Belingham RV Park Bellingham, Washington Day 3

It rained all night and it was raining this morning.  The rain lessened and we thought we would try to get out on our bikes for awhile.  It was sprinkling when we left but it stopped as we continued our ride.  We cycled down to the waterfront in Bellingham.

We rode around downtown looking for a potential dinner restaurant.

We saw a sign for a Greek festival and we made our way to Saint Sophia Church.  We shared a gyro before continuing back to the campground.

Just as we turned the corner to the RV the rain began again.  It did not stop all day.  I spent the afternoon with Desiree getting my hair cut and styled.  We actually had a cable TV connection so Tim got to watch football.  Go RAVENS!!

We went to dinner at Jalapenos Mexican Restaurant.  I had a Big Mama margarita and yummy Hawaiian shrimp fajitas.  Tim had Dos Equis and chicken fajitas.

Not sure yet what tomorrow will bring.  We are at the mercy of the Jeep dealer and the weather.

Bellingham RV Park Bellingham, Washington Day 2

Today is day 100 of our trip.  Yes, we miss friends and family!  Yes, we are still having fun!  Yes, we still like traveling together!

Several people had told us how beautiful Mount Baker is.  We decided to take our Chrysler on a field trip.

It was misty and cloudy but it was still a nice ride.  This area is a rain forest.  The vegetation is thick and very green.  Mosses cover the rocks and the tree trunks.   Dense patches of ferns litter the forest floor.

We took a short walk to Nooksack Falls.

At the summit…this was the view.

What the view looks like on a sunny and clear day.

We stopped at a farmer’s market on the way back.  Delicious strawberries, beets, melon, and tomatoes.

Tim rested at the RV while I made the grocery run.  The store was mobbed.

When I got back we got to FaceTime with David and Andrea, Oliver and Austin.

Kyle called  short time later.  Talking to the kids was the best part of our day!  We miss all of you!!

Fresh silver salmon for our dinner.

Bellingham RV Park Bellingham, Washington USA

Mileage:  49,701

We left Lynden this morning and traveled through farming country to get to the “big city” of Bellingham.

We dropped the Jeep off at Rairdon Jeep and took the RV to the Bellingham RV Park in town to wait for the diagnosis and plan.

We took our bikes out to ride.  I decided to follow the signs that said fresh salmon ahead.

It was  a nice ride along the Bellingham Bay.

This guy was selling salmon in his backyard.   We was selling the salmon he caught yesterday…whole…oh…

He agreed to gut it and filet it for me for a fee of $2.00…totally worth it!

When I got back to the RV Tim had already talked to the Jeep dealer.  They problem was with the tensioner and the part had to be ordered.  They could get it Monday.  In the meantime, they would pay for us to have a rental car and everything would be covered by the warranty.  Enterprise came to deliver our car.  A Chrysler 300.  It reminds me of the car my grandfather always drove.  It is nice and comfy and new and free and we don’t have to be stuck at the campground all weekend!

We took it for a scenic ride on Chuckanut Drive.

We headed into downtown Bellingham for dinner.  We heard there was live music at the Boundary Bay Brewery and Bistro.  We shared appetizers and then went outside to listen to Ebb Shack and Flood.  This is a band that did not fit neatly into any particular genre but I would say they were a mix of funk, reggae, and jazz.

 

 

 

Lynden KOA Lynden, Washington USA

Mileage:  49,676

We had decided that we just need to go back to the states to have the Jeep repaired.  This eliminates some of the possible ideas we had for finishing our time in Canada…but we need to have a working vehicle.  Tim made an appointment for Friday at a Jeep dealer in Bellingham, Washington.

We left early this morning and traveled past lakes and ponds and cattle.  When we got to the main road and headed south we were treated to magnificent views all day long.  Initially the scenery was scrubby brush with rocky outcroppings, ledges, and cliffs.  The hills were lumpy and rippled and rumpled.  In stark contrast there were irrigated,lush, green fields of hay and other crops.

We stopped at this produce stand.  The orchard is across the street.  The plums and peaches and apples and pears were just picked and dripping down your chin delicious.

