Category: Our RV Lifestyle

We awake to the sounds of children in the playground.  Still not a fan.

Forecast says cloudy all day,  with a high of 14.  We are now losing daylight  

We need a few things at Walmart but first take a 5m drive to the Ferry to have a looky see.  This contraption had us puzzled last night.  We could only see the tip of it from Bailey, it has flashing light.  Now we know it has something to do with unloading containers. 

What do we spot?? In amongst the containers – Canadian Tire.  Allan points out the CT tractor/trailer we saw was here picking up the containers not delivering to a store as we thought.Unloading a container:  As ships approach the port, they are met by tugs that rotate them to point downstream and nudge them sideways to berth at the quay. Then the unloading process begins. Containers are lifted off the ship two at a time by quay cranes, 450-foot-high behemoths with booms long enough to reach across the width of the ship.  Unloading the ocean vessel can take 1-3 business days.

YouTube of unloading a ship.. click here 

These photos were taken from the Walmart parking lotDreary weather as promised

Allan learned/taught me, we are on a island!  Do not recall crossing a bridge.  Will pay attention when we head back to Telkwa. A walk around the park we find this.  Suspect this closure is not Covid relatedBailey deserves better than this

 

My poor old heart can’t take the excitement for much longer.  We are down one slide, the kitchen side, this morning the big slide didn’t want to retract.  We haven’t had a  problem with it before.  It does close, will it open/close in Rupert??  Locals refer to Prince Rupert as only Rupert 🙂

We leave at 810a, 71,716km

We decided to get fuel at RaceTrac, ready for this, FULL SERVICE! 

When is the last time you had full service?  This station also has propane in a spot we can get to.  This will be the first time, since having Bailey, we get the propane filled.  Such excitement.  The fill was very quick,  Allan doesn’t believe that for $39.15 the tank is full.  The indoor gauge says F 🙂

Entering Smithers we spot a helicopter coming in for a landing.

We’re on the way, missed the Telkwa milage sign-this one is outside Smithers
Beautiful BC   

The Bulkley River is a major tributary of the Skeena River. It is 257 kilometres (160 mi) long with a drainage basin covering 12,400 square kilometres (4,800 sq mi).

Much of the Bulkey is paralleled by Highway 16, it is as fast moving and muddy here as it was in Telkwa. It flows west from Bulkley Lake past Perow and is joined near Houston by the Morice River, its major tributary. The Bulkley continues north past Quick, Telkwa and Smithers. It then meets the Skeena River near Hazelton.

All this to say “Allan, we will  not find the place it flows into the Pacific Ocean as you wanted to, BUT we can find where the Skeena does :)”

Skeena River, 580 km long, rises in the northern interior of BC and flows generally SW, draining about 54 000 km, to meet the Pacific Ocean at Chatham Sound south of Prince Rupert. The second-largest river (after the Fraser River) entirely within BC, its main tributaries are the Bulkley and Babine rivers.   So ends this lesson!!

We stopped for a bum break at 11   

Back on the road 

  Found the required construction hold up

More prettiness

Here we are!   

We arrive at 140.  Check in isn’t until 2.  We use the time to unhook Bob and walk around the park.   We see site 15 and hope we don’t it, site 49 is what we’d like.

In the parking lot       

  A true “toad”

Of course we get site 15, site 49 is actually only 26′.  What we though was one site they rent as 2.

Our front yard.  We’re super impressed!!We get set up, hold my breath!  Yes the slide opens.  All’s good.

Wait, not so fast, this is a 30amp site – our 50amp to 30amp adapter is not working.  No problem, let’s go to Canadian Tire.   Allan has wanted a replacement as this one is slightly charred but has worked.

Wait, there is no Canadian Tire. We’d swear we saw a CT tractor/trailer.

We go to Walmart, NAPA, Home Hardware no one has them.  Everyone we asks says, we have to go to Terrace to get one.  We call Canadian Tire Terrace, they don’t have one.  The RV dealer in Terrace isn’t open on Mondays.  Terrace is 1-1/2h back the way we came.  By  now it is past 3p, I have no interest in going to Terrace.

