May 2014 - Meeting Judy, Fort Langley, Bridal Falls, Harrison Lake, Cultus Lake, Othello Tunnels, Skihist PP and Seaton Lake Lillooet

 

May 3rd - Meeting Ray's half-sister Judy for the first time.

It's been an interesting and exciting couple of days. Ray's half-sister Judy, and husband Milt drove up from Tacoma to Burnaby to visit us. Ray knew about having a half-sister and brother but had never met them. They'd moved to the states when Ray was a baby and no-one really knew what happened to them. With Judy and her brother adopted into another family and having a new last name ... Ray and I moving all over the province with no listed regular phone number it was hard for anyone to catch up with the other. Our daughter and son for Ray's birthday last November did some sussing out on the internet with some old clippings from Ray's mom as a starting point and managed to get a current phone number for Ray's brother, Bill and so the story began. Thanks Kristi and Garrett!

As Ray had his surgery in November he did not call his brother until February after he had recovered somewhat. What a surprise for Ray and his brother Bill. After a lengthy conversation talking to Bill and his wife Kathryn, we emailed them some pictures and he forwarded our email and pictures to his sister Judy in Tacoma. Judy immediately wrote back. Kristi also sent Judy a note to say hi. As we were not going to be in Vancouver until May a plan was set up for them to come and see us when we moved into our current camping spot in Langley.

Yesterday we met them at the hotel, went out for lunch and then took them to see Ray's mom who could tell them more about Ray's dad, Bill who had passed away in August of 1986. It was quite a tearful meeting as Judy had been told nothing about her dad from her mom all of her life. Ray's mom took us to the pub across the parking lot of her apartment for an enjoyable dinner.

Think we ordered enough food!

Ray with Judy ... very happy brother and sister! 

A very happy Kyle family reunion. 

Ray and I are excited to connect with Ray's brother Bill in the winter when we go down south as he and his wife reside in San Diego. We are ecstatic to include such wonderful people into our family. We are actually an Uncle and Aunt to Judy's son David and daughter Amy. Her son has 2 children who are  2 1/2 and 10 months old .... Yeah! Kinda like grandbabies eh!

Judy and Milt stopped by today at the campsite to say goodbye before going back to the states. A few more happy tears were shed and promises made to keep in touch. Wow what a couple of days!

This is taken on a trail from the campsite on the Fraser River

I have been spelling Betty off every second day by taking breakfast in to Dad at the Peace Arch Hospital. He is finally on the upswing from having bypass surgery on his left inner thigh and working hard at physio so he can come back home in a month or so. With Ray getting his physio workout daily including 2 x at the pool per week we have yet to explore the surrounding area of the campsite and the cute town of Fort Langley so pictures will be added in later.

 

May 8th - Dad and dinner with the Mahon's

Dad is doing much better and with all of the physio he is getting may be coming home next week or the week after. Had some old friends for dinner last night, John and Joane Mahon, Ray's old boss from the Sproat Lake Division and before that the Queen Charlottes. Great food, great conversation! :) Nice to catch up.

Dad up and around on his own.

John and Joane Mahon

May 11th - Busy Week

Our busy week continues as we try and connect with friends and family before we leave on Thursday for Bridal Falls and seeing my Dad at the Peace Arch Hospital every second day. In between Ray has taken several walks along the Fraser River taking a few pictures each day. Here is a picture of our campsite.

Home Sweet Home

We took a walk past the old CN Rail train station just across the water from the campsite in downtown Fort Langley and then into the business area.

We even had a cinnamon bun at this place as the other restaurant was being used for filming and was closed for a week.

Right on the river and they serve great Craft Beer. 

These pictures are taken from the west side of the Fraser River where there is a nice walkway.

 The next pictures are the walking trail from our campsite on the east side of the Fraser River.

Look at the size of the houses down Tavistock trail.

Earlier last week there was a film crew in town filming for "Cedar Cove" on W network. It suddenly was Christmas!

Yup even a Santa. 

On Friday afternoon we had happy hour with Steve and Diane of Living the Dream, a blog I've  followed for some time. Great people. Looking forward to more happy hours in the future here and down south.

This is their fantastic setup.

Thursday found us driving across the new Golden Ears Bridge for the first time to visit some friends we made last summer at Quadra Island, Bill and Pam Freckleton. We invited ourselves for dinner and Freya sure enjoyed being spoiled!

Bill called her up to cuddle on the couch much to the dismay of their dog Molly.

