After we left the Canadian Rockies, we headed south towards Vancouver. Tom wanted to put our den-on-wheels onto a big boat so we could visit Vancouver Island. But, British Columbia is a big place. We couldn’t drive there all in one day.
As we were driving the first day, we saw smoke coming from one of the mountains in the distance. We’d heard there were fires around. But, it was just a little hazy and the sky was still blue. It didn’t look like any problem.
Our first camp was in Kamloops. It was too hot to do much outside. Plus, the smoke was getting thicker. The news man onthe TV said British Columbia was having one of its worst years for fire. There were already over 250 burning, and more were starting every day!
After a few days, we left Kamloops and drove to a friendly city named Hope. Our reservation to Vancouver Island wasn’t for another week, so Tom found a campsite where we could stay and wait.
The next day, a fire started on one of the mountains just down the road. The fires everywhere were getting worse. The news man said there were over 450 in British Columbia! The smoke got so thick, you could almost chew it!
There’s a lot to do near Hope, but we could only go out a couple days when the smoke cleared. One day, we went to hike through the famous Othello Tunnels. There were lots of people when we got there, but it wasn’t too bad. We found a little trail off to the side and explored the Coqihalla River. When we left, people had to park a mile away from the trailhead! I’m glad we got up early.
Finally, it was our day to ride the boat to Vancouver Island. There were now over 600 fires burning in British Columbia! Lots of roads were closed or moving slowly, including the scenic route to Vancouver. But, the road on our side of the mountain was still good. We drove all the way to the boat and rode to the island.
