Bull Canyon Provincial Park Williams Lake, BC, Canada Day 2

As Tim was drinking his coffee and watching the river a bald eagle flew above the water.

We saw this fox after we turned out of the campground.

The rain overnight seemed to have washed away the lingering smoke.  The rain stopped for awhile and then sprinkled on and off while we drove.  We took the Jeep to Big Creek and then to Farwell Canyon.

Breakfast stop.

There were men dipnetting.  They have built wooden platforms along the river’s edge.  The men are supposed to tie off with a rope and then they lean out over the rushing water with the net.  It looks like hard work and we didn’t see the guy get a fish while we were watching.

We saw this sign beside the road.

Then we saw some horses, a cow and a calf, 2 bunches of sheep and a bull all along the roadside.  This was ranch country.  They have a free-range mentality.  The livestock is kept on property boundaries by fences and cattleguards in the road.

There were acres of scorched earth and trees from last year’s fire.  This whole mountain was bare.

The serpentine road consisted of steep switchbacks down into the canyon and then back up and out.  They were actively logging in the area.  The truckers had to negotiate the winding, slippery, muddy roads.  It looked like the drivers had their hands full.  You wouldn’t want to stop quickly in front of them…they probably couldn’t stop.

Farwell Canyon was gorgeous.  Unfortunately, it was pretty misty and cloudy so the pictures truly are inadequate.

We returned to the RV at about 3 this afternoon and within minutes the heavens burst and we had a thunderstorm.  It was a quiet, lazy afternoon.

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.

Robert’s Roost RV Park Quesnel, BC, Canada

Mileage:  48,865

Today we experienced a perpetual haze from the fires.  This is a view from our campsite and then from the road as we headed east toward Prince George.

Prince George is another big hub and we decided to do our replenishing there.  It was 1 pm before we were ready to head south on 97 toward Vancouver.

On the horizon beyond the ridge of mountains we could see billowing clouds of smoke.  There were highway signs warning of dense smoke and poor visibility but that never happened.  We were looking at camping options and just decided to drive for awhile and see what the conditions were and how our driver felt.  He needed a nap and so we pulled into a roadside rest area.  The drive today was through agricultural and foresting areas.  Lots of hay and lots of logs and lots of lumber and lumber mills.

We looked at Ten Mile Lake Provincial Park and decided to move on.  We ended up in the town of Quesnel.

We left the RV at Robert’s Roost and drove back into town with the bikes.  We enjoyed biking through the town.  There is a major construction project underway to upgrade the downtown area and you can tell that it’s going to be very nice when it is complete.

We were on this bridge when Tim noticed something in the water.

He thought it might be a calf.  The guy in the blue shirt said it was a black bear.  He had seen it get into the river.

We watched the bear take the current to the bend and then swim to the gravel bank.

That bear was a strong swimmer!

The bike path led us to the area where the bear had clambered out of the water but we did not see him again.  Up ahead, the bike path had this sign.

We of course took the route by the water.  There was a hospital and a funeral home within ¼ mile of the detour…but thankfully none were necessary.

We continued our ride and found a nice Greek restaurant called Ulysses where we had our dinner.

 

White Swan RV Park Fraser Lake, BC, Canada

Mileage:  48,685

As we travel east there is more farmland, more hay bales, more livestock.

There is less wilderness.  The towns are closer together and offer more services.  The prices of gas and groceries has come down considerably.  The longer we are up here the more it feels like fall.  The air is breezy and chilly and crisp.  All the more reason to keep heading south.

We decided to go to White Swan Park in Fraser Lake for lunch.  The park is pretty and sits right on the water.  There is free RV camping here so we decided to stay.

We had a pleasant afternoon spent reading and walking and resting and taking pictures of the ever-changing sky.  A quiet Sunday.

There was a noticeable smoky haze here.  The air quality was fine.

We rode into town and passed this fire camp.

We asked if the roads were open and they are.  The cashier at the grocery gave us a wildfire update.

