5:00 a.m. is an ungodly hour. Humans should not have to be awake at this time. But me, along with a whack of French students (looked about 13-14 years old) and other travellers boarded the Long Harbour Ferry headed for the mainland.
It was a rainy day. Driving through Delta I saw eagles massed on the ground like seagulls behind a tractor. Everything was wet and green and I passed farms growing blueberries, lettuce, raspberries. Putzing through Langley and Surrey was a bit like trying to drive through Mississauga- too many traffic lights, too many stores.
Around Abbotsford the rain let up. The drive north was gorgeous but tough to take pictures. I stopped for lunch and gas in Merritt then on to Kamloops.
Not an inspiring place. It's dry. There are a ton of big box stores and, for a smallish population, it's spread over quite a large area. North of Kamloops you can see how close last year's fires came to the city. Burnt trees everywhere.
Once you're north of Kamloops the hay ranches take over. About an hour north of that you start to see Hereford cattle. That has given me a craving for a steak at dinner. Meat, lots of meat. The ground is brown, the cottonwoods are a rich lime green and the rivers are very wide and shallow. Once again I felt like I was driving through a Guy Vanderhaege novel.
The inn where I'm staying is pretty funky. It is 'the gateway to Wells Gray Provincial Park'. It has a great diner for breakfast, a nice lounge and dining room and a store for beer, wine and liquor. One stop shopping. Going to head out for my meal as soon as I've finished my marguerita.
So, to my family, you can relax for today. All is well in Wells Gray.
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