Canadian Souvenir

Roach Road Trip: Kanaskan Lake, BC to Hell's Gate, BC

May 27 - 30, 2008

It's quite normal when traveling to pick up a little souvenir for remembering your trip. Sometimes those souvenirs are a bit unexpected - such as the one we received on May 28 while traveling 117 kph (kilometers per hour) in a 80 kph zone. Yup - a nifty speeding ticket to remember our travels.

The highway system through Canada is known for its rough patches. Fortunately, most of the highway system is now paved. However, the northern section of the Cassiar HWY is quite rough & requires a slower speed. After you pass Kanaskan Lake (campground #3), the highway turns into a nicely paved beautiful stretch of road. It's easy to pick up some speed. Those Canadian law enforcement agents are smart cookies. They set up a speed trap over a rise at the bottom of a long stretch of highway. Bingo! Mr. Police Officer pulled us and several other vehicles over & gave us a nice souvenir. He was very kind about the whole deal, you couldn't help but say "Thank-You" when he handed you the $196 Canadian ticket. The Canadians are so swell that if you pay your ticket within 30 days, you get a $25 discount of the fee! Fantastic! So - sometime in the next few days, we have to visit a bank to get a check. Needless to say, Wade was a bit more careful about watching his speed.

Thursday night we stopped at a RV campground (w/showers!!) near Hell's Gate, BC. Hell's Gate is the narrowest point along the Fraser River (110 meters) which creates some serious rapids. An air tram has been installed so you can traverse Hell's Gate between the Cascade Mountain Range (Eastern side of river) to the Coast Mountains (Western side of river). In the early 1800s an explorer by the name of Simon Fraser encountered this area & said something along the lines of "No Human should venture into this place as surely we've entered the gates of Hell." Overall - a nifty tourist stop.
Some brave souls do raft down this section of the river. Looks a bit tricky...

Looking down from the upper side.


Well - we're about to head into Eastern Washington for RUSH concert #1.

We've stayed at Winston's Mom's friend Wendi here in Bonney Lake, WA. She gratefully has agreed to watch the boys while we attend the concert. She's quite a great person & friend. I'll report on the concerts (show #2 is tomorrow night at Clark County Ampitheatre) when we stay with our Oregon friends in Lake Oswego.

Ciao for now....