0566 Houston, Anacortes, and out of here......

 21^st July – 11^th Aug 2016

But not before yet another Twist in the Tale !

So having had to settle for the more expensive option of shipping the car out of Seattle due to the unwillingness of the Los Angeles CBP to check for the correct shipping requirements for a tourist vehicle, I set off to Houston Texas to spend 10 days with my daughter Sarah, her husband Benn, and their daughter Olivia who was celebrating her second birthday on the 22^nd July.  Janet had also flown over from Australia to join in the celebration, and I was looking forward to a breather now that all this drama with the shipping was sorted out.  But now I had another issue to deal with – My 90 day ESTA visa waiver allowance for the USA was running out !!!

0565 Anacortes - packing and cleaning

15^th – 21^st July 2016

Just when you think you have reached the end………

I had a week in Anacortes before heading to Houston, and my primary jobs were to clean and pack the car ready for shipment back to Australia, and to finalise the shipping.  No big deal……..right ?

Wrong !   

But if you have to wait around anywhere, my sister's house in Anacortes in not a bad choice. There is Washington Park just a 5 minute walk down the road, with views out over the San Juan Islands as you walk around a beautiful forrested two mile circuit.  Or you can cycle round it if you have enough energy and leg power to get up the hills !  In addition there is so much wildlife around here you feel as though you are truly out in the wilds.  A beautiful spot on this earth.  

0564 Cascades Nat Park to Anacortes, Washington

14^th July 2016

My last mountain pass as I finish my 2 ¼ year adventure.

No one else came to my small campsite in the forest last night, so I had a very quiet last sleep, and slept like a log. Before opening the door this morning I checked to see if any interesting wildlife was there (like bears, about which there were lots of signs) but no luck.  Nothing.  Made my cup of tea, had my cereal, cleaned my teeth and myself, and I was on the road before 8 am.  It was to be an easy drive today, through the Cascade National Park and through to my sister’s place in Anacortes, in the San Juan Islands.  I had driven this almost identical road on the last day of my 2012 trip in the Lotus, but that time it had been raining and overcast, and while it had been a magical drive, I had missed a lot of the sights.  Today was a clear blue sky right from the start, so I was looking forward to seeing what I had missed last time.

0563 Lac Le Jeune Canada to Cascade NP USA

13^th July 2016

A cruise down the scenic Okanagan Valley, and my last border crossing !

I was up at dawn as I usually seem to be recently, although I had slept the whole way through – I was exhausted after all the walking yesterday at the waterfalls in Wells Gray Provincial Park – Not so much the distance as the steep down hill and uphill scrambles which seem to be getting harder and harder for me as days pass !  But I wasn’t too stiff this morning, and headed out down the road on the closing section of my 2 1/4 year adventure. 

0562 Vavenby to Lac Le Jeune PP

12^th July 2016

Lots of waterfalls !

During last night and this morning, Ed and Sarah strongly recommended I go to Wells Gray Provincial Park which was only just down the road from them in Vavenby.  I had never even heard of it before, but then there are lots of places I know nothing about !  After breakfast and a few bits and pieces, we took a couple of photos to make sure we remembered which car I had come in this time (last time I was here l was in the Lotus), and then I headed off down the road.  They assured me that several of the waterfalls and sights were within just a couple of minutes walk from the car parks, so I planned a quick visit before heading on south.

0561 Blind Bay to Vavenby

11^th July 2016

Horses, rain, and good company.

I am being spoilt catching up with good friends at the moment – I have known Sarah since college days in England and together with he husband Ed, they have lived here in the Vavenby region for a long time.  Janet and I originally came here in about 1978 – Damien was about 1 ½ and Nick was still to make an appearance !  We have always kept in touch over the years, and I came here in the Lotus in 2012 on my way north, so it was good to be able to make it back to this lovely part of the world yet again, and to have a chance to catch up just a little.

0560 N Thompson PP to Blind Bay

10^th July 2016

Ospreys, a waterfall, and catching up with 2 good friends.

Ed and Sarah Shook were busy today to I decided to head on past their property and on down to Salmon Arm.  This meant that I would end up doing this stretch of road 3 times, but it is not only a very easy road, but is also very scenic, driving down beside the North Thompson River most of the way.  After Kamloops I turned east in towards the extensive and very scenic arms of Shuswap Lake that stretch for miles, and provide endless opportunities for boating, fishing, camping and everything else that goes with big lakes like this.