August 18, 2018 Cassiar Highway

Boya Lake Provincial Park British Columbia, Canada

Mileage:  47,700

I was sad today.  Today is Oliver’s 2nd birthday party.  It is one of those days when you desperately wish that you could be in 2 places.  We were hoping to FaceTime but we haven’t had one little bar of service since we left this morning and then, for such a short time (after the party was well over) that the pictures couldn’t even download…

As we leave the Alaska Highway and the Yukon behind, we cannot help but reflect on how far we have come.  When we started here more than 2 months ago, we were excited to see what was ahead of us.  All of our imaginings were surpassed by our experiences…the beauty, the wonder, the awe of this vast frontier.

There was a sign indicating that we were in the territory of the Little Rancheria Caribou Herd.  A moose and her calf sauntered across the road in front of us and scrambled up the bank.  I guess they didn’t read the sign.

We knew that there were wildfires in British Columbia.  We spoke with someone this morning who had changed his plans because he heard there was smoke on the Cassiar Highway.  As we approached our turn, we could see plumes of smoke in the distance.  It doesn’t matter which way we go south, we will encounter the smoke from the wildfires.  We do have options if the smoke is bad.  We can turn around, we can stay put for a couple of days, or we can drive as long as we need to…we have no particular schedule.

We saw miles and miles of devastation from fires in previous years.  Fires were very bad here in 2010, 2011, and 2012.  This area is so immense that there are patches of old burns mixed with lots of untouched forest.  There are still many more green trees than there are burnt trees.  The burned areas are just beginning to recover with some low growing green underbrush.

The beginning of the Cassiar Highway was very rough chip and seal with some loose gravel.  We already have damage to the windshield of the Jeep.  We stopped and wrapped the windshield in a tarp in an effort to protect it from further harm…it seemed to have worked.  After 20 miles, the road was suddenly paved, new and smooth.

2 mule deer.

The same woman who told us we must go to Skagway also told us about Boya Lake.  This is in my top 10 campgrounds of all time.  The lake is crystal clear with a white marl bottom.  The water appears to be aquamarine and it is gorgeous.  We found a lakeside spot.  There is a fire ban here…no campfire tonight…but we can definitely understand that.

We rode our bikes for a short time in the campground.  We found the Lakeshore Trail and hiked around the water’s edge.

When we returned, the wind had changed.  The very subtle shift caused the smoke to move over the mountains and across the lake.

As we sit here outside writing the blog, there are ashes falling from the sky.  We are not sure what tomorrow has in store for us.

Ashes

Several weeks ago, when Kyle was with us, I decided I wanted to go back and read two novels, Hatchet and The River, that he and I read together when he was in middle school.  I had since ordered them from the Maryland Digital Library and just finished the second yesterday.  They are survival stories set in northern Canada.  I had also ordered Into the Wild.  Tim and I are reading that now.  It’s amazing that if you have been someplace and then you read the book, it becomes a richer experience.