Welcome to Hope!
30 years ago, the small logging town of Hope, BC was converted into the movie set of
Rambo - First Blood.
Many original locations were used during filming, and remained unchanged over the years. Being a fan of that particular movie (not particularly of Sylvester Stallone), I love to revisit the set.
You may notice the Chevron gas station in the back. This is were I re-fueled Nella today. It is just across the street from the visitor center on the right. Information is available at the visitor center, and I can strongly recommend
Herve Attia's blog who conducted an almost forensic investigation of the movie set.
Here's the bridge where the sheriff dropped of Rambo, to get him out of town.
After lunch at the
Blue Moose Cafe I headed out to the
Coquihalla Canyon where the stunt of Rambo's jump was filmed.
Alas, the tunnels and the canyon were still closed for season. But it was nice to walk around and stretch my legs.
My last destination for today was the
Hope Slide. Back in 1965 the Johnson Peak collapsed after an earthquake and caused the largest ever recorded landslide in Canada. With higher elevation it got colder, and soon Nella and I could play in the snow.
It's still winter up here, and the Hope Slide view point was off limits for us. It was time to turn around.
Back in the valley I took another detour and rode some of the slough dykes, which is always fun.
Eventually I did a right turn to check out Cascade Falls but the road was barricaded. But I discovered a nice windy gravel road and followed it for a while until I finally hit the main road again and headed home.
It was a great day for a ride, seven hours of joy, with a versatile program of entertainment, good food and coffee, a hike, some educational content, and over 300km of two-wheeled bliss.
Distance: 344km (214 mi)
Weather: Clouds and sun, 16C (61F)
Wow, I would love to visit, I loved the movie so much when it came out. Love the moss covered trees. Nice pictures. It must have been cold with all the snow in the ground.
ReplyDeleteNow I'll have to watch the movie..then I'll want to come up and see the town. Life is SO hard sometimes! LOL
ReplyDelete@George F: Rambo was indeed the only Stallone movie that I liked. Temps weren't too bad, since I got out of there fairly quickly.
ReplyDelete@Ken: I did actually watch the movie in the evening while doing some chores. It's still good. Meanwhile I must have seen it a dozen times.
Very cool ride! I liked First Blood too.
ReplyDeleteWould have loved to have been able to tag along!
It looks like you were a bit more careful riding through the forest than Rambo - I seem to remember him falling off a Yamaha trail bike when trying to escape the cops on a forest trail...
I wanna go!! I wanna go! I never thought about where the movie was filmed. Thanks for enlightening me. Like Ken, I'm gonna have to get out there. It looks like you had a wonderful day with some great sites and food! Thanks for posting!
ReplyDelete-Lori
I admit I am VERY jealous of your riding areas out there - to say nothing of 16 degree temps when it's still -10 here.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize Rambo was filmed around Hope. Now I'll have to watch it again.
Nice ride report Sonja....I'd not given much thought to "First Blood" in very many years....good movie.
ReplyDeleteNice shots, I especially liked the one of Nella along the slough dykes with the big tree in the foreground.
dom
Redleg's Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
Very very cool ride, you do get to see some great places. Some great pics there to, did look a bit chilly though.
ReplyDeleteNice story telling Sonja! I'm really glad you picked out some of the town's gems to see, have coffee at and enjoy.
ReplyDeleteCan I feature your story w/ photos on a http://HopeBC.ca story page, like those at http://www.hopebc.ca/Stories.html?
rudy@hopebc.ca
Okay 25 years living in the Okanagan and I didn't know Rambo was filmed in Hope. Go figure. Thanks for the information.
ReplyDeleteI was living in Keremeos when Clan of the Cave Bear was filmed up the Ashnola River. That kept our little town hopping.
I've been through Hope many times, once hitchhiking in the late 80's. Those of us who lived in the interior of BC always called you on the West Coast "beyond Hope". If you ever get a chance, don't hesitate to ride east of Hope through Manning Park.
ReplyDeleteI forgot about the Hope slide and always remember the Frank slide in Alberta as a big one, but I see it wasn't as large just more devastating.
Beautiful pics Sonja, thanks for sharing.
Last summer, we stopped at that visitors center in Hope and wondered about the references to the Rambo movie. I never made the connection that it was filmed around there. My son thought the Rambo cutout was kind of a strange thing to have at a visitors center. We also stopped at the Blue Moose Cafe for lunch mostly because it happened to be near the bank. Needed to get some of the appropriate version of money for the trip north.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you had all kinds of weather. Some of your shots have nice blue skies others less so. Nice photos and RR.
Richard
Ha, bet you wish the gas prices were what they were in Rambo's day! I don't think I knew the movie was filmed there. Kinda fun to see the movie scenes and the real life scenes.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a teenager I had a poster of Sylvester Stallone on my wall. I also had a poster of Alice Cooper, so there is no accounting for taste. :)
Stunning scenery and images as always. Wonderful ride report - Bravo! 344km and 7 hours of riding...now that's a ride!
Sonja:
ReplyDeleteYour ride did bring back memories. That barracade at the Hope Slide, you should have just walked up the first little hill. The parking lot is right there, not many steps away. If you do go to Manning Park, ride up to the Cascade Lookout. Make sure it is a clear day and you can see the whole valley. I have photos posted from a couple of years ago
Nice to see you back from Maui, back to the land of the cold.
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
@Andrew: I remember that stunt, only thrown in for drama. Not sure that I could have handled that terrain.
ReplyDelete@Beemergirl: Hit the road and come on over!
@Canajun: Sorry, that I had to rub in the temps over here... again.
@Charlie6: Thanks, Dom. Sometimes I get kinda lucky with my pics. I like that one, too.
@Raftnn: Roger, let me assure you, everything over 0C is considered as warm in Canada.
@Rudy Kehler: I have sent you an email. Thanks for consideration.
@Trobairitz: Ts, ts. You didn't know?
@Troubadour: Beyond Hope? I like that ;-) Once I have a full day of riding time I will head out to Manning Park. Thanks for the tip.
@RichardM: Funny, that you didn't make the connection. But if you have just been on a drive-through you wouldn't have noticed. The Hope area is actually a very nice one.
@Bluekat: Kari, I can understand Rambo, but Alice Cooper? Oh, well he is certainly a character...
ReplyDeleteI am a bit proud of myself having mastered the first major outing after my accident last year.
@Bobskoot: It would have been a great sight from there, I guess, but I didn't want to get wet feet from the still boot-high snow. It wouldn't have been fun to ride back two hours in wet shoes...
It's astonishing to see that things have changed so little..
ReplyDeleteYeah, what Anonymous said.. Great blog Sonya! I didn't know about Hope, so I 'hope' I can ride through on my North America leg.. Greetings from Greece!~ ;-)
ReplyDeleteI love the blog,
ReplyDeleteWe are tring to save the rambo bridge in Hope right now.
visit my youtube channel user name is travelthecanyon for more info!
Fuzzy's Challenge sent me :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this post! I try to do movie location posts when I come across them too.
Sadly there's no bridge in Hope. It was demolished almost 3 years ago.
ReplyDeleteBut now you can get a list of First Blood locations at visitors center. Ironic?
I think Hope has lost one of its gems. :(