Many of our trips go to where the road ends (or begins) and this trip is no different. Lund, BC hosts mile 0 of highway 101 (also known as the Pacific Coastal Route) which stretches all the way down to Quellon, Porto Monte, Chile. I suppose we need to check out the other end of the highway at some point.

The town of Lund was founded in 1889 by Charlie Thulin who named it after his hometown in Sweden. The town had a lot of fishing, mining and logging activity but now is more of a resort town and gateway to nearby Desolation Sound Provincial Park, the Copeland Islands, Okeover Inlet, Savary Island, and the Sunshine Coast Trail.

Nancy’s bakery had been recommended to us by numerous people and we had the best cinnamon buns on our trip so far there.

While standing at the wharf there was a curious disturbance in the water that came closer and closer to shore. It turned out to be a pod of dolphins having fun.

The nearby pub offered husband daycare services to their wives.

Up the hill was the Rare Earth Pottery studio with exquisite and diverse pieces. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to buy a piece of naked raku pottery.

It was time to proceed on our route south and we took the ferry from Saltery Bay to Earl’s Cove, an approximately 50 minute ride.

By now we were hungry and stopped in Sechelt for Vietnamese food at the Pho Kien Giang restaurant where Sandy, one of the owners, put together a wonderful dinner selection for us.

As we drove towards Gibsons we saw the most amazing sunset we’ve seen for a long time.

We tried finding a site at two provincial parks, but all were full so we ended up having to settle for an ocean view spot at the marina in Gibsons.

We got up early and walked along the harbour enjoying the sunrise. Everything was still very quiet and we saw hardly any people.

Most of the stores in town were still closed but the Beachcomber Coffee Company had just opened. Here we enjoyed a tasty wrap and either coffee or tea.

The ferry to Horseshoe Bay was just a few kilometres down the road and although everyone had warned us that without reservation we’d have a tough time getting on, we had no problem whatsoever.

We needed some gas so we stopped in Vancouver. Gas was 206.9! Yikes! How do people afford driving in Vancouver?

We filled up just enough to get us a bit out of Vancouver and then stopped at Costco in Abbotsford where the price was a more reasonable 174.9.

With a now full tank we drove to Merritt where we did a bit of shopping at the Walmart that was our home for the night. We were walking to keep our Apple Watches happy when we came across this scene of a fellow camper enjoying the sun in the parking lot.

The evening became even more interesting as another trailer arrived and cut the turn too tight and hit a motorhome, ripping off its bumper and some corner edging. The trailer, out on what may have been its maiden trip, also suffered some dented panels. Lots of swearing by the victims and a sad and fair response by the perpetrator. The RCMP helped both sides calm down a bit and helped them with the next steps.

Good thing it wasn’t us.

The morning was spent investigating and discussing route options to get past the wildfires and the smoke. Kamloops had fires around it but ultimately was our choice because it was faster and the traffic cameras didn’t show any significant issues with the highway. It is wonderful to have so much information at your fingertips these days.

We encountered quite a bit of smoke and spent most of the day driving to get through it.

The only stop we made was at the location where the final spike was driven in 1885 when the eastern and western portions of the Canadian Pacific Railway met. This was a historic moment as it was a condition of British Columbia joining Canada.

No, this isn’t the real last spike, but you get the idea….

Back at the parking lot, Ruth spied a tractor trailer with beautiful rusty bits and had to add a few pictures to her existing rust and rock picture collection.

The driver of the truck returned, threw up (not because of Ruth’s photos), and got back in his cab and continued his journey as did we.

The Blanket Creek Provincial Park became our home for the night. It is right along the Columbia River which was lacking water because a dam downstream had been opened a week before. The dream of going for a swim there was dashed.

Fortunately for us, the park has a swimming lagoon that was full of water. It is filled with water from a nearby waterfall. It was pretty cold but we swam for 20 minutes nonetheless.

The park staff were busy chasing a bear out of the camping area. We were told it may be a one year old cub that may have lost its mother.