According to the update, we are in the rescinded evacuation alert area.  There is a fire 6 km to the north…the Shovel Lake fire and then to the south…the Island Lake fire.  We are thinking of all the firefighters that are working to keep the fire from spreading.  They really need cooler temperatures and rain to help them with this seemingly unsurmountable task. There are more than 600 fires in British Columbia.  Some are small and managed…others large and requiring huge amounts of resources.

Smoke cross the water.

The mix of smoke and clouds did make for an incredible sunset.

Smithers Riverside Municipal Campground Smither, BC, Canada

Mileage:  48,550

12 weeks yesterday and 10,000 miles today.

I like to take pictures of clouds and today was a good day for it.  The day began grey and rainy but as we traveled east we could see patches of blue sky.  I think that the clouds looked dramatic.

This is Carwash Rock.

There was a glacier in the mountaintop.

Today we were just driving/riding east with no particular destination in mind.

At about 12:30, Tim asked what the camping options for the evening might be.  Smithers sounded like a cool little town.

We have heard that there are bad fires near Prince George.  We noticed the faint smell of smoke a couple of times today but nothing more than that.

On our way into the campground we passed a lemonade stand. There were 5 kids of all ages, the oldest was probably about 12.  They were serving cookies and lemonade and were collecting donations for the fire relief effort…so cool!!

We took our bikes and rode around the town.  Smithers is designed to look like an Alpine Village.  There were lots of neat shops and lots of beautiful flowers.

We learned that there was a Bulkley Valley Fall Fair this weekend and we decided to check it out.

There were old tractors.

Wagon rides.

4H animals.

A petting zoo.

A rodeo.

And live music and carnival games and amusement rides and cotton candy and lots of other junk food.  It was a very nice afternoon.  While we ate we spent time talking with Louise.  She was an older woman who was born and raised in Smithers.  You could tell that she was very proud of her community and she knew lots of people at the fair.

Our campsite is by the Bulkley River.

Prince Rupert RV Park Prince Rupert,BC, Canada

Mileage:  48,331

Today we drove to Prince Rupert, a deep port town that leads to the Pacific Ocean.  It was a lovely day for a drive.

I worked on the blog for several hours this afternoon and Tim rested.  We took the bikes into town.  It was hilly and hard work but good to be outside and moving.  The town is a little sad, but the harbor was pretty.

It began to rain so we put the bikes on the Jeep and went to Walmart for  few supplies.  It was a sad little Walmart.  More work on the blog until dinnertime.  We went back to the harbor and ate at a place called Breakers.  Nice food with a good view.  We watched a guy cleaning fish and 2 harbor seals were having  feast as he tossed fish entrails into the water.

It rained most of the day.  It was good to have a day to get caught up on our writing and it was nice to be on our bikes for awhile. Not everyday can be Christmas!  That is the reality of being on the road.

Kleanza Creek Provincial Park BC, Canada

Mileage:  48,228

Holding tanks empty, fuel tanks full, underwear clean, fridge stocked…good to go!  East on 37A back to the Cassiar Highway.  On the outskirts of town, we saw a pair of bald eagles in the trees on a gravel bar along the river.  Then we saw a black bear cub crossing the road ahead of us.

There was a steady stream of logging trucks loaded and headed toward Stewart and the Portland Canal.  We read that much of the lumber is shipped to Asia and Europe.

It was a lovely ride, looking through our picture window as the world went by.

At the wheel again.

Another look at Bear Glacier in the morning light.

These roads we have traveled have no guardrails, no streetlights, no shoulders, no rumble strips, no reflective paint and some don’t have striping at all.  There is not much cell service and there are very few services.  Today we saw a motorhome with a flat tire.  They were stopped in the middle of the highway to change their tire.  The roads though for the last several days have been relatively smooth.

We turned west onto Yellowhead Highway toward Prince Rupert.  It was a nice ride along the Skeena River.  The Seven Sisters.