Pam trying to find out the dates for us of the FMCA rally in September. 

Tonight, we had our son Garrett and his girlfriend Laura over for dinner and Garrett entertained us with some guitar playing ... I think the dogs look far too comfortable!

Tomorrow it is off to celebrate Mother's Day with Ray's Mom. Although we have done everything in short spurts ... Ray continues to have to spend time with his ice pack and laying in bed between short adventures.

May 12th - Mother's Day

Lovely Mother's Day yesterday. We brought KFC to Mom's and Garrett and his dog Kira joined us to enjoy the beautiful sunny afternoon.

May 12th - New Highway 17

 

This morning bright and early Ray and I went on the new Highway 17 along the Fraser River Surrey side to catch the ferry to Victoria for Ray's six month neurosurgeon's appointment and a visit to his physiotherapist. What a dream highway...so fast, no traffic at 7am and right through to the ferry passing by all of the bridges crossing the Fraser. Took the 9am over and were back on the 3pm with me doing all of the driving.

The new Port Mann Bridge with the old still standing. 

Arthur Lang Bridge

May 16th - Happy Hour with Steve and Diane

We enjoyed  a delightful afternoon last Tuesday with some fellow bloggers, Steve and Diane of Living the Dream. Served up some chicken satay with grilled veggies as it was hot! hot! hot! out and I could not imagine going inside and cooking dinner. Turned out great and was eaten up to the very last drop. Wednesday they reciprocated and again a wonderful warm sunny day. Ray and I had popped in to see Dad at Peace Arch hospital to say goodbye and then off to Burnaby to meet Mom for lunch earlier in the morning so were quite ready for some relaxing time. Thanks again to Steve and Diane for great laughs and good food.

May 16th - Finally on the road and Bridal Falls Campsite

Yesterday we pulled out of Brae Island Regional Park and moved up Highway 1 to Bridal Falls in Rosedale. Even though it was Thursday morning and we only had to drive about 45 minutes the traffic was quite busy. After setting up we noticed that there were lots of weekend holidayers on the road so we were glad to get here early. The park is quite old but is right next to the road to Bridal Veil Falls. It is a great spot for Freya as the lower tenting sites are empty, so lots of space to throw the chuck-it.  We were the only ones on our lane last night. There are about 10-12 full-timers across the road in dilapidated rigs, but they did not bother us. It was very hot yesterday so we spent some time putting our feet in the creek flowing from Bridal Veil Falls.

See the snow on the mountain?

The tenting area.

The creek is ice cold so only dip for a few seconds! 

Would not want to be here in heavy rains though.

We will go to Harrison Hot Springs today to investigate.

Add-on: We probably would not come back to this site as there is no sat TV and cell coverage is a little spotty for the internet. It is a good place to wash the coach though so maybe just an overnight in the future to get that done before coming or going on our summer adventures.

May 17th - Harrison Hot Springs

Took a short drive to see the town of Harrison Hot Springs. It was sunny and about 20 degrees so perfect for a little exploring.  The first thing we did was stop and take a picture with the Sasquatch at the entrance to town. We saw the Timber King episode on HGTV where they made this display so it was real cool to actually see it in person.

Look at the detail in the carving. 

The town is quite small but the lake is beautiful with a promenade walk along the shoreline. They were even raking the beach in preparation for the weekend.

The Harrison Hotel and Spa is well-known and my aunt and uncle go there at least once a year for a long-weekend to enjoy the hot pools.

Hot Springs Resort.

Mt. Cheam in the background

Next it's off to Sasquatch Provincial Park to check out campsites for future consideration. They were too far from the town about 7 km down a well-maintained gravel logging road. Most of the sites in the three campgrounds are far too small for us and under thick tree canopy so very dark. There were only a few in the Lakeside campground that would work at all. Stopped at the picnic site on the way back for a few pictures and gave Freya a bit of a run with the chuck-it. A beautiful spot on a hot summers day for family activities for sure.

Next it was back to town for lunch at the Back Porch, a little soup and sandwich place nestled in between two condo towers right on the beach. Ray had a halibut and crab claw burger and I had a duck breast sandwich, boy were they good. They also had good craft beer on tap. :)

Our view while eating breakfast. Freya is leashed on the sidewalk in front of us.

All in all with me driving a very pleasant couple of hours and Ray tolerated the journey quite well.

