Merrittoreous

From Merritt, we cheated a bit and got a ride up the Connector to a place called Aspen Grove. Well, we could be excused since the road is four lanes of logger trucks and massive RV's. Most of the traffic goes across the connector to the Okanagan. We wanted to avoid this part. The fact that it was all uphill at this point really had nothing to do with it.

Now, Aspen Grove is just that. There is a grove. There are actually three houses, although one of them is in the process of returning to nature, so you could say it was a tiny town. But you have to start someplace, and this is what we had picked. Nancy let us off, and we were set.

The ride down to Princeton was magnificent. The weather was almost totally clear, with the classic puffy clouds on occasion. Temperature was warm to hot, and not humid at all. The wind was mild and generally behind us. And the road was mostly downhill. Some ups, of course, but mostly down. We followed along the Allison Creek waterway. There were three or four lakes, connected by the creek. The lakes were clear, aquamarine in colour, smooth (one even had a fisherman in his boat fly-fishing; how much more classical can you get?). And to top it off, there was a long and speedy descent into Princeton, where our room was waiting with some cold beers in it. I would like to do this next month, too!

We had decided to make this a lighter day, so we stopped at about two in the afternoon. Lunch, and then a post-prandial snooze for me. Up in time for some conversation, then a shower and ready for supper.

The restaurant of choice was a place near the centre of town, and certainly in walking distance. It had been burned down (rumour has it by a competitor), and rebuilt, and was just opened. Their specials were special, and we went home full and happy. We had decided that the next day would be an early leaving, with a stop at the Hedley Mine.