iZufalled - Stories from the World of Chance

Name (s): Val + Tim
Start Location: Vancouver
Roll: NE/3

We decided to pre-zufall because our weekend was to be on a long weekend not during camping season...we just felt better about making a reservation. We set out base value at 100 km. We rolled NE/3 and got our map out. As the crow flies we figured we were pretty close to Lytton, BC. Lytton is in the Fraser Canyon and as it turns out is the province's "hot spot" because it routinely has the hottest temperatures. We had both been in, or around Lytton during previous white water rafting expeditions. Close to Lytton was a little town called Spence's Bridge...and it turned out that it was exactly 305 km from Vancouver - we had our Zufall location!

We booked a motel (not much to choose from in the region) called Acacia Grove, which was incidentally for sale. The drive up was fantastic, long winding roads buried in the deep canyon of the Fraser River. For much of the drive, we were beside rail road tracks, reminding us that this is a major trade corridor. We stopped at a few interest points along the way and boned up on our "Gold Rush" history - this was how so many adventurers had set out to seek their fortune and few had succeeded.

A quick stop at Lytton's tourist centre and we discovered that we had landed smack dab in the middle of Lytton Days Festival. We'd just missed the toonie toss but could still get in on the pancake breakfast or May Day Parade (complete with May Queen!).

A little further up the road we found our motel on the river (the Thompson this time) and quickly learned why the motel was so popular with fishermen after the plentiful Steelhead. While the accommodation was basic we made good use of the kitchenette and wandered around town. In our meandering we happened upon BC's longest continuously running hotel. Run by a couple of Ontario transplants, the Inn at Spence's Bridge was quaint, furnished with a vegetarian restaurant (completely out of place in this small town - but oh, so welcome) and would also be our home for the following night.

Our first full day in Spence's bridge we discovered that the town is named after the bridge that Spence built, has a lovely waterfall (that will completely soak you if you get to close), a fascinating grave yard and some fantastic desert and mountain hiking trails (watch out for the bears and snakes - we spotted several!).

NE/3 was a fantastic roll and a super fun long weekend for us!