Bull Canyon Provincial Park Williams Lake, BC, Canada

Mileage:  49,014

We left Quesnel and continued on 97S or the Cariboo Highway.  We saw a field full of Canadian geese and sand hill cranes…hundreds of birds feeding and resting in a huge grain field.  They must also be headed south.

The road followed the course of the Fraser River.  There were great steep cliffs and canyons.  The air was still vaguely smoky.

There were more migrating birds as we traveled further.  Today we were in a quandary.  We had no idea where we wanted to go next (this is nothing really new).  We had gotten lots of literature from the visitor center in Quesnel but that didn’t really help us to make any decisions.  There was another visitor center in the town of Williams Lake.  I went to the information desk and basically asked them to tell us where we should go.  The girl who helped us there was patient and informed.

Now we found ourselves on the Cariboo-Chilcotin Highway 20 traveling west.  The opportunity to be in the wilderness and to continue our adventure was something we couldn’t pass up.  Looking on the map, this road crosses an open expanse of Canada from central British Columbia to the Pacific Ocean at Bella Coola.  As soon as we made the turn, we were immediately glad.  The scenery was gorgeous with amazing views of the rivers and the canyons.

We stopped again at the Chilcotin Information Center.  This was a small cabin.  Lynn helped us to determine our route.  She made copies of maps and gave us pamphlets and brochures.  She was so kind and helpful.  We asked her about all the evidence of fires that we had seen as we were driving.  The wildfire in this area was last summer.  The damage was extensive.  On July 7, 2017, six houses were lost and hers among them.  Her family is building a new house.  Lynn had an incredible attitude of resilience and gratitude in spite of her family’s misfortune.  She was very gracious.

We traveled as far as the Bull Canyon Provincial Park and camped right on the Chilcotin River.

We took the Jeep out to explore for a short while this afternoon.  We saw this First Nation man dipnetting across the river.  Only First Nation peoples are allowed to continue this method of gathering fish in keeping with their tradition.

Tonight, we grilled avocado, pineapple, and ahi tuna.

The Jeep trip we have planned for tomorrow to Farwell Canyon will take most of the day.