The road follows the Thompson River through the Fraser Canyon.  There are very active railroad tracks on both sides of the river.  We saw one train that was at least a mile long.

The river is a swiftly moving torrent of water, clear and green.  You could see the river stones through the water from above.

In the town of Lytton, three rivers come to join.  The confluence caused the water to become more silty.  The scenery also changed.  The area was dense with fir trees.  Hell’s Gate is the narrowest section of the river.  Here the river is 110 feet wide.  The water passes through the gorge at 200 million gallons of water per minute.  The only way to actually see it though is to pay $24.00 per person to ride the airtram above it.

We decided it wasn’t worth it time and money wise.  We found a pullout that had a path leading down.  We walked for part of it and these are the pictures we could get from the trail.

More pictures from today’s ride.

We crossed into Washington, USA at Sumas.  The border patrol took our grapefruit…no citrus allowed back into the states.  We drove to Lynden to the KOA.  Tim spent time with our neighbors in the campsite next to us.  They are interested in maybe traveling to Alaska.  We had fun trying to convince them to go!

I am glad to have my phone back!  Yay for cell service and WiFi!!

 

Emerald Lake Campground at Green Lake Provincial Park BC, Canada

Mileage:  49,434

We did some chores this morning while awaiting a call from the Jeep Dealer.  By 9:30 I was on my way to get the finished Jeep with a new serpentine belt!  Hooray!!

We traveled to the town of 100 Mile House.  We stopped at the information center for guidance.  The woman there was great and she suggested Green Lake Provincial Park for camping tonight.

So peaceful here and beautiful.  A slight breeze, bright sunshine, blue sky, emerald green lake water, and mild temperatures…a perfect day.

We took our bikes out and cycled on the gently rolling country roads.

We met a guy riding his 1978 classic Honda Scooter.  He lives here and he started to tell us about the wildfire last year.  He said the fire was 110km long and 100km wide.  They had 18 helicopters and 4 planes working all day for 31/2 months to try to eradicate the fire.  33 homes along the lake were lost.  There are great black sections of forest visible from across the water.

Later in the afternoon we took the Jeep on a 4WD road.

We were on our way back to our campsite when Tim noticed the steam coming from under the hood of the Jeep.  Another shredded serpentine belt…we were 3 or 4 miles from the nearest house…out in the back-country.  Tim was able to remove bits of belt.  We waited for the engine to cool and crept onward until the engine overheated again.  Tim got most of the belt untangled from the engine.

Notice the wet spot under the Jeep…

We were waiting for the engine to cool down again when we saw the fox prowling for his dinner.  He didn’t run from us but continued on his mission…before finally trotting down the dirt road.  While Tim was under the Jeep I was taking pictures of the fox…and standing guard so that we were not suddenly surprised!  Tim didn’t really care much about the fox.

We added water to the still boiling radiator and traveled onward until we overheated again.  This time we were on the paved road where there were nearby houses.

Tim used this method:

1. A) Putting the car in drive and getting it up to speed
2. B) Putting the car in neutral and turning off the engine and coasting down the hill
3. C) Turning the engine on and putting the car in drive to get us up the hill…and this is the way that we limped it home!

If you ever use this method…be careful going around corners because without a serpentine belt there is no power steering.

We were both very grateful to be back with the RV.  He had a beer and I had some Malbec.  We cooked steaks on the grill and laughed about our adventure!  I never felt unsafe but I was really glad we didn’t have to walk out of there in the dark!

Williams Lake Stampede Grounds Williams Lake, BC, Canada Day 3

Our appointment with the Jeep dealer was at 8:30…we had to set an alarm!

The good news is that the serpentine belt is covered under our warranty…the bad news is that it has to be ordered.  It should be here in the morning and it should take about an hour to fix.

One more day in Williams Lake…without a car.  The dealer took us back to the RV.  Shortly before noon we got on our bikes.  Some pictures from town.  The logs cover acres and acres or hectares and hectares.  The company manufactures composite wood products.

