 |
| West of Smithers BC |
The drive from Smithers was one more
spectacle of snow-covered mountains in brilliant sunlight. It is a
national holiday in Canada and traffic was sparse. I stopped for
breakfast at Kitwanga where the Cassiar highway goes north to Alaska,
one of two options for driving to Alaska from the US, the other
being the ALCAN, also known as the Alaska Highway.
I stopped for a late breakfast in a
busy road house / gas station / restaurant, definitely an edgier venue than the
relatively sedate places I've stopped to date. A rangy tall guy was
waiting outside with his backpack and belongings, probably hitching,
one foot against the wall. A couple of Harley dudes with bandanas
were messing with their cycles. The restaurant clientele was mostly
First Nation, as was my waitress. I just made the breakfast cut-off
time of 11:00 and had the best bacon I've ever had in my life.
Service was slow which is fine with me. I always have a book to read and like the lingering after driving, driving, driving. I always feel a need
to be especially respectful of Native American or First Nation people - historic guilt I guess. I don't
want them to defer to me and would like their respect in turn.
I love hearing the lilt in their voices as they chatter free and at ease amongst themselves. What do they really think of us?
I saw the first billboard warning girls
about hitchhiking along the route I was taking, with photos of three murdered girls. It was called Trail of Sorrow or Trail of
Terror...something like that. I saw a couple more signs along the way as I drove west. "Killer on the Loose" said one.....Jeez.
 |
| Port Rupert, BC |
The way west was entirely along the Skeena
River all the way to Prince Rupert with more mountains, intermittent waterfalls and no gas for 100 miles. Nor did I see
wildlife, roadkill or even many birds. As I got closer to Prince Rupert, the traffic increased however, and folks were fishing the river. The Canadian
Pacific Trunk Railway runs through this valley also. As I neared the coast, the sunshine slowly turned to mist and drizzle and gloomy grey skies.
 |
| The hostel in Port Rupert. |
So, where to stay? Not in a tent in the
drizzly cold; not in my car as it was way too early in the day....(the
slightest excuse for not camping is sufficient). I spent 30 minutes researching
options and picked a “guest house” which turned to to be a backpacker / hostel. I walked in and no one was around except
a gentleman with a French accent working at a table in the dining
area on a computer. He thought perhaps someone was upstairs, so I
went up two flights, calling out “Hello? Hello?” and finally a
young girl came out of a room she had been cleaning and checked me
in. The place smelled like Eunice's house...that good herbal, veggie, spicy scent. There was a front room with couches and books, a communal
kitchen and dining area and various sleeping rooms, either with
private baths or shared. I got one with a private bath. It was
spartan but clean with great bedding.
I was feeling a teeny bit queasy so
decided to walk about in the fresh air, passed a couple of waterfront
restaurants / pubs, wasn't tempted, so went to a grocery store and got
gingerale, goat cheese and rice crackers which totally sufficed for dinner. Ravens were making weird loud croaking noises from on the top of a nearby building.
When I got back, I intended to read in the
living room on one of the two couches. There was a woman on the other
who was waiting for a taxi to take her to the ferry (which is why I
also am in Prince Rupert, although I won't leave until tomorrow
afternoon). She was going to Queen Charlotte Island – an overnight ferry ride – and will spend two weeks there. She was (I guessed) in
her 50s or 60s, was born in Switzerland, now lives in Canada, has
raised a family and was doing this on her own. We talked a lot about
women traveling by themselves. She told me how she and her family had had a grand RV trip planned just before 9/11. They considered cancelling
but decided to go anyway – across Canada, down into Maine and
across the US, including the Grand Canyon where they benefitted from
the fear following 9/11. Since there were so many cancellations, she and her family were able to hike in the canyon and stay in the park. We didn't get
into her situation, but she was doing this current trip on her own. She had also gone to Costa Rica by herself for several weeks recently. We
never even exchanged names but had a pleasant chat. Her taxi came; she picked up all her gear
and off she went to explore this place where indigenous Haida live. Queen Charlotte is largely rain forest habitat off the coast of British Columbia.
It's funny: when people ask me where I
live, and I say Michigan, there are folks who can barely place the
state in the US....like they are not sure if it is in the Midwest, or
the east, or exactly where it is, especially those from the western
Canadian provinces. But then, how many Americans can correctly locate the Canadian provinces on a map...
After she left, I was reading and a young blond girl (who had replaced the girl who checked me in) was
doing laundry and folding towels and sheets in the living room. After 9 p.m., no one
would be on the premises I was told, but if there were problems, I could call a number and wait at the “front door” and
someone would come. There was also a yarn shop off the living room. Both businesses have been for sale for
two years but the owner wants a lot of money
and isn't pressured to sell unless she gets the right price.
Two guys came in
speaking French. One turned on the TV but on mute. I told him I
wouldn't mind, he could listen, but he shrugged and said he just
wanted to get the score. There is some big sport tournament happening
in Canada, as last night at least two people came into the place I
was eating and immediately asked the waitress what the score was. Hockey?
I left him the living room, went to
bed and was reading when there was a persistent knock at my door. It was a young Asian girl who had just arrived and who wondered if I was in the "women's dormitory? and what type of room exactly had I signed up for?" I told her the guys were upstairs, and we agreed she should just take one of the rooms downstairs and figure it out in the morning.
After that I soon fell asleep and had the second wonderful night of sleep so far on this trip.
I am wondering if eating light later in the day makes for sounder
sleep?
No comments:
Post a Comment