Day 5 – Spokane, Washington to Vancouver, British Columbia (691 km)

Our first night of camping last night was a lot of fun, but did leave us wondering if we’re properly prepared for all the camping nights we have coming up over the next two weeks. It got decidedly colder last night than we were expecting, and we realized that we are ill-prepared for cold nights with Lilo. The solution last night was to have her sleep between us on the mattress. There was something very primal-feeling about having to cuddle my baby girl to keep her warm enough through the night. Vone and I sort of swapped back and forth, each holding Lilo close to keep her warm (afterall, warm=sleeping=not crying).

Things got a little interesting at 4:30 a.m. when a train, with full blowing horn, crept slowly by on the tracks that were a scant 100 meters to the north (we had no idea). This woke Lilo up, and while upset at first, she decided it was a great time to play. We let her flop around like a fish on the mattress between us for half an hour, until finally she passed out, sleeping through to 7:00 a.m.

After a breakfast of surplus cereal amassed from previous complimentary breakfast offerings, we packed up the truck and hit the road for a bit of a lighter drive – under 70 km that should get us into Vancouver in decent time to enjoy the evening.

Washington quite surprised me as it was very plains-like, while I was expecting it to be constant mountains right through to the coast. In fact, the area around the Columbia river in the middle of the state almost had an arid, dessert like feel to it. For lunch, we pulled off the interstate at a scenic parking lot, and set up our chairs just metres from a steep cliff that dropped over 1800' to the Columbia River below.


A breathtaking view for a simple lunch of turkey sandwiches and cold leftover KFC.


Shortly after lunch, while climbing out of the Columbia River valley, we saw our first mountain of the day off in the distance. At over 14,000 Mount Rainier was very impressive - even when we realized that we were looking at it from nearly 50 miles away, and the interstate we followed would take us no closer.


It wasn’t until about 45 miles from Seattle and the coast that we came upon our first mountains in Washington - albeit very steep, rocky, and frequently snow capped mountains. I had assumed Washington State was going to be solid mountains from east to west.

We crossed the border back into Canada near 5:30 after a super-fun one-hour wait. But first, we took a quick break at a rest stop for a final snack on the fruit in our cooler, before it became contraband in the eyes of a vigilant border guard.

Lilo was quite intent on finishing ALL of the watermelon, as you can see.

The border crossing at Douglas B.C. is a two lane road that passes through a “Peace Park” as it approaches the row of guard booths. The manicured grassy fields immediately beside the road were a perfect remedy to sooth an impatient baby (Lilo, not me) and Vone and Lilo spent most of the wait playing in the grass as I inched forward over the next hour.

But in hind sight, I now realize that the shitty wait was a really good sign for me – as I’m only now realizing, even without Vone and Lilo in the truck for close to an hour, while I waited around bored and frustrated, I didn’t think about smoking a cigarette even once. Maybe this time…

When we pulled into Vancouver this evening, it was requisite showers for everyone (including Lilo), and then we met my Aunt and Grandpa for dinner. I decided to act on my seafood-jones right away, and ordered the Pacific Salmon while Vone ate the BC Halibut. Both yummy.

Our home in Vancouver for the next 3 nights is amazing – a 7th floor, one-bedroom apartment with full kitchen.

(It's the shorter, white building on the left - and we have one of the corner units)
It’s right across the street from my Gramps’ building, is only a block from the beach, has an amazing little patio, and an amazing view of Granville Island.


Lots fun to be had here, before we move on to other adventures after the weekend.