My Nerdy Life

Trip Report: British Columbia and Washington State

So I originally wanted to write a ‘trip planning’ post as well as a trip report, but I got caught up with so many other things that the trip started before I got a chance, so here we go with the post trip report instead!

The Trip

The plan was to drive out to the west coast and do some biking in British Columbia (BC) and Washington state (WA). We also mixed business with pleasure as my partner has some suppliers near Mount Vernon and Abbotsford that he needed to see. While that meant he’d be working for 2 of the 9 days, it also meant we could get reimbursed for most of the fuel costs and some of the hotels.

The itinerary included:

• Shuswap (BC) – 1 night
• Fort Langely (BC) – 1 night
• Mount Vernon (WA) – 1 night
• Anacortes (WA) – 1 night
• Port Townsend (WA) – 2 nights
• Bellingham (WA) – 1 night
• Shuswap (BC) – 1 night

Day 1

We packed up my partner’s late model mini-van with 4 bikes (2 mountain, 2 road) and hit the road! Our first stop was Golden, BC. It’s a quaint small town that’s a popular pit stop for  travellers going through the Rocky Mountains. It’s also quite well known for  skiing/snowboarding at Kicking Horse Resort. We stopped there to do some biking in the Moonrakers trail system which also has a number of Cross-Country ski trails in the winter time. The trails were well maintained, there’s a map of the network at the trailhead parking lots, and most of the trails were quite well marked with good signage at trail intersections. There’s a good mix of beginner intermediate trails that are perfect for a quick ride that doesn’t require too much climbing, as most of the trails traverse along the side of a mountain. We didn’t ride for too long as we still had more driving to do and at 32 degrees celsius (89 F) it was hot!

After our ride we went for a quick lunch and made our way to the Shuswap region where we  stayed overnight at my partner’s mom’s house. And besides spending an evening with my partner’s lovely mother (and grandma and uncle that just happened to be there too), that meant free food, wine, and lodging! The only (minor) downside was it was very hot and there’s no air conditioning, but fortunately it cooled down considerably in the evening.

Day 2

We continued on to Fort Langely, BC to visit my partner’s aunt and uncle, where we got yet more free food, wine, and lodging! We arrived in Fort Langely mid-afternoon, and for better or worse we thought it would be a good idea to go for a road bike ride around the area in 38 degree (100 F) weather! It was so hot, you could actually feel the heat radiating off of the road. It’s an ideal area for road biking as you can just meander around the numerous orchards and farms on the side roads which have minimal traffic. It’s really quite beautiful, although I felt bad for the farm workers that were out picking fruit in that weather.

My partner’s Aunt also made us a delicious dinner using nearly exclusively local products. Everything from the salmon, to the wine, to the corn, and even the salad dressing was from the local region or their very own yard. His uncle went as far as picking some blackberries from the farm across the street for dessert. It was both delicious and quite novel to be able to eat locally, especially coming from a city where most food items have to be trucked in from afar.

Day 3

I got to tag along as my partner visited a few of his suppliers to see some of the merchandise he’d be buying for the upcoming year. Afterwards we went stateside and drove down to Mt Vernon, where we had dinner with a different supplier that we’d be visiting the next day and we were once again treated to free food, wine, and lodging!

Day 4

My partner spent the day working and visiting his supplier, while I made a quick trip up to Vancouver to visit the Polish Consulate as I needed to have my Polish passport renewed. In case you’re wondering, yes that means I have dual citizenship. And while I haven’t really taken advantage of that fact thus far, at one point I was offered the chance to go to Sweden for graduate school for free because of my EU citizenship! At least until I changed my mind about what I wanted to study. And it’s a good thing I didn’t go to Sweden, because then I wouldn’t have met my wonderful partner (audience cue card: “awww”).

Our hotel for that evening was a toss up until that morning. The original plan was to stay over at one of my partner’s friend’s house, who was also one of the suppliers he was visiting. But then the original person we were planning on staying with had some personal matters come up and wasn’t able to host us, so then we were supposed to stay with a different friend from the same supplier, but then her family was in town at the last minute, so in the end the supplier booked a hotel for us in Anacortes, a quiet little seaside town.

Day 5

We got up nice and early and went biking in the Anacortes Community Forest Lands. It’s a bit of  hidden gem for non-locals, as even the lady at visitor centre was shocked we even knew it existed. Dozens of trails surround three lakes and you could even bike from one to the other. None of the trails are overly long, but you can create endless combinations to ride as much or as little as you like.

