A nice day, but not as far as we intended....

Day 6:
Today we woke up at the Bee Lazy RV Park, south of Prince George, BC.  We took the Cariboo Hwy south, leaving after the sun had risen but before the big kids were awake, intending to make it as far as the American border today.

Our first stop lay a little less than an hour down the road, at the city of Quesnel.  I was looking forward to teaching the kids about Mackenzie stopping there when he was the first European to navigate across the North American continent, decades before Lewis & Clark.  However, I was disappointed to find that the Visitor's Centre/museum is closed on Sundays and Mondays.  Boo hoo

Kimberly with her friend Ally in Quesnel, BC

While we were there, the kids all played at the playground in the park behind the Visitor's Centre, and Kimberly met a friend named Ally and we were able to meet and talk with her mother, Coral.  That was a nice visit and Jenny made breakfast on the stove in the motor-home, so we wound up staying in Quesnel for about two hours.

After leaving Quesnel, we stopped an hour later at a gift-shop and an hour later at a fruit stand.  In 100-Mile House, we stopped at a Chinese Restaurant.  By the time we left, it was after 3:30 and we realized that unless we drove into the night, we would not be crossing the border today.  I really wanted to give the kids a chance to play when we arrive, so we made the decision to stop short tonight.  We were hoping we could make it to Hope.

Today's quote of the day was when Kimberly, looking outside and stricken in awe of what she found, started screaming, "Oh, oh, oh!!  Wildlife!!  WILDLIFE!!  Bears, bears, BEARS!!"  at which I looked and saw a bunch of black cattle.  "Uh, Kimi.  Those are cows."  Kim, "Oh."

Kimberly and Ben on the playground at the Cariboo Wood Shop on the Cariboo Highway in British Columbia.

And then, the topography changed.  Unexpectedly, it changed from a hilly forest of mostly pines into a knobby jumble of naked hills, scarred by jutted rocks and crevices.  After Cache Creek, I took the road that said "Vancouver" and kept heading south on the Gold Rush Trail.  I had heard that the highway passed through Frasier Canyon, but I had no idea what it actually was.  I thought maybe it was about like the canyon leading into Denali Park in Alaska, but when we got there, we found much, much more.

To describe the Frasier Canyon to someone who has never been to British Columbia would be much like describing a train whistle to a deaf man.  I could spend pages describing it, but unless you experience it yourself, you will not possibly understand.  It is beautiful and it is treacherous.  It is a natural wonder, comparable to the Grand Canyon!!  The road winds into the canyon itself and after winding and twisting with the Frasier and Thompson rivers for about an hour(!!), we finally decided that since we're not going to the border anyway, we might as well stay in the canyon.  We were afraid we'd be disappointed if we made it as far as Hope.

The children love the RV Park in Frasier Canyon.

Beginning to look for places, we passed a few before I'd realized they were behind us.  Finally, we found a place that was open called Canyon Alpine RV Park.  It has this quaint German feel to it, and the manager met us outside, guiding us into our site and talking to us and our kids while they played ball.

Once it had gotten dark, we walked over to the restaurant that is just down the street.  I think there was one other customer in the store and I think she was friends with the owners.  It was a perfect experience.  Jenny and I both had excellent schnitzel, two different kinds, and the owners treated us like family.  It was an amazing experience, unforgettable!!

Daniel hugs Belle just before walking with the family to the German restaurant.

On our way back to the RV site, we noticed how clearly we could see the stars.  I showed Kimberly and Beka and Ben the Big Dipper and how it pointed to the North Star.  Living in Alaska for so long, we stopped looking at the stars because most of the time when they're out, it's so cold that we don't want to stand in one place.  It was a perfect end to a wonderful day.

Wildlife to date:  2 moose, 21 bears.