I was up super early to get started. I decided to try a drive into British Columbia in the morning. The border crossing north of Lynden, WA wasn't open till 8am so I drove to Sumas, WA where the border crossing was open. I was a bit nervous. Would I be let in with the dogs? I had my passport and the rabies vaccinations for both dogs. The lady agent asked me a plethora of questions. Did I really drive from Arizona to come to Canada? Did I have knives, firearms or pepper spray with me? Any alcohol, tobacco or fresh fruits? Why was I coming? Where was I staying?
I took highway 1 west. Now everything was measured in kilometers and Vancouver was 80km away. Traffic was steady and moving. I took the long way into town because I didn't want to pay a toll. I had no idea where I'd go, I drove with the flow.
My first impression of the city was its heavy Chinese and Thai influence. The streets were crowded with traffic. I set my GPS to take me to Stanley Park on the north end of the main city, with walking paths for the dogs. Parking was CND $3.25 an hour, so we walked a brisk 3.3 miles in that time. Lots of people out enjoying the weather, but I also noticed transients camped in the woods. I was warned by one park volunteer to leave no valuables in my van while parked because of break-ins. How reassuring!
The dogs do not do well on leash in the city. Minnie especially barked at all the other dogs and pulled me. I was embarrassed at her behavior, as Sadie feeds off that. So I just drove around, took photos, and left during the lunch crowd to avoid getting stuck in rushhour traffic leaving town. I wanted to get back early enough to explore the Mount Baker highway and a short trail to cool off in, as rainy weather is due back again tomorrow.
I made it to the ski lodge just after 5pm. The road to Artist Point was closed due to the snow fall on June 14. I did what all the other walkers did: I walked the road to the end. I started after most walkers were coming back down and had the road to myself. The peaks were impressive, and so was the snow piled up on the sides of the road, getting taller as I got higher. I turned around here and walked back down, getting another five miles in. There were only three cars in the parking lot when I left.
I drove back down the highway and stopped at the Corner 9 pub, where I had two very good beers from the Rushan brewery out of Bellingham. I also ordered a large mushroom pizza to take with me for tonight and tomorrow. Several locals were talking about black beers they had seen while hiking. My dogs would keep me safe.
I spent the night just outside the Silver Fir campground. It was very quiet and once again I slept soundly. Tomorrow would be a long day.
More later, with photos
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