What we did on our summer holidays.

What's that you say? Do I want to drive for 10 hours....sleep, drive for 7 more hours, sleep and then stay on a fishing boat for 5 days and then do the same thing on the way home? Thanks, but no thanks. Doesn't sound fun at all. And besides that, I've seen The Deadliest Catch. Not my forte. 

Come again? How big is the boat? What's that? There's a chef? Excuse me? I don't have to clean my own fish?  Well..maybe....

Second thoughts came quickly as the weather got grayer and grayer as we left Cranbrook. And it got rainier and rainier. For three hours we drove in a downpour that had me getting crankier and crankier. As I was seriously beginning to contemplate a demand to return home, the sun started to appear...it wasn't much, but there was hope. The clouds wound themselves around the hills like they were trying to anchor themselves and not leave, but they were forced to vanish as the sun persevered in shining.

I was feeling better now, and not worrying about hydro-planing right off of the highway and landing in a swamp, and the roads quickly dried up. By the time we got to Golden, the sky was blue and before we knew it we were in Revelstoke, where I spotted the elusive Tunnel-roof vehicle, apparently grazing for fresh food in the sunlight. I felt quite lucky to see such a rare creature.

Shortly after that we reached Kamloops and as soon as we turned North I was excited as I had never been this way before, and nothing is more fun than uncharted waters and new territory. Plus, before the trip we purchased our new best friend, Silicon Suzie, a Garmin GPS. The. Best. Invention. Ever. We flew down the highways and byways, typing in gas stations and Tim Hortons like we'd been doing it all our lives. We has also borrowed a cell phone from a friend, you know, "just in case", and it rang a few times but I couldn't figure out how to answer it. One new device at a time....baby steps, baby steps.

We drove to Williams Lake and decided to spend the night there, and I had previously Googled and found a sweet motel, reminiscent of the 50's...and you all know how I love the 50's! Why on earth would anyone ever stay at a Sandman or any chain hotel when there are still these cozy and fantastic little independent motels. When I win my lottery, I'm gonna buy one of these:

And travel across North America and stay in roadside motels.

But I digress.

For tonight we stayed here:

We had our own little sun deck:

And a lovely little yard:

And we went for Chinese food:

And I was happy. New adventures, full belly, and a Tim Hortons on the corner.

The next morning was warm, and I think there were no clouds, but the smoke from the forest fires made it hard to tell. The sun was blood red and it seemed like twilight. It was odd because the night before was clear and bright. The smoke was gone in a few hours, but it was a rather creepy sight.

We drove to Quesnel where we managed to figure out the portable speaking device and called our friend, who owns the little boat we were going (gulp) fishing on for 5 days. He also has a nice little cabin at Ten Mile Lake that he generously offered us a bedroom in.  Prior to this though, he wanted us to come and see his lumber mill. 

I didn't have the address of the mill, but he told us how to get there, saying that we couldn't possibly miss it, but it wouldn't be a road trip for us if we didn't get lost or miss a turn, and needless to say, we did, but it wasn't a bad "miles out of the way" error, just a 15 minute delay. In no time at all, I was hugging my friend and touring his mill. If I ever have to work again, I want to work for him....at that mill.

Clean? Happy employees? Modernized? One of, if not the, safest mill in Canada....100% in all categories. I found the tour fascinating, and I know nothing about mills. Steven was so impressed.

Fish pond.

With fish.

I'd eat my lunch here every day.

Unless I decided to get in a bit of exercise...treadmills, cycles, a racquetball court....really?

Even the gas pumps were enjoyable.

And you'll notice that the entire yard is paved, which apparently is unheard of. And not a piece of lumber out of place.

Inside, I forget what this was called, but I liked it because it reminded me of liquorice all-sorts.

Then, so that we could get a proper view of it all, he took us up in the helicopter  for a birds eye view, we saw the mill and also watched some black bears cruising along the river bank. 

And if that wasn't enough, it was a catered BBQ day for the employees. A two day event so that every worker on every shift got to have a meal...steaks, chicken, salads, desserts, the full meal deal. Steven even ran into, and sat with an old hunting buddy who he hadn't seen in years. Seriously? Does he know everyone?

What an amazing day. New sights, new adventures. Now off to the little cabin for a restful nights sleep. More tales tomorrow....g'nite.