May 18th - Kilby Historic Site and Harrison Mills

BC’s Museum of Rural Life

Located near the junction of the Harrison and Fraser Rivers, the Kilby Historic Site stands as the only reminder of the once thriving community of Harrison Mills, British Columbia, Canada.

Step back in time and enjoy a leisurely tour of the Kilby Historic Site with its magnificent 1906 General Store Museum. Visitors will view a fascinating gallery of product packaging dating back to the 1920s and 1930s. Don’t miss the intriguing artifacts in the heritage Post Office and Manchester House Hotel; both were an integral part of the Harrison Mills community at the turn of the twentieth century.(Taken from their website)

We did not get inside the museum and stores as we were over an hour early and did not want to wait. The drive to get here was only 1/2 hour from where we were camping so not far to go. We checked out their campsite along the river, but found it to be very tight and only a couple of spots would have been large enough to squeeze in and all awnings are basically touching and probably no Sat TV. Ray took some pictures of the historic site anyways.

General Store and Museum

The drive to Harrison Mills was quite pretty along the Fraser River. Here are a few pictures of our short drive. Ray was snapping them out the window as I drove down the road.

This house was on the road just before Kilby Historic site, the flowers were gorgeous.

Looking down the road, very humpy. 

We also drove into Harrison River RV Resort and found it to be quite tight as well. The sites on the water which are at a premium would not be so bad and would take our length. The other sites we noticed had about 4" between awnings ... yuck. Very pretty water view though.

On the way back Ray stuck the camera out the window and captured these photos.

As we had only been gone an hour we decided to take a quick spin into downtown Chilliwack and pick up a few things at the grocery store. We noticed that they had the road closed for a film crew here. After Googling it we discovered that Paramount is filming a movie called Monster Trucks.

We were lucky that the showers expected in the last 2 days have held off so far. We even had hot sunshine yesterday afternoon to get back into shorts!

May 19th - Bridal Veil Falls Provincial Park

Yesterday, we took the short 15 minute walk to the falls located on the back road from our campsite. It was a beautiful walk although somewhat uphill. Here are some pictures.

Most of the people that we passed on the trail were speaking different languages, we even had a guy skyping to Iran and included Freya for a few minutes as a little boy was watching from Iran and loves dogs.

This old tractor "Fordston" was in the back 40 of the campsite.

Well a lot of great pictures in 15 minutes.

After lunch Ray took a short drive to the Agassiz Bridge which is just down the road from the campsite to see how some people accessed the river bank we noticed when we crossed the bridge coming from Harrison Mills the other day.

A little close to the water for this kid with the snow melt happening and river levels rising. 

Agassiz Bridge over the Fraser River 

Thanks Dad! I will take this opportunity to get wet for the drive back!

May 20th - Cultus Lake

We decided to check out the Cultus Lake area yesterday. We have not been there since Ray and I were first together and camped at the Provincial Site. Since we have been married going on 37 years it was a loooooong time ago! As this was the Monday of the long-weekend all campsites were booked. There looked to be quite a few that we saw from the road that would have fit us if we wished to be in the heavy treed canopy and run our generator most of the weekend...not! Stopped briefly at the Encore, Thousand Trails campsite at the end of the lake but there was a guard shack with a lift gate so we could not go in, but from what we could see it was very tight between units. As I drove down the road Ray would direct me to stop here and there to snap these pics.

Ray and his brother used to stay at a friends cabin, Chris and Ken Deptford years ago with his parents. We think that this was the cabin.

View of the old water slides that we partook in years ago. We took Garrett and Kristi there with my parents 19 years ago. 

Next it was off to see a couple of Forest Service Sites down Chilliwack Lake Road I'd looked up and wanted to see if we would fit. At both sites there are a few spaces where would be okay with Sat TV as well. We did not check out cell service though. The first one is Thurston Meadows, 16 km down the road. The dog policies in these 2 forest service sites is "dogs under control at all times" ... no on leash, great for Freya

The next one is Tamihi Forest Service Site which is 12 km down Chilliwack Lake Road. Both sites would be great for quad riding on the logging roads. We saw quite a few trailers come in for day parking loaded with off-road vehicles. This is also a place where kayakers start on the river. They have two areas to camp in, one in the open and then a large area in the trees similar to a provincial park. We would fit in a few in the trees as well but we would not get any solar charging.

Tahini Forest Service Site

Large grass area for Freya and her ball. lol

Chilliwack River

Stopped for a lovely picnic lunch at Tamihi, chuck-it throwing for Freya and then back to camp.

