Greyhound Diaries

Wow, it's been over four months since my last post.  A lot has happened since then.  Amidst it all I did spend some time on the road, which is what this blog is supposed to be about, right?  Back in August I drove a long circular loop south to Seattle, east across the Cascades, back across the border into BC's West Kootenays, north up the Arrow/Slocan lakes, and back through the Okanagan towards home at the coast.  Apart from that, there's been very little 'road' in my life. In fact, 2012 was a year of very little travel.  I think I may have to change that in 2013.

It's now two nights before Christmas and I'm sitting idle and safe in the confines of the snowy village I grew up in.  I've had a great little journey to get here.  One half of the journey was on the Greyhound bus to Kelowna.  I must say, I do love to travel by bus.  It's nice to be... grounded.  I've travelled by bus in other countries - Spain, Argentina - but it's rare that I take the bus long distances in Canada.  It really is great though. It's cheap, it's comfortable, it's humbling.  You have familiar views along the way and time to appreciate them.  It can really get the imagination going.

Heading east out of the Fraser Valley on Highway 1 - a road I've driven many times - I didn't need to look at the highway ahead as I usually do, but instead the views to the sides.  The valley was covered by a dome of dramatic clouds at different heights, save one long horizontal slice of blue sky to the west - not on the horizon, not up high, but strangely poised in between.  There were beams of sunlight, leftover patches of snow on dullish green fields, and bald eagles swooping around the Vedder Canal.  Then the road took our Greyhound bus up into the mountains and we were soon on the Coquihalla summit.  It was a different world up there.  A heavy blanket of snow covered everything, the clouds were low, and the light was dim. I looked out the window knowing if I were out there, away from the highway, it would be a silent place.  I knew if I were to make a sound it would be muffled by the snow and the thick sky, and the world would feel as small as a shoebox. After passing cars in ditches and flashing lights in the dusk, we eventually rolled into Merritt.  It was nice to stop in the neon glow of a small town bus station, get off the bus, stretch the legs, and drink some tea.  The rest of the journey was into the dark night.  And when you have things to think about, what better way than staring out into the dark?  The night can be a black, clean slate if you're looking for something to write on.   

Here are a couple of photos from the next leg of my trip, taken the following day driving from Kelowna to the West Kootenays.  Another high mountain pass...