Williams Lake to Smithers

We were just leaving Williams Lake this morning when a yellow checker painted  '98 K1200RS pulled up along side of us.  The rider, from Vancouver, was interested in the sidecar and we rode side-by-side for about a mile talking back and forth.  With cars behind us, the rider signaled "coffee?" , I nodded, and we followed him another ten miles or so when he signaled for a turn into the parking area for a lonely cafe.  He turned out to be a realtor from just outside Vancouver who, as an avid long distance rider, was heading up to Ft. St. John, just above Dawson Creek on the Alaska Highway. . .planning to be back at work on Monday.   Armed with five fresh salmon sandwiches made from fresh salmon he had caught the day before, he had left home around midnight and had ridden through the darkness and rain to where we met him.   At the same cafe, we met a couple who had formerly lived in Smithers, our next destination, and an Evangelical  couple from the Williams Lake area who had eight kids, and were were survivalists.  These were all rugged folks.

Somebody was happy to be out of the weather!

With fellow rider, Brett Hammill, for a little coffee and conversation

 We enjoyed coffee, a bowl of corn chowder, and lots of conversation.  Over an hour later, we headed toward Prince George where he would turn NE and we would head NW.  It was a nice encounter and as a gift, we had fresh salmon sandwiches for lunch a few hours later compliments of Brett Hammill.  I bet we see him again someday!

Greg and Bonnie, friendly locals

It just isn't spring here yet

The Alpinman, watchman for Smithers

Snow melting off this mountain contributes to the flooding

A funky hybrid Petunia in a garden shop window

     When we left Williams Lake, it was cloudy, in the 50s,  and pretty nice, considering some of the extremes we had seen over the last few days.  As the day went along, however,  we got caught in hard rain, temps that wildly rose and dropped, and skies that cleared and darkened  whimsically it seemed.  I took my liner off when it got to 68,  put it back on in the low 50s, got warm a few miles down the road only to need electrics when we later saw low 40s.  Intense lightening and flooded roads were the precursors to the three inch deep hail we encountered.  While that was happening, we saw fields that were now lakes, streams that had overflowed their banks within feet of the road, and snow covered peaks within just a few miles.  The motel for the night is nice and food in town was very good. . .and all much appreciated.