Spoffords Travel

Day 7 July 8, 2025 Smithers British Columbia to Stewart British Columbia 206 miles

The continental breakfast was not much because they were out of most things. The chocolate chip muffins weren’t bad however. Lots of friendly people in there. Most were motorcyclists. Some of them had recent information about the roads to our destination.

The car was difficult to start this morning because it was wet. Rob made several attempts and then wiped down some of the engine parts and then it started reluctantly. Just so long as it keeps starting. We may decide to cover the engine at night if it keeps raining.

It rained on and off all day. Usually not too hard thank goodness. Still lots of logging trucks. Lots of other semis as well.

We had lunch at a rest stop that we are sure we stopped at last year. It’s too cold and wet to use the picnic tables. You almost need a boat to cross the big puddles to get to the tables.

A daredevil crow hopped across the road right in front of us. We came close to running over its tail. It never did fly off. It probably remembered the Woodie from last year.

We turned off the main road to go toward Stewart. We took this road last year and it began raining really hard. Last year it was cold enough to have the side curtains in place. We could smell gas for awhile but didn’t realize we were loosing fuel until we ran out. Sure glad that didn’t happen this year. We have had the side curtains on for several days because it has been cold. Today we ran the heater fan most of day while wearing light jackets. The clouds were up high enough that we were able to see one of the glaciers. It is just on the other side of the river.

Most of the road from the junction to Stewart is under construction. Today they were digging rock in one spot so we just had to slow down. Not bad at all. The road is pretty rough so it needs to be redone.

When we got to town Rob had booked the same old hotel as last year. Oops… This was the one that had sloping floors, narrow stairs, shared bathrooms and two real fire alarms in the middle of the night. We had passed at least two better looking places on the way in. Rob was wonderful and went in and got us a room in one of those other places. This room has a kitchen.

We walked to the grocery store and bought a frozen pizza, chips and a t-shirt. A dozen eggs was $4.38 in US currency. The room has a small kitchen so we planned to bake the pizza in the oven. We never really figured out how to turn the oven on and have it stay on. We did get it to be hot long enough to heat the pizza. It wasn’t the best but it also wasn’t the worst. Cookies for desert.

Day 6 July 7, 2025 Prince George British Colombia to Smithers British Columbia 233 miles

It’s very cloudy this morning with a 40% chance of rain this afternoon. The windshield wiper is not installed so Rob put RainEx on the windshield. Turned out to be a very good move because we had rain by mid morning. Not real hard but enough we were thankful for the RainEx.

We saw a Dollar Tree on our way out of town so we stopped to see if they had some cookies like home. It was a big store but very few cookies. Most items are $1.75. They didn’t have the cookies we like nor did they have the cinnamon licorice.

Lots of big logging trucks are going the opposite direction. Not sure where they are going but one goes by about every ten minutes. They have three trailers full. All the logs appear to be cut the same length.

Connie saw one deer down in the tall grass in the barrow pit. The grass was as tall as the deer. It looked like a log or something until it moved its head. We also saw a lone black bear beside the railroad tracks. Didn’t get pictures of either one.

A tow truck is on our side of the road preparing to get a car that was off the side of the road. The car had rolled several times but we could not see the full extent of the damage.

We came into one town that greeted us with the world’s largest fishing rod. Must be good fishing nearby. We have certainly seen lots of lakes and rivers. No mosquitoes yet but there is still time.

We stopped once for gas about 11:30 and bought ice cream. That turned out to be lunch. It was a tasty lunch.

Found our lodging at about 3:00 pm. A group of four motorcyclists arrived at the same time. They are on their way home from the Dempster Highway. They don’t think we will have a problem. Little did they know about all the parts we carry along.

Tonight was laundry night. The motel doesn’t have any but the laundromat is not far away. It costs $6.00 CA per load. Sure glad we only have one load. The dryer costs $0.25CA for 2 minutes. So that makes it $4.39 US to wash.

So far, everyone that we have met have been very friendly. No hostility towards US citizens. However, we have been told that there have been protests about Trump and his outrageous policies.

