Believe it or not, this is our 'accommodation' for tonight - the Triple Creek Ranch at Hazleton. More of that later, lets start at the beginning of the day.At this point I have to 'fess up', 'Gertie' is not herself & has been giving us some problems! I had issues with starting the bike before we left home, but the dealer couldn't find anything wrong. We tried starting her everyday until we left on the trip & all seemed well. Then this morning leaving Vanderhoof, she just wouldn't fire. Without this turning into a 'tech' session, it was actually Wendy who started the bike while I was out getting some oil & fuel additive!! Anyway, blah blah blah, loaded bikes and off we headed for Hazelton, about 360 Km away.
The first few miles out of Vanderhoof were 'pretty', but nothing special. We were in a wide rolling plateau, with hills out to the sides - all covered in trees. It turns out we were both thinking the same - very pretty, but this will be a long day if this is as good as it gets. Were we in for a shock! Less than an hour out of Vanderhoof we passed our first lake, Frazer Lake, then Burns Lake. Two beautiful lakes that had mirror like calm waters, surrounded by hills rather than mountains, all of which were thickly covered in trees. Well this is BC after all! After a stop in Burns Lake for gas & ice cream, we were off again, thinking we had seen the best. Ohh how wrong we were!
The plateau we were riding on was very pretty & the road had enough twists to make it interesting. Some time down the road, we crested a hill called 'Six Mile Hill'. From there our jaws dropped, and out mouths remained open until the got off the bikes in New Hazelton. As we crested the hill, the road dropped at a 6% gradient for the next six miles, running almost straight ahead of us. This gave us a wonderful view of the valley we were descending into. Once again quite wide with high hillsides, but now we had towering snow capped peaks on the horizon. Not all the way across, but odd ones sticking up right along the horizon. It really was breath taking. South of Houston BC, we rounded a corner and immediately went into a diving left hand decent into a small town. What made this approach spectacular, was the white water in the river which suddenly appeared in from of us. Down the hill we came, now swinging right handed into the town. What an approach that was.
We carried on, arriving in the small town of Houston BC. On this occasion, there was no call of, 'Houston, we have a problem'....... This Houston was a lovely small town, which boasted the largest 'fly rod in the World', and we have the photo to prove it! So far since we have been in Canada, I have seen the largest - Bee, Tomahawk, Perogy, Easter Egg, Beaver (must be a comment here as well - best not though, lol) and now Fly Fishing Rod. After a leg stretch, we were off again, heading for a break in Smithers. As we approached Smithers, some of the snow capped peaks we had seen from so far away, now stood over Smithers on the Western side of town. They looked like so many giants, peering down into the town. Smithers must have seen some prosperity over the last few years, which has resulted in obvious growth to the town. It looked really fresh and clean, and new. After the large breakfast that morning, I'd vowed I wouldn't eat again until dinner that evening. That was right up to the point where we parked outside 'Micky D' and I really fancied a strawberry milkshake & fries!!!! We both really liked the town and I have found yet another town I could easily move too. It also boasts a BRP/CanAm dealer, who apparently has been selling a lot of Spyders! So, with my full tummy & 'Sydders' with a full tank of gas, of we headed for the last leg of the day, and out second B&B.
Finding the B&B proved a little interesting, and we had a 'minor altercation' at a dusty little crossroad a little off the beaten track. I apparently said the GPS indicated a left turn, but promptly turned right! Wendy immediately came back at me - why was I turning blah blah blah..................... I've been leading & navigating the whole way and I get 'ear ache' because I was tired & , well you know how it goes. I shouted a stream of profanities into my boom mic, which was of course switched OFF! Well it made me feel a little better. After one wrong turn, we got ourselves onto 'six mile road' and on our way to the B&B - two blue hand painted signs told us so. Well the tarmac quickly gave out and we were on a wide gravel track - two vehicles could pass with a little care. This gave out to what was only a little wider that a 'goat track' following the edge of a heavily wooded canyon! Was it pretty - not a bloody clue, my eyes were fixed to the gravel ahead of me! Then all of a sudden, we rounded a dusty corner, popped over a cattle grid and there was the house. There was still a couple of hundred yards of gravel to go, but we were all but there. Well before the house, we came on a couple working at a wooden barn. They turned out to be Lila & Ron, our hosts for the night.
Once up at the house, we parked the bikes & unloaded all the bags. Ron then proceeded to carry our bags into the house and our room. We quickly got out of hot riding gear, showered & into something cooler & joined out hosts for pre dinner 'nibbles' and a refreshing beer! I wanted to wander round the front of the house and get some photo's, and Ron has a few pairs of 'Crocks' in the basement for guests to use. There were about six pairs of various colours, but the only pair that were remotely my size, were pink!! I thought, in for a penny, in for a pound! I frequently rip the crap out of other folks, now it was my turn - and I wasn't disappointed. Everyone thought it was hilarious, I had to join in, it was funny. The things you do on holiday huh?
Back inside, we sat down to chat & 'nibble'. We are all pretty used to veggie dips, but when those veggies have just come out of the garden - ohh my word!! I never realised broccoli tasted that good. There was also home smoked salmon, and home made organic beef jerky. Outstanding! For dinner we had organic BC AAA steak. I'm telling you folks, that was some of the most amazing beef I have tried anywhere. I'm salivating just recounting it. Ron & Lila are a wonderful couple, and it felt more like visiting friends than staying at a B&B. We sat for ages at the dinner table, 'gassing' and looking out of the huge picture windows onto the valley running away to the south west and the 'Seven Sisters' mountain range in the distance. What an amazing location. The perfect end to a great days riding.
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