Roads south of Prince George from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Ken contemplates the roads south of Prince George, heading for Vancouver
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Roads south of Prince George
October 18th, 2011Disappointment Cape and Tinned Fog
October 18th, 2011Disappointment Cape. Tinned Fog. Theo and Caroline, my hosts in Prince George, had let me flick through their beautifully illustrated scrapbook of their ride south from Vancouver Island to San Francisco. I’d guessed Theo was the artist, judging from the paintings adoring the walls of their home.
Their efforts at the end to photograph the Golden Gate Bridge free of fog had been thwarted. Instead an image of Tinned Fog. There were ample campgrounds along the coast south of Seattle. The scenery inspiring. As was their pace. A mere sixteen days to cover over a thousand miles.
I felt enthused. South from Seattle, as close to Theo and Caroline’s start as not to matter, down to San Francisco, would be the next stage of my North American journey. And I was already looking forward to it.
Up for sale
October 17th, 2011Up for sale from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Ken makes a short stop at the now closed Bednesti Lake Resort…
Brookside Resort
October 17th, 2011Brookside Resort from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Ken stops for a short, if unexpected, break at the Brookside Resort on his way to Prince George and the sharp right turn south towards Vancouver
Beyond Vanderhoof
October 17th, 2011Beyond Vanderhoof sixty miles east to Prince George and the highway south towards Vancouver. My map suggested nothing along the road but, twenty or so miles on, Brookside Resort. Small gas station, hot showers, campground, laundromat and convenience store. Dusty.
A little further on the First Nations Bednesti Lake Resort. Saik’uz First Nation Cultural and Exchange Centre. Closed. Fairly recently I thought. Now up for sale. Disappointing, not least because it looked to have potential. Instead, it appeared to be yet another failed indigenous business.
I was struggling to understand why. Trying to reconcile the individual charm and friendliness of the First Nations – indigenous or aboriginal – people I’d met with increasingly apparent societal issues. Drugs. Foetal Alcohol Syndrome. Failed businesses where I thought others might have succeeded.
Quizzed in Vanderhoof
October 17th, 2011Quizzed in Vanderhoof from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Finally making it to Vanderhoof at the end of a long day, Ken wins a substantial discount on his camping fee..
General knowledge
October 17th, 2011Who wrote "I Claudius" asked Carl? I’d absolutely no idea. Vague recollections of a BBC television series in the 70’s. Derek Jacobi. Brian Blessed. Frankie Howard. Perhaps I was getting confused with "Carry On Cleo". Next question. What symbol associated with Joan of Arc did De Gaulle and the Free French adopt during the Second World War? A burning stake didn’t seem quite right, so suggested it must be a cross. Warm. But not quite right.
Fortunately I’d made something of an inspired guess at the first question. Santa Fe the Capital of which US State? Sounded Mexican to me, but we were talking USA. So went for New Mexico. Bingo. Playing for what Carl the warden had described as a substantial discount on the camping fee. Get one question out of three right and it’d be mine. Done. Five bucks rather than fifteen.
A curious end to a long day. Eight miles or so to Vanderhoof. Reaching the campground at dusk. Greeted by Carl as he’d been out collecting dues. In his hand a small receipt book and a quiz manual.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
October 17th, 2011Jehovah’s Witnesses from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Making a brief road side stop for coffee, Ken meets some Jehovah’s Witnesses
Lakes Country
October 17th, 2011
Through Lakes Country
October 17th, 2011Fort Fraser, she explained, had a population of over three thousand in the early 1900s. Railroad you see. But today, just a few hundred. I’d reached Fraser Lake late in the afternoon, making a short stop at the information centre to see what I could glean about the road ahead. I was sure the lady was trying to be helpful, but her knowledge seemed mostly historic.
Burns Lake had been uninspiring and I’d been glad to leave. Continuing east towards Prince George, a couple of days away. A few lakes along the highway, as might befit the Lakes Country. Pleasant woodlands. In the morning I’d met Russell and his fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses at a rest stop.
Then, as I’d pulled away, Simon and Clint. I’d done some filming with them for Tourism British Columbia a few days earlier. Heading back east as floods had taken out bridges and thwarted their plans.
There’d been little on the road between Burns Lake and Fraser Lake, bar a small pub at Endako. Inside a couple of women enjoying a late lunch. An elderly man wandered in. Regular I thought. Bar maid served him without asking what he wanted.
I’d been greeted into Fraser Lake by a wedding procession. Cars and trucks, led by the newlyweds, heading out of town, cacophony of horns. Two women wandering towards me along the shoulder, oblivious to my approach until I’d almost reached them. One smiled.
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