Change of Plans....Chased out by Smoke

We have spent that last few days on the road. The original plan when we left Smithers was to head East and South toward Hope and Bridal Falls on the border of BC and Washington. It was one of the few nights that we had not planned where to stay and as it turns out that worked to our advantage. The most direct route was down highway 97 which has been plagued by fires, evacuations and road closures for the past 3 weeks. The road re-opened the night before we were due to leave Smithers but there were reports of heavy traffic with people returning to their homes and of heavy smoke. We opted to take the long way around, only 2-3 hours longer over 3 days of travel so no big deal. The good thing was that it took us back through known territory, the Yellowhead Highway with included “The Zoo” that I mentioned in an earlier blog because of the high concentration of animal sightings along the way. Purportedly anyway. We have been fortunate overall with regard to seeing animals but really wanted to see a Moose during our trip. Well, I guess the only one that we are going to see this time is one of the many beware of Moose signs along the way. We lucked into a really nice spot for the night at Purden Lake. It was quite, heavily wooded and peaceful. We were able to get a pull-through that allowed us to stay hitched up since we were only there for one night. The only problem that we had was that the campground lay out was really weird and then sent you down the hill without a map. Very confusing. To add to the confusion our campsite was occupied. Fortunately as Scott was trying to find a place to turn around a campground worker showed up….gave him directions and went to get the people off of the beach to go move their trailer so we could get into our spot. Everyone was nice and we wound up hanging out with them for an hour or so before dinner.

The lake was beautiful and the weather was perfect. We realized that we were heading South into the heat so we relished the comfort for the time being.
We woke up and headed out fairly early aided by the fact that all we had to do was close the slide outs and disconnect the power and water. As soon and we turned South headed to Valemount we started noticing the smoke. Give the fact that British Columbia still has more than 120 fires burning it was not terribly surprising. We were just very grateful that we had been through the area to see it before it was marred by all of the smoke.

What we were surprised about was how much worse the smoke was getting as we traveled. When we pulled into Clearwater for our overnight at the KOA there you could both see and smell the smoke. It wasn’t horrible but you really didn’t want to spend a lot of time outside in it. We did venture outside to walk down to the Dairy Queen so that Scott could get a Blizzard. He had been craving one the entire trip and finally caved in. I was able to resist but it was good to get out and walk, despite the conditions, since we had been sitting in the truck for 2 days.

Our next stop was Bridal Falls. The plan was to stay 5 nights in the area to explore the town of Hope including the Rambo tour, hike the Othello Tunnels and Bridal Falls, do some fishing and a round of golf for Scott. These plans were quickly dashed the further south we went. The smoke was so bad that we had to put the truck ventilation on recirculation to keep it out. We had 3 hours driving to try and formulate a new plan. We decided to stop in Hope to see the town and its many wood carvings along with utilizing the WiFi at the visitor center to see if we could find somewhere in costal Washington to stay where there would be less chance of smoke.

Most everything was full but we were able to find a KOA in Burlington that could accommodate us for 4 of the 5 nights that we had planned in Bridal Falls. We enjoyed to wood carvings but were only able to see one of the many spots where the Rambo movies were filmed. By this time our eyes were burning and we decided to head to our campground for the night and make preparations for crossing the border back into the US in the morning.
Let’s just say that making reservations at campgrounds based solely on the internet can be risky. Overall we have had pretty good luck and on this trip we have stayed in some really amazing places.

That being said….our luck finally ran out. The Rainbow Ranch RV park was a dump!!!! It was behind and abandoned building filled with what looked like abandoned 30 year old trailers. We were apparently supposed to check in at the gas station on the corner. A fact that was not conveyed to us in the email confirmation that we received. Fortunately we had not paid a deposit so we were able to just head up the road and look for greener pastures. The spot we found wasn’t a whole lot better but the people were nice and the price was right. It was next to a golf course but the smoke was so bad that outside activity was not advisable. We awoke the next morning to smoke that was so bad that it obliterated the sun. All that was visible was a bright red orb in the sky. We got the heck out of there.
So….until Sunday we are in Burlington, Washington.

We are at a very nice KOA with super nice people all around us. The skies are still

hazy but no smell of smoke and lots to do in the area. Sightseeing at Mount Baker will probably not happen because of the haze but there are lots of shopping opportunities, Local Seafood and Breweries along with a Championship Golf Course almost right next door. We plan to re-provision, relax and recuperate from a somewhat hectic and trying few days. Hopefully the rest of the trip will return to smooth sailing. Only a little more than 3 weeks to go. We have truly had some amazing adventures and met some incredible people along the way. We miss our loved ones and Mariposa Family but we'll see you soon. Love to all.