Goodnight from Klahanie Campsite in Squamish, British Columbia. Today, we toured a copper mine and ate poutine (fries with cheese curds and gravy). We went shopping for the next stretch of travel, during which there won’t be many grocery stores and the campgrounds won’t have hookups.
 
We took a nap and handed wrenches to Daryl as he made a few improvements to the bus. It’s lucky to have relatives who understand how to fix things. We said goodbye to Daryl and Maiko then made popcorn and watched a few episodes of Friday Night Lights. Just now, we went outside to take one last look at Howe Sound before.
 
In the morning, we’ll fill up the water tank and roll out. Tomorrow’s drive is long—six hours at least. We have nine days to cover 2,134 miles across BC and the Yukon en route to Anchorage.
 
I’d remain camped by these waters forever, but it time to roll on.  
 
#busloadofbooks ...

Last week’s visit to Columbia Elementary school in Wenatchee, Washington brought a swirl of emotions. It was our next-to-last school of the tour—and the only one where we had the fun of handing out the Build-A-Bear reading buddies in person.
 
We visited on a state testing day. Our host Roxana Vanatta and the admin team worked hard to fit everything in. We ended up having a free hour to eat potluck while chatting with teachers—each one a dedicated, hard-working hero.
 
The art teacher was fabulous. His students had done our drawing tutorials, and the walls were lined with wonderful bears and dogs, each bearing the unique personality of its creator.
 
We schemed with Roxana about how to stage the bear reveal for maximum excitement. We hid the boxes in the gym. At the end of our presentation, we thanked First Book and Build-A-Bear and announced every kid would be getting a reading buddy as the teachers handed them out. I wish you could have heard the gleeful shrieking.   
 
As has been the case in every school we’ve visited, it was the first new stuffed animal some of the kids had ever owned. They immediately named and dressed and hugged their bears with no plans of ever letting go.  
 
At the end of the day, we were out by the bus, not wanting the moment to end. It has been a privilege to stand in the middle of such joy—sharing our story and causing a purposeful stir.
 
A little girl came up to us and asked us to sign her bear’s shirt. We did, and it caused an avalanche. Parents arrived to pick up their kids and got swept up in the excitement, taking photos and requesting autographs. The dogs absorbed hundreds of delirious hugs.
 
It was hard to drive away, but every day must end. We prolonged the joy a bit by going out for ice cream with Roxana and her sons. We thanked her for her hard work and patience (19 months (!!) had passed since she’d learned Columbia was chosen for the tour).
 
Then we got back in the bus and kept driving, wondering what we’d left behind. Can a single day of books, bears, laughter, and love create a lasting difference? Will our bus keep on rolling in their memories? We saw the sparks. Where will they land?
 
#busloadofbooks ...

Good night from Squamish, British Columbia, where we’re parked in a gorgeous campsite overlooking Howe Sound.
 
We started the day by continuing our tour of in Vancouver. First, we visited the garage Daryl rents for his woodworking projects. He has all manner of alluring tools, including a belt saw and a combination plane.
 
Then we went to tour his office. Daryl is a mechanical engineer with Zaber, a company that designs and manufactures high-precision actuators. Daryl walked us through the various departments—from firmware development to circuit design to fabrication and machining. My favorite stop on the tour was the long-term testing room, where the products Zaber sells are being tested 24/7 to get a sense of their longevity for the sake of troubleshooting.
 
Engineering is a fascinating discipline for which I lack the required skills. But I have so much respect (and gratitude) for the people who do it. Without them, the world would not run smoothly.
 
Then we drove north about an hour and a half to Squamish, a town surrounded by mountains and the waters of Howe Sound. Along the way we stopped to get some poutine—Fries and cheese curds doused in brown gravy. It was, in a word, sublime.
 
Tonight’s campsite has the best view of any we’ve stayed in this year—surrounded by trees and overlooking the water. I put a lasagna in the oven then took a nap while it baked.
 
After dinner, we rode the Sea to Sky gondola up a very tall mountain. At the top, we braved a suspension bridge and got some photos as the sun set. On the way back to our campsite, we stopped to view the stunning Shannon Falls, a preposterously tall cascade of water that is now officially my favorite waterfall.
 
Squamish is a gorgeous spot. There are three ski mountains nearby if you’re into that sort of thing. I used to be, long ago, but then one year on Christmas Eve I crashed into a tree while skiing and my poor mom had to come to the hospital to pick me up. In the process, she forgot about the turkey in the oven, which burned to a crisp. I don’t feel the need to ski anymore.
 
#busloadofbooks ...