The Gold Rush Trail!

My discovery of the day is that I can use the coffee grinder on the inverter with my new house battery!!!!!!!!!!

I left Chilliwack fairly early, before nine and eagerly pushed on past sort-of-familiar territory back to Hope where I finally began to head north! Of course, Transport Canada removes some of the thrill by labeling the highway direction as east.

This stretch of road is called the Gold Rush Trail. I cannot begin to describe the wave of emotion I felt when I saw the first sign welcoming adventurers heading north. I am certain that had I been born a century and a half ago, I would have been the same non-conformist heading north with her 1,000 lbs of personal goods.

I drove steadily, stopping occasionally to stretch my legs and take in the view.

My longest break was at Hell’s Gate, after which I actually started to look for a place to stop for the day even though it wasn’t even eleven yet! I’d mapped out a couple of possibilities, but they were difficult to get into, so I pushed on, stopping just shy of one at a rest area to have lunch.

The scenery was breathtaking and as desert-like as I’d been warned. There were moments I could have sworn I was somewhere in the Mojave desert en route to Las Vegas!

Drama at Cache Creek

I stopped for gas in Cache Creek, which was much smaller than expected. On the way out of the service station, I clipped a guy’s mirror with the toad’s mirror. It apparently made quite a bang, but I heard nothing, just saw a a crazy looking livid man running after me yelling “YOU HIT MY CAR!” He was beyond reasoning with even though, after inspecting his car, it was obvious that the only damage was a tiny chip of paint lost on the mirror casing, The chip could only be felt, not seen, so, really, talk about over reacting! I had no damage.

Thankfully, his wife was able to diffuse the situation by seeing the damage done, not the damage that could have been done. I offered them a 100 bucks for their trouble, but she could see that there was barely a scratch on the car, nothing worth her husband’s undue fussing and she said that all was well. I still felt horrible, of course, but, really, that guy seriously over reacted!

Why Do I Trust Majel?!

Just after that, I followed Majel’s directions to get to Chasm Provincial Park. Must. Stop. Doing. That. I drove I don’t know how far out of my way before I saw a turn around point then… I pushed on. The area was so pretty I hoped to find a turn off where I could spend the night, but the road was too narrow. At the next turn around point I came to my senses and doubled back to the 97, wasting I don’t know how much gas.

I saw a sign for another provincial park that was open and had room for RVs, but missed the turnoff. Signage is really, really poor and I wish I had a co-pilot. Sometime later, I saw the turn off for the Chasm lookout point and here I am. There is no sign saying no parking, so I’m staying. I am beyond beat; the Cache Creek thing ruined my mood. 🙁

Chasm Provincial Park

The chasm lookout is barely a turnout, just a strip of  muddy road and not a particularly level place to stop. I picked the best spot and staked my claim. It’s very isolated out here and it feels so nice to be by myself.

The chasm is breathtaking, one of those gems you have to find on your own. It is at least as gorgeous as the Grand Canyon! It’s the most awesome backyard I have ever had and my most successful boondocking experience yet!

I arrived here around 4 and had a pleasant, homey evening that concluded with my watching a movie on the new laptop. Love the new laptop!!!