roadquill1

At my last posting I suggested that we would be bringing our northern experience rains with us back to the lower mainland. Watch for it!

We had a couple of scary moments on the highway from Prince George towards Cache Creek. The first happened as we approached a sharp bend to the right. We were behind another truck and camper travelling south at 100 kph, when a transport truck came roaring north around the corner and halfway over into our lane. There couldn’t have been much of a gap between vehicles as we corrected sharply to our right. We made it.

The second incident didn’t involve us, but after climbing the hill south out of 100 Mile House, a police car with all lights flashing caught and passed us. A few miles later we came upon the reason – a pickup truck on its side with a large fifth wheel smashed alongside it in the ditch to our right. It was a shocking reminder of the sudden and horrifying consequences of loss of control.

We were happy to locate a gorgeous lakeside site at Loon Lake – about 20 km east off the highway just north of Cache Creek. We watched from our anti-gravity chairs as hundreds of small trout caught air above a very still lake surface – and did not bother them with fishing lures. No rain since Vanderhoof, and we finally caught up to some very warm weather.

On Wednesday, we had smooth sailing until we reached Abbotsford, but then something ahead of us stalled the flow, and highlighted how much we dislike travelling on the lower mainland! We opted for a side road through to Fort Langley. After an evening and follow-up morning of catching up on family news, we finally headed for home – with the weather forecasts proving that we were very correct – the rain will hit the lower mainland and Vancouver Island – big time – tomorrow. Although this area needs the big wet, I am sorry that I was correct in my prediction, and that it followed us – arriving on a weekend!

We are glad to be home. Since late August of last summer, We drove 10,020 km in the past 40 days, and saw an awful lot of beautiful country. In the past 12 months, we have driven approximately 27,000 km and have had the pleasure of sharing those long distances and incredible vistas with you – through Alberta, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado, BC, Alaska and the Yukon! In that time, Sandy and I have spent 90 nights in Truck House – essentially one-quarter of a year! I appreciated your responses to my notes, and hope that you will continue to follow our travels – whenever, and wherever they take us next.

Much love and appreciation to all, and please stay in touch!

Sandy, the Quilter, and Tony, the Quill

ps I lost track of the number of quilt shops that we visited…all for good cause!