We left Prince George about eight o’clock with temperatures in the high 60s. We gassed up on the way out of town and continued heading south on Highway 97. Highway construction and an accident slowed us down several times during the morning, and we made it to Williams Lake, British Columbia, about noon. We stopped for gas, then for lunch. The route so far had been interesting, but not spectacular like we had become accustomed to.
After leaving the Williams Lake area, we got back into a hillier region. The temperatures continued to rise during the day, until hitting 106 degrees late in the afternoon. Just before getting to Cache Creek, we turned onto Highway 99 and headed in a more westerly direction for a while. We had stopped for a good break by a crystal-clear lake alongside the highway and tossed around the idea of taking a dip, but got back on the bikes instead and rode to the next town. Approaching the town of Lillooet, we could see smoke around a mountain in the distance. After we got to town, we filled up with gas and water, and then watched some area firefighters work to put out the fire on the mountain not too far from town. The three helicopters, all with a large bucket attached, would fly down to the river, fill the bucket with water, and then head back to the mountain top to drop their load on the burning trees. We watched for quite a while and were able to get some very good pictures of their activities.
Once we left Lillooet, we traveled back into mountainous territory. The curving highway, at points very steep and at others under construction with gravel on the road, made us work a little harder, but being up in the mountains made it cooler, so we were happy again. We arrived in Whistler, British Columbia, about seven o’clock and didn’t have too much trouble finding a suitable hotel. After checking in, we headed to Mongolie Grill and enjoyed some good Mongolian pick-the-ingredients-you-want stir fry.
We traveled 374 [mostly hot] miles today. Tomorrow, we head to Seattle and to the BMW dealership. Tom will be getting another rear tire installed, and depending on how long that takes, we will either stay there or try to make it farther south.