Big, Big BC: Nights 1 through 5

Night 1 Chilliwack
Left the house about 10 to catch the 11, with a reservation. We walked Blarney around a half empty car deck. Two young workers were throwing a football in the empty, cavernous space.

Both of us are "hacking" at intervals. I had a spell while we waited in the food line. Wetted my jersey from coughing into my elbow. Felt sorry for the folks near us.

We have arranged a rendezvous with Bob and Helen at the Cottonwood RV south of Chilliwack. They arrived 7ish, late, after a frustrating wait for there Pleasure Way van. Joan gave them a great dinner and they took off shopping.

Blarney is happy as a clam. "He just likes having the complete and undivided attention of his mom and dad," said Joan.

Night 2 Cache Creek
Long time since I've been in Cache Creek, probably 20 years. There's still not much! We found a Safeway and other shops along the highway strip so typical of BC small towns. Pretty near impossible to shop without a car.

The Brookside RV park was about 2 K out of town, along a small, very swollen creek. We found a nice size field bordering the park where Blarney could run after the ball.

Gaye and Terry visited during the afternoon and we had a few minutes chatting in the sun before the rain hit. Joan and I tried to take naps but as usual the cough won. It seems only moments after we go horizontal that the persistent tickle sets us coughing.

Bob and Helen took us to dinner at a local restaurant. The menu included Liver and Onions and Salisbury Steak, so old fashioned, we loved it.

Joan and I kept the trailer vibrating through the night with our coughing, blowing and getting up and down for the toilet. Neither of us was able to get a proper night's rest. It's a vicious bug with no forgiveness.

Night 3 Quesnel
Very rough morning. Both of us survived on mimimal sleep and much coughing. Drove over a fireplace and dragged it a few yards. Found out in Quesnel that I'd left the base for the trailer jack behind. Also turned the wrong way leaving the campsite.

Had a very fussy, but helpful fellow look afer us at the Airport Motel and RV park in North Quesnel. We were the only customers except for one fellow who arrived with an ancient RV, probably 70s, towing a jeep. He left early morning in the RV and not the jeep. I went back south to CHEMO, an RV supply to find a new jack. Bought one for 20 but the diameter is wrong so will continue to use blocks.

Some confusion over which way to turn this morning. Are we in North or South Quesnel? It's big enough to make navigating a challenge.

The Quesnel Museum, attached to the information centre, was a small jewel. Their display of local native works was stunning. I was shocked to find a old-fashioned dentist office including the drill I remember so well from my childhood. We missed the 1000 year old prophylactic but still talk about it.

Night 4 Mackenzie
Arrived about 4 and went straight to the "mall" and drug store to get prescription. Short tour with pictures of the high school and Mary's old apartment.

Spent most of the morning getting in to see a doctor, young girl from South Africa. After a one hour plus wait, came away with prescription for antibiotics and cortizone nose spray. I'm looking forward to having a dry nose after two weeks.

The campground sits adjacent to the municipal yard, gravel, dirt and rough grass. The washrooms are spacious and clean so no complaints. No one around so Blarney has the run of the place. A large space has been set aside for stacking snow and large, glacial like hunks still remain unmelted.

A howling wind kept us inside most of the time. We ate in Bob and Helen's van. The trailer shook a few times when gusts hit us broadside.

Night 5 Hudson's Hope
Began the morning with a tour of the local beach, actually called First Beach, created when the Bennett dam created a huge lake. Blarney had a ball game on the sand. The wind stirred spray and whitecaps. We checked the water temperature because we'd been told the ice had just gone off a few days earlier. A few minutes later, on the drive north, we passed lakes still solid with ice! Should be fun in Alaska!

Lunch in Chetwyn was an event. The lady at the Visitor Centre told Joan, "They use real cooked turkey at the cafe in the Rec Centre," so we checked it out. It was the first Rec Centre Bob and Helen had visited so turned out very positive. Homey, local ladies running the restuarant, very impressive building. Lasagna was excellent, turkey sandwich fine, fish good but French fries lacking.

Joan and I are still the world's best hackers. We do it everywhere. YIkes! Will it ever end?