Driving out of the storage grounds by Maple Ridge Park we had Sirius tuned to Primetime Country and were hoping for the Willy Nelson classic “On the road again”, sadly it wasn’t to be.

The adventure actually started a couple of hours earlier at 04:00 with us packing the remaining stuff, food and pets into the truck. For those that know Judi you’ll be amazed that not only did she get up that early, but even managed to function.

Maple Ridge to Salmon Arm

Weather – Sunny, but from Merritt hazy due to forest fire smoke

Temps – From 15C to 30C at Salmon Arm

Distance – 261 mls

Navigation

Departed Maple Ridge Campground at 05:45 and headed North on 232nd to join Lougheed Hwy heading East to Mission, where we crossed the Fraser River . Joined the Trans-Canada at Abbotsford and passed through Hope at 07:00, with light traffic all the way. Temperatures were cool so we had an easy climb up the Coquihalla on Hwy #5.

We stopped in Merritt at the Walmart parking lot just before 09:00 for breakfast and to walk the dogs. Half hour later we were back on the road. Shortly after leaving Merritt Judi started smelling the forest fires and the visibility started to reduce in the haze. Didn’t see any fires, only the resulting haze from the smoke.

After Kamloops we followed the South Thompson River and then Shuswap Lake, before arriving at Viewpoint RV Campground just prior to our planned ETA of 12:00.

Update – currently in Banff, where Wi-Fi is conspicuous by its absence. More update will be posted when we get re-connected