We stopped at an organic produce market.  This farmer who is 83 years old chatted with us for quite a while.  He had just brought warm whole wheat bread down from the house.  We got that and some real tomatoes and zucchini.

We stopped at the next turnout to make sandwiches with the fresh bread and tomatoes.  We are going to have to stop there again on our way out.

We camped at Kleanza Creek Provincial Park.  There was a nice hike to the area above the creek.  We forgot to take our camera so you will just have to imagine how pretty it was from above.

Our home for tonight.

Bear River RV Park, Stewart, BC, Canada Day 2

It rained most of the night and was still raining this morning.  We packed a lunch and hoped for the best.  Our ride today was on Salmon Glacier Road.

Our first stop was for espresso.  After that, we passed from BC into Hyder, Alaska.  This is where Hyder is on the map.

We had breakfast along the Salmon River.  It was still misty and chilly but we remained optimistic.  We saw this pair of bald eagles perched on stumps out on the gravel bar.

Fish Creek Wildlife Viewing Center has chum and pink salmon running from July through September.

The grizzly and black bears normally come there to feed on the salmon.  They gain as much as 20% of their body weight during the salmon runs, before they hibernate for the winter.  For some reason, even though the salmon are there, and have been running for weeks, the bear are not coming in to feed.  There was a wolf here in the Blue Lagoon this morning before we arrived.

It was awesome though to see the salmon swimming upstream.  The chums are the bigger ones and the pinks are smaller.  As soon as the salmon reach fresh water they begin to undergo physical changes.  Lots of fish pictures.

They spawn and then they die.

This is a temperate rain forest and the trees are bigger here.

Some mountains and creeks and rivers and waterfalls.

We continued on to Salmon Glacier.  Salmon Glacier is the 5^th biggest glacier in Canada.  It is also the only road accessible glacier in the world.  The part you can see from the road is 7 miles from the terminus or toe to the summit.  The remainder of the glacier extends far back into the mountains.

It was so foggy and misty and cloudy and rainy that we could hardly see any mountaintops or glaciers.

The toe.

This was the view from the summit.

I might have turned around then and gone back to town, but Tim made a left and continued past the summit onto the unmaintained gravel road.  The clouds began to lift and we began to catch glimpses of glaciers, and mountains, and cliffs, and canyons.

We went even further off road.  The first road ended like this.

There was a steep 100 foot drop off on the right side of the road with a gully in the shoulder.  The boulder in the road was from a slide…nope…not going there.  We turned around.  Shortly afterward, Tim found another side road.  This road was rough and went through a stream where the road had completely washed out.  We kept driving and I was wondering “Where is he taking me?”  Sometimes he is so brave that is makes me a little scared and strangely exhilarated at the same time.  I couldn’t wait to see where the path would take us.

The road became very rugged and the stones were sharp.

We decided to get out and look to see if we should continue.  Tim climbed up onto a rise and told me to come on up, it was worth the climb.  As he walked down and I walked up, the clouds lifted and there we stood pretty close to the edge of the glacier.  It was as though someone had raised a curtain.  It wasn’t there and then it was!  These pictures were all taken within a couple of minutes as the glacier revealed itself to us.

Sometimes the road takes you to a dead end and sometimes it takes you right up close to a glacier that no one else gets to see!

There were lots of old mining sites along the road as well.

I know that this would have been an amazing drive on a sunny blue day, but part of the coolness of today’s adventure was watching the clouds part to see something that wasn’t there before.

Tim did decide that the road was too narrow and steep to continue and so we turned around again.  Now we had to take Salmon Glacier Road to its end.  We saw many glaciers.  The sun shone and it was an awesome day!!!

On the return ride, we stopped at the summit again.

As we descended we were able to see a lot that had been obscured by clouds earlier in the day.

Our wildlife sightings today included lots of eagles, 2 marmots, and some ptarmigan.

We spoke to people who had followed the road to the end as we did and others who had decided to turn around because of the conditions.  I am certainly glad that Tim was willing to drive in the pea soup!

