10%

freedom to roam

Smithers Day One

By Tineke Ziemer

September 2^nd, 2018

just me and my pathfinder

My kids were off at Bible Camp and my husband was busy working, so I piled my camping stuff in my Pathfinder and hit the road. Destination: Smithers and my lifelong best friend, Katie.

Let me tell you, solo road trips are the way to go. Any music I want. Any volume I want it. Time to stop and wander around at rest stops taking photos. Time to explore little Northern towns on the way. Me, my thoughts and the Lord. No timeline. No schedule. No pressure.

The insane BC wildfires made it smoky as heck until just after Burns Lake, where the skies cleared and I saw the sun for the first time in days.

I arrived in Smithers just in time to get spoiled with delicious fish tacos at Katie's house and then berries off the trail for dessert. I set up camp at a free recreation site called Twin Falls, which features a stunning waterfall duo (although, one of the sisters was not pulling her weight whatsoever.) As dusk was settling in, we took a quick hike up to the waterfall before settling into Katie's tent and talking until the wee hours of the morning, reliving our teenage years all over again.

I am continually amazed at the power that water has to change the landscape. Not only has this powerful river carved out a path through the rocks, the strong wind created by the waterfall has caused all of the trees to grow at a slant, creating an eerie windswept landscape.