"The Bluest Skies You’ve Ever Seen … "* 9.16.24

Actually we did not see blue skies while we were in Seattle.  The area has a reputation, perhaps not entirely deserved, for having less sunshine per year than most places.  I just threw that in there in case some of you are old enough to remember it as a line from a pop song that was also the theme of a TV show in the ‘70s.

We had two errands in Seattle, and thus we did not get to see the city itself just now.  We had to visit a battery dealer for attention to the solar battery, and we had to get a package that had been delivered there.  Heartfelt thanks to Yahama and Velvet for graciously allowing us to use their address, and for their company.  Yahama cooked delicious Jamaican food, and one evening we went out and ate shrimp and fish.  He also helped LCR install the new antenna which had been shipped there to replace the original that suffered wind damage.

We actually camped on the street for three days near their apartment complex and no one bothered us.  We were told that truckers often leave their vehicles on this stretch of road.  It is mostly a quiet residential neighborhood, but with a high school across the street.  Still, even with students coming and going and a football game one night, we felt safe and slept well. 

Border crossings are always unsettling.  If you have an RV, they are going to search it, and sometimes the stuff inside and in the car gets messed up.  Also they ask a lot of apparently unnecessary, nosy questions, such as exactly where you’re going, why and for how long.  I realize they are just doing a job, but still.  Coming out of the checkpoint, we took a wrong turn.  In our defense the signs were confusing, with one arrow pointing left and another right.  A guard approached us and informed us that we were back again on the US side and the only way out was to go back through customs or the Canadian authorities would “draw down” on us, with multiple vehicles, guns ready, the full treatment.  So we had to go back around.  This time, of course, there was a line that hadn’t been there before.  We had to present our passports again and explain to them at the US checkpoint and then again to the guards on the Canadian side what had happened.  Not our finest moment!

Heading north into British Columbia, we stopped at Bridal Veil Falls.  Though we don’t have much time to sightsee until we get to our Alaskan destinations, it seemed impossible not to check out this park.  It was a bit off the highway and then about a mile each way, hiking to the falls.  LCR declined this hike but I went forth.  The falls are very high, about 400 feet.  However, to me the really interesting thing was how many people elected to climb past the sign clearly stating that it was dangerous!  I was taking photos and remarked to one young man who came up to the railing, that those people must be brave or stupid.  He replied, “Well, I’m stupid, because that’s me!” and then headed past the sign!  You can see him in this photo in the distance, wearing a yellow plastic poncho.  The hike to and from the falls was through forest that reminded me of Olympic National Park – temperate rain forest, with spooky moss and tree stumps and the constant drip of water.  There was a light rain off and on because the mountainside is basically inside the constantly shifting clouds.

From Bridal Veil Falls we headed through the Lillooet range.  These mountains are hard to find on the map, though there is a dotted line indicating a scenic route.  We were completely unprepared for the beauty of these mountains, partly covered with moving clouds like rising mist, thickly carpeted with evergreens, and touched with pink and gold in the sunset. 

Sunset … then it got dark, quickly because we were driving through Fraser Canyon, which also does not appear on the map.  Deep and close, the canyon made it difficult to see the road, for us at least, though apparently not for the truckers who zipped past us at full speed, most likely annoyed at these amateurs cluttering up their highway.  How many times have we told ourselves we weren’t going to do this again – drive through the mountains at night, getting more tired by the minute with visibility diminishing at the same rate?  Yet here we were.  The turnoff to our campground was almost invisible in the darkness. 

Next day the terrain turned to desert, with the mountains stark and craggy and softly colored green desert plants, and without the carpet of trees.  Large swaths of forest showed blackened trees, evidence of wildfires perhaps a year or a few years back.  There is a lot of road construction through this area so there were delays here and there.  But just driving from point A to point B in British Columbia is a privilege with so much and so varied scenery.    

 

 

*”The bluest skies you’ve ever seen are in Seattle,

And the hills the greenest green in Seattle …

Like a beautiful child, growing up free and wild … “ etc.