Our walk takes us by a salmon hatchery where we meet Mabel
We’re done in Houston, back in Smithers. Look up! We parachuted about 20 years ago. Time to again??
End the day finally getting our reward for having our second jab. We’re at Alpenhorn Bistro & Bar. Snack was BBQ pork potato skins. Never tried these before. Delicious!
Not much planned for tomorrow, we’ll see what shakes out.
We ducked, shopped at No Frills, as we are exiting a siren sounds, very loudly. “What the heck is that?” We are a little alarmed, no one else reacts. Must be OK. Google, my friend, tells me the story behind the noon siren:
The sounding of Smithers’ fire hall siren every day except Sunday – a prominent (and sometimes alarming, YES we were alarmed) Smithers tradition – has its origin in a fire. This tradition has existed since at least 1956, when a siren was installed in the community’s fire hall. The tradition may have begun earlier. An Interior News article in 1949 notes the following:
“As a result of the failure of the village fire siren on the occasion of the recent fire, arrangements have been made between the Telephone office and the council to blow the siren every day except Sunday at 12 o’clock noon. The siren had formerly been sounded only on Saturdays, but apparently this is not often enough to ensure that it is in good working order as was shown when it failed to work after a short blast during the Smithers Garage fire.
This new policy caused a flurry of excitement on Monday of this week when few were aware of the change. To make matters worse a short developed in the wiring and the siren wouldn’t shut off until the hand switch was pulled. Incidentally the siren won’t be sounded on Sundays.”
Boville Square: Provides the community a location for small and medium sized arts/music/cultural performances and special events. There is no rental fee to use the park/stage.
Downtown, Main Street
Smithers, home to our 2nd jab!
Home Hardware knows, now that we are double vaxxed, Covid is “almost” over. Time to bail on PPE…
We are a bit concerned about getting out of this site. We didn’t have to be, 2 back & fros, we’re out! Hook up Bob in the parking lot and we’re on our way. Did I already say, this is our least favourite spot so far?
Pull out at 835a; 72,141k
Hwy 16 from Prince George to Price Rupert is known as “The Highway of Tears”, we pass many hanging red dresses between Rupers & Terrace ☹
Not far from Rupert, the sun and blue skies return. We haven’t seen them since arriving in Rupert. Unless we decide to take the ferry to Alaska; I doubt we will be here again.
Terrace
Encounter the required road construction
And beautiful scenery
This is where you’d turn if you are driving to Alaska. North to Alaska 🙂
122p Back at Telkwa Riverside RV Park, Bailey gets a much needed bath. Allan worked the pressure washer, I worked the brush = no photo.
Our water filters, Kyle forwarded to the Telkwa Post Office arrived yesterday so off we go to pick them up and try the local food truck, Zittlaus’ Quick Eats for dinner. Love supporting local businesses. The food was good, cheese burger and gooey fries. Their attitude left much to be desired. Surprising in a small, family business.
Even small towns businesses have issues. Pub vs Food Truck click here
TBH: We didn’t like Rupert or the campground, we did enjoy our excursions and of course the company! Focusing on this.
Cute story! While walking in downtown Smithers last time we were here we ran into the couple who’s site was directly across from ours in Kelowna. We didn’t speak much then, you know Covid and winter! We had a chat, more of a chat than we had in Kelowna. Say our farewells and off we go.
Last night we are preparing dinner. Allan looks out the front window and calls “It’s the neighbours!” (Allan may not be good recognizing people but vehicles he’s great), rushes out the door to meet them as they are driving by. No, they are not in our park they are in Port Edward, a 20m drive.
I think we are destined to meet again 🙂 Mags and Steve are now FB friends!!
Today, Cow Bay area in Prince Rupert. Weather is still so dreary, we haven’t seen a piece of sky let alone the sun. It’s cold, I’m wearing a winter top.
We do our normal morning; have breakfast, stack the dishwasher, turn it on, OH NO. 9F error. Doesn’t run or open. Google to determine it is an electrical malfunction. We follow the suggested: Turn power to DishDrawer off then turn on power supply. This may reset error, or in our case may not. Even though we tried several times.
We need the dishes currently held hostage. Our limited space does not allow for multiples. Need the wok, glasses & other goodies in there. Things we’d good for are plates & cutlery. Such fun this lifestyle.
Allan, again forced into action, chats with Fisher and Paykel, the manufacturer. Here’s the issue, they need the model & sn, where is that?? Inside the unit that doesn’t open.
A thing that normally works, I go to shower and Allan has it figured out when I’m done. In the shower I can hear stuff going on. The stuff was Allan unloading the dish drawer. The tech told Allan to force pull it out 1/2 way, no further.
Dishes are free! The control looks the way it should, Allan gambles, puts the dishes back in, No Go same error. Allan gets it open again and I get to wash.
The manufacturer does not have repair people in the North. First chance will be when we are in Kelowna. This site is 30amp, next site will be 50amp, as the issue is power related we wonder if being on 50 will allow it to run.
1245p: Finally time to venture out. Cow Bay, here we come. Crows are the thing here, they are everywhere. Huge crows, they make a racket when they stroll on Bailey’s roof. These 2 appear to like each other.
This one is picking at the wiper blade, totally lifting it from the windshield. Will it survive?
Go for a swim! That way 😊
Overlooking Cow Bay
“De plane Boss, de plane!” (Speck above the mountain)
We know how he feels!
This is a very cool store, lots of stuff you don’t see anywhere else.
No clue how you fish with these but suspect you throw them overboard and the fish swim in. The boat, Pac Man is heading out filled with them.
This is the Walmart I took the photos of the lake from the parking lot. Wow, the preceding is a weird sentence!
We walk home a different way. Turns out it is through the CN yard. We walk and walk, can we get out this way? Turns out yes, we can!
Such low clouds, does the sun every shine in Rupert?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
06/27: Lytton, a village in British Columbia, made history this week with record high temperatures – Sunday 116 degrees; Monday 118 degrees (one degree higher than the record in Las Vegas); Tuesday 121 degrees.
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.
Canada’s Largest Fishing Rod. Story here
Our walk takes us by a salmon hatchery where we meet Mabel 
Duck #43
Back at Telkwa Riverside RV Park, Bailey gets a much needed bath. Allan worked the pressure washer, I worked the brush = no photo.
Found the required construction hold up
A true “toad”
To all our American friends!
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.
So ends another action packed day!
What’s going on here? The boat needed a battery boost. 
I still haven’t taken a photo of 
