We are north bound for Alaska and I couldn’t be happier.  It’s such a great feeling to be back on the road.  While I don’t mind driving Ruby, my favorite spot is in the passenger seat, sitting back and enjoying the view.  Usually my camera is handy just in case, but this trip it’s going to be in my lap and ready to go.  I’ll be looking for bears and any other animals that may cross our path.  We are taking our sweet time driving through British Columbia.  Jim is going to try to fish several of the lakes in British Columbia for trout and then when we hit Alaska he will be fishing for salmon.

Our first day on the road couldn’t have been more perfect.  Once we cleared Bellingham the sun came out; it did hide for a bit as we drove the Sea to Sky Highway, but luckily it popped back out as we got closer to Whistler.

As we were heading up the mountain we spotted a sign for Shannon Falls Provincial Park and thought that would be a good spot to stop and stretch our legs.  We ended up surrounded by a large group of people who had tons of questions about the Roadtrek !  We met a lovely couple, Bob & Sue from Vancouver who had just purchased a Simplicity. And we were thrilled that we were the first fellow Roadtrek owners that they had met. We exchanged stories and talked excitedly about adventures ahead.  After the hike to the incredibly awesome Shannon Falls, we had a delicious lunch and got back on the road again.

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We weren’t sure if we were going to camp in a provincial park or look for a boon docking spot but we were open to all possibilities.  Jim had read about Callaghan Lake Provincial Park and we took the turn off the Sea to Sky Highway to see what it looked like.  That was the best move we made today. While we couldn’t get to the campground, too much snow, we did discover something far better-BEARS !  The black bears were out in force about 430 in the afternoon grazing along the road. We couldn’t believe our good fortune.  In less than 2 hours we saw 5 bears-it was so exciting. My favorite was the sweet cinnamon colored one.

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It has been about 30 years since our last visit to Whistler.  It’s grown quite a bit but still just as beautiful as ever.  The mountains were gorgeous today with their peaks still covered in deep snow.

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If you follow my Facebook page for Wandering Under the Stars, I mentioned a web site I stumbled across that is outstanding for finding boon docking or wild camping sites. Check it out if you haven’t already: ioverlander.com .  When we discovered we wouldn’t be able to camp at Callaghan Lake I brought up the web site, entered Whistler as our area, selected wild camping and hit enter.  This is where we ended up spending the night courtesy of that website.  Free, gorgeous mountain views (with just a few power lines ) and very quiet.  We watched the sunset while listening to the river rushing by.

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I couldn’t be happier with our first day out on the road.  We are both so grateful for the life we are able to live.  Each day astounds us and we genuinely can’t believe we are so blessed to experience the adventure of traveling on the road.  It’s pitch dark outside and we are snuggled into Ruby for the night.  I can hear the river and I know it will lull me to sleep. I hope I dream about my little cinnamon bear.  Safe travels and happy trails to all of you.