ALASKA/CALGARY 2012: Day 12, Travel to Prince George, Canada

Today we traveled from our camp site in Valemont, British Columbia (Irvin’s Park & Campground) to Southpark RV Park in Prince George, British Columbia. Some of our group left as early as 7:00 am. We were the last ones to go (9:40 am) before the tailgunners.

Jim getting ready to leave Valemont

Nonetheless, we caught up to everyone by the time we stopped for lunch at Purden Lake Resort around 12:15 pm. As we left Valemont, it was drizzling and raining off and on along the way.

Along our morning drive the clouds were hanging on the tree covered mountains

We sighted many moose and deer (signs) along the way

and encountered our first bear at the Purden Lake Resort where we stopped for lunch.

1st bear sighting

The bear was stuffed , even more than we were after we finished lunch.

Gathering of the Rigs at the Restaurant

Lunch at Purden Lake Resort

Blueberry pie

The café is known for its pies and we succumbed to a blueberry slice.

Some of us are still waiting for our chance to see these animals we’ve heard so much about.

We were warned that we would have several stops along the way due to first a mudslide and second, road construction. We did see where the right hand side of a section of the road had caved in, but no problem as we went along our way. Then Saturday proved to be a day of rest for most of the construction workers.

Most of us arrived directly at the Southpark RV Park or in Prince George by 2:30 pm. Some of us set up our rigs, and some went to Costco (1^st sighting since we’ve been in Canada), Walmart or the Superstores (a Canadian specialty). We all continue to be amazed by the price of wine or liquor in Canada (e.g., a big box of wine can run over $40!)

Jim giving wine tasting tips

By 5 pm we congregated at the park meeting space to hear our latest travel briefing (tomorrow we head for Dawson Creek). We (Jim and Linda) treated everyone to a wine and cheese tasting of 3 whites and 3 reds along with a variety of cheeses (Manchego was a favorite). This was all supplemented by a variety of appetizers brought by the caravaners. Jim talked about each wine, Linda poured and caravaners tasted.

A good time was had by all