Day 5 July 6, 2025 100 Mile House British Columbia to Prince George British Columbia 209 miles

It did rain during the night. The ground didn’t seem all that wet but the hood of the car and the engine were wet. Woodie didn’t want to start but Rob managed to get it coasting and started.

We were traveling on the frontage road to the gas station. A Canadian goose was standing in the middle of the road. Rather than going back where a small group of geese were standing it decided to cross the road to where more geese were beginning to cross the main road. The smaller group proceeded to follow. There was no goose crossing sign.

We made it to the gas station and filled the tank. Another customer who was driving a classic car felt that the rear tire needed more air. Rob agreed. The station had an air station but the hose was too short to reach. Rob dug out the 12 volt electric tire pump and filled it. Now the device tracking the tire pressure thinks a different tire is overly full. Someone (Maybe the driver?) needs to reset the TireMinder unit. Rob also adjusted the trailer brakes.

We have seen numerous signs indicating we are traveling through a wildlife corridor. We finally saw two deer. One on each side of the road.

It’s cloudy again today but no rain until we got to Prince George. The landscape is mountainous with lots of evergreen trees. Some open areas have grass fields some with cattle. We also passed several lakes to include Lac La Hache, Williams Lake (just like a mirror), and McLeese Lake. Lots of recreation activities surrounding them. The hills are covered with a bright yellow daisy like flower.

Someone painted two riders on one of the moose warning signs. Looked like a rodeo event. Seem to be rodeos in the area. We saw advertising signs and small rodeo grounds. An apparent cowboy took a picture of the car.

We had our picnic lunch at one of the rest stops. The temperature was a little cool so we ate in the car rather than the picnic table. Three older bikers pulled up next to us. They wanted to chat. So far we have not felt any negative feelings about us being from the United States.

Only one major construction site today. The wait was very short which was good.

We are listening to an audio book which does make the time go by quicker. However it also means we fail to pay attention to the gas gage. We entered Prince George, passed two gas stations and then ran out of gas. Good thing we have gas cans with gas. Rob put in about two gallons from one of the cans. That will get us to the lodging and a gas station. It is a good story.

One of the larger supermarket chains is quite close so we drove there to get something for dinner. This hotel doesn’t have microwaves. We bought a salad kit and half an apple pie. We will add a can of chicken from our supplies. Then we checked out the Dollar Rama store at the other end of the strip mall. Didn’t find any big bargains there. Lots of merchandise however.

Next stop was the gas station where we filled the car and the gas can. The rain started really coming down just before we left the station. So much for not raining today. The new side curtains are working very well. Now we need to get the windshield wiper working again. Until then RainEx will save the day.

Day 4 July 5, 2025 Bellingham Washington to 100 Mile House British Columbia 278 miles

We left David and Barbara Ann’s house about 9:30 and headed to Costco for gas. Then we stayed in their parking lot and decided where to go next. Turns out that last year we went to 100 Mile House so we decided to go there again. This part of the trip will be very much like last year. Well, the breakdowns will probably be different.

We left Costco expecting to go north to Vancouver but instead the GPS had us go south toward Seattle for a few miles before exiting to one of the state highways. We traveled through lots of farm land with many large dairies and blueberry farms. One farm had a sign for eggs at $7.00 per dozen.

The border crossing wasn’t too difficult and only took 13 minutes from when we got in line until we were through. We did observe that the Nexus line did move much faster so if you frequently crossed the border it would be worth the investment.

We are on Canada 1 which sure feels like a freeway. The landscape is much the same for 20 miles or so. Then we start through the mountains. They would have been beautiful if not covered with clouds. Thankfully the weather is cooler than last year. During this section we went through seven tunnels. Most were short but a couple were a little longer. Our horn really echoes in them.

We stopped in one of the very small towns for gas since we didn’t want to repeat the earlier experience. One of the other customers noted that we hadn’t even taken the car out of the box. That was a new saying for us.

A very short distance past the gas station the gas cap slid off the hood and onto the running board. Connie was sure it was laying back on the road. Rob retrieved it, put it on the gas tank and off we went. Sure felt lucky with that one. Rob does have a spare onboard.

Only encountered one construction project. It was a big one. We had to wait about 10 minutes for our turn to go.

