Canada at last!

We finally made it across the border with no real issues, except my learning that the information in my owner manuals was incorrect. When we were in Yakima and I told Rocky, Annie’s hubby, that my coach had a 100-gallon fuel tank, he was surprised. He and Annie have similarly sized Providence that is a year older than ours, but they only have a 90-gallon fuel tank. Well, I pushed the distance a bit, assuming the extra 10 gallons in the tank would get me to the next fuel stop. To deal with the anger of the Woman, I at least have a few pieces of new information. My manual is wrong – based on the 5 gallons I had to drive 10 miles into town to buy (I caught the only hardware store in town as it was closing and bought a fuel can) and the 85 gallons I bought after hauling the can back to the Woman waiting patiently with Colectiva, and then using a funnel to get most of the diesel into the tank, I can actually confirm I have 90-gallon tank. I also learned that when you run out of fuel, the “check engine” light comes on, just before the engine dies. Finally, I learned that even though you drain the fuel line that way, it’s not hard to restart the engine once you have added fuel – thank goodness!

We’re starting our way North following the gorgeous valleys of the Canadian Rockies. Chilliwack was an old supply point to the gold miners that were heading North to make their fortunes. We learned that while the Alaskan gold rush began in earnest in 1849, it really didn’t hit the Canadian Rockies until some 20 years later. We started hitting the British Columbia provincial parks outside Chilliwack, hitting both Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Parks. You could easily spend the day hiking and taking in the scenery in any of these parks.

We’re learning that the Canadian Rockies are not unlike the North Cascades. The preponderance of glaciers in the high peaks means year-round water falling everywhere. For every waterfall we hike to, we see another 20 as we drive by. Luckily some of them have pullouts that we can get more than just a passing glance. Each waterfall we find is a keeper, and well worth whatever hike it takes to get to it.

We also found the Othello Tunnels. In the late 1800’s the Canadian Government was in an all-out flurry to finance the development of rail lines in the Canadian Rockies, just north of the US border. That was in order to make sure the wealth in the Canadian western provinces remained in Canada and did not get exploited by the hungry Americans. This series of tunnels built in the 1890’s helped assure that outcome, and now serves as a great hiking and biking destination.

Talk to you soon!