We decided to do a road trip on Saturday. Nominally it was to tour BC, but a big part of it was to go visit a fruit stand south of Cache Creek. This would be the most expensive fruit purchase of my life, but it was still a fun day.
I got up early to get a run in before we left. It still didn’t get us off at the time I would have liked. We only got to driving a bit before nine. We then headed east towards Hope, stopping off at Abbotsford for gas. From there we did NOT go on the Coquihalla highway. Instead we stayed on the Trans Canada Highway to see the Fraser River valley. It’s a nice valley, and the clouds helped give it perspective.
I did drive like a crazy person at one point to try and get the photograph I’ve wanted for a long time; I wanted a picture of a train engine, pulling cars, in front of beautiful scenery. Soon after we overtook a long train, I saw a roadside turnout that I swerved into and then ran out with my camera to catch it. I haven’t looked at it closely yet, so I hope it is good.
At Lytton we headed east, past Spences Bridge to get to Hilltop Garden Farms. There we pillaged the place. I think we got ten pounds of cherries, and a large amount of apricots and peaches. Most importantly, we got a pair of hot pepper plants. Two years ago, we passed through and bought some, and had some really hot peppers. But those plants died due to my inability to keep a plant alive. So it was an opportunity to get some replacements. I’m sure they will die a heroic death.
We then went back to Spences Bridge to try and get a lunch. However, as near as we can tell, there was only one restaurant in town and it was small, and thirteen people were ahead of us. So, we went back to Lytton to try there.
We ate at a sandwich place, and had an acceptable meal. The town did have a vibe that it wasn’t doing well. It seemed like the only functional business was that sandwich shop. We wandered around town for awhile. There was a derelict building that used to be a cafe called “The View”. It definitely had that. Although, it was probably dangerous to poke around it, what with the broken boards supporting its rotting balcony. Still, it was worth it to get good pictures. If I had been a bit more on the ball, I would have noticed a train approaching that would have been a second opportunity to get that picture I wanted.
Then, we continued on our way, north to Lillooet. That was a very scenic part of the trip. We had to stop several times to take pictures. I love to see mountains with a small break in them that let you see beyond them. A hidden valley lies there. It is far away, and unreachable, which is romantic (in the mythic usage of the word, not the love version.)
After Lillooet, we stopped to look at the view of Seton Lake. The thing that surprised me about this lake was how big it was compared to how big it looked. If you just looked at it, it looked like a beautiful lake nestled in the mountains. But when we saw a boat speeding across it, you got the perspective of how big it actually was.
We continued on to Whistler. I had thought we could have dinner here. I was actually surprised at how busy the place was. I know it as a winter town for skiing. It is high summer now, so I was expecting it to be fairly empty. But there were long waits at all the restaurants. The place actually felt like Chamonix in France. It had a similar vibe. But the food was better in France.
It was getting dark when we left, so there were no spectacular views for the rest of the trip. We got home at about 11:30, exhausted.