We went up and down lots of hills but most were not labeled. The one that did have a sign was called Jackass Mountain Summit with an elevation of 1184 feet. We thought the name was funny and the height much shorter than expected.

Another sign indicated big horn sheep were in the next four km. By golly there actually were a few beside the road. Unfortunately no photo this time either.

We were following a river that just happened to have train tracks on both sides. At one point there were trains on both tracks. The one on the opposite side of the river must have been at least a mile long. We could never see enough of the front to know how many engines there were. Most of that train was fuel cars. Most of the other train was containers.

Several large signs are now advertising Roadkill BBQ Buffet. Might almost be worth a stop to check it out. We did eventually see the place but didn’t stop.

The sky is getting more clouds and they look more threatening. The wind has picked up and the temperature has cooled down. Our lodging was on the edge of town so we checked in. The skies are really dark now and we can hear thunder. We opted to go to the small corner market rather than the bigger one. This was much closer and we wanted to get as much as possible done before the rain hit. We got our microwave meals just as a big gust of wind hit. We were very fortunate that we got everything done before any rain. Duct tape was used to temporarily fix a potential leak into the trailer pantry.

Day 3 July 4, 2025 Renton Washington to Bellingham Washington 107 miles

Today was spent visiting with family and friends. Great way to spend the Fourth of July. We left brother Ed’s house about 9:30 and headed for Connie’s cousin Darlene’s place in Kenmore Washington. We had a nice visit with her and her husband Deyane.

Then it was off to granddaughter Maddy’s place in Bothel Washington. We had brunch with daughter Amy, all four grandchildren (Maddy, Meagan, Matthew, and Merik) and Maddy’s fiancé Jake. So good to catch up with everyone.

Way to soon but it was. time to head off to friends David and Barbara Ann in Bellingham Washington. We took the freeway since that was easier. (The driver did not necessarily agree.) At least it was moving today. The roads are really rough however and the woodie is not the smoothest vehicle to ride in. We had a wonderful dinner with them on their deck that overlooks the lake. We visited until the fireworks started. There were so many and so beautiful. They were firing from all around the lake.

Day 2 July 3, 2025 Condon Oregon to Renton Washington 277 miles

We had our microwave breakfast and then headed for the gas station. We filled the tank with premium ethanol free gas for a mere $4.999 per gallon. Then Rob took one of the small thermos in to fill with ice from the soda fountain. They charged him a dollar. When he took the second one in they were going to charge another dollar but a another customer protested so they didn’t.

The landscape out of town was similar to that around Grangeville Idaho. Rolling hills with huge fields of grain. All around are hundreds of big wind turbines. They are turning rather quickly because the wind is really blowing. In fact it is blowing so hard that it popped the passenger side door open three times before we figured out that the wind against the side curtains was forcing the door to open. The latch on that door has been bad for awhile and needs some special attention. We removed the curtain and the problem went away.

We came to a turnout that pointed to each of the volcanoes and named them. We could see Mount Jefferson, Mount Hood, Mount St Helens, Mount Adams, and Mount Rainer. They were truly beautiful.

A big brush fire had gone through one area recently since the ground was still black. They managed to get it out before destroying a house and some out buildings.

We continued down the road and eventually came to Biggs Junction. That is a small community and major fuel point just east of The Dalles. There are at least four major fueling points here. We chose the Pilot which seemed to be the busiest. We get a small discount there. All those others must also.

After fueling we crossed over the Columbia River to the Washington side and continued up the hill to the highway. We figured it would be much the same as when we used to go to Vancouver. Much to our surprise we turned off and went further up the hill toward Yakima. This section of road is not very scenic. Lots of dry hills and sage brush.

Toppenish was the first town we encountered. Just happened to be a small park with a parking spot in the shade so we stopped for our cheese, beef stick and crackers lunch. The temperature was very pleasant.

The landscape after we left town contained lots of fruit trees. Lots of apples and other fruit that must have already been picked as the trees looked bare of fruit. We eventually came to another town. We drove through quite a bit of it before we realized we were in Yakima. Most of the time we take the freeway and the backroads don’t look the same. We saw lots of fruit stands most of which were promoting cherries. We didn’t realize that we should have purchased some.

