TWO TRAVELLING TALES!
My brother and I boldly undertook a road trip to Cariboo country in central British Columbia recently. It was a bad time to travel as the whole province was ablaze — or at least that’s the impression we got from media reports. Our sister assuredly assured us they were in a unique wide bubble with no fire, no smoke, no issues. So, off we went.
We headed east on the TransCanada Highway and all was fine until we approached Hope, about two hours from home. We saw the plumes of smoke in the direction of the Fraser Canyon, a route we already knew was closed. Our hearts sank briefly because our “growing up” hamlet of North Bend was in the center of that story and accurate reports were hard to find.
We continued on the alternate route called the Coquihalla Highway to a town called Merritt, where we briefly stretched our legs. It was too smokey to stay for a town walk.
From there we took a smaller roadway to a town known for copper mining — Logan Lake, in the Nicola Valley. Very smokey. As we approached the mine located on the left side of a very high hill, I thought a gigantic crater had fallen from above and that the vast area was being preserved for science fiction movie sets! It was shocking, eerie and just so unusual. My brother told me it’s the copper mine, one of our province’s big sources of revenue and a best kept secret. When I saw the tailing ponds, I realized it was best to keep it a secret! Enough said.
As we arrived in the town of Ashcroft, we parked and did our own thing for about forty minutes. I checked out the local bakery for freshly made cheese buns and then wandered through the iconic Fields department store. It’s a store very familiar to small town residents and travellers, but their locations have depleted over the years. It’s my place for cotton nightgowns and tie dyed cotton teeshirts! No luck this time.
Up the hill and on our way north, we stopped at a local hidden gem called Desert Hills Farm. It is a huge acreage with a make-shift store loaded with gigantic bins of every root vegetable you can think of, all priced impressively low, plus extra gems like free locally grown cantaloupes. It was amazing and definitely a required stop next time too.
Our journey continued north and ended about 45 minutes off the highway to 100 Mile House, deep into the forested area in which there are dozens of lakes. The sky was blue and the air was fresh, and being at Sulphurous Lake felt like putting one sad book aside and opening up a fresh new one.
We unpacked, hurriedly enjoyed a bbq dinner and rushed off to the local firehall to participate in a crib round robin with about 15 others from the area. They welcomed us as one of them right away, and engaged in lots of interesting conversation. Turns out one of the men lives down the street from me in Maple Ridge. How weird is that?
The next day we did what people in places like that do … enjoyed a leisurely morning on the deck, ventured out on kayaks, visited the Share Shack at the nearby dump to drop off some quality items that others might want, and filled our trunk with loads of goodies that others had left for the taking.
From there we drove less than a kilometer further to check out the country store, bought a lottery ticket and an ice cream cone, before heading home to relax on ergonomic lounge chairs talking, reading, snoozing and watching the almost glass-like surface of the lake in front of us. I call it forest therapy because it is all very calming and quiet.
The next morning, after breakfast, I drove to the big town about 40 minutes north called One Hundred Mile House. I make a point of going there to check out the commerce and spend a bit of money to help out the local economy. This time I got beach towel clamps, bathing suit cover up, a cappuccino mug, cans of tuna and cans of mixed nuts. It’s always a nice outing.
I look forward to the trip back to the lake cottage to share my finds, and to get back to the serene setting. This time I got into appropriate attire to kayak alone into the middle section of the lake, to stop, sit back and read a magazine while the bright sunshine shone on me and around me, without a cloud in the sky. It was amazing!
We once again enjoyed a bbq dinner, watched the terrible news about forest fires all over our province — homes, businesses, hotels, artwork, animals lost. All so hard to believe and all so very sad.
We packed up the next day, reentered smokey regions, navigated through a different route to avoid more potential road closures and to access a more direct route home.
We were thankful to be in a safe, fresh air, clear blue sky bubble for a few days; but, mindful of all those who were/are facing fear, anxiety, uncertainty and losses in the forest fire ravaged Kamloops, Shuswap, Upper Fraser Valley, and Okanagan Valley regions.
It’s so very difficult for outsiders to fathom the reality of forest fires, evacuation orders and evacuation alerts; but, driving through blankets of smoke coming from the homebases of others, and seeing red hot flames of fire scouring mountains, trees and buildings, parks and roads, makes it more real for travellers and News watchers to share and almost fully understand the fears and anxieties of those directly impacted.
This definitely will be a two-taled trip and vacation long to be remembered.