There are some dreams that remain only visions. Thoughts that are never formed in to reality. Experiences that remain a mystery.
The trick to aging gracefully is to take those dreams and ride them hard…. Just don’t forget to take notes and pictures or age might just rob you of that reality!
So, with this thought in mind, Shane and I piled in to my little blue Prius with our friends Don and Colleen and piles and piles of gear!! Amazingly all of it found a home and I could still see out the back window.
Our route north towards Haida Gwaii was determined by the proximity of forest fires and the desire to avoid them.

Day One:

We woke to clean skies and the knowledge that the Westside fire hadn’t flared up so we were indeed able to cross the bridge and stuff our friends in to the car.

By 8:30 we were on the road heading over the connector towards Merritt. This is a boring part because we’ve all done it many times before. Past Merritt, however, we entered territory seldom traveled, at least by us. Made our way through the desert area (narrowly missing a lady who couldn’t hear my Prius & chose to cross the highway without looking!) finally winding our way down (and I mean down) to Ashcroft. Made our way through the dust bowl to Cache Creek where we stopped at Herby’s (commonly referred to as Herpies for no apparent reason that we could see) then farted our way north to Quesnel where we stopped for the night.

The main entertainment on the drive (besides the heavy traffic, road construction and rolling countryside) were the large number of helicopters dropping copious loads of water on a number of fires dotting the hillsides. The smoke was pretty bad which meant I sat elegantly in the front with a shawl wrapped tightly across my face looking like a bank robber reluctant to change careers.

So with eyes watering and lungs struggling we found our way to the Super 8 in Quesnel … our first stop.

Met with a ‘Clearwater Revival’ friend, another Colleen and laughed our way through a couple glasses of wine before heading out for comfort food and back to snuggle in for the night.

Now I can’t let the day go without mentioning our waiter. The restaurant and the waiter shall remain nameless,. Must have been his first day on the job. Colleen asked for a bloody Ceasar…he said “No”… Don asked for beer or wine…. He said “No”… any spirits?? He said “No”… so they settled for tea. In no time two tea pots arrive and blushing wildly he set them down and made a quick exit. By this time his over concerned boss had already been breathing over his shoulder so, when Don and Colleen noticed there was hot water and no tea bags they decided not to make too big a fuss. After many apologies and a couple bags of tea I firmly believe that the poor young man is, perhaps, thinking today of furthering his education because it is a sure thing that the service industry is not for him!