Now this was a day to remember....
It was clear when I woke up, the temperature was fine for 8:00 in the morning, and the road was clear of cars for hours . I continued south on Highway 97 and encountered a lot of horse ranches and plenty of fields that have massive sprinkler systems.
As I turned west on Highway 99 the terrain became very barren with scrub brush, and very dry soil, but in the valleys can be seen lush green fields that only exist because of the sprinkler systems.
I wasn't paying much attention to my fuel gauge until suddenly the gas pump symbol starting flashing, and from previous experience I know I have only a limited of Kilometres left. It was over forty kilometres to Lillooet and I wasn't going to take any chances of being stranded on the side of the very twisty road. So I stopped at a home, climbed the gate and met a gentleman who said he had some gas at his shop just down the road. So I drove a few hundred metres and he met me there, where he has his own underground gas tank and we added four litres to my tank. He gave him $20.00 which he thought was too much, but I told him if my life is at risk on the side of the highway, then I'm worth $20.00.
A few minutes later I arrived in Lillooet, filled up with gas and continued southwest on Highway 99. What a majestic highway with corners posted at twenty kilometres per hour, single lane wooden bridges, mountains on either side, fast flowing rivers and streams and very little traffic.
Once I arrived at Whistler the traffic increased and there was much construction as the highway is being upgraded into Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics . It was a mess of detours, crazy impatient drivers and eventually I made it past Squamish then to catch the ferry at Horseshoe Bay it was necessary to ride four Kilometres past Horseshoe Bay, then turn around and come back. I had a jerk behind me and I needed to be in the left lane which turns into the ferry terminal, while the right lane continues east to Whistler. He was so possessed with giving me a hard time and staying ten feet off the rear of my bike he followed me off the highway towards the ferry terminal and missed his turn for Whistler, so he jams on his brakes and crosses over a few white lines marking the lanes almost causing an accident with other cars. Where people like him learnt to drive is a mystery.
My timing was perfect for the ferry, The Queen of Surrey, as it was leaving in twenty minutes. I was told to go down lane ten and it would lead to lane 83 and that would go right onto the ferry when boarding began. So down lane 10 I go and stop, but another motorcycle comes along and says follow me . So down lane 11 we go squeezing between cars and trucks and then back over to lane 10 that pops out at lane 83 and we went directly onto the ferry and were right at the front to the ship. And when we landed we were the first ones off. The ferry was immaculate and ran on time and was very smooth with a lot of inside seating and plenty of deck space including a sheltered area.
Once we landed I did a quick ride through Gibsons which is the small town that was the base for the TV show the Beachcomers on CBC. I took a picture of Molly's Reach which was the restaurant where most people congregated to keep up to date on the news of the day.
This is a very interesting place, as it seems like a summer vacation area, but the homes look to be year round and the water is so blue and clean.
I had a bit of trouble finding a campground, but with some help from a lady at a campground that was sold out, I am in the open area of the turnaround of Bayside Campground in Sechelt, British Columbia
Distance Travelled: 560 Km