This is actually a mural on a building in town.  It looks so real that we thought there was a man standing there.  The painting actually reminded us of our good friend, Tim Ensor!

We had lunch at the Oliver Street Bar and Grill, thinking of our little man Oliver!

The stampede grounds from the highway.

We biked back to the campground and had a long lazy afternoon.  We did bike around the stampede grounds.  At around 5pm horses and trailers started to arrive.

We had a picnic dinner.

After eating we headed over to the grandstands to watch.  The girls were doing a barrel racing competition.  It was the highlight of the day!

We worked on this project yesterday.  The black line is our travel route through Canada and Alaska.  The pins are each place that we have camped.

Williams Lake Stampede Grounds Williams Lake, BC, Canada Day 2

We started the day with a walk at Scout Island Nature Center.

We were hoping to ride our bikes today.  I had seen that there was a River Valley Trail.  We went to check it out.

This was a mountain biking trail…too steep and crazy for us on our bikes.

I went to get supplies and we did a few things in the RV.

Most of the day was lazy.

We did ride our bikes around the campground and across the highway at the Boitanio Park.  We are waiting to see what the Jeep dealer has to tell us tomorrow.  It could be way worse…we could still be stuck in Bella Coola!

Williams Lake Stampede Grounds Williams Lake, BC, Canada

Mileage:  49,349

We left Nimpo Lake early this morning.  We decided to drive all the way back to Williams Lake.

We passed hundreds of cows and calves and bulls right on the roadside.  All out for their Sunday morning walkabout.

The scenery was pretty.

The Jeep dealer had recommended the Stampede Grounds for camping close to the dealership.

We got here in the early afternoon.   It started to rain.  Tim Watched NASCAR as best he could with our poor WiFi connection and I read most of the afternoon.

I walked after dinner to take some pictures of our campground.

Vagabond RV Park Nimpo Lake, BC, Canada

Mileage:  49,164

I couldn’t go to sleep last night and so I got up to read at 10:30.  The sky was an inky black and glittering with thousands of stars.  The white wash of the milky way was visible across the lake.  I don’t know if I have ever seen a more beautiful sky.

The morning air was cold,with frost on the Jeep again.  The flock of white pelicans was feeding in the water.  The lake was still, and calm; serene.  The fish were jumping.  The morning light was soft and lovely.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that this is not a dream…but our real life.

Today we just drove to the next town.  We camped at the Vagabond RV Park.  The afternoon was spent cleaning the bathroom and vacuuming and washing floors and doing laundry.  It was too cold and windy to really enjoy being outside for very long.  Our campsite was up on the hill away from the water.  We could hear the loons calling to one another.

I took a walk.

Later we walked across the street to the general store just to get out for awhile.

This beer was a pleasant surprise.

We have to be in Williams Lake by Monday evening to take the Jeep to be fixed.  So, we are creeping back to town.

Escott’s Bay Resort Anahim Lake, BC, Canada Day 2

I woke up really early and saw a solitary white pelican on the water in front of the RV.

I worked on the blog for a couple of hours before Tim got up.  He saw a flock of white pelican further across the lake.  Our plan today was to drive the Jeep on the infamous Highway 20 dirt and gravel hill to Bella Coola. The gravel portion is 39 miles long. Full of switchbacks, sheer drop-offs and with 18% grade it is one crazy ride.

This road was built for the landlocked community of Bella Coola back in 1953.  The government refused to build the road so the citizens built it themselves.  With a single bulldozer working from Bella Coola and later a second working from Tatla Lake, the road was carved along the mountainside.  The two dozers met and touched blades.  There is a sign on the rocks commemorating the moment.

The road was called the Freedom Road because of the added opportunity it offered the citizens of Bella Coola.

Today was cool but beautiful for a drive.  Many people who have never been to British Columbia in Canada might underestimate the wild beauty here…we certainly did before we took this trip.  This trip was all about Alaska, but many of our favorite campgrounds and drives have been here.  It is all about the journey…not just the destination.

The view around the first curve of “the hill” was breathtaking and we were really happy we decided to do this side trip.

