From Harrison Hot Springs it was only a short hour drive to Hope, a small town with a huge outdoors! Settled into a valley along the Fraser River, it was a wonderful place to land for a week. We spent Saturday night at Hope Valley RV Park using our Passport America discount. Sunday morning we left early for Emory Creek Provincial Park hoping we'd find an empty site, and we did. Only 31 campsites but absolutely beautiful in every way. Once we were set up we went to the Visitor Center in town for a map and list of things to see. Top of the list are train tunnels now abandoned and used for biking, hiking and enjoying a beautiful gorge..
A wedding party along the way...rain umbrellas and all.
The town of Hope is know for its amazing wood sculptures...on EVERY corner of town.
Another nearby sight to visit is Hell's Gate, a tram ride across the Fraser River at its most raging section. It is one of the only descending gondolas in North America. We had a fantastic view of the historic landmark where 200 million gallons of water per minute roars through a 33 meter wide passage. The name came from a quote by Simon Fraser, 1801, "We had to travel where no human should venture for surely we have encountered the gates of hell."
Throughout BC we frequently saw scenic roads signs. Hope is along the Ranchlands and Rivers.
We stopped to see the Alexandra Bridge, unused by vehicles since 1964. It gives a glimpse of the scale of highways and bridges in the Fraser Canyon and Trans Canada highway and constructed in 1862.
More views of the mighty Fraser
From our campsite at Emory Creek we could see (and hear) trains traveling up and down both sides of the river 24 hours a day.
Our first campsite in the park, #9, tucked in against the hillside.
After 3 days we were able to move to a site right on the river. And there we stayed for the next 5 days.
Wednesday morning we were up early to make the trek back to Vancouver as the sealant we'd had put n our soft top was not sealing properly and it needed a second dose. It was a shorter waiting period so we had time to check out the history of Vancouver city at Fort Langley.
Another fun outing that week was to the historic little town of Yale. During the gold rush it was a boomtown of 30,000 in 1848, the largest city north of San Francisco and west of Chicago. Originally settled as a trading post for Hudson's Bay Co, it grew and became the main terminal for one of the largest stern wheeler routes of North America. Now all that remains is the museum with wonderful exhibits including a replica of Yale during gold rush times and the historic St. John the Divine Church.
Paul tried his hand at panning for gold and did find a nugget or two.
We did check out the Saturday Market in Hope but spent most of our time enjoying the wooden sculptures around the town and following the bike trail around the city.
Since we'd been dry camping for a week it was time to move Sunday to a nearby park that provided electricity to recharge our batteries and refill water tanks. We moved only 10 minutes south into Hope, Telte-Yet Campground, so peaceful when we arrived, right on the Fraser again. But by about 2:00 the wind came up off the river and blew like crazy! No way could we sit out and enjoy the view.
Rather than stay inside to avoid the wind, we took a drive up BC Highway 5, notorius for its severe climb and descents, and the reason we had decided not to go east over the Cascade Range to Kamloops. We finished off the day with a hike at Kawkawa Lake and had a lovely afternoon. Monday morning, also Labor Day in Canada, it was time to head back to the states.
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