We stopped at Fish Creek on our way back and there had been one black bear there about an hour before.

Dinner tonight was at the Silverado Pizza Parlor…yummy BBQ chicken pizza!

 

 

 

 

Bear River RV Park Stewart BC, Canada

Mileage:  48,043

Do all of our pictures look the same?  Mountains and lakes and rivers and blue sky?  If they all do, it is because for almost 12 weeks now we have traveled through exquisitely beautiful country.  Almost without exception, every day we are surrounded by nature’s very best.  There is one very positive thing about writing this blog.  No one would ever sit with us to look at 900 pictures of our trip.  But a few pictures at a time, accompanied by our story, and neatly cataloged with time and place and date…what a wonderful way to journal.  I have always journaled during our trips and I have always taken pictures.  I have boxes and boxes and files and files of disorganized pictures.  I love that this blog puts it all together for us.  What a good way to save our memories to savor later!

Today was a perfect day…gorgeous and sunny and warm with blue skies mountain views, rivers and lakes.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch.

The leaves are starting to fall.

This metal grate bridge was a little spooky to walk on, especially when a tractor trailer full of logs barreled across.  You could see the water below through the metal grate…and the truck caused a great rumbling and trembling of the bridge…

We exited the Cassiar Highway to take 37A to Stewart BC and Hyder Alaska.  The scenery was outstanding…glaciers and waterfalls and raging creeks and rivers, craggy peaks and rugged cliffs, gorgeous gorges…

Tim: “A big ol’ frickin’ WOW!”

We took our bikes into the town of Stewart and pedaled around.  We stopped at the grocery for a few things.  We did some laundry, since we can.  We went to dinner at the King Edward Hotel.

Some old vehicles.

 

We saw lots of trucks full of logs coming into town.  We saw where they were taking them and went down to look this evening after everyone went home.  They unload the trucks and float the logs in the water.  The Portland Canal is 90 miles long and leads to the Pacific Ocean.  Maybe tomorrow we can learn more about where the logs go from here.

Tomorrow we plan a day trip to Hyder, Alaska.

Home for the night.

 

 

Kinaskan Lake Provincial Campground BC, Canada

Mileage:  47,873

Overnight the smoke from the wildfire moved across the lake, the morning air was acrid and heavy.  This is the view from the bench where we sat last evening.

The sun was glowing red as we made our way south on the Cassiar Highway.  We saw what was probably a coyote.  Too big to be a fox and definitely not a dog, he was in the road ahead of us and quickly disappeared along a creek bed.

We stopped for fuel at the Tatogga Lake Resort.  The old man there was in no hurry.  He told me to stay inside a while and he would go and take care of Tim and the fuel.  He had a museum of full sized mounted animals…wolves, stone sheep, a moose, bear, and lots of mounted heads and pelts as well.  He had all kinds of advice for us…where we should camp and where we should go.

As we traveled, the smoke hung in a perpetual haze all the way to Kinaskan Lake.

We arrived around 11 am.  The next campsites are further than we wanted to travel today.  It was 79 degrees.  Warm enough for short sleeves and flip flops.  We have a beautiful site on the lake.

After lunch, we took the Jeep looking for a place to explore.  We found Willow Creek Forest Road 300.

We drove in 10 miles before turning around.  I’m not sure how much further it might have gone on.  There was a lot of bear scat.  We must make too much noise coming down the road because we didn’t see a single bear.

We crossed a creek on this bridge.

We forged this flooded portion of the road…flooded because of a beaver dam somewhere back in there.

Logged out.

The smoke dissipated this afternoon with just a thin haze remaining.  The old guy from the gas station this morning told us that the bear come out along the highway at around 7 pm to feed on grasses and dandelion by the road.  After dinner, we went bear hunting.  We took the access road to the power line and drove along the ridge.

No bear, but incredible views of the lake.

Tomorrow we will continue south on the Cassiar Highway.