Lone Butte to Hazelton, British Columbia

By this time we were ready to leave Loon Bay Resort on Sunday, it occurred to us that we needed to stock up on some dog food for Barley and Sydney. We feed the dogs Nutro, which is not commonly stocked in supermarkets. So I went online and found that Nutro is sold by a retail company called Total Pet, and I also discovered there is a Total Pet store in Williams Lake which is on our way to Prince George.  Perfect!

So off we went to Williams Lake. We drove along a little country road called Horse Lake Road and it was a nice drive. We saw some Black Tail deer, which are all over the place in British Columbia day and night, drove past some little communities and small farms and ended up in Williams Lake.

We found Total Pet without much trouble and crammed the Trek into a very small parking lot.  To leave, I had to back the RV out onto the road by a blind curve.  Lynda offered to go out into the road and stop traffic so I could get out but I just put on my hazard flashers and backed out.  I've grown a little cocky with driving that Trek!

By the way, that 40 lb bag of dog food cost over $70... we told the dogs to eat slowly.  British Columbia is beautiful and the people are very friendly and nice but it is expensive!  That same bag of Nutro costs us around $50 at home in Tennessee.  A couple days later on our way to Hazelton, we bought a 12 pack of Molson beer for $21.  Canucks pay dearly for their brew! 

But I digress.

We made it to Prince George and found the Hartway RV Park, where we had reservations for two night. The young man who checked us in was very nice and helpful. Some sites at this park are better than others. Our site was a little small with neighbors on both sides. One set of neighbors was a family of around 8 people who appeared to be living in a car, tent, and old truck camper. They came back to their site shortly after we got there, very nicely dressed for church and holding bibles and such.  We felt overcrowded and could not tether the dogs outside because there were so many people milling about. Thankfully, the family left the next morning.  We learned later that there was a Jehovah's Witness regional convention in Prince George that weekend - odds are these folks came to town to attend that convention.

After getting settled in at the Hartway RV Park, we walked the dogs to a nearby elementary school and let them run around in the enclosed tennis courts.  They really enjoyed that!  Then we took them back to the Trek and walked back to eat dinner at a Greek restaurant called Atlantis. The food was only average but it was a nice break for us to sit down in a restaurant and have a meal.

We spent the next day doing a whole lot of nothing because it was rainy and chilly. We used the time to watch a little TV and a couple movies, and to catch up on email, etc.

Click here for some photos of our drive to Prince George.

We left the RV park early the next morning... we had an appointment with a local Chevy dealer to change our oil, which I really wanted done before we began the Alaska portion of our trip. The oil change took less than an hour and we were on our way to Hazelton by 10 AM. 

We made a couple stops on the way to pick up some groceries and eat lunch. As we drove north toward Hazelton, towns and communities became smaller and fewer.  We are were heading to northwest British Columbia, gateway to Alaska.

We rolled into the 'Ksan Campground in Hazelton just before 5 PM. We were so excited to arrive - this is our last stop before we begin the Alaska trip!  It is here that members of the RV caravan group are gathering before we set off for Hyder, Alaska.

The campground, next to the 'Ksan Historic Village and Museum, is owned and managed by the native Gitsan people of the Gitanmaax Band. The campground lays in the shadow of the Hazelton mountains, next to the Skeena River. It is a lovely spot!

We'll stay here at 'Ksan for 5 nights to catch our breath, sightsee, attend some orientation meetings, and generally get ready for the big trip through Alaska and the Yukon.  Stay tuned!