, I made Howard promise he'd never let me out in public wearing the same. One evening, when it was dark, we were going to Steve's, and I felt too lazy to go upstairs and change - but he reminded me, so I did. However, here I am in the middle of nowhere, in the snow and cold - wearing a very classy jammie and boot combination. Classy, eh? Wah?

This is near Williams Lake ... good advice for the driver ...

Yes, we are going to go up that hill and around those corners ... make sure the seatbelts are buckled.

Near Ashcroft - another drive by town.

I can't get over the emptiness of this part of the province. There are houses built with no nearby neighbours - it all looks a bit too solitary for my tastes. There is a lot of ranchland here, lots of cows and horses -even the occasional llama (or alpaca, whatever.)

A cattle ranch - there were lots of mama cows with baby calves.

The mighty Fraser River.

This is all new growth after a terrible Forest Fire in 2008.

The poor truck really needs a bath by now - but no more than I do. I swear the minute I get home I will hop in a hot shower.

The rock formations are amazing.

Clouds in the mountains.

Here are some of the railway tunnels on the other side of the river - I'm not sure if I'd want to travel up there by train. Parts of the track look a bit scary. (This pic is zoomed in through the window, so yes, I know, it's crappy quality - but seeable!

And here the train is so close I could almost reach out the window and touch it. Can you believe there's a bike lane on this highway? Sorry, Breehy, you'll never see this part of the country.

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Near  Lytton... see what I mean about not wanting to ride a train here?

And here we've reached Hell's Gate - could be on a future agenda.

There are 7 tunnels in this part of the canyon.

And here is one - we've got our tunnel vision ... see that bike sign? They must be absolutely crazy to bike here.

And here is the light at the end of the tunnel. I can see clearly now.

We continue through a few smaller towns, many of which I really want to explore - Clinton, 100 Mile House and Cache Creek are on my Pail List.

Yale not so much. I'm sure this little town is fabulous in summer, but this time of year it seems quite unsettling to me and my imagination. We only hit the outskirts, but I could imagine eyes on us as we walked along the street - and I was so reminded of the Stephen King books I've read. We were supposed to spend Neil's 8 hours of non-driving here - but as there was no truck stop, no washrooms, just a little dive of a diner that would soon be closed, no cell service, and the only person we talked to beside the older lady in the shop, an old timer who was content with his jim (?) and beer ... I wasn't the only person comfortable with curling up in the truck and going to sleep. (By the way - it was cocaine - for everyone else who doesn't know what jim is.)

The hardest part about all this, is we were only 2 hours away from home, yet stuck for 8 hours before we could leave.  Sucked big time.

So we drove into Hope.

Hope is completely surrounded by mountains - again, we didn't go into the town itself, just the outskirts by the river. I love the mountains - but I don't think I'd want to live where they surround me so closely - I think I'd feel a bit claustrophobic.

We walked around a few streets, tooks pics of lots of chainsaw carvings, and looked for a place to eat. A lot of restaurants were already closed - at 5 pm. However, we did find Rolly's Pancake House.

I ordered Cream of Broccoli Soup and a Grilled Cheese Sandwich - sandwich was ordinary, soup was a bit too thick, but the coleslaw was great.

Neil had a burger - he said it was good. Fries were frozen - well, they were cooked, but they started out in a bag in the freezer. That bacon sure looks good though, doesn't it?

After dinner, we drove to a pull out spot on the highway, and settled in for a few hours. We played Skat until I was falling asleep, then bunked up for over 6 hours, waking to another cold morning - well, middle of the night actually. I believe we left Hope around 1:30 am.

I was so convinced that Howard missed me, I knew he wouldn't have a problem getting up at 3:30 am and meeting us by our friendly local Walmart, so Neil wouldn't have to drive me home from Richmond before he headed home himself. 

And you know the first thing I did when I got home? Had toast and coffee - then went to bed with my hot Magic Bag and my cat. To hell with the shower - that came a few hours later!

And this is Granny Duck, Over and Out (for the count!)