Driving into the past

Summerland

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny and I was restless. I just had to get out of the condo and do something! Anything. It was a perfect day for a road-trip, a contact-free road-trip staying within my approved region in keeping with the British Columbia COVID restrictions. (Sigh!)

I quickly assembled a few necessities; camera, credit card for gas, water and snacks for both Sparky and me, his water bowl and leash, my sunglasses and off we go. We headed north to Summerland, stopping at one of our favourite places to allow him a last chance to pee before we hit the mountainous, four-lane Coquihalla Highway with its limited places to stop for a puppy-dog pee break. 

Tim McGraw

We arrived in my old home town, Merritt, population 7000, around ten in the morning. I did a quick tour driving past our house on Merritt Avenue, the claybanks swimming hole, and the compact downtown area. I spent my teenage years in this town and for me it was a great place to grow up. I walked everywhere with my large white mutt, never worrying about my safety and always able to find a friend or two to hang out with.

Martina, Reba, Carrie

Merritt has been host to a number of high-profile country music stars over the years. Big names that anyone would recognize, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw to name a few. Wikipedia has a more complete list of the stars who performed in Merritt. Many have been honored with large murals covering downtown buildings, or on the Walk of the Stars. The Merritt Mountain Music Festival at its peak attracted 148,000 to the six-day event, but the accommodations were RV's and motorhomes when the small city was inundated with people.

That event petered out in 2012 and was replaced with the Rockin' River Music Festival attracting stars like Keith Urban, Jon Pardi, and Travis Tritt. Unfortunately, due to the COVID pandemic, everything is on hold for the time being. 

Nicola Stock Farm 

From Merritt, I headed north towards the well-preserved remains of the Nicola Stock Farm that was started in 1919. A stately manor, the courthouse, and a few other smaller buildings still remain. When I was a teenager the ranch manager and family lived on site, but now it is part of the massive Douglas Lake Ranch encompassing about 271,000 acres of land. The remaining buildings are a tourist attraction that can be viewed from the outside.

Our next brief stop was at the Quilchena Hotel, just a little further up the road. Again this was once an independent and well-known ranching family's property which has been folded into the Douglas Lake Ranch. The hotel, restaurant, and golf course have recently closed due to a lack of business caused by travel restrictions and a drop in tourism. It's a lovely old place that as a kid fascinated me. 

Quilchena Hotel

Lawrie and I once stayed at the Quilchena Hotel for a weekend in the early 1980's. I still remember when the young woman checked us in she said, "every room comes with a horse." We burst out laughing at the thought of a large horse climbing the grand staircase to our room, and settling into our double bed. We were so amused that we did take her up on the offer, and went horseback riding the next morning. Neither of us could be considered riders and I am certain the horses were relieved when we told our guide to take us back earlier than planned. A nice cold drink in the original bar was far more our style.

Nicola Lake

From Quilchena, I drove along the shores of the Nicola Lake towards Kamloops. At the entrance to Kamloops, I turned south along the other arm of the Coquihalla Highway and headed back to Merritt. When I'm on a roadtrip I like to stop frequently and explore, or take photos and by the time we turned south we had been travelling for five hours. My little buddy was tired of being in the car. His tummy was upset and he just wanted to go home. 

I hardly stopped at all on the return trip, but even so, we were eight hours on the road by the time we got back. And we didn't have contact with anyone except the drive-through person who handed me a cup of coffee in Merritt. 

I loved the drive, but I miss the human contact. I can't wait until these restrictions end.

Cheers 

Lynda and The Sparkinator

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