California to Canada

[jdtrotter]

I just finished updating my webshots from our recent month+ trip to Canada with our new Truck Camper. Yes, in some ways I miss our Casita, the Truck Camper seems to work very well for us. Why?

Instead of campers, we tend to be traveles and seldom stay anywhere more than a night or two. We like to find a nice campsite in the afternoon, spend the night, maybe take a hike in the morning, and then site-see along the way to our next destination. We don't make reservations, and don't know for sure where we are going.
At times, we did not stop places---no where to park the trailer. But, as I said, in ways we miss the trailer----no perfect small RV.

A few pictures of some of the places we loved---good for Truck Campers, and Fiberglass Eggs
1. Onion Valley--off of Hwy 395 out of Independence, California (On the way to Bishop and Mammoth. If you don't mind pulling a very steep hill, the road climbs up into the Sierra Nevada---went from very hot, to needing two blankets at night. Small Forest Service campground---does take reservations, but we were there during the week. Great place to hike if you love the high country---campground is at 9200 feet. Oh, they say only tent sites and not recommended for trailers, but if you have a good tow vehicle, an egg would fit just fine in several spots.





2. Lassen National Park with snow still on the ground in July! The melting water is beautiful with the colored minerals





3 and 4 O'Brien Oregon on 199 between Grants Pass, Oregon and Crescent City, Calif., is a cute little place with a sense of humor.







5. If you are on 199, there is a place called Patrick Creek Lodge. We discovered it when we lived in Crescent City several years ago. On Sunday, they have a GREAT gourmet champagne brunch---not cheap, but great. The a few miles south west, one can walk off part of the brunch and see the strange, and after reading how they trap insects for food, I believe very draconian plants, the darlintonias




6. Since the campgrounds on the Oregon Coast tend to be quite crowded this time of year, we found an alternative for camping, a Forest Service Camp, Rock Creek, located just across the highway from the beach near Yachats. It is small and beautiful, with a great trail. Our site was right above the creek. However, we spent a lot of time playing with the dogs on the beaches, and loved watching the boats being taken out of the water at Port Orford. So one picture of Port Orford, and one of Rock Creek.







To be continued in next post
Diane

[jdtrotter]

7. We have been to the state of Washington a number of times, and have driven around Olympic National Park, but this time we took the time to drive into the Hoh rain forest---well worth it! While the campgound on the main highway takes reservations and fills up, there was no problem finding a spot at Hoh----also great trails there, expect the doggies can't go on them.




8. I am going to jump to Banff and Jasper National Parks in Canada---lots of beautiful things on the way there, but we hit that terrible heat wave. Still saw some great things. While I think the scenery in Banff and Jasper is among the most beautiful in the world, July is not the time to go there----unless you like crowds. One warden told us to come back in Septemeber, and next time we will. However, most of the big motorhomes and big trailers want hook-ups, so that leaves the small park campgrounds with plenty of space---unless you really arrive late. The campgrounds are nice, and one thing we found in Canada in most of the pit toliets, they have hand sanitizer---nice touch.
An example of a Park campground is Waterfowl Lake Campground.




9. And if you get up early to hike, you avoid the crowds. We took a great hike early in the morning up to Bow Glaicer Falls---saw only a couple of people, and the morning reflections off the lake at the beginning of the trail were just beautiful.




10. In contrast, we arrived and took the short walk to Peyto Lake, and in order to take this picture




I had to get through this---the buses had arrived!




We headed for British Columbia. While we loved several places there, especially the back road from Wells to Likely (we took it on a weekend to avoid the lumber trucks) I am jumping ahead to one of the real highlights of our trip---the trip out highway 20 to Bella Coola which is located on one of the longest fiords in the world.

It was only by luck that we made that journey. We thought about going further north to Hyder and Stewart (still on our lists of places to see) but we wanted to take the ferry from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy, Vancouver Island. We called and no luck until the middle of September, so we booked the ferry out of Bella Coola.

