Livin' the Dream, Surviving the Nightmare...
July 10th. Tonight we are back on the west coast. The last couple of days have been interesting. Not exactly as we had planned them, but in a way that is always kind of exciting. Anyone who knows me, and especially if you have travelled with me know that I sometimes occasionally mostly alright, always over plan. This time around circumstances called for improvisation.
Yesterday morning we set out from Smithers. For some reason we failed to grasp the severity of the wildfire situation in the Caribou region of the province. This region containing the highways that we had planned on taking on our southbound leg. I could blame poor, in most cases non-existent, internet and cell coverage for our failure to appreciate our pending dilemma but I think that we were still in a kind of euphoric state having just spend 2 days floating down the southeast coast of Alaska. "Wake up Dorothy. You're not in Kansas anymore."
When we departed Smithers we started to listen to CBC radio for updates on the fire situation in the Caribou region. It was frustrating for us that ever time they mentioned road conditions they referred listeners to the DriveSafe.bc website. So, don't you need cell coverage to get that when you are on the road? By the time we got to Prince George we were pretty much clued in to the fact that Highway 97, south of Quesnel was closed and that, was that. We re-provisioned in Prince George and headed for Alberta. It was ironic that for most of the day we battled monsoon rain. There was a significant system that followed us from Burns Lake to McBride. High winds as well although it was a tail wind so we didn't complain about that part especially because it contributed to some of the best gas mileage we have every had in the 4Runner. Speaking of gasoline, the price of gas in Prince George was .98/litre. I can hear my friend Steve say, "Yes, but then you would have to live in Prince George." Steve is very witty. But I digress.....
We monitored the radio for information on the condition of Hwy 5. This highway connects the Yellowhead Highway, #16 to the Okanagan. When we arrived at the junction of 16 and 5, Tete Jaune Cache we knew the highways was currently open so we headed south and pitched the tent at a sweet campground in Valemount. Our campsite was right on the bank of a creek. It would have been idyllic save for the smoke and ash in the air from the wildfires hundreds of kilometres away. This and of course the ever present summer birds of B.C. also know as mosquitoes. The little buggers were very hungry this evening. One note about Valemount. They brew some very tasty beer in Valemount. The local micro-brewer is The Ranges Brewing. Very tasty indeed....
We rose early in the morning hoping that the road south was still open. We were fully prepared to backtrack and head further east into Alberta if we had too. Luckily the road was open and off we went. Highway 5 will be a road I return too. It is a terrific 2 lane highway. There are plenty of passing lanes and few hills owing to the fact that it runs north-south through river valleys and not over mountain passes. If I do return to this area of the province it will be in either May or September, not during the summer months. We experienced thick smoke most of the day. In fact it was not until we arrived in Merritt, B.C. that the smoke cleared. From there it was over the Coquihalla into Hope, then onto the #1 and on to the coast.
It has been an interesting 36 hours. Our problems of the past 2 days were minor compared to the nightmares being experienced by the people directly impacted by the wildfires in the Caribou. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected.
We will likely hideout here at Point Roberts for a couple of days. If I get a chance I will edit a few photos for my final post. Until then, stay safe everyone.....
Yesterday morning we set out from Smithers. For some reason we failed to grasp the severity of the wildfire situation in the Caribou region of the province. This region containing the highways that we had planned on taking on our southbound leg. I could blame poor, in most cases non-existent, internet and cell coverage for our failure to appreciate our pending dilemma but I think that we were still in a kind of euphoric state having just spend 2 days floating down the southeast coast of Alaska. "Wake up Dorothy. You're not in Kansas anymore."
When we departed Smithers we started to listen to CBC radio for updates on the fire situation in the Caribou region. It was frustrating for us that ever time they mentioned road conditions they referred listeners to the DriveSafe.bc website. So, don't you need cell coverage to get that when you are on the road? By the time we got to Prince George we were pretty much clued in to the fact that Highway 97, south of Quesnel was closed and that, was that. We re-provisioned in Prince George and headed for Alberta. It was ironic that for most of the day we battled monsoon rain. There was a significant system that followed us from Burns Lake to McBride. High winds as well although it was a tail wind so we didn't complain about that part especially because it contributed to some of the best gas mileage we have every had in the 4Runner. Speaking of gasoline, the price of gas in Prince George was .98/litre. I can hear my friend Steve say, "Yes, but then you would have to live in Prince George." Steve is very witty. But I digress.....
We monitored the radio for information on the condition of Hwy 5. This highway connects the Yellowhead Highway, #16 to the Okanagan. When we arrived at the junction of 16 and 5, Tete Jaune Cache we knew the highways was currently open so we headed south and pitched the tent at a sweet campground in Valemount. Our campsite was right on the bank of a creek. It would have been idyllic save for the smoke and ash in the air from the wildfires hundreds of kilometres away. This and of course the ever present summer birds of B.C. also know as mosquitoes. The little buggers were very hungry this evening. One note about Valemount. They brew some very tasty beer in Valemount. The local micro-brewer is The Ranges Brewing. Very tasty indeed....
We rose early in the morning hoping that the road south was still open. We were fully prepared to backtrack and head further east into Alberta if we had too. Luckily the road was open and off we went. Highway 5 will be a road I return too. It is a terrific 2 lane highway. There are plenty of passing lanes and few hills owing to the fact that it runs north-south through river valleys and not over mountain passes. If I do return to this area of the province it will be in either May or September, not during the summer months. We experienced thick smoke most of the day. In fact it was not until we arrived in Merritt, B.C. that the smoke cleared. From there it was over the Coquihalla into Hope, then onto the #1 and on to the coast.
It has been an interesting 36 hours. Our problems of the past 2 days were minor compared to the nightmares being experienced by the people directly impacted by the wildfires in the Caribou. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected.
We will likely hideout here at Point Roberts for a couple of days. If I get a chance I will edit a few photos for my final post. Until then, stay safe everyone.....
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