After our morning ride we headed south towards Deception Pass state park, where early explorers first thought it was a way to cross the country to get to the east coast. Next we made our way to Oak Harbour for some lunch before going down to Coupville to catch a ferry over to Port Townsend.

Port Townsend is very much the charming seaside town you’d expect it to be. What was once thought to be the next big shipping port on the west coast, was left with numerous Victorian-style buildings built before the great depression. Now self proclaimed as a “Victorian Seaport and Arts Community,” Port Townsend hosts several film and music festivals every year.

Being a small town, accommodations are limited and we didn’t get around to booking anything until the week before. In the end we booked a great room through AirBnB in an old Victorian home. Not only was it cheaper than the local hotel ($124 CAD vs $150/night), we got to enjoy the charm of the home as well as it’s beautiful garden. I was also sure to charge it to my AMEX Gold Rewards card where I earned 2x points on every dollar spent as AirBnB qualifies as a ‘travel expense’. There was actually far more AirBnB options in Port Townsend than hotels and most of them have reasonable pricing.

Day 6

After a tasty breakfast in the harbour at the Hudson Point Cafe, we drove over to Lake Crescent nestled in the most Northern part of Olympic National Park. There we biked along the northern rim of the lake on the Spruce Railroad trail. Aside from the generally beautiful surroundings, Lake Crescent is unique in that it has nearly no algae growth, thus it is extremely clear and very blue. To the point where if the light hits it just right, the blue colour doesn’t seem real.

Day 7

Sadly we had to start making our way back home. The original plan was to go biking in Bellingham, but the forecast was for rain so we opted to go biking in Fort Ebey State park near Oak Harbour. Similar to Anacortes it was a maze of trails that you could easily get lost in, which we almost did but were saved by my GPS. It was a little wet, but it was still a great ride.

Since we had some extra time, we made checked out a small privately owned botanical garden (Echo Glen Garden) on the outskirts of Bellingham. It was especially unique in that unless you looked for it, you would never know it was there. You can’t actually see the garden from the road as it’s down in a gully.

That night we slept at the Coachman Inn in Bellingham ($110 CAD/night). Though it was nothing special, it did the trick and it was one of the cheapest options in the area. And once again, I charged it to my AMEX to make sure I got points!

Day 8

We drove up to Abbotsford, BC with hopes of doing some biking on Sumas Mountain, but we it turned out that for the first time in history the whole trail network was closed for being too dry! Due to the extreme draught in the area, there was a very high risk of fire in the area and supposedly the trails were literally crumbling due to the lack of moisture. As an alternative we went across the river Fraser River and did some biking in Mission on Bear Mountain. Though slightly smaller than Sumas, the network is fantastic. BC truly is one of the best places in the world for mountain biking. The unique climate and geography allows for some amazing trails to be built, and is supported by a strong, enthusiastic biking community. The lower mainland is a mountain bikers dream! When you’re in the trees it feels like something out of Lord of the Rings with moss covering the forest floor and the trees. If you’re in the area be sure to stop at a local bike shop and pick up a copy of the “Locals Guide to Fraser Valley Rides” for detailed maps and descriptions of trails in the area.

After our ride we went back up to my partner’s mom’s house for one more night of free food, wine, and lodging as well as great company.

Day 9

This was the most uneventful day of the trip as all we did was drive home and wish our vacation didn’t have to end. At least the drive through the mountains was pretty as always.

The Tally

All in all we only had to pay for 3 nights of accommodations and most of the fuel will be covered by my partner’s work. Other than that we just had to worry about food and incidentals, which did hurt a bit due to the exchange rate ~1.33 CAD = 1 USD. Fortunately we also had a good number of meals covered by friends, family, and suppliers.

Accommodations

• Port Townsend ~$250 for 2 nights
• Bellingham ~$110 for 1 night

Fuel

• ~2900 km and 300 L of fuel = ~10.3 L/100 km (22.8 mpg)

Although not the best fuel economy, considering we were in a late model mini-van driving through the mountains it wasn’t too bad. It was certainly better than the numerous gigantic trucks we saw hauling RV trailers and boats. And of course, I made sure to use my AMEX card (and Aeroplan card within Canada) to earn 2x the points on all the fuel purchases and any groceries we picked up along the way.

Overall it was a great trip that allowed us to combine business with pleasure, while still enjoying the trip. My partner’s casual and friendly relationships with his suppliers made all the difference in making it a good trip. I also really liked that we were never in a rush to get anywhere. By breaking up the driving and making stops at various places, it never felt like we had to hurry to get to the next place.