The ferry back to Tsawwassen left Galiano at 8:30am, that meant leaving Dad’s house by 7:15am in order to ensure that we had a good spot in line as we had no reservation. Turns out that we needn’t have worried as there was lots of room on the Salish Eagle that would return us to mainland Canada. We enjoyed a breakfast on the ferry and once we arrived we made our way towards the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1) heading East towards Hope, BC.
Originally we had planned to go through Vancouver and then take the Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler and onto Cache Creek; however, that was going to add 90 plus minutes to our first driving day and so we headed like lemmings toward Hope. Everyone heads this way, including us in the past. We wanted to take a different route and so headed up the Fraser Canyon on Hwy 1. This was the original Trans-Canada Highway before the Coquihalla Highway (Hwy 5) was opened.
We took the “Coq” West when we arrived a few weeks ago. I described it as ‘intense’. 120km/h four lanes, steep hills (6 – 9%) and lots of truck traffic makes for a less than relaxing drive. Coined “The Highway through Hell” in the Winter, it gets its name honestly from those that have driven it in harsher weather.
The Fraser Canyon drive was slower as it weaved its way North towards Lytton. It reminds me of Route 66 in the U.S. It was once a busy thoroughfare as can be seen by the many now abandoned gas stations and businesses along the way; however, it doesn’t have the allure of Route 66. It was difficult to find places to stop and admire the scenery, even the ‘Hells Gate’ tourist attraction was closed as we passed by at about lunchtime on this Tuesday in September.
We did manage to find a pull off where there was a sign for Southbound travelers welcoming them to the Fraser Canyon. It included some wonderful views across the canyon and North towards Lytton.
Arriving in Lytton Hwy 1 turns North-East and follows the Thompson River towards Cache Creek, BC. The landscape changed from lush treed mountain slopes to dry desert like hillsides. After several miles of twisting along the rivers edge, the road struck North across a grasslands landscape that remained us of Northern Nevada. The sagebrush was abundant and the hillsides rolled along covered in grasses and not trees. The air became much dryer and we noticed this on our arms and legs first.
Arriving in Cache Creek we stopped and filled the van with fuel and then sought out a place for lunch. We’d already stopped twice along the Fraser Canyon but one was closed and the other seemed a little sketchy so we drove on. Our third attempt in Cache Creek also resulted in a closed Greek restaurant and so we headed for a local taco stand that seemed to get good reviews. The ‘Desert Hills Ranch Taco Stand’ proved to be an amazing place. We each ordered a Taco Bowl which ended up being large enough for both lunch and dinner. The ingredients were fresh and the spices were amazing, easily the best Mexican food we’ve had anywhere in North America.
We stopped for the night at the Cache Creek Campground and RV resort just East of town off of Hwy 1. A nicely kept private campground with level sites and full services. A great end to the first day of our journey home.
Tomorrow we head deeper into the mountains, retracing some of our route Westward but also finding some new places to explore.