May 22nd - Othello Tunnel Campsite

We left Agassiz yesterday and took the short 45 minute drive up Highway 1 to Hope and then the short drive up the Coquihalla to Othello Tunnel Campground. Sunny and warm with a nice breeze.

Driving next to the mighty Fraser River 

Starting up the Coquihalla

Look at the snow!

Othello Road next to the Coquihalla River

Before checking out the tunnels we travelled North on the Coquihalla River to check out some boondocking spots. There's quite a few spots, but some seem to be redneck party areas with lots of garbage. Scored some free firewood though.

Tram for a old mine way up the mountain

Another delightful day in the sunshine.

Add-On. Although they go on about their wonderful water at our RV spot, the water pressure is hugely reduced that the insta-hot had trouble firing up due to this. Ray had a cold shower. They have good cell and free wi-fi though. Good place to stay for 1 night and fill up water tank before heading out.

May 22nd - Othello Tunnels

Today is the day Ray finally got to see the Othello Tunnels located a 5 minute drive from the campsite. He worked for CN as a young man for the summer to earn money for school and he has a "thing" for trains ever since. These tunnels were part of the Kettle Valley Railway line serving the southern interior and decommissioned in 1961 and are viewed by walking down a short 15 minute trail.

May 24th - Skihist Provincial Park, Lytton

After a bumpy start ... had to get a tire inflated and one of our oil filled hubs was leaking so had to get some more oil to tide us over before getting to a service center in Kamloops sometime in July ... we left Hope in the pouring rain and headed the two hours up Hwy #1 to Lytton. About 1/2 hour away from the campsite, the sun broke through and it's a beautiful, warm sunny day. Love it when a plan comes together! Instantly we were in shorts and sandals. We managed to find a large spot in Skihist Park so the satellite TV works, 4 bars on the cell and tons of sun for the solar panels. Yeah! (Site #20) The spots are well distributed. It was so hot, I sat in the trees behind the site where there was a lovely breeze. Nice and cool at night and with the windows open, the coach went from 80 degrees down to 60 in the morning. Perfect for sleeping in spite of the trains below us, as they do not blow their whistles it was just a steady throb. Skihist is known for the view of the debris sheds on the rail track on the other side of the Thompson River.

After the drive, and setting up, Ray resting in between, he took the pictures from right beside and behind our campsite. What scenery right on our back porch. I sat behind the coach enjoying the view and of course a margarita in hand for happy hour.

 The trail in the two pictures below is two campsites away from us.  It was part of the Cariboo Gold Rush Trail.

Add on: Just across fromt the Kumsheen River Rafting Resort there is a good spot to drycamp overnight on the way to Cache Creek.

May 25th - Lytton and Goldpan Provincial Park

Decided to take a quick run into downtown Lytton (6 km away) and see where the Thompson River meets the mighty Fraser River. Not much else to see in Lytton. We first stopped at the Skihist Picnic area across the highway to get a better look at the river and the debris sheds. Ray was lucky to get a train in the picture, as well.

Entrance trail to the picnic area.

Next is where the Thompson River meets the Fraser under this bridge. Apparently the Thompson is usually emerald green in colour but right now it looks as muddy as the Fraser with the spring runoff.

Here's downtown Lytton. The town was burnt to the ground by a terrible fire (possibly caused by a passing train) in July 2021.

Just up the highway a short ways towards Lillooet, there is a cable ferry docked at the side of the river. We could certainly see why it was not running right now. In the second picture you can see the tree floating down the river.

Next it was down the highway towards Cache Creek to Goldpan Provincial Park (13 km from campsite). These people rafting were from Kumsheen River Resort.

More train tunnels across from the campsite.

Looking down at the campsites along the river. 

I would not want to camp here right now with the river flowing so high as I would be worried that Freya would go for a swim and she would get swept away.

Turning back towards Skihist, we noticed a waterfall so we stopped to have a look. This bird was yacking at Ray, so he took a picture.

Nicoamen River  just before it joins the Thompson.

There looked to be a small RV Park but there was no signage. They are obviously getting ready to open as they had new garbage cans with garbage bags, everything newly painted etc. It may be part of the Kumsheen Rafting Resort as at the bottom there is a gate to the river that says it belongs to Kumsheen.

That was our hour and a half adventure for today. Although cloudy it was still nice and warm at 21 degrees.