We went into 4WD mode on the Atnarko Tote Road.

Then a little further along we took the backroad to the McCall Flats Recreation Site and then the forest service road across the way.

The Jeep smelled a little like burning rubber but we had been heavy on the brakes all the way down the hill.  There was an area of road construction with rough gravel and that is when we noticed the weird whining noise.  It went on for awhile before we could stop and check.  There was a piece of a belt hanging underneath the Jeep and reddish fluid leaking from somewhere down there.  Tim determined that it was power steering fluid.  Fortunately, we were not too far from a service center.  The guy there was already in vacation mode for the 3-day weekend.  He said he and his boss were going to Williams Lake and maybe they could tackle our Jeep on Saturday night and NO they did not have power steering fluid…but maybe the general store down the road would.  The general store did have power steering fluid and we bought 2 quarts.  We filled the reservoir and continued toward Bella Coola.  We finally had enough cell service to look up mechanics.  Albert’s Repair Services was 8.4 km away and had a 5-star rating.  The mechanic got us in fairly quickly after taking a quick look in the parking lot.  He took the Jeep back and came out shortly to pronounce “Worst case scenario, new power steering pump.  The seal is broken on the pump.  It’s a holiday weekend so hopefully we can get the parts by Wednesday of next week.” Oh, and it’s going to cost $700.00 – $800.00 for the parts…his best guess. Okay, the parts have to come from Williams Lake…300 miles away…the closest Jeep dealer.  This is the equivalent of driving from Reisterstown to North Carolina somewhere.

Oh my…our RV is back over the hill…approxitmately100 miles away…safe and plugged in with all of our stuff.  We were just going into Bella Coola for a fun day trip. Okay, we will stay in Bella Coola until the Jeep is fixed next Wednesday…unless the truck can’t get here and then we are looking at next Friday!  The guy says we should rent a car and just drive back and get the RV and camp in Bella Coola until the Jeep is ready…actually he tried to convince us it would be better to stay outside of town.   Okay, drive the RV over that huge hill with all of the switchbacks and the steep grade and the acute drop-offs…NO!  Okay, so yes, we will rent a car and stay somewhere close by.  The mechanic calls the rental company for us.  Great, they can be there in 20 minutes.  $100.00 per day for the rental.  Okay, can you recommend someplace we might stay.  They tried again to convince us to stay out of town…I am thinking cute little town on the water with shops and restaurants and it would be fun to stay in town.  They give us a bunch of options and phone numbers.

The mechanic went back into the bay to take the car apart and figure out what parts to order today so that they can hopefully get here on Wednesday.  Tim went back with him to start to collect the cooler and his tennis shoes so that we could be ready when the rental car guy got there.  The mechanic found another piece of what was a part of our serpentine belt.  The piece was wedged against the seal of the power steering pump and the pulley and when he removed it the seal resealed itself…wow!  “I think I fixed it” he said.  It was a mini miracle.  The serpentine belt had lost a rib but was still functional.  The mechanic took it for a test drive and there was NO leak!

He called the car rental guy “Steve, hold up, I think I fixed their Jeep.”  If you have cash it will be $75.00.  Gladly, happily, we paid him.  His name was Jeff.

Jeff saved the day!

We still kind of wanted to go see Bella Coola.  It would be a good chance to test the seal, I reasoned.  We went into town and really there were no cute shops, no seaside town, no nice restaurants…it was a kind of sad and rundown place and then we understood why the mechanics thought we should stay elsewhere.  What would we have done here for all of those days!?!

There was a harbor area for fishing boats and for the ferries on the maritime highway.

We were afraid to be to giddy…we still had a couple of hours drive back up the hill and all the way to Anahim Lake.  I felt like we were both holding our breath.  But we made it!  Thanks to Jeff!  The Canadian people have been so kind, and so hospitable, and so gracious.

We will start to head back to Williams Lake tomorrow, towing the Jeep, where we have an appointment first thing Tuesday morning to have the serpentine belt replaced…of course not covered under warranty…but oh well.

We did get a little worried but it’s all part of it…another day in our adventures!