North of the Border

 The Road to Merritt

We left Sun Lake on Saturday and headed up Highway 155.  We passed the Grand Coulee Dam one last time continuing North on Highway 97 to the Canadian border. We crossed over in Osoyoos.   Jack and I have crossed into Canada more than a few times and you really never know what to expect.  Sometimes it is a breeze but this time they did a full search of the truck and RV.  It took us well over an hour before we were allowed to cross.  The border patrol was friendly but they have been checking more thoroughly since a bunch of Texans tried bringing their guns  across a few times.   So if you are planning to come to Canada, respect their laws and do not attempt to bring any type of firearms.   One nice thing about our new truck is one quick setting change and we were now using  the metric system to tell mileages and speed and  Celsius for the temperature.  Just wish we knew what it meant.

The area just before and across the border was beautiful and idyllic filled with cherry trees and vineyards.  Rolling valleys banked by mountains and lakes.  The famed Okanagan area with lots and lots of traffic and Canadian tourist.  I suspect this is area is being promoted as the Canadian Napa Valley because there were wineries everywhere!   It soon became a zoo!  It was stressful driving.  We originally were planning on trying to make it to Kamloops but with the delay at the border crossing and the traffic it became apparent that would not happen.  Pull out the Trailer Life and find an RV Park quick! No more cell coverage until Alaska for us.  We found one not too far and it sounded like the sites were big enough.  Big mistake!  It was a packed sardine park in the middle of a congested town on a hill.   We decided this would not work and turns out the next couple behind us said it was booked to boot.  They asked us if we had GPS and needed help finding another park.  I am always pleasantly surprised by how nice Canadians are to us folks from the states.  Where next?  We backed tracked a few miles and took 97C to Merritt.  Wait , what did that sign say?  No gas for next 200 K! The problem is you see the sign  after you already passed out of town with no way to turn around.  Well at least it was a two lane highway with no traffic.  And  a very winding road climbing up over some significant mountain passes.  We have enough diesel right?  Ahh, maybe. Turns out we did – whew!  We pulled into the municipal campground and breathed a sigh of relief.  A very stressful day indeed!  The  municipal park was nice and the town looked interesting but we wanted to get some miles,  wait I mean  kilometers under our belt. 

Smither's area

The next day was another long driving day.  We decided to spend two nights in Quesnal.  We stayed at Roberts Roost, a nice RV park on the shores of Dragon Lake just outside of town.  We did not do much except rest up.  We did get our first cup of Tim Horton’s coffee along with a doughnut and I was able to catch a yoga class in town.   Some needed down time.

Next stop Smithers, BC!  Jack and I got to know Smithers quite well last time we came through these parts.  We had to wait a week for a part for the black truck on our last Alaskan adventure (see previous Blog post). The town has a nice downtown area with a few nice restaurants and shops.  We knew once we continued on Yellowhead 16 that it becomes very remote and even more so when you turn onto the Cassier Highway.   It is a good place to stock up on supplies but beware of sticker shock!   Time for the adventure to continue, bye bye Smithers.