Saturday 6/30 :
When we parked here in this rest area last night at 9:00 PM, there were only 2 other occupants. Overnight it became the most popular place in British Columbia and in the morning it was packed. Today the REAL adventure began. We’re in British Columbia and later today we head straight north. Got up late and drove 3 miles to the Information Center. Loaded up on brochures, maps, and local lore. Drove 2 miles to Fred’s Sports. First Best People Experience with Rob the fishing expert who is nicely sarcastic and very knowledgeable. Got the net we needed, fishing licenses, and some salmon fishing gear. Then drove 10 miles to Bridal Veil Falls. Everybody likes waterfalls, and they were all there including 50 tweens from Washington, DC. The rain forest through which we had to walk was much better than the actual falls. Very lush and trees lavished with thick moss (see pictures). From Abbotsford to Hope we drove west to east in a beautiful valley a mile or so wide with mountains on either side. It was cloudy, but occasionally we could see the snow covered peaks. At Hope we turned north to follow the Fraser River on Route 1. The scenery is mind-bending. We traveled up stream in the river gorge looking down on white water rapids. Late in the afternoon, we took the aerial tram across the gorge at Hell’s Gate. This is a pinch in the gorge that has some of the most violent rapids and a spot that frustrated river travelers for centuries. Cool. Stopped this evening at a turn off and camped looking down on the river. Made only about 100 miles today. Cool.
