Either side of the Canadian border

17^th June

It stopped raining some time in the night. We drove back thru the Wild West-looking town of Winthrop and headed down the valley. The geography changed gradually from forest to dry arid until we hit the ‘97’ and the Columbia River. It was now very much like Central Otago with dry rocky hills and orchards following the river valley. We are on a short detour to Lake Chelan. We were told by a guy several weeks ago, of a mail boat trip up this lake which we should not miss. We drove down towards the lake and both said, “we are in Wanaka”. The arid hills, the lake frontage and the houses were very similar. The only camp was run by the city and on the waterfront. It was very nice with lots of space and huge grassed areas, but expensive. As our boat trip will take all day tomorrow we have booked in for 2 nights. We biked thru the town and around to where the mail boat will leave from tomorrow, to pick up our tickets. Back thru the town and a walk around the shops. The weather is now very hot and sunny. What a change from yesterday. The camp is filling up as it is now the school holidays and like Wanaka, this is a holiday destination.

18^th June

The alarm went off at 6:30am and we were on our bikes to the boat by 7:45am for our 8:30am sailing. This lake is 51 miles long but very narrow. The trip takes 4 hours each way with a 90 minute stop at the other end, Stehekin. The “Lady of the Lake” is the only way to get to most of the areas along this lake shore. We stopped many times to drop people off, deliver freight and even mail.

The mail is done using a long pole with the mail bag tied to the end. We spoke to an old couple who were returning from a shopping trip to their summer home, only accessible by this boat. They spend the winters in Arizona. For the first 10 miles we passed multi million dollar homes on the lake shore. As we went further up the lake we could see the Cascade Mountains we had been in a couple of days ago. At one stage we dropped off a gang of miners who were cleaning up an old disused copper mine.

All very interesting. At Stehekin we got off the boat and after going to the visitor’s centre (we are back in the Northern Cascade National Park) we climbed a track for better views of the lake and the mountains. At 2:00pm the “Lady of the Lake” blew her horn and we got back on board for our 4 hour trip home, stopping again for the same things. The day was warm and clear and we thoroughly enjoyed the trip. After a pizza for dinner we spoke to a Canadian couple in the camp about what we could or could not take across the border between the USA and Canada. Seems like only pip fruit and corn are a problem.

19^th June

We shopped for the last time in the USA for a while before leaving Lake Chelan.

We retraced our route for about 25 miles up the ‘97’ before heading further north towards the Canadian border. It was still very much like Central Otago. This is a vey famous apple growing area. The valley got narrower and we have stopped (after fuelling up - petrol is much dearer in Canada) at the town of Oroville. We are at a state park beside a nice lake. There is a bike trail following an old rail track here. We went to the visitors centre to enquire about it. We will the cycle the trail tomorrow. Back at our camp we went for a swim in the lake. The water was nice and warm and the sun is out and the temperature is around 28C. All very nice. We will stay here 2 nights and before heading across the border 4 miles away.

20^th June

It was summer temperatures in the night and we retired one of our duvets. A leisurely start to the day before packing our lunch and setting off for our bike ride. The trail followed the Similkameen River passed some vineyards before the gorge narrowed. At first we thought the trail was 12.5 miles, a nice longish ride. Then we found that the last section had not been completed so the trail was shortened to 7.5 miles. After cycling 4 miles the trail ended. The mileage must have been a return trip! It was still a nice ride with great views of the river.

We sat and ate lunch looking at a waterfall/dam before a very leisurely ride back to “Ernie”. The wind had got up and a swim was not appealing. It was still warm though.

21^st June

During breakfast we talked to an ex Aussie and his wife who told us our American cellphone would not work in Canada. Bugger! We had a short stop at the border and continued on to the first town in Canada, Osoyoos, where we used an ATM for some Canadian dollars. At the visitors centre we got a couple of maps that will get us thru to Vancouver. We are now back to kilometres which is a bit confusing. The landscape was much the same with fruit growing in the valley and ever increasing rocky hills either side.

The road climbed onto a plateau and we were in forest again at the top end of the Cascade Mountains. We followed the Similkameen River and found a camp site on its banks for the night.

22^nd June

We sat around in the sun reading as we did not have far to go. At around 11:00am continued following the Similkameen River eventually climbing a pass into a different river valley with views of the Cascade Mountains. At the Info Centre at Hope we stopped for some maps of British Columbia and Alberta which will cover our Canadian trip this year. We texted the girls and got a reply. So much for the ex Aussie who claimed our cellphone would not work in Canada! We crossed the Fraser River and found our camp at Kilby on the shores of Lake Harrison. It was a beautiful spot with many families swimming, fishing and boating. The water was a little cool for us to swim and the mosquitoes were savage. Insect repellent kept them away but I got bitten thru my T-shirt. After dinner they drove us inside.

23^rd June

We continued down the north side of Lake Harrison before crossing to the much busier ‘1’ freeway on the south shore and our run into Vancouver. We are about 20kms from the city centre in Surrey. We had booked the camp some time ago as they offered a special rate to allow us to park “Ernie” while we are away on our cruise which leaves on 25^th June. The camp is a bit run down but will serve the purpose. The friendly receptionist told us of a light rail system which we will use to get to the cruise ship. We biked to the local shops for a look around and to get some Canadian stamps. Our arrival at Vancouver marks the halfway point of our trip.

24^th June

It rained heavily in the night and was dull and overcast in the morning. Our day will be spent readying ourselves for our 7 night Alaskan Cruise which we join tomorrow. We will try and publish this blog today. There is only an internet hotspot up by the office however.