Canada – British Columbia – Hope – 1 of 10 provinces on our RV Adventure

If you are a first-time reader, welcome to Lora and Erics RV Adventure Blog. You can read about us at http://www.LoraandEricsRVAdventure.com. We started in December 2017 with a goal to complete 49 states before heading home to North Carolina.

The big day, crossing the boarder into Canada. There has been so much anxiety leading up to this day. Extra tires, copies of important documents, limited beer, wine and cigarettes, and bear proofing.

We start of around 10:00 am from Bothell and head north. The morning has been an occasional of light rain. This may be the first time we packed up in rain since we started. It wasn’t too bad being very light rain. By the time we finished the sun was already breaking through the clouds.

Our goal is Hope, British Columbia, Canada. We booked a reservation at Coquihalla Campground. The travel time from Lake Pleasant RV Park in Bothell, WA to Coquihalla Campground in Hope, BC, CA is 2 h 44 min (151 miles) via BC-1 Trans-Canada Highway.

Heading North we begin to see the snow caped mountains of the cascades in front of us and our left. To our right snow caped mountains of Olympia. Behind us we can see a full view of Mt Rainier. Traffic is good I-5 toward Bellingham. We get off exit 255 in Bellingham and move north east to Sumas, WA. Sumas is the recommended border crossing for RV’s. We see signs showing a 45 minutes delay at the border. As soon as we get into Sumas we stop to get gas to have topped tanks.

Google Maps has us turn down sides neighborhood streets. To our left I see lines of vehicles on the main road going to the boarder. We cross about 10 blocks before we reach the end of the road. We make a left and we are within 50-100 ft of the boarder crossing. We easily can get into the line. We get behind a camper in front of us. All booths are open. We wait as the 6 vehicles in front of us go through the boarder. We pull out the paperwork. We have out beer, wine, and cigarettes in the back seat with Bella Bee.

We pull up and the border agent asks us to shut off the motor. I pass him our passport and dog paperwork. He hands back the Bella’s paperwork. He asks us names, address, license plate for truck, previous work, what are we doing, when were we last in Canada, alcohol, and lastly any weapons. We answer all, including weapons with “no”. He responses North Carolina is a heavy gun state and you own no weapons. I tell him “nope, never believed in them. Lora and the kids all fired a gun, but I have not.” He asked what states we have visited, and have we finished all the lower 48 states. He handed back our passports and said, “have a nice trip”. That was it. All the anxiety for nothing, but it is always good to be prepared and honest.

Once on the Canadian side I switch my MPH display to KPH.

We get onto the highway and start on BC-1 part of the Trans Canada Highway. Hope is 55 minutes into Canada. Hope is part of the Gold Rush Trail. There are multiple gold panning sites available for a charge or free for visitors to try their panning skills. The drive is beautiful. Snow on the mountains. Fraser River roaring down the valley. The road condition is great. Occasionally we see water cascading from the mountainside mostly likely from the rain last night.

We reach Hope and find Coquihalla Campground. The campground is managed by the town of Hope. We book our reservation for 6/24 through 6/26. I found Coquihalla Campground on Passport America. They off the sites at 50% off. We pay $58.80 Canadian instead of $108.80 Canadian. We are given site 57. The site is a back in site. The site power box and sewer is shared by site 57 and 58. The space is wide and side by side we would be facing away from each other so it is not a big issue. We back into the site and setup. We have a nice open area with trees separating the sites nearby. We have a fire pit and picnic table.

A short while after we arrived and setup we see an Ambulance drive through the campground without its lights on. Soon after a police car drives by. Curious, we take a walk toward the back of the campground where several permanent people are located. We spot a tow truck hauler and tow truck loading a camper onto the flat bed.

I gather up firewood from empty sites with firepits containing partially burned wood and branches in the forest. We build a decent size fire with collected wood around us.

We decide to look for a pizza place in town. We google pizza near by. There are 3 options, but none provide subs. We find Panago Pizza. It is a chain pizza shop like Dominos. We order honey garlic wings and philli-steak pizza. I drive into town and pick up the pizza. The food was nasty, the wings was burned, and the pizza was rubber.

We had rain over night and rain is expected throughout the day. We mope around the camper till noon. I try to scoop up some sand and gravel from the river and pan for gold. I believe I find some flakes when panning but do not capture any, maybe because the river is flowing so fast and I shake the pan too much. Lora is experiencing a pain on her left upper buttock. It started when she had gotten up from the chair outside the camper the evening before. Like she pulled something.

I research a few attraction nearby. Othello Tunnels is a 3 km hike through abandoned train tunnels turned into a walking path along the Frazer River. There are 5 tunnels in all. The description suggests flashlights when walking through the tunnels. The next attraction is Bridal Veil Falls. This is the 4th largest falls in Canada.

The sun comes out and we decide to head off. We decide Bridal Veil Falls first. Lora steps into the truck and snaps back in pain. She slowly climbs into the truck in wonder. As we drive the 18 minutes she moves forward to take a photo and screams in pain. That was the worst she experiences. She slowly maneuvers herself. Not sure what to expect we talk about what may have caused it. Is the seat leaned back too much, so each time she bends to take photos she stretches her back, is it the bed, who knows.

We reach Bridal Veil Falls. The path is a 15-minute walk to the falls. Lora slowly gets out of the truck and I put Bella Bee on the leach. She walks slowly up the path with an occasional sharp pain. Of course, we left the hiking poles in the truck. We walk arm to arm for a bit to see if it helps. When we get to the falls she holds onto Bella Bee and I head off for different photo angles. I walk across rocks and flow for the perfect shot always looking for good footing. After I get photos of the lower falls and cascade, I walk up to the base of the falls. It flow is beautiful. This is the 3rd Bridal Veil Falls we have visited since August. The first is Bridal Veil Falls near Franklin, NC. The second is Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite National Park, CA. The third is this one.

I come back down from the base of the falls and find Lora has left the viewing area. I call her on the phone and she says she wanted to be sure she can get down the hill so she left. I meet her very near the bottom. She is still getting pains.

We get back to the truck. We decide to head back to the camper to get Advil. Lora sends a question out on the RV site on what you do in Canada if injured. People chime in suggesting Walk-in Clinics, etc. We are 55 minutes from the border if she does not get better we can head back over the boarder if needed.

Lora takes a 4 hour Advil and we hang out for the remainder of the evening. She begins to fell less pain as the evening moves on. We build another fire for our last night. As normal I head to bed and Lora stays up longer. She cooks spaghetti and meatballs before she is done for the night.

We have some heavy rain overnight. The rain is light drizzle as we begin to pack up. Lora is feeling much better. She had a mild pain. She takes another Advil before we leave. The Advil and prayer appears to be working.

Our goal is to drive to 150 Mile House. We have no reservations. The goal is to drive for up to 4 hours and find a site. We find a Walmart Supercenter in Williams Lake north of 150 Mile House. My google map Walmart Supercenter to have a route to follow. Off we go…

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