October 04, 1998.  Sunday.  No time.

   Day 5.  73,617 on the odometer.  8:30 am.  There were rest room stalls
at this rest area, Lake Topley.  The Nissan 240 SX had already left, but the RV was
still there.  Another vehicle joined us sometime in the night, a white
van.
   The Pahling rest area is the name of the next rest area (between
Houston and Prince George) with the
private bathroom.  34 kilometers from Topley.  Went inside to brush
teeth and clean contacts.  Made a couple of phone calls from the pay
phone outside.
   Driving and thinking.  Every mile I have passed is unique because
that moment is gone forever.  Time will always make everything unique.
   Arrived in Prince George, a lumber town.  It has a university,
University of Northern British Columbia.  And that's about it really.
Stopped at a Vietnamese restaurant, Thanh Vu, but they were closed until
4 pm.  It was around 2 pm.
   Prince George is the 4th largest city in British Columbia.  Gasoline
here was the cheapest I have seen in Canada.
   Saw 2 McDonald's, and they boasted 98 billion served.  Contributing
to the decline of Canada's and America's health is not something worth
bragging about.  I've seen the people in this country and I've seen
the people in France and America is way overweight!  That's so rediculous.
   Stopped at Zeller's to eat lunch.  It was part of the mall.  Zeller's
is like K-mart, and has a cafeteria inside.
   As I headed out of Prince George, I saw two patrolmen using some type
of telescope to catch speeders.  They would monitor the speed of cars
and wave the cars to the side of the road when the cars reached the
patrolmen.  I didn't get waved over.  That is one crazy speed trap.
   Saw a bison ranch just south of Prince George.
   Stopped at the Hutch Lake rest stop to rest for a while.  Changed
the windshield wipers because the old ones were terrible.  Afraid it
might rain soon.  Ate some of the danishes I bought at the store.
   Stopped at a Provincial park not far from the rest stop, but a couple
were closing down the camp area.  The elderly women said I could camp
anywhere else in the park for no charge, that is, I could pitch up
a tent anywhere I could.  The only place was the playground.  There were
2 or 3 other vehicles already in the parking lot.  I decided to keep on
going.  If I wasn't in a hurry to meet up with my dad in California, I
may have stayed.  How time does influence our decisions.
   Passed through the large city of Williams Lake.  If I had stopped at the camp site earlier, I would be exploring
Williams Lake tomorrow.  But as it turns out, I'm only passing through.
Next time.
   Stopped at the city of 100 Mile House to get gas.  This city is so
named because it is 100 miles from Lilloet back when people were
traveling via stage coaches.  Funny, you would think it would be 162
Kilometer House instead.  Lilloet is known as the marker for the other
"mile house" cities and landmarks.
   As I journeyed onward, 2 provincial parks were closed.  It started
to rain as I drove.  I stopped at
Bear Lake rest area, where 2 cars and a rig were parked.  I went in and
went to bed around 11:30 pm on a rainy, windy day.  The wind was incredibly
strong.  This would be another night which I would feel safe since other
people were sleeping here.
   Tomorrow I plan to take Highway 99 into Vancouver.