August 8, 2006 – Day 29 – 599 Miles Prince George, BC – Sea-Tac, WA
Prince George, BC – Sea-Tac, WA
Pulled out of Prince George, in raingear, as usual, at 8:00 a.m. PST heading south on Hwy 97. Light drizzle on-and-off until about 2:30 p.m.
The terrain is much as previously described for this area: lots of green pines, lot of ups-and-downs, moderately hilly. Got an interesting scenery change just south of Cache Creek. All of a sudden I could have been in New Mexico, or the high desert area of Utah. The grass cover was brown and dried-up and the vegetation, what there was, consisted mainly of what I call “grease-wood,” the short, bushy stunted pine-like plants of the inter-mountain west. All that was missing was the tumbleweeds. It also stopped raining as I entered this area and the ambient temperature was quite warm. At first I thought I’d time-warped into the Sun Valley near Phoenix. I immediately stopped and got rid of the raingear.
"New Mexico-like" area
This dry section was about twenty miles long, and was immediately followed by a return to the steep canyon-high pines look as I entered the Lytton area. This is where the Thompson River joins the Fraser and it makes for steep canyons, heavy white-water rapids and the beginning of one big damn river, the Fraser. This is exceptionally beautiful country, very reminiscent of, but bigger than, the canyons of Utah, such as Logan, Parleys, Provo, etc. Then it goes through Hell’s Gate further south near Boston Bar and is truly a beautiful ride.
The "usual" terrain (north)
(south)
My plans were to stay just outside of Vancouver and, perhaps, go into the city tomorrow. I haven’t been there in about fifteen years and I’ve always liked the area. Mother nature changed my plans however when it began raining again near Chilliwack. That just struck me as the last straw. At that point I’m fed up with rain and fed up with Canada, so I turned left at Abbotsford and crossed the border into Washington at Sumas. Figuring I didn’t want to be going into Seattle as part of their early morning traffic I determined to stay with it until I was south of Seattle, giving me a straight shot toward Hwy101 in the morning. That explains the 600 mile day and my change of plans regarding Vancouver.
Tomorrow: Up and to the “Coast Highway” (101).
Pulled out of Prince George, in raingear, as usual, at 8:00 a.m. PST heading south on Hwy 97. Light drizzle on-and-off until about 2:30 p.m.
The terrain is much as previously described for this area: lots of green pines, lot of ups-and-downs, moderately hilly. Got an interesting scenery change just south of Cache Creek. All of a sudden I could have been in New Mexico, or the high desert area of Utah. The grass cover was brown and dried-up and the vegetation, what there was, consisted mainly of what I call “grease-wood,” the short, bushy stunted pine-like plants of the inter-mountain west. All that was missing was the tumbleweeds. It also stopped raining as I entered this area and the ambient temperature was quite warm. At first I thought I’d time-warped into the Sun Valley near Phoenix. I immediately stopped and got rid of the raingear.
"New Mexico-like" area
This dry section was about twenty miles long, and was immediately followed by a return to the steep canyon-high pines look as I entered the Lytton area. This is where the Thompson River joins the Fraser and it makes for steep canyons, heavy white-water rapids and the beginning of one big damn river, the Fraser. This is exceptionally beautiful country, very reminiscent of, but bigger than, the canyons of Utah, such as Logan, Parleys, Provo, etc. Then it goes through Hell’s Gate further south near Boston Bar and is truly a beautiful ride.
The "usual" terrain (north)
(south)
My plans were to stay just outside of Vancouver and, perhaps, go into the city tomorrow. I haven’t been there in about fifteen years and I’ve always liked the area. Mother nature changed my plans however when it began raining again near Chilliwack. That just struck me as the last straw. At that point I’m fed up with rain and fed up with Canada, so I turned left at Abbotsford and crossed the border into Washington at Sumas. Figuring I didn’t want to be going into Seattle as part of their early morning traffic I determined to stay with it until I was south of Seattle, giving me a straight shot toward Hwy101 in the morning. That explains the 600 mile day and my change of plans regarding Vancouver.
Tomorrow: Up and to the “Coast Highway” (101).
posted by Minuend | 9:00 PM
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