Smithers BC (with a stop in Houston!)

Woke up to rain this morning! Funny, the clouds have looked like it would rain at any moment, and we have had a few drops now and again, but essentially the weather has been awesome! Fortunately the rain was light and breaking camp was not so bad. Hit Walmart (our one stop shopping default) on the way out of town and then headed essentially west to the town of Smithers.
Stopped at Burns Lake for an excellent lunch at a local coffee house, bistro sort of place. "Alternative Grounds", really cute, wish I had remembered to take a picture! Lamb burger for Tom and pizza panini for me with mango ice tea.
Next stop, Houston, BC to take a look at the largest fly rod (60 feet) in the world (?)... looked totally legit with reel and line. Right next to a very nicely maintained city park, Steelhead Park. Beautiful flowers, with peonies, which we see fairly often in gardens around here! Auggie was delighted with the park.... and the fountain with carved stone steelheads!
Final stop of the day, the "alpinesque" town of Smithers. Cute place, pretty much a ski resort sort of town (Hudson Bay Mt. Resort) that has lots of summer outdoor alternatives. We are camping in the municipal park which is next to a river. We walked into town....a long, hot mile, uphill, into the sun, crossed the highway, and strolled down main street just window shopping. Nice, but it probably would have looked more charming from the air conditioned cab of the motorhome! It's so odd, the temp is only 72 degrees, but with the constant threat of rain, the humidity is pretty high, and the sun just seems pretty strong this far north! But it was good to walk out what was essentially a driving day. A beautiful driving day, going from forest to more mountainous terrain, saw our first snow capped peaks, and lots of wildflowers. No wildlife, but we are trying to be vigilant! Loving our drive, thank you God!Read more