Tacoma, WA to Williams Lake, BC
It was a long day. 400 miles with a border crossing makes it a full day as well.
Traffic up I-5 wasn’t terrible, so my plan to travel past Seattle on a Sunday morning worked rather well. I did stop just before the portal to fill up the tank, buy a new map of BC and splurged on a new Milepost as well, then picked up a gallon of gear lube because the t-case is leaking again. The guys in the OReilly’s loved the truck and were still talking about the film, “The Gods Must Be Crazy” when I walked out the door.
Taking WA Hwy 539 across into Canada was also a breeze. I pulled right up to the booth, answered the usual questions… although “When was the last time you were in Canada?” was new. Then I was off and running.
British Columbia holds some beautiful country within its borders. I had forgotten how much one climbs when you approach the Al-Can from this far west. I had also forgotten what a beast the Fraser River is. Damn, that’s a lot of water flowing between its banks.
I saw 25-30 deer today and one harem of big horn sheep. I also saw two “Badger Crossing” signs, which is a first for me. I wouldn’t expect a badger to cross such a specific section of highway, but I guess they do. As much as I would have loved to see a badger, it’s probably for the best that I didn’t. I may not be able to resist the urge to run over Bucky.
Most of the provincial parks have their campsites closed until May 15. I had planned on camping at the Stampede campgrounds in williams lake, but after driving through the grounds, I simply could not do it. They were awful! I did see a father & son from Alaska who waved me down, but I could not be swayed to camp there. Gambling that I’d find something else, I drove north again. Maybe 30 miles further on, I saw a campground sign at a general store/gas station. Turning around, I went inside to inquire. After getting a short tour, the man looked over my rig and said it would be $10. So I’m camped down by the creek and I’m the only soul on the end of the grounds. Somewhere off at the other end are a couple of other Alaskans, but I haven’t seen or heard them.
It’s a kickass site, and well worth the extra miles to get here. Plus their gas price is lower than most.
May 14th, 2013 at 6:59 PM
Beautiful;!