As predicted, a light rain arrived in the early hours of the morning, the wind and rain increasing while we emptied our black and gray tanks at the campground dump station.
We started our journey, headed back over the plateau to the west coast, then followed route 430 south to Deer Lake with heavy rain falling.
The 400km road is in terrible condition, with uncountable bone jarring bumps and tooth rattling potholes. Susan posted a video to Instagram showing what it was the rollercoaster ride was like. To make matters worse, the road is deeply rutted from heavy trucks.
The rain water pooling in the ruts, hydroplaning, potholes, frost heaves, and other traffic on the narrow road was cause for white knuckle driving.
We turned off the 430 onto Highway 1 at Deer Lake. We stopped at a gas station to fill up one of our 30lb propane tank, then headed east looking for a campground or boondocking site.
We called a few campgrounds but they were closed for the season. During the drive, I pointed out the occasional tree to Susan, that’s already showing the early colour change of autumn.
We turned off Highway 1, onto the 401 to look for a quiet boondocking site. As soon as we crossed over a few of the Grand Lake bridges, we started to see the occasional spot.
After a stressful eight hour travel day, we pulled into a perfect gravel area off the secondary road with a lake view, backed the trailer into a level spot during pouring rain and set up for the night.
We showered, had supper, watched the clouds parting to reveal a golden sunset, then collapsed into bed.
Hopefully, the morning will bring us more rewarding scenery.