Day 3: British Columbia & Cassiar Hwy

Day 3 was interesting for us. Westmark hotel was great, so we started the day bright and early. We wanted to get to Bell 2 Lodge, and that was our original plan, but when I called this morning, their cheapest room was $230--with taxes and extra fees for pets. So instead, we decided to go as far as we could and see what happens.

We saw some more swans (they're funny to watch in the water) and while driving, Klay almost murdered a squirrel running across the road and a bird who just stood in the middle of the highway like he was committing suicide. But thankfully, we all came out alive.

That was about as exciting as the wildlife got for us--besides Klay seeing a wild ferret. But we finally made it to Cassiar Hwy and it was a beautiful drive. It was pretty warm out, sunny and snowing--a combination I've never seen before. It was beautiful.

We had our first "gas scare" today. When we left Whitehorse, we filled up our tank (like $84) and headed toward Cassiar. The first gas stations on the Cassiar were closed and by that point we had maybe a half tank left. Then, a sign said "Check Gas. Next Gas 100 km" (they go by kilometers), so we planned to stop there. Little did we know, that Good Hope Lake (the town 100 km away that's supposed to have gas) doesn't sell gas until May 1! Klay and I at that point started to get concerned. We had a 2 gallon gas can (which was full), and were running on empty in the car. The extra 2 gallons we had would get us to Dease Lake, the next closest town (that's also supposed to have gas), but if they were closed, we were screwed. Luckily, Dease Lake was open and running (what they call a "gas bar" aka gas station was also a grocery store for the small town).

It was about 4:30 p.m. when we got through Dease Lake, so we decided to keep on trucking forward. We passed Bell 2 Lodge, actually we stopped and got gas there, and it was a beautiful place! I wanted to stay, but I still wanted to see how far we could get.

After another 4 hours in the car, we had our first 'night drive' which was scary--at least it was for me. It made me nervous and took way longer to get to Smithers than planned.

After 14 hrs and crossing one lane bridges over rivers at dusk, it was time to find a hotel and get some sleep.

So here we are...at Hudson Bay Lodge in Smithers, BC and I'm on the computer blogging! This is probably my only means of communication for a while--other than Facebook. I know my Mom will want to know what's happening. So, Mom--we're ok. The dogs are great, Stretch found new spots to lay at in the car (see pictures). It's beautiful here. Love you!

I need to go to sleep, if we're trying to get to Vancouver tomorrow. We'll see how that goes!

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