Day 68, Saturday June 9, 2018 Getting into Canada via Abbotsford, British Columbia

This was a very short trip, It was just 75 miles and on very good, not winding, and level roads. That surprised me as I had anticipated , and was told to me , that it was quite hilly. Not so! Ruth was very excited to be able, in this broad valley that lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascades to see the full height of the mountains. In Canada when we crossed the border we picked up the mighty  Fraser River and that is the valley that stretches inland as it gets narrower and narrower. It is a delightful trip along the Fraser River either by train as the tracks run along  the river, or by car/bus on the road , or for some there is a river trip by raft or other types of boats for part of the river. It is a beautiful, powerful, magnificent  river . But of course there was the border crossing at Abbotsford / Sumas, before we got there.

This Sumas USA fire  truck was kept close to the border crossing.

Looking down main street  as the line gets longer to cross.

From this point it was a 20 minute wait, Few questions.

Two lines. That day they were questioning particularly  the White trucks.

THROUGH AT LAST, AND ON TO HOPE!

But as we traveled in this valley we noticed some intensive crops were growing, at first they looked like blueberry plants , bit seemed to be greener, than the ones we have in the Midwest. Maybe they were currants or gooseberries? There were some hops growing, but we know they are on tall wires standing 10-15 feet in the air. So what could they be?


 The Fraser River Valley produces the most berries in Canada especailly the highbush bueberry. There were 57.000,000 pounds of blueberries produced in 2015. There are also the floowing in volume; Raspberries, Tayberries, Black Currants,  Blackberries and Boysenberries. We dod see some of these as they come in a different times in the summer.

One of the vineyards n the Fraser River Valley.

 The Fraser River Valley is composed of the following:
City of Abbotsford, City of Chilliwack, District of Mission, District of Hope,  all of which we drove through , and the District of Kent, the Village of Harrison Hot Springs and Electoral Areas A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H. (I do not know what they represent!)

Very pastoral in the Fraser River Valley.

Ruth liked the clouds in this one. All taken through the car window.

In areas of both WA,& BC grass is grown as fodder, not clover.

There are also Beets  Cabbage  Carrots Parsnips  Potatoes Pumpkins White Turnips are all grown here in abundance. (These are root crops and there is a Farm group that controls these products.)
Crops produced in relatively large volumes include potatoes, sweet corn, cole crops (such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage), beans, cucurbits (such as pumpkins, squash and zucchini), lettuce, carrots and peas. Other crops include asparagus, beets, Chinese vegetables, onions, radishes, rutabaga and spinach. ONe farm we saw had 15-20 different types of vegetables coming up at at the same time.

The local airfield has gkider rides arund the mountains. Good verticals!

One of the waterfalls out our back window!

The entry way to "Wild Rose" Campground.

Jim and Ruth are camping here.

Some snow on this 5,000 foot peak.

From front to back (this)  there are 50 sites hidden in the trees.

 The campground is nestled right under the huge mountains that make up the western edge of the Cascade range.  The tallest are between 4,600 and 5,500 feet in elevation. One of those is just behond our campsite.

We set up camp were introduced to Judy the Camp manager, and had a light lunch. Then it was time for the laundry again. Now you would think that doing the laundry would not be much of an adventure, BUT...its was , once again.  I had looked up on the internet the laundry in Hope so we headed there, There was NOT a laundry on 3rd Avenue as I had seen. . We spotted the Dairy Queen (DQ) and decided to cool our jets with a blizzard while we figured this one out. (In Canada there is no such thing as a "Heath Bar Blizzard") (Go Figure!) In the DQ was a lady who was excited to pick up her cake for her son, David's 11th birthday. She said it was the last one for him as he was 11 now and that was not going to be fun anymore, He said.  But she told me where the laundromat was. Going outside she pointed to a blue building and said :"Just look for the  "little" door, , You could miss it and it is not on 3rd ave, but around the corner from it!" We were immediate friends. We did find the laundromat and as usual I go in first and 'scope it out' to see of there are 4 working washers. ( One does not want to wait too long for clothes to be washed with only two washers. I looked inside and could not believe what I saw. This was absolutely the WORST Laundromat we have ever been in. Dirty, unswept, pieces of cardboard in places to keep the vibrations down, junk, pieces of cloth on everywhere and not an attendant in site. Five of the eight washer were taped shut as they did not work. So I told Ruth my instinct and she came in and looked, She walked out and was definitely NOT going to use that laundromat.  It was filthy! Just as we were about to leave I spotted a maid coming out of a motel across the street,and heading home after a days work.  I hailed her and asked her about laundromats in another nearby town , Silver Creek. In a very broken Asiatic English she replied, "Yes, in Silver Creek by the Cafe , there is a very good one. " Good enough and I thanked her and we went there about 3 miles away. That was a gem! Another lady with hardly any English (Asian again) apologized for the lack of English but she came right in to help us. She   gave us all the Canadian money we needed to exchange ( she had a a small coin can) and was very gracious in getting us started. She smiled the entire time.  Talk about a turn around and getting help.

We finished the laundry ($2,50 CA per washer load and $2.50 CA per dryer per hour,) and were happy as a lark. Thanks to the ladies who helped us. The Health Dept at Hope will get a note about the condition of the laundromat in Hope.

SO WHO'S HAMBURGER IS WHO'S?

Is this Jim's or Ruth's? (Hint: Jim loves mustard)

Is this Jim' or Ruth's? Don't let the sweater influence you. (Jim is tricky!)

A fitting end to this post. A white rose in the campground .

That was it for the day. Supper was hamburgers, grilled outdoors, Ruth's style. Tomato, Lettuce, onion and all the condiments you wanted. She does it best with the best meat. I have to admit it was more than  should have eaten.

The Detroit Tigers won a game in the bottom of the 12th inning today,  and are playing good baseball.




Others?




Tomorrow is a day for us to explore the area as it is the only day we will be here. Maybe we will

pick some strawberries?