Kamloops to Quesnel to Smithers

We left Kamloops around our normal 9 AM departure and had a beautiful drive to Quesnel,  a small city that is part of the Cariboo District of British Columbia, Canada. Located about halfway between the cities of Prince George and Williams Lake, it is on the main route to northern British Columbia and the Yukon. Its chief claim to fame seems to be the open pit copper and gold mine about 80 miles away that is poisoning the water for hundreds of miles from the tailings pit. More important than that, to me, is the extreme hassle we had at our destination motel, the Quality Inn in Quesnel.....and therein hangs a tale. Lean in gentle reader for a story of horror and frustration. Here's the letter I sent to the Choice Privileges customer support folks:
To Whom It May Concern:

I’ve been with your chain for 16 years, and I’m a very unhappy Platinum member. Here’s why:

My wife and I are on an extended trip through Canada and Alaska. We went to considerable trouble to plan our routes to use the Choice Privileges chain as much as possible. Today we arrived at the Quality Inn in Quesnel, BC, Canada.

Despite the fact that we had a confirmed reservation (11188900) for “1 King Bed, Efficiency, No Smoking, Kitchen, Larger Room 1 Person Whirlpool-in Bath” . That’s not what was given to us. Instead, we got a rather ordinary room. When we raised the issue, the young woman behind the desk told us that the only room of that sort in the building was already assigned, although the prospective tenant wasn’t yet present, and she didn’t have the authority to change that assignment. The manager was not available, even though it was 3 PM local time.

After a rather intense discussion, she acknowledged that there was another room of the sort we had reserved, although it was in another building, on the second floor. The motel has no elevators, so my 66-year old wife and I (I’m 72), had to move our things from one building to another building on the second floor.  There was no one to help us.

Our reservation was made on May 28, 2014. It’s clear to me that we had priority for the one room in the building on the floor that we wanted. Perhaps if the manager had been there, the situation could have been resolved to my satisfaction, but he wasn’t and it wasn’t.

I am very annoyed.  I’ve attempted to get the issue resolved at this motel without success or satisfaction, and I want you to refund my 8,000 Choice Privileges points. If you can’t do that, I’m going to continue to be a very unhappy customer, and soon may be a former customer. I’d also like you to know  that I’m blogging this trip and I will report this issue and its resolution to my 200 readers, as well as posting reviews on the Choice Privileges web page and on Trip Advisor.

Sincerely yours,

Eric Gowins,
Choice Privileges EXG02190

OK, two things......I don't have quite 200 readers, although *they* don't need to know that, and at 10:15 PM (that's 2215 for those of you who speak military time), after bedtime for those of you who know me, we got a call from the desk telling us that a room of the sort we had reserved was available......10:15 DAMN PM, after we'd humped our stuff upstairs, unpacked, done our nightly ablations (look it up), and gone to bed. Yes, we declined the opportunity, and that will be reported to the CEO if it becomes necessary.

We have since received a letter of abject apology from the manager of the place. IF he can get me my points back, I'll let it all slide. If not, my next letter will be to the CEO and every member of the chain's board of directors. I'm PISSED!

After leaving Quesnel and shaking the dust from our sandals, metaphorically speaking, we pointed Big Black north and drove about 300 miles to Smithers, located in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, approximately halfway between Prince George and Prince Rupert. Smithers is in the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako. I'm sure that means a lot to all of you; it certainly does to me. Seems the place is named for Canadian Railroad's chairman of the board of directors, Sir Alfred Smithers, a seriously heavy mucky muck, in 1921, (I have to wonder just whom was attempting to to curry favor with that.)Smithers became the first incorporated village in British Columbia..Smithers thinks of itself as some sort of alpine town......go figure. This is what you see as you drive into town:

Boy With a Horn

And then, there's this: We passed it about 25 miles before Smithers.........

The Story Behind the World's Largest Fly Rod

     In the 1980s, tourism promoters in B.C. encouraged towns to develop some kind of landmark to put themselves on the map. Many communities were coming up with ideas: there already was the World's Largest Pair of Skis and the Largest Goldpan in the World. The story is that Warner Jarvis, an avid local fly fisherman, was at a tourism workshop sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce where ideas were being tossed around as to what could be a distinguishing feature for Houston. During the coffee break, Warner suddenly said, "I've got it!" With the rest of the group watching, he proceeded to sketch out an idea on a paper napkin, and the idea of the World's Largest Fly Rod was born. Warner's vision slowly took shape. Andrew Knappett drew up the plans and did much of the design work. John Hols coordinated the construction of the rod portion of the project, with components first going to local machine shops, then to Vancouver to be anodized. Volunteers donated countless hours of time and effort in the construction. The rod was machined in six local shops with 470 hours of donated equipment and shop time and 576 hours of donated labour, with 41 local companies contributing to the final package.

 

The largest fly rod in the world is situated in Houston's Steelhead Park. It was the brainchild of fisherman Warner Jarvis and was installed May 5, 1990

     The rod is constructed entirely of aluminum and anodized bronze to simulate graphite. It is 60 feet (1829.8 cm) long and weighs about 800 pounds. The reel has a diameter of 36 inches. Warner Jarvis, with the help of Ray Makowichuk and others, spent many hours experimenting with ideas and finally coming up with the line and fly for the rod as well as all the finishing touches.

     The fly is a fluorescent orange "Skykomish Sunrise" and is 21 inches long, tied on a bright 5/8" floating line of hollow plastic with a tapered leader (weed-eater cord and 300 test tip). A nail knot and a blood knot are used on the rod.

     The rod was installed in a gala event on May 5, 1990. The many people who had helped to construct the rod carried it on their shoulders from the Industrial Park to its location in Steelhead Park. Highway 16 was closed for the duration.

     The rod can be seen in a natural setting in the park. It is illuminated at night. Dedicated to the people of Houston, the Largest Fly Rod in the World has, over the years, been photographed by countless tourists, and continues to draw attention to one of the best fishing spots in B.C.

I'm thinking they like their fishing in British Columbia. They should: I've never seen anything like the rivers and lakes we've seen on this trip.

TBT Day 18