Bears, and....

Note: Tthis was written on Friday evening, but no opportunity to load it. I'll have another one about today (what a day!!) tomorrow. 

I  had begun to wonder if I would really see any wildlife along the road – there are cars and trucks and huge campers whizzing along the road, albeit at long intervals. I was afraid that the traffic would have scared them all into the forest beyond the road.

But today, oh today, I saw plenty.  I hadn’t gone more than about 15 minutes down the road from Fort Nelson when I saw some black things moving in the distance .  Bears!! Two of them.  And they let me take their picture.  Twenty minutes later, there was another one on the other side of the road!  I was ecstatic! I hadn't seen a bear in the wild since my last trip to Alaska 20 years ago when I visited my sister in Fairbanks. We did the Denali trip, and saw 4 bears on that trip. 

Another 45 minutes, and there was a moose browsing among the trees at the treeline. He let me take his picture too (luckily there was nobody in sight behind or in front of me).  These photos were all taken from inside the car – I DO know better than to get out