Sometimes when we walk over to my mom’s house for a visit, she’s watching Highway Thru Hell on the Weather Channel. If you’ve never watched it, it’s a show documenting the rescues and tows of big rig crashes and wrecks that happen in thick snow and perilous ice on the Canadian highway just north of the US border.
Never would I have thought we would be traveling on it. But thanks to the kindness, spontaneity, and safe driving of some friends of ours, the boys and I found ourselves headed with them to Apex Mountain Resort near Penticton, British Columbia, via the notorious road, bound for their snow “cabin” for a quick weekend dash. In true Highway Thru Hell fashion, we were passed by an extra-long flatbed truck, in the snow, on a curve.
All went well, though, and we arrived at their doorstep at 1 AM in three-degree weather. Quickly snuggled into flannel sheets and down comforters atop memory-foam mattresses, we drifted into dreamland and awakened to the sun rising into clear skies above sugar-white snow outside our window.
The ultimate hosts our friends were, tying our skate laces, fastening our snowshoes, and staying with us at our novice pace at each new place they introduced us to. In less than 48 hours, we drove and ferried 17 hours, plodded through deep snow, hot-tubbed, ice skated a wilderness forest loop, bun-sledded down most hills we passed, hot-tubbed again, nighttime sledded the ski hill next to their cabin, daytime sledded the snow plunge beside their house, snowshoed through a deep-powder wilderness, and skated on an outdoor hockey rink. It felt like we packed a week into two days. Not to mention the enormous Costco blueberry pie and ice cream we packed in as well.
The best part about driving home? Our friends asked my older son if he had a playlist and they cranked up his Minecraft parodies of modern songs from daylight to nightfall. The boys ate it up! (So did I!)
Many thanks to the B family for an unforgettable weekend and unparalleled hospitality.