Highway 20 from Williams Lake out to Bella Coola is just beautiful. It is sparsely populated, with little towns like Tatla Lake and a store we spent lots of time in




And Nimpo where we had lunch at a nice cafe with a great bakery---it was also the town garage.




And while there are some commercial RV parks, there are also some Provincial Parks---it is also a place where one can spend a lot of time going into the back country. We camped at Bull Provencial Park---river right below our campsite, and nice trail---oh, we kept the dogs on long leashes and they wore bear bells.








To be continued

[jdtrotter]

After Anahim Lake, Highway 20 turns into dirt and gravel, but it is very well maintained. However, part of that part of the road includes the infamous HILL---narrow and steep--some grades are up to 18%. It was orginally built by the people in the Bella Coola valley when the government would not complete the road---now the government maintains it and has widened it in several places.

It sounds awful, and the picture makes it look really worse than it is. Yes, in spots it is narrow, and all of it is steep---low gear driving, but it does not go on for that long. We drove it in the late afternoon and I kept waiting for the REALLY bad part---it never came.




At the bottom of the hill, the road through the magnificent valley is paved. We stayed the first night at Tweedsmuid Provencial Park right at the end of the hill---




Many people waiting for the ferry stay at the RV parks in Hagensborg, but we chose to stay in the camping area behind the local Bella Coola Motel. Oh, a bear wandered into the campground during the day, but we missed it!




We liked it, and from there, it was easy to walk around the small town in a beautiful setting. We were there for a couple of days. This little business only opened the day before the ferry sailed.




It was an international camping community at this campground. Here is a German, a Coasta Rican, and a couple of Dutch ladies working on a fish. There was also a young couple from Belgium.




And they all gathered around our campsite in the evening because we were camped right above this guy




There is a lot more on our travel photos, but that is enough for here.

Mr. Mellow, Tommy says Happy Travels




And Maggie says, try not to travel at this speed!




Happy Travels to all
Diane

[Christi V.]

Wow.. what a beautiful trip you have traveled.. I envy you... I will travel thru everyone pictures and only 'wish'.....

[Chuck-H]

Thank you for sharing those beautiful photos!
Chuck H.

[Rick B]

There are a number of Forestry sites along the highway from Williams Lake to Bella Coola. They are without cost, and some have magnificent views of the Coast Mountain range.


Rick B
Williams Lake

[jdtrotter]

There are a number of Forestry sites along the highway from Williams Lake to Bella Coola. They are without cost, and some have magnificent views of the Coast Mountain range.
Rick B
Williams Lake

Hi Rick,
We thought about spending some time in some of those places, but we only spent the one night at Bull Provencial Park, then Tweedsmuir for one night. We wanted to get to Bella Coola a day early to make sure our Ferry reservations were in order---we had changed them. We really would like to return and spend a lot more time in that area----just plain beautiful.

Also, before we headed out 20, we hit quite a bit of rain. We took the logging road from Wells to Likely and wanted to stay up there, but it was pouring---still a beautiful drive---took it on the weekend---no logging trucks.




We restocked in Williams Lake and spent the night at the Stampede Grounds---not a bad place to spend a quick night, and we like your city. However, there was a soccer tournament in town so there were several 12 and 13 year old girls and their families at the grounds. Really nice, nice people, but preteen and teenage girls are murder on a washroom.

You live in a really beautiful area, eh?

Happy Travels
Diane

[Byron Kinnaman]

6. Since the campgrounds on the Oregon Coast tend to be quite crowded this time of year, we found an alternative for camping, a Forest Service Camp, Rock Creek, located just across the highway from the beach near Yachats. It is small and beautiful, with a great trail. Our site was right above the creek. However, we spent a lot of time playing with the dogs on the beaches, and loved watching the boats being taken out of the water at Port Orford. So one picture of Port Orford, and one of Rock Creek.


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Diane

I have a lot of fond memories of camping at Rock Creek. At one time there were a couple bridges across the creek and 4 campsites on the other side. When our kids were little we spent a week there. We picked up a couple coffee cans of aggets and had a lot of fun playing on the beach. Glad you found it.