Sitting in the parking lot, we call the park, no they don’t sell them either-how stupid is that?? She also says you have to go to Terrace.

Allan comes up with the idea to try and fix it.

Back to the park we go!  My super hero, had it repaired in no time.

Maybe tomorrow will change our opinion of Rupert so far, we are not fans.

 

To all our American friends!

10th race of the season, Mid-Ohio 

Josef has the pole, yahoo, Colton is 2nd, boo. It was an exciting race.  Josef lead 40 of the 42 laps and unlike last week, he WON!!  Ericsson, in 2nd,  closed the time behind Josef to 0.7 seconds.  A nail biter finish.  Colton finished 13th.  Race recap here.

     My car moves ahead   

Allan’s car was only ahead for one week, mine will remain in the lead until, at least, August 8th in Nashville.  We are racing here for the first time and it’s Josef’s hometown.  Lots of time off racing because the Toronto race, scheduled for July 19th was cancelled.  Border crossings are still a no go.

Dinner is at the Telkwa Pub.  The walk there is 1/2mile through a trail. This is when leaving the park. We learned the reason the water is brown is, because it is so hot the snow is melting on the peaks bringing mud to the river.   We’ve done the walk several time and try to make a lot of noise as bears are in the area.

Small towns are interesting.  We enter the pub, there are 4 tables with several people at each.  They all stop to look, OK stare. Like who the heck are these people!

The food was good, the beer not to Allan’s liking, service very slow.  Guess the regulars come first.

One of the first times we walked the trail, I found a stick.  Been using it as a walking stick.  We’re going to back at this park so I placed kind of hide it in with the trees.  Can you spot it?  Will it be here when we get back?  Will  we find it?

What am I looking at you ask?  It’s a boat in the Bulkley River.  We saw one the first day we were here and now the last day. 

 

 

Allan’s day to plan the adventures! Twin Falls Glacier National Park then the Smithers Airport to see a bear.

The drive     

Should have read this before setting out-Note that the road is unpaved and can be narrow with low visibility in spots.  It is so easy to “do something every day that scares you” dring this trip.   There are steep drop offs, tight corners, low visibility, then there is, NO visibility around corners in spots.

       Arrived

I wish this showed how steep the trail is.  There are medium/large rocks that are so easy to slip on.  A few more steps we encounter this sign, pretty sure we will not return in winter.  We make it!   The view is breathtaking.           

Next up     Trail not maintained.  What the heck, let’s give it a go.  2 feet in ….let’s not

Off to the airport to see a bear     

We park in one of the sponsored spots

Mask up and in we try to go, arrivals door locked, departure door locked.  How can you lock up an airport?  There are many vehicles but doors are locked, where is everyone?? A family of 4 pull in, mask up and walk towards the door.  We watch, they may know something we don’t.  Nope, they appear equally stunned.  They are likely here to meet the bear.

Perhaps we’ll meet “Phantom” Grizzly Bear next time we are in Smithers.  Click here for Phantom’s story.

We take a walk in downtown Smithers and get to duck.  #42Back home, Allan has 2 jobs.  1) wnats to check Bob’s tailight to make sure the nuts are tight.  One needed a little tightening.   

2) There has been a not overly pleasant smell in the basement that we can detect in the powder room.  Found the culprit!So ends another action packed day!

First up, Smithers.  Allan’s new favourite 🍺 is on sale until tomorrow.  Not being able to resist a sale we’re going to grab a case.

We went to a Costco type warehouse, Bulkley Valley Wholesale, (Bulkey is 50 years old, Costco 37 – did Costco copy Bulkley??)  BC Liquor & Safeway.  Yesterday, BC dropped the mandatory indoor mask mandate, it is still recommended to wear them.  It was a little disconcerting to see how many were not.   We think it is too early to drop the mask requirement, time will tell.

