Something I noticed about owning a MINI that I have not experienced with any other car I have owned, it begs to be driven and driven hard.  I have to admit there are other cars that like to be driven hard such as a Lotus, or a Porsche, but for most of us, the price of admission is way out of reach.  No Honda Civic, VW Golf GTI, Subaru Impreza, Mustang or anything else in the "affordable" hot car range even holds a candle to how much fun one gets tossing a MINI around on roads that are anything more than a straight line….and without any modifications to the basic car out of the factory.

 

So I spend a lot of my spare time looking for a challenging road to drive, just for the fun of it.  Many car nuts in the US know what the "dragon" is.   Locally, in the Vancouver area, many know what the Sea to Sky highway is (okay, it’s too crowded there now and there are way to many nuts getting speeding tickets on there now), so last week, I was reminded of an old road I drove 20 years ago and decided I would see if the road has been improved any.   The last time I drove it, it was not yet paved.   But I was reading that the area was expanded so I was hoping the road was improved.  So off I went to drive the road up to Hemlock Valley Ski Resort.   To my recollection, the road up there was a winding logging road with many switchbacks and elevation changes.  My hope was it would be paved now and if it worked out, I could lead a club drive of MINIs or Fieros up there…..just for the fun of it.

 

For a club drive, the road needs to be a "destination" or there needs to be something at the end of the road that is worth going to see.  Like when we do a run to Hell’s Gate.   Hell’s Gate is a destination spot to visit as well, the road there is the Fraser Canyon – Trans Canada Highway 1.  It hugs the mountains that forms the walls of the Fraser River.   So I was somewhat disappointed to be following a slow moving RV past a bicycle tour of about 40 bikes along the Lougheed Highway to Harrison Mills.  The trip from Vancouver to Harrison Mills takes about 2 hours.  Once you take the turn-off at Harrison Mills towards Hemlock Valley, the road gets interesting.   It winds nicely along a river and things were looking up.  We came to this junction and made the turn with a sign that said chains must be carried.   Then started climbing a narrow road lined with speed limit signs of 20 kms/hr.   There was a switch back every 30 to 100 yards.   This is perhaps the most challenging road I’ve ever driven.  There were elevation changes the entire route up this road.  The google map picture does not show half the turns on the road.   Then a slight straight and the road slants up and then BRAKES!.  There is a sign that says a Bed n Breakfast is just a bit further on, but the pavement ends.  The rest of the road up to the resort area is gravel.  That’s too bad.  This might be a great place for a WRC race, but not a club drive.  So we turned around, head back down the hill (boy that was fun), back to Maple Ridge and road the Albion Ferry across the Fraser River and then home.  and that is how I spent my Sunday…

 

On another topic,

 

Tomorrow is Linda’s birthday.   So Happy Birthday, Linda.   Linda and I have been the best of friends since … oh….highschool.  That’s about 30 years now.   I thank God for every day I have, the friends I’ve had the priviledge to make, the things I’ve learned, and the ability to live life to the fullest.  Linda is living with cancer right now, so everyday is even more precious.  I wish her the fullest and most blessed life she can have each and every day.