photo from the Starlight Drive-In web site

It’s Day 136 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. After my longest drive of the year, to the Park Drive-In Theatre in remote Prince George BC, it was time to drive back. The Starlight Drive-In Theatre south of Enderby made for a shorter drive, but only slightly; it still took seven and a half hours to cover 662 km.

The Starlight claims to have the largest drive-in screen in North America – 50 feet high by 120 wide. It may also be the only drive-in with an upper level for cars, as shown in the photo in this post.

According to a YouTube video, projectionist Paul Lindquist “noticed a run-down, abandoned movie theater,” in the early 2000s. “There were trees growing in the field, the fence was half blown over, the building was just a piece of garbage and dogs had been living inside,” he told The Globe and Mail. Lindquist found a couple of partners and “re-opened” the place in 2002.

Lindquist holds Carload nights on Thursdays in mid-season. Once he accepted a Greyhound bus full of passengers. “People said, ‘You’re nuts. Look at the money you’re losing.’ I said, ‘You’re nuts. Look at the fun I’m having.’ ” Now that’s the kind of healthy, confident attitude that makes customers want to keep coming back.

But for me, after all that driving, I was sad to find that the Starlight only shows movies on weekends this time of year. As it turned out, I just missed a special Thursday night event, the Third Wheel Car Show, which had a couple of hours of classic cars followed by a couple movies.

Miles Today / Total:  411 / 15527 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 61

Nearby Restaurant: At Fisherman Direct Seafood, they advertise BC’s Best Fish & Chips, and they may be right. In an unpretentious setting, two pieces of battered cod and fresh fries provided a meal that beat the fish and chips I ate in London. There was coleslaw involved, but sometimes you just can’t avoid that.

Where I Virtually Stayed: After two long days of driving, I was in the mood for some inexpensive pampering, so I went a little south to Armstrong and the Schubert Estate Bed & Breakfast there. There are only three guest rooms, but one was available for me at a very good rate. I had a king bed and my own bathroom and a flat-screen TV. I relaxed in the common library in the evening and started the day with a homemade breakfast.

Only in Enderby: A few miles northeast on the highway toward Revelstoke, you’ll find an The Enchanted Forest, with over 350 jolly folk art figurines, “BC’s tallest, grandest tree house” that rises 50 feet into the forest canopy, a giant cedar stump house, castle, dungeons and other surprises. It started as one couple’s 1950s retirement project, and was opened to the public in the 1960s.

Next stop: Auto-Vue Drive-In Theatre, Colville WA.

photo from the Park Drive-In Facebook page

It’s Day 135 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. When I drew up this trip, I knew this day was coming. The Park Drive-In Theatre in Prince George BC is at the 54th parallel, making it the second-most northerly drive-in. (Only the Big Island Drive In Theater in Manitoba is farther north.) More significantly, the Park is the most remote drive-in. My starting point in Langley was 756 km away by highway, so I had to drive well over eight hours to get here.

The Park opened in 1987. It includes a go-cart track and mini-golf course, and it’s adjacent to the Nitro Motorsports Park. The single screen is 40 feet by 80 feet and is 20 feet off the ground. The lot holds about 200 cars. The concession stand features homemade poutine and baked potato poutine. It upgraded to digital projection in 2014 soon after Les Pearson sold the place to Jeff Kiss and Nina Keba.

The Park’s web site answers the basic questions that few others dare to address. For example, What time is dusk? The answer: Dusk is when it is dark enough to see the movie on the screen. Do I have to stay for all the movies? No, you can leave whenever you want.

After all that driving, I was sad to find that the Park only shows movies on Fridays and Saturdays this time of year. It’s just as well; I needed the extra rest for the next day’s long drive.

Miles Today / Total:  470 / 15116 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 61

Nearby Restaurant: I love to eat unusual local cuisine. I love inexpensive food that still tastes great. I was very happy that I made it to Prince George in time to stop at The Salted Cracker, a restaurant that specializes in soup and sandwiches, mainly soup. For some reason, I hated tomato soup as a kid, but I’ve been making up for it the past few years. The cream of tomato soup here, although no soup was worth an 8-hour drive, this was definitely made it worth getting to town before closing time.

Where I Virtually Stayed: I love visiting Canada because so much seems to be the same as in the US yet there are subtle differences all around. One in particular is the Coast Hotels chain of mostly Canadian locations, including the Coast Inn of the North here. My room had good free wifi and a coffee maker, though no fridge. There was room service available, and three restaurants. The price was pretty good for such a fancy place so far up north.

Only in Prince George: Prince George is the home to Mr. PG, a 27-foot pseudo-wood mascot that stands at a highway intersection. The Prince George Citizen wrote that this is the fourth Mr. PG. The first, only about five feet tall and made of wood, was built in 1960. The next year saw a mobile parade-float version of Mr. PG, this time 32 feet high. In 1970, the city rebuilt a stationary 26-foot Mr. PG. This third wooden Mr. PG was “found to be rotten” in 1983, when the city rebuilt him “out of a steel septic tank and fibreglass.” Mr. PG was over 29 feet then but became shorter in 2012 when his legs were cut to move him. PS: View more great photos in this recent CBC story.

Next stop: Starlight Drive-In Theatre, Enderby BC.