October 3, 2005

October 3, 2005

Hope to Hell's Gate, B.C. & return

YEAR 2 DAY 108

 

Today was partially sunny, and cool.

Joanne had mentioned last night when she was doing dishes that she thought the water wasn't very hot. This morning I discovered that there was no hot water. I went outside to check the water heater, and discovered that the water heater electrical switch was broken. We'll have to use the water heater on propane until I can replace the electrical switch. I showered, had breakfast, did regular preventive maintenance, then made some phone calls. I phoned Canadian Tire in Chilliwack, verified that the blower motor I had ordered was received, and made an appointment with their service department for tomorrow afternoon to have the blower motor replaced. Then I phoned Pacific Coast Van & RV to verify that I would be coming in tomorrow for an estimate on flooring replacement, and I asked them some questions about the water heater electrical switch. Joanne prepared a picnic lunch, and I went outside to attempt to remove the water heater electrical switch. I thought that if I could get it removed and disconnected, it would be easy to buy a new one and install it. With just a little difficulty I removed and disconnected the broken switch.

We paid for another night in this campground, then headed off for Hell's Gate about an hour north of Hope, on the Trans-Canada Highway 1. First stop was the Husky station near the campground to adjust the air pressure in one of the rear tires. One of the rear tires was down about 6 P.S.I. since I last checked tire air pressures a week ago. I'll have to keep an eye on that tire. We had been to Hell's Gate, and crossed the gorge over the Fraser River on the Hell's Gate Tram, last spring. The admission ticket allows re-entry for the rest of the current season, so our crossing today would be at no charge. We decided to take advantage of that privilege. On the way to Hell's Gate we stopped to look at two RV Co-op Parks. Emory Creek Co-op and All Hallow's Park. Neither one was to our liking. We stopped for a picnic lunch at a road side rest area that we had named "Bo Falls" last spring because of the little waterfall coming down the mountain and running beside the rest area. In the spring we allowed Bo to play in the water. Today we didn't. We finally got to Hell's Gate and took the tram across the gorge. Bo seems to think that riding in a gondola caracross the mighty Fraser River is a neat thing to do. He seemed to remember the experience from the spring, and was very eager to do it again today. We walked around the viewing area for awhile, then went inside to watch one of the videos. In the spring we watched a great video on salmon spawning. Today we watched one about the history of Simon Fraser and the Fraser River. We toured the salmon spawning display area and made an interesting discovery. The salmon that we saw in Kawkawa Creek yesterday were Pink Salmon, not Chum Salmon as we had thought. And the most interesting thing, Pink Salmon only spawn every second year, not yearly like the Chum, so the amazing spectacle we witnessed yesterday is only seen once every two years ! We took the tram back up to the top of the gorge, and headed back towards Hope.

When we got back to the trailer late in the afternoon, I read for awhile, then took a nap. Afterwards I did today's accounting, and started today's journal entry. We had supper. I continued working on the computer. Joanne washed dishes then went to shower.

DSK