We've made it back to the lower 48...and now truly understand why Alaskans and north Canadians call it the "Outside". It's so very different and no where near as peaceful. In the North, yes, there were roads but on almost any road, to the left or the right, one could go for hundreds of miles and only be in more wilderness. It's a very special place that we'll never forget.
Since Prince George, B.C., our last blog, we've had many campsites. On the 21st we were at the municipal campground at a little town called 100 Mile House (yes, and there are towns called 70 Mile, 50 mile, etc...all stops along the gold rush trail). The site itself was pretty normal but a short trail led directly from it to a gorgeous waterfall.
From there we took BC 99 south toward Vancouver. At the very beginning, Harley got caught in a RCMP road block and caught for not wearing his seat belt...to the tune of $165. Needless to say he wasn't in a very good mood after that but the scenery was absolutely spectacular...wonderful mountains, the deep Fraser River Canyon, the tumbling Coyoos Creek and even some snow (a bit scary given the weight of YOW). We stayed in two Provincial Parks, Nairn Falls and Alice Lake. At Nairn our site overlooked the rushing Green River and we hiked to Nairn Falls, an important spiritual site of the Lil'wat Nation. The trail would through a mixed forest of huge Western Red Cedar, Western Hemlock and Coastal Douglas Fir. At Alice Lake we'd come closer to the coast and the forest was wonderfully dark, green and dripping...a real rain forest. We took about a 4-mile hike called the Four Lakes...really special. Fortunately our campsite had power so when we got back from the hike we were welcomed by bright lights and electric heat resulting in dry clothes.
Alice Lake is only about 30 miles from Whistler and the drive from there to Vancouver was amazing...the Winter Olympics will be there in 2010 and the Canadians are building an incredible four lane highway through about 40 miles of solid rock, along the steep coast of Horseshoe Bay and all built by Peter Kiewit & Sons (a U.S. company)...hard to believe but we never had to stop during all that construction although the travel was a bit slow, 30-40 mph.
Yesterday we crossed over the border into Washington...the customs officer was amazed by my thick passport and asked what I did, especially since Harley's is so thin! We got on I-5, took it to exit 320 and then followed Washington 20 across Deception Pass and on to beautiful Whitbey Island. We'd searched out possible campgrounds and settled on Fort Casey State Park which is located on the grounds of one of the former naval batteries set up to protect Puget Sound. We're right on the water with great views, including snow covered Mt. Rainier. Not only that but we're walking distance to the Washington State Ferry and plan to walk on for a trip to Port Townsend sometime in the next three days as we plan to stay right where we are...it's such a perfect location!
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