First stop, the Fraser Valley for gas. coasting in from the city on fumes to save many cents per liter is what any smart traveler will do. The lowest prices I have paid for gas in my adult life in Canada were at the superstore in Chilliwack in 2005. 65 cents a liter.
Hope - beware of serial killers, and jokes about all of us being beyond hope, both not funny.
The Fraser Canyon - where rail workers carried around bottles of nitroglycerine as if they were trays of shots at Earl’s. There was a small backlash when the coquihalla re-routed all traffic away from this stretch of road contributing to the downfall of many a quant cliffside town. I was too young to experience the dying of these communities, but the sombre ghost town atmosphere adds to the powerful feeling one gets being in the cradle (and, arguably, grave) of B.C.
Cache Creek - There is one thing that every citizen of B.C. must do in their life: stop at the Cache Creek A&W/Chevron station. The toilet in this gas station is “B.C.’s toilet.” It hosts guests from every region of the province. Everyone north of the Okanagan must stop to use the bathroom in Cache Creek, and this is where they do it. If this toilet got wrecked it is possible the entire landmass would be sucked into the hole left behind. I would be pleased if they read the results of the HST referendum outside these bathroom doors. A place where ordinary people connect.
Clinton - The Clinton Emporium is worth a stop here, this is what happens when chronic hoarders open a retail store and fail to sell anything. Ever.
The Cariboo Connector Highway - During the Barkerville gold rush a businessman decided that using camels to pack supplies up to the mining town would be a good idea. It was successful until winter set in. The camel’s feet were useless against the slippery conditions of a Canadian winter. Somewhere between Quesnel and Williams Lake, along the highway, there is an unmarked camel graveyard.
Prince George - now you are in the Heart of Darkness, turning left on highway 16 is the river, “never get out of the truck, absolutely goddamn right, unless you are going all the way.”
Between Kitwanga and Price Creek - avalanche chutes, mountain contours, and logging cut blocks have combined to spell the word “shit” along the mountains across the river. It is only visible when they are snow covered. It’s easy to see and I’m not making this up.
Terrace to Prince Rupert - one of the best stretches of road on the planet and a great way to end a journey that finds you in the same province sixteen to eighteen hours later and still only half way to the top.