August 6: Meziadin Lake to Burns Lake
Bob: Continuing South from Meziadin Lake, the Cassiar Highway kind of meandered through the low, wooded mountains that merged into the coastal mountain ranges to the West. Traffic was still relatively sparse and highway was broad, with nice shoulders and markings, so it was a very pleasant drive with almost continuous beautiful views of the mountains. |
Monika: For the last stretch of the Cassiar the road had gotten wider with lane markings and traffic had markedly increased. Then we hit highway 16, the major highway on the West side of the Rockies. This was the end of the tranquility of the Cassiar. |
Bob: The Cassiar ended at Canada 16, the major East-West route in central British Columbia and the end of the same highway we had followed West as we drove through Canada at the beginning of the trip. Being a major connecting route, we had commensurately more traffic and in particular more truck traffic, which was rather a jolt after days of driving on the nearly-deserted Cassiar Highway. The landscape also changed rather dramatically to broad agricultural valleys with rolling hills covered with farms and pasture land. We stopped for lunch in Smithers, a clean little town just East of a patch of mountains that seemed to be a local center for skiing. Smithers must also have had a active garden club, because there were some beautiful flower beds amongst the city's buildings. |
Monika: Now we had trucks and more cars. The land itself was more settled. We had lunch at a cute little town where even the firehouse was artistic. |
Bob: We had camped the previous couple of nights on the Cassiar, so we were both ready to mix it up by stopping at a nice motel where we could sleep in a real bed and have a hot shower at the very least. When we found a hotel in Burns Lake that advertised free breakfast and free Wifi, it was just too good to pass up so we pulled in for the night. |
Monika: But when we hit Burns Lake around three, I saw a nice looking motel, the Sunshine Inn, that advertised free breakfast, free Wifi, and a laundry facility. Well we were in need of all three and tired, so the car seem to turn in by itself and we availed ourselves of all three. |
August 7: Burns Lake to Williams Lake
Bob: We drove pretty much due East until we reached Prince George, British Columbia, and then turned right to follow the Frasier River southward. The low, rolling, heavily wooded hills between the Rockies to the East and the coastal chain of mountains to the West was covered during our entire day of driving with an enchanting blue mist. The only other place I have seen that shade of blue was in the Blue Mountains of Australia, which I remember fondly and which I yearn to return to. But as sad as we are to leave the Far North, we are looking forward to joining up with Chris tomorrow and then seeing the Portland branch of my far-flung family next week. Once again at the end of the day we were considering whether to camp or check into a hotel for the night. We found a set of three nice hotels right alongside the Frasier River on the southern outskirts of Williams Lake, and decided to see if any of those had a nice room. For those in my family who were worried I would turn this trip into "The Camping Trek From Hell", I submit the view from our bed and balcony out over the Frasier River. Bed, breakfast, Wifi, and a flat screen TV come with the remarkable view down the river, so we are definitely not suffering too much! (We have surely moved upscale in our hostelries!) |
Monika: We kept driving along Highway 16. The landscape was no long scenic, so my picture taking from then on wound down to almost nothing, and what was there was hardly worth it. Oh well. At Prince George we turned onto Highway 97, Highway 16 turned east into the Rockies, while we kept going south along the west side of the Rockies. At Williams Lake, we decided to turn in for the night. We found a nice little motel, and really enjoyed the room we got. It was large with a beautiful verandah with a great view out to the Frasier River. The room and the view together was a magical experience. |