We must have missed a turn because we ended up driving through the orchards on some rather really small back roads.

The orchards gave way to forest. Now there are lots of RVs on the road. Not sure where they are all going to fit. Most of the campgrounds have full signs at the entrance. There are quite a few campgrounds. Some actually have bigger camping spots. The drive is beautiful even with all the traffic. The driver has a different perspective.

The highlight of the day was seeing a group of big horn sheep right down by the road. They seemed to all be ewes and young animals. We didn’t see any of the rams with the big horns. There must have been at least 15 of them. They hurried up the rock slope before we could get a picture.

Everyone must be careful driving on this road. One side has sharp edges that drop in a deep barrow pit or against the mountain. The other side drops down the mountain side a very long steep distance. Stay alert, stay alive.

The mountains in the distance still have some snow on them. The closer we got to the top the more snow we saw near the road. Now there are numerous turn outs. Some are quite large. Lots of people are stopped to go hiking or simply to enjoy the view. Small waterfalls are scattered all along the mountain side.

Oh my there is a Model T on a trailer going the opposite direction. We weren’t expecting that one.

We think this pass that we just went over was Chinook Pass. We never saw a sign for the summit so no idea how high we got. Also not sure the name but the distance signs earlier kept giving the mileage to Chinook Pass.

Well we made a mistake somewhere along the way and neglected to fill with gas. We passed a gas station and then the sign that said next gas 50 miles. We checked one of the apps which said we had 52 miles to empty. Just to add a little more tension we had to keep pulling over to let cars pass.

Well we finally got to that next gas station where we put in 10.936 gallons in a ten gallon tank. That gas was also $4.999 per gallon.

We arrived at Rob’s brother Ed’s house about 6:00 pm. The rest of the evening was uneventful. Ed and Rob worked on the car and trailer for awhile. It is true, two minds are better than one.

Day 1 July 2, 2025 Boise Idaho to Condon Oregon 298 miles

We got off at our usual 9 am. Didn’t have to stop for gas so that was good. We decided to take the back roads and a different route. We started on Highway 20 then to 26 and finally 19. Definitely some new roads for us.

At a stop sign in Caldwell a group of killdeer were making a lot of noise. Rob thought something was wrong with the car for a moment or two. Certainly glad it was only the birds.

We climbed several summits but none very high. They were about 4000, 4600, 5100, 5300, 3800 and 3300. Luckily some flatter space was in between. The car got warm on the hills but did not boil. The new radiator made a big difference.

We ate lunch in the shade off the road in Unity Oregon. That is almost a ghost town. A lady stopped on her way to the small store and post office. She talked for several minutes before continuing on her way.

We saw lots of cattle all along the route. Once one of them was on the wrong side of the fence. Luckily it was on the other side of the road and in the barrow pit. Lots of hay some in bales and some still drying. It will take a lot for all the cattle.

One field had two donkeys however. Couldn’t get the camera up quick enough for a photo.

The wind was blowing hard most of the day. That will affect the gas mileage since it wasn’t a tail wind.

We are driving the Journey Through Time Scenic Byway. Well it certainly took a lot of time. Lots of green and lavender color in the cliffs. We passed the cut off for the fossil beds out of John Day but didn’t stop. Looking up the story of John Day was rather interesting. Also significant was Thomas Condon who identified the significance of the fossil beds.

The road followed the John Day River for a long ways. We saw three single person pontoon rafts going down the river. The side of the river are lush and green. The other side of the road is very brown and dry. Like Idaho, water is a very important resource. Some sections were really hot and others were nice and cool.

For several miles we drove through what was the remains of a forest fire from perhaps last year. The ground wasn’t black but the tree bark was.

Some of the rock formations are quite unusual. Mother Nature has done some interesting work. Not as much color as Utah or Colorado.

We saw one deer along the road on the right. Luckily it took off up the hill. Rob helped it along by honking the horn.

We arrived at the Motel a little after 4 pm local time. Rob should sleep well tonight after 8 hours behind the wheel. After checking in we returned to town to get dinner at the one grocery store. As I am writing this five horses and riders just went by. Maybe they are practicing for the parade. Don’t know if there is a parade, but we were told by a local that the 4th is a big deal here.