Strange Things Done.....: Farewell to the Wet Coast?

Our evening in Squamish continued almost as planned. The hotel manager recommended a cafe around the corner for dinner, so we ended up at the Copper Coil which specializes in Louisiana-style meals (who'dathunkit???). Gumbo and Jambalaya in Squamish...a good way to bid farewell to the Pacific Shores. Of course, we also had to try the brewery, and ended up trying a few sampler flats to try out the local brew with dessert. We liked, but didn't love the beers we tasted, but the view from the windows, looking out toward the Chief, was spectacular. Our weather forecast had been correct, too - it was pouring rain with thunder and lightning. We managed to get only a little wet on our run back to the hotel for bed.
Next morning we got off to an early (for me) start, and hit the road at 0800, aiming for Whistler for breakfast. Many years make many changes, and Whistler is now a very upscale place. We had a short walk around the village, found some gloves for Linda's cold hands, and did breakfast, before heading out again, now in a Northeasterly direction, and into the mountains and away from the Sea. Next tidal water, hopefully, will be the Arctic Ocean. As we approached Pemberton we saw our first bear of the trip, as he fed peacefully on the highway's grassy shoulder. We dropped into the local liquor store here to pick up some wine/beer for our hosts for the evening. The road north and east from Pemberton (Hwy 99) winds through some very scenic countryside, but none of our pictures could do it justice. We climbed and descended on many steep and winding sections of highway, crossing several one-lane bridges. One of these bridges, crossing Cayoosh Creek, was being rebuilt due to several mishaps of semis with trailers going over the side, and even being featured on the tv series "Highway to Hell". We stopped our eastbound trekking near Clinton and continued northbound on Hwy 97, through Lillooet. From here, places are mostly named as mileages north of Lillooet, as many of the early gold-rush coaches ran up this trail, stopping at inns named for their distance from mile 0 at Lillooet. We were aiming for just south of 100 Mile, to visit some friends, Steve and Laura. But first we took a short detour to visit a place called the Chasm, just a few short km off our route. On the road in, we saw some goats feeding along the railway tracks, and at the Chasm itself (a steep, deep gorge with reddish-coloured layers) we met a couple from Auckland New Zealand.

Goats on the Railway tracks

Cows greeted us at the entrance to Steve & Laura's place

At 93 mile we took a right turn onto Hwy 24 and followed our friend Gary's hand-drawn map to find our destination. We got within a half mile, and then had to find a hill to get a bar of cell coverage for final phone directions. Weather all the way north had been quite showery, with some rain, hail, snow, and wind - so we were thankful to be staying with friends rather than camping. Steve and Laura live off the grid on 160 acres, in a self-built log home. Cooking is on a wood stove, propane heats the water, and electricity comes via solar panels and batteries. The property is waterfront, on a picturesque lake. They are looking after their daughter's Golden Lab puppy (2 months old) - of course I wanted to adopt the little guy, but I resisted. We had a lovely dinner and visit with our friends before saying goodnight.

Steve and Laura with puppy Nemo

S & L's lovely Log Home

Next morning it was onward, back to Hwy 97 and north, past 100 Mile, Williams Lake, and Quesnel. The aim was to visit Barkerville, a historic gold-rush era town which has been preserved mostly as it was. We headed east again from Quesnel, driving some 50 km, and again through snow, hail, rain and cold (5 deg. C). We also passed our second bear of the trip, this one also munching on the side of the road. Still not great for camping, so 8 km from Barkerville we pulled into a small village called Wells (actually itself a gold-rush town from a subsequent 1930's boom), and got a room in the Wells Hotel. Then on to Barkerville, where we managed to fill a couple of hours of touring the area. They have extremely well-acted tours of the place put on by "period" residents, and we enjoyed it thoroughly - but not completely, so plan to return in the morning to finish our exploration of the place. Again, we were getting damp and cold in the snow showers, so ended up purchasing a toque for Linda before returning to Wells for the evening. Now I'm beginning to believe in fate.....we went into the pub at the Wells Hotel, and what to my wondering eyes should be seen, but an unbelievably vast collection of Single Malt Whisky. This bar has over 240 different types of scotch! Naturally, Linda and I had to try a few before dinner, and then a few more after. They have all of my favourites, and many which I'd never heard of, and some I had heard of, but never tasted. Fate, pure and simple.
So now I'm sitting warm and happy in my hotel room, finishing up the Blog du jour. Tomorrow will be a bit more Barkerville, before returning to Quesnel to visit another friend. The forecast continues to call for cold and showers, so perhaps we'll be camping after that, on Monday's warm and sunny disposition.