May 26th - Memory Lane to Alexandra Bridge

Deb usually posts the blog, but I get to take over for a bit of a trip down memory lane.  With me strapped firmly into the co-pilot seat we headed off to the Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park.  You see, back in (I'm guessing) 1973 I worked a summer job for the CN Rail.  Our crew, called a Signals Gang, consisted of 8 to 10 workers, two supervisors and a husband/wife team for cooking and cleaning.  There were 6 railcars for the crew: 1 cook car; 2 bunkhouses; 1 fuel car and 2 parts and supplies.  We were moved from siding to siding from Boston Bar and ended up the summer just west of Chilliwack. I rode a caboose from Kamloops to Boston Bar to start the job.  The first thing they had me doing was climbing the signals poles. At one point I climbed a pole leaning out over the rushing Fraser River below.  We would ride out from the camp in motorized scooters. One of which was a hand crank to start the motor.

One part of that summer I particularly remember is being stationed at the Alexandra Siding which is right beside the historic Alexandra Bridge and Alexandra Lodge.

The CN Rail siding at Alexandra where our crew stayed in 1973

Back then the old Alexandra Lodge was pretty run down but the place was busy.  Not now, as you can see in the next picture. Looks like I have a big rain spot on my camera, oh well.

Ye Old Alexandra Lodge (if you look close there's a "For Sale" sign). Just above the bridge on the east bank is Alexandra Lodge, one of the more important roadhouses of the many on the Cariboo Road, situated at the base of the arduous climb up the next hill northwards and at the end of the torturous journey connected Yale to Spuzzum. The Alexandra Lodge is one of the few original roadhouses still standing.  (Quote taken from Wikipedia)

On one of my days off the historic Alexandra Bridge was a bit of a hike away but off I went.  No camera for pictures at that time but as a lad of 17 I was pretty impressed.  So I was so happy to get the chance to go back and get some shots.  Here's the first view of the bridge:

 This spot is the location of the original bridge built for the Cariboo Wagon Road in 1863.  The Fraser River flooded out this bridge in 1894 and the remains removed in 1912.  By this time the Cariboo Wagon Road was abandoned as the rairoad had been pushed through. The current bridge was built in 1926 for the new Cariboo Highway.

The Provincial Park wasn't established until 1984, after I was first there.  There is a gradual 10 minute trail to take you down to the bridge.

The new Hwy #1 bridge constructed in 1963.

Side note: In July 2021 the provincial government announced funding for fortifying the existing bridge and fixing ujp the surrounding area.

 Just a couple minute drive north of the Alexandra Bridge is the Hells Gate Air Tram.  Deb really wanted to go on this, but with the rain that settled in by that time we couldn't eat out on the patio so we decided to take some pics and move on.

We were under dressed for the weather on this trip.  When we left the campsite it was 20 degrees and sunny.  The stop at Hells Gate we were in 13 degrees and light rain.  So much for the shorts!

 

May 28th - Highway 12 Lytton to Lillooet and Seton Lake Recreation Site

 I drove us the 60 km to Lillooet yesterday to check out Highway 12 to see if it was okay for the coach. It is a very bumpy, skinny 2 lane highway following along the Fraser River. A beautiful scenic drive but there is also a 1 km section that has had a massive slide and 1/2 a kilometer of it is single lane where you peak around the corner to see if a semi-truck is coming from the other direction.

Next it was off to Seton Lake Recreation Site, a short 6km from the town of Lillooet to check it out for drycamping. It turned out to be a beautiful spot, no camping fees and we cannot wait to visit with the coach. We will come in from Cache Creek to avoid this highway. There is no cell coverage but we will get SAT TV. As Lillooet is only 6 km away we will just go into town once a day to check messages.

May 30th - Setton Lake Campsite

We took the Hwy 99 route through Cache Creek as we said, but some of the road wasn't much better than the Hwy 12 route.

 We did arrive at the Setton Lake campsite in one piece however and got set up in the open area.

The views are spectacular from this campsite. It is a short drive down the road to the picnic area and boat launch at Setton Lake.

The town of Lillooet has quite a few stores and they have a lovely town center with even Buy Low Foods, Subway, A & W etc. They have a town RV Park with a sani-dump but unfortunately it is under re-construction at this time so unavailable. The closest sani-dump at this time is Cache Creek.

There is lots to see and do in this area so I think we will stay until the black or grey tank becomes full. There are a few forest service sites in the area that I would like to check out for the future. We are having a little trouble with internet at this site, we put up the Wilson Antenna but it seems a little intermittent.