I’ve lost count on the number of times I’ve driven to Ruskin. It’s definitely into the double digits.
I tried not to drink too much last night. I blame Jared for the “one beer too many” feeling I had when I got in the door. I immediately swung into “departure” mode, started packing the car, and prepped everything I could for heading out this morning.
At 3 am.
Yes, early. I like leaving early because it’s fewer people on the road, which means less aggravation for me. I figure if I can get to the west side of Roger’s Pass before the Weekend Idiots arrive, I’ll be in good shape.
Alex, who had literally come home from work a couple of hours before we left, wasn’t as enthused.
Monkey and I drove up front, with Alex and Choo Choo crashed in the backseat. Alex had her eyemask and earplugs to try lull herself back to sleep; Choo Choo was just tired.
We hit lightning and thunder just as we ascended Scott Lake Hill, getting into full rain for most of the stretch to Kananaskis, then spattering until we were past Canmore. The mountaintops were already bold silhouettes on the dark blue morning sky, with the sun lighting them up like candles on the snowcaps by the time we got to Highway 93. The car’s automatic headlights shut off by the time we got to Field.
Our first stop was Golden just before 6 am, primarily for coffee. Alex was up by this point, adding her request to the order at the slowest Tim Horton’s I’ve ever experienced.
Rogers Pass awaited, which was (as hoped) devoid of trucks and trailers, making for a quick pass up, over, and down, with the plunge into Revelstoke just before 6:50 am local time (accounting for the time change to PT, of course). The plan was for breakfast.
Alex attempted a cache at the Museum, which seemed like we should have been able to find it, but remained elusive. Uncached, we found a parking spot almost right in front of the Big Bend Cafe (one of two locations, the other in Golden), which happened to be a half block from the Saturday street market that was just setting up.
BTW, the Corned Beef Hash at Big Bend is a huge recommendation.
The trucks and trailers were well on the road by the time we hit Eagle Pass, making the trek a bit slower, but not awkward. We didn’t stop again until we hit DeMille’s Market in Salmon Arm.
We did our usual stop in Kamloops, but didn’t do lunch. It was mostly a rest stop, and an opportunity for me to cat-nap. I’d already attempted one at DeMille’s, but it had been highly insufficient, leaving me still drowsy, which is not a good state to drive. Despite the acorns pelting me from the tree above, I managed to get about 10 minutes of actual sleep, which got us the rest of the way to Ruskin.
Our delays in Revelstoke and Kamloops left us having to take the Coquihalla in order to get to Ruskin on time. I’d hoped to take the Fraser Canyon section of the Trans Canada for a change; maybe next time.
The Weekend Idiots were waiting for me in Chilliwack, following them for some distance before working my way around them to get off at Abbotsford. It was already 32C. Alex remarked on the speed at which we got to Ruskin, though she had also dozed off for part of the ride.
Asinkwe (aka Tia Nicole) was waiting for us when we arrived at the east patio, along with Granny and Grandpa. And I don’t remember a heck of a lot else. Having arrived, I think my brain declared itself done for the day and checked out.