Tyhee Provincial Park, a 5 minute drive from our park is today’s destination. 

Photos taken from the observation deckWhat’s going on here?  The boat needed a battery boost.  

There is a beach with grass, not sand.  This isn’t my photo – the beach was packed so didn’t want to take my own. 

Stop on the drive backI still haven’t taken a photo of Hudson Bay Mountain that does it justice

Bob says “Thanks Allan!”       

Who hasn’t suffered this? 

 

Looks like Allan is enjoying his new office Canada Day is filled with so much controversy this year resulting in the cancellation of many events in solidarity with Indigenous people, and, of course the pandemic still affects the typical Canada Day celebrations.

We will celebrate by visiting Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park

Lost the paved road   

Allan is suited up.  We each have whistles, Allan has bear spray.

Observation point

Park is much smaller, not getting our 10k steps here.  We are already at the end of the trail.

The drive back, cows… Eat Beef!!       

Because we are not near our 10k steps for the day, we walk the trails to Telkwa.

Cool gate

06/30:  Wednesday, the temperatures were so intense they generated thunderstorms and lightning, setting off wildfires which incinerated the entire town. This is Lytton’s Main Street, before and after yesterday’s devastating fire.  Frightening how quickly things can change.  

After a coffee, Allan fires Bailey to give the slide yet another go.   I’m holding my breath.

Reset, sync, in!  The sync YouTube was suggested on yesterday’s FB post.

The slide moves, a bit in, a bit out (the re-sync process).  Allan,   working the control, in & out a few more times and then…

No more hooters, the slide is in!!  Ever since we booked Prince Rupert I had a feeling we would not make it there.  The slide almost made that happen.  Our living space has shrunk, our sense of relief has grown 🙂

Now it’s Bob turn

 

Tail light is back to normal.  Allan ROCKS!

The jobs never end.  Refill the ammonia containers, happy to say/hate to jinx, we have not seen any more poop.

Now the question?? Do we attempt to exend the slide, or live in, our more cozy  quarters till we arrive in a town with mobile service.   I vote for cozy.  Allan is on the fence.  We decide we’ll call the slide manufacturer and get their opinion.  The error code was 5 red flashes, one green indicating a “Major” error.  They suggest, “leave it in until you have it serviced”.  Our guess, it will work as it should when it is in for service.

The water in this park has an after taste, heading to town to buy bottled.  Rain is much needed after the abnormally high temperatures. 

Look!  We now have a room divider

Best time of the day…Fire time                           

The neighbour pops over to say “Getting in your last fire!”   Us “Last fire, no many more to come”.   “Not with the fire ban” he says.  Wait what?

Google.  True enough the ban went into effect today at noon, till October 15th.  Draw back from listening to Sirius is you don’t get local news.

Must admit we burned more wood than normal.

 

 

 

Today, Smithers to pick up the tail light bracket.   A stroll around Smithers will have to wait.  The record setting temps, (37°c/just under 100°f) will have us hiding in Bailey.

The search for a mobile repair company for the slide not coming in is going no where fast!  CoachNet, our service contract people, haven’t been about to find anyone.  We are searching, unsuccessfully, as well.  I am very stressed.  I posted to a FB RV group, hoping someone would have a recommendation.  None do but we do get some suggestions for the DIY repair.  There are 2 motors controlling the slide, which we knew.  We didn’t know they must be in sync or how to do that. One of the posters hilighted that and pointed us to a YouTube.  Lots more reading; owner’s manual, online, watching more YouTube.  With our new found knowledge, Allan is going to give it one more shot on the morning.

Spending all day indoors we are ready to be baked outside.  We can walk, using trails to Telkwa Pub.

Leaving the park’s grounds is a gate, fortunately they gave us a keyAllan was smart enough to bring his whistle, will we need it.

Found the Telkwa Pub, closed Monday & Tuesday. Love the skies       

Fingers crossed the slide closes.

