30 May 2009 – Day 2
Being a Sunday we took a break in the morning to attend a local church. We have not only found this to be a great Sunday morning activity but also a great way to meet local people in the areas we visit. We plan to do this whenever possible.
It was a late departure by the time we left at around 1:30 pm considering we wanted to travel at least 6 hours. We drove through the lower mainland and up the Coquahalla Highway (which is no longer a toll highway) to Kamloops before heading East along the Trans-Canada Highway.
A Stop That Made a Big Splash
It was getting late by the time we arrived in the small town of Salmon Arm and we had run out of water in our Motorhome. Although we carry extra drinking water we knew that the bathroom on the RV did need this essential commodity. We found a free hookup one block off of the highway in the Zellars parking lot and quickly pulled in to fill up our water tanks and to dump our sewage. The kids were all excited to jump out and stretch their legs.
As kids generally do on a hot sunny day, our children were attracted to the water. It had been an especially warm day and an extremely long drive in the heat. While I was asking my older children to help fill the water tanks my older three boys couldn’t help but squirt the water up, down and all around. What they found most impressive was the water pressure. Never before have we seen this type of water pressure at an RV station and they were only too happy to show it off. While filling our tanks there was an extra hose that the kids would turn on and it whipped around like mad snake, spraying water in all directions. It was quite the game for them to try turning the water off without getting drenched. In the end there were only too happy to to get wet and cool off.
While this water play was going on we decided to try cleaning out the septic system by flushing fresh water into it. Although it had been emptied, the septic sensors kept indicating that it was still full. With water pressure like this it took no time to flush out the septic system. My wife, Kirsten would take the hose through the window of the RV and simply flush water through the toilet. What I didn’t realize is how quickly it was filling the tanks. After rinsing the septic tank once, I closed the valve that dumps the septic so that the entire tank could be filled and rinsed with fresh water… well within less than one minute I heard the frantic words, “TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!” The tank was full and Kirsten had closed the lever that opens up the toilet to the septic tank. The pressure causing a blast of water to reflect from the bowl and into her face. By the time I ran to turn the water off, she had been blasted in the face with a steady stream of water and 2 inches had pooled up on the floor of the washroom.
She wasn’t at all as impressed as the kids were to play in the spraying water outside. Somehow when water comes from a bathroom, even when it is freshwater, it is not the most thrilling of experiences. By the time we mopped up the water on the floor and pulled away from the RV water station, other motorists were in line and waiting for us to finish. We all had a good laugh at our experience noting some thing that we should avoid doing again in the future and continued on our way towards the Canadian Rockies.
A Second Night – With Train Horns Blowing
We finished our day by driving as far as Craigellachie. We picked this location as they had a great rest stop and historic site and we needed to sleep somewhere for the night. Almost out of gas we stopped at this location where the last spike was pounded in on the Cross Canada railway line in 1885.
As far as size goes, it looks like the town consists of this landmark and not much else. At the rest stop there are washrooms that are open 24 hours, a souvenir shop, a grassy hill and picnic tables. It is a great place to stop… but I would not recommend spending the night. Although a great place to visit, it is wedged between the Trans-Canada highway and a railway track. This combination leads to a very noisy night’s sleep. In total at least 8 trains came by blasting their horns to greet us in the night. If I had more gas in the tank I would have moved on in the middle of the night.