Day 1 - Canada Day - July 1st
Location: Vancouver to Paul Lake
Okay so we're a day late. The original plan was to roll out of Van on June 30th after the wedding in Roberts Creek but we had more to pack/organize than we'd thought and really didn't want our first day of driving to be in the dark. So we decided to stay another night and had a beautiful/delicious dinner with our neighbours Martin and Molly and Andrew put us up for the night. It was pretty great having a civilized breakfast and getting to give my mum a hug before hittin' the road Jack.
So we started off pretty well. Cam cautiously drove to the gas station and somehow, we managed to put air in the tires before they exploded from weight exhaustion. After checking everything over once more, and with a tiny bit of terror, we headed out. To add to the anxiety level the cat yowled at us for about 30 minutes in a very low guttural noise he usually only reserves for bath time. About 10 seconds after letting him out of his carrier he hopped into the front seat and peed on the mat, my foot and bag. Impressive really since he only unloaded about 10 ml. Cam painted a pretty accurate picture of this event so I'll leave it at that.
It was a super beautiful drive leaving Vancouver. Tamara had me get hipstergram before I left, but since my phone has decided that functioning is for chumps, I plan to use this blog as a means for my photo dumping (off my digital camera... I know how 2011 of me).
We stopped in Hope to fuel up and have a little lunch break. I would like to take this time to toot my own horn and announce that I know the most amazing people. My Shaw friends banded together and got us $75 in fuel that took us from Van to Kamloops. I don't know if I've said it enough but thank you. Really though.
It was like a million and ten degrees driving out of Hope and this is where the Jeep decided it had had enough. Can't say as I blame it. Basically the transmission fuel boiled over the top and hit the engine making what would have been a sweet get-away smoke screen cover. Too bad we were traveling at like 30 kmph and weren't really getting away from anyone.
There was an upstanding gentleman that took pity on our souls, pulling over on the super peril shoulder of the highway to help us, and was rewarded with a sweet view of Cam's well... errthang. Here they are, by popular demand... THE shorts:
After that the rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. Chester hid in the back of the car and occasionally screamed as us that we are the worst parents ever. Basically like any other 4 year old would if they had the ability to articulate.
This is us going through Rogers Pass. It was freaking steep driving, and after almost setting the car on fire a few km's before Cam was a little stressed about it. Here he is with his stressed face. You get a sense of our speeds based on the red blur flying by us through the tunnel. Did I mention yet how happy I was that Cam was the one driving?
Like I said, it was HOT AS BALLS on the drive up so we got to exercise our new version of cuddling. Basically it's as little physical contact as possible to reduce heat transfer. We're just preparing ourselves for the inevitabile heat that is Montreal in the summer.
Not long after dinnertime we rolled up to Paul Lake. It was like finding a fountain after wandering around in the desert for 30 days.
We stayed with our friend Sarah's parents. They live in the blue one in the middle (you can kind of make out the orange tarp that covers our bed parked out front). Tell me you aren't jealous.
Days 2 - 4 aka. July 2nd - 4th
Location: Paul Lake/Kamloops
We went into town on July 2nd. It was SO HOT! It was like walking out into a hair blowdryer. Even the wind through town was throwing hot air at us. Not my idea of a good time. So we blitzkrieged through grocery shopping and beer fetching, sprinting from one form of AC to another.
Not long after our arrival back at the house Doug decided it was Margarita time.
He takes his job very seriously. And holy shit were those good margaritas. Except for the "Dooty" that had lime rind in it, but still not all that bad.
We made food, ate the food, made drinks, drank the drinks and had a rather enjoyable day.
Next morning we got up "early", no one set an alarm so pretty much we got up when we felt like it and went for a hike on the far side of the lake. Here are some photos to prove it did in fact happen:
Okay so it might not look like it was much of a vertical climb, but it was. Trust me.
The rest of the day was spent inhaling breakfast, epic napping, fixing the hinge on the trailer that busted before we left Van, and going for a swim in the lake.
Eventually the kitten man came out from hiding in the basement.
Just in time for us to shove him back into his cage for the next leg of our adventure. Look at how unimpressed he is:
Day 4 - July 4th
Location: Kamloops to Edmonton
We got up, made breakfast, hugged Judy and Doug good-bye and were on the road by 10 am. It was a pretty incredible drive on the 16 up through Jasper. These photos give you a little taste of how incredibly beautiful BC is:
I was pretty dead set on kicking it old school, and mapping out our route across Canada. The day before we moved Andrew got us this Garmin, and it's saved our butts more than once. I forgot to mention there was a sign leaving Hope that was trying to send us along some back route logging roads to Kamloops and the Garmin basically called us idiots for believing it, and straightened us out right quick. Thanks for bringing us into the 21st century Andrew.
This is Mt. Robson:
This is Jasper, so I guess Alberta is pretty great too.
Spoiler alert: see those scary assed clouds beginning to form? Shit is about to get so real for us. But seriously this looks like a scene from Twister; silo and everything.
It's at this point that I make Cam aware of the ominous looking clouds forming on the right side of us. He tells me a scary story about how when he was a kid he was looking at a storm forming outside and his grandma sent him to the basement when the dust off the roads began blowing up in circles.
We stopped in Edson for a quick fuel up to get us the rest of the way and as we were driving out of town the dust off the roads was beginning to do that thing I mentioned above.
Not long after this we saw the formation of a funnel cloud:
That tree is about to get MESSED UP!
We weren't sticking around to find out though. "Storms to the left of me, lightning to the right, stuck in the middle with you." - the little known first draft to Stealer's Wheel "Stuck In The Middle With You"
Queue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DohRa9lsx0Q
I never thought I'd be so happy to see Edmonton on the horizon. And it was literally the light at the end of the tunnel.
And somehow the cat slept through most of it:
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