A story of two parts

As the rain stopped and the clouds lifted last night, the view was quite breathtaking. We were one of two couples who were eating dinner last night, which was a shame; the chef, Neil, who did everything, cooked us a superb beetroot soup followed by a huge and delicious steak with a cumin seasoning, all made from locally sourced produce and the vegetables from their own garden. We agreed that it was the best meal out we have had, marred only by the uncertainty of what it would cost as no prices were mentioned. It was pricey but not extortionate. The accommodation was quite palatial with the aforementioned views but strangely no tea or coffee making facilities. In the morning, we were treated to a breakfast of what Pat called 'frittata' but we would recognise as 'Omelette Paysanne', with fruit and then toast. It certainly set us up for the day.

Understated horsebox and caravan unit

In Pemberton itself, we managed to get Zoe's birthday present off to her and get some provisions before filling up with fuel for our long drive ahead.

4 hours of driving through some of the most stunning scenery with beautiful lakes, peaks with snow clinging to the tops, rivers chattering and gurgling as they swirled down the mountainside. In places the road seemed perched rather precariously on the side of the mountain and I was surprised that Sue elected to take the wheel but she explained that she wanted me to take some pictures!

Lower Lake Joffre

At Pat's recommendation we stopped at Joffre Lake, where a 10 minute walk took us to the lower lake. Fed by the melt waters of the glacier above, it was a particularly serene spot, troubled only by insects. We had put on insect repellent, so were relatively untroubled but the fish in the lake seemed to enjoy the insect feast – good for them. The lake is not listed in the guide books we have so was a particularly good bit of local knowledge.

At one point we were held up as a girder was being placed in a replacement bridge. We went over the temporary bridge with some trepidation but it was fine. We stopped at 2 for a bite of lunch in a layby before swapping drivers. We were probably passed by a car every few minutes but it made us aware of quite how remote the location was.

River by route 99

We had two particularly long sections with very little on them apart from the occasional homestead. The first was through the mountains after the first ½ hour of the drive until about ½ an hour after lunch, the second was for about 80 km before Cache Creek, where there were no petrol stations or cafés. It was as well that we refuelled before we left Pemberton. The second long stretch started at Lilloet and proved less interesting, with mountains giving way to an arid, hilly scrubland. It was interesting to note that, from Cache Creek we were back on Transcanada Highway 1, where we started out two days ago at mile zero! We reached the beginning of the end as we reached Kamloops Lake and pulled into a rest area where we could get a fabulous view of the lake itself.

Kamloops Lake

We pulled into MacQueens Manor just after 5pm and were given a warm welcome by Pat MacQueen. A lovely room with all the amenities we could want.

written by

rickandsuejohnson on August 10, 2010 from Kamloops, Canada

from the travel blog: Go west, then go west some more.

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Amazing photos - it looks beautiful! Sounds like the B&B method is working out well - always good to get local advice to see the best things.

written by Ollie Johnson on August 11, 2010

Nicely explained. It's indeed an art to stop new visitors with your attractive writing style. Truly impressive and nice information. Thanks for sharing.

written by Bachelor Degree on May 22, 2011

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