We’re up early.  Today’s trip is about 4h15m.  We have 2 stops to make, Kal Tire to get Bailey’s wheel torqued and Flying J for fuel.  This is Bob’s new look                                                                                                                             We leave MamaYeh at 820a, 71,402k and pull into Kal Tire at 840a.  This may have been a mistake as all the bays are filled.   Allan goes to chat, pull up to 2, the tech will torgue then move the tractor.  Entire thing took 5m

Fuel next,  which station would you choice?  We’re at the 3rd

On the road at 910   

Road side white line painting 

              Telkwa is this side of Smithers, scenery is getting nicer again   

First sign I’ve seen denoting the different fuel cost  Back to having to drive with care                     Hey, it’s hay

Almost there                                                  Snow still on these mountains       

The long, straight road ahead is a nice break from all the twisty turny roads we’ve become accustomed to

We arrive at Fort Telkwa Riverside RV Park at 2   “The name Telkwa is possibly a native term for “meeting of the waters” which appropriately describes the confluence of the Bulkley and Telkwa Rivers in town.” They offer a pressure washer to remove all those nasty windshield bugs.

All outdoor set up done, Allan opens the slides.  Bedroom – check, big slide – check, kitchen X  It goes out but not all the way, when Allan pushed the out button it started to come in.  Oh boy!!  Controller then just gave up.

Your supposed to see all the “hooters”Fortunately, we do have a service contract that hopefully covers this (it hasn’t covered any of our other “oh shits”)  Coach Net will be on it tomorrow. 

 Site 15 overlooking the river                

We’re not doing much exploring because of the temp. 4:52 and it’s still 36 feeling like 39.  Glad we have leftover Chinese for  dinner.

Did go for a, super short walk down to the river

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rather slow day when the hightlight is our  “refresh ammonia” event. 

Bet you now want to make your shoes come to life.

Unintentional  photo   

06/26 – First up

We are leaving this park on Monday.  Today is errand day, and the beginning of a 5 day heat wave, going up to 38 today.  We’re told it never gets this hot here.

Last item on the list is give Bob a bath.   Allan bought a car wash card in Ontario, it has some washes left.  So far, the only PetroCan we’ve encountered with a car wash, is Prince George.  What don’t they have??

The car wash was funky, you had to enter the door closes when you insert your card.  They are unually outside so you have an escape if something goes wrong.

It’s not accepting the card, Allan taps, swipes, it’s finally accepted.

This is the noisiest, jerkyist, wash ever.  We stall, then a LOUD bang!  Start again, drive home.   Advise!  If you hear something strange, STOP & LOOK.  We didn’t.

The bang was, the car wash ripping out the passenger tail light, ggrrrrr  It was dangling while we were driving.  Very lucky we didn’t lose it.  If it dropped, hit a vechicle would/could have been disastrous.  I put the light on the tail gate, fortunately it still works.

      Allan figuring it out

Allan calls the local Jeep dealer.  They don’t have the part in stock, will take 45 days to arrive.  We don’t have 45 days.  Calls to Napa & Lordco, no help.  Small town, the local dealer calls back to say he mis-entered the part number.  We can have the part on Tuesday.  Better but we leave here on Monday.  Allan calls the Smithers dealer (close to where we are heading to on Monday), he can have it on Tuesday!!  Part ordered.  Feeling some relief.

June 27 – Today’s stuff:  Clean Davy, (we’re still in the throws of a heat wave, I feel bad for Allan cleaning outdoors) pack up items for travel, Home Depot return, Canadian Tire, pick up Chinese food for dinner.

Now to secure the tail light till we can get, more research, tells us we want automotive masking tape.  We have clear white packing tape, we’ll use it till we get the proper tape, in aisle 8.                                                                                                                      I’m not a CT fan but do like they list the product aisle number.

Fuel cost, boo.  Allan filled Bob at Costco for 1.29.9/l, ya    Picking up dinner

And the heat goes on…  37c

                                                                  Our fun and tasty dinner wine

So ends our 2 weeks in Prince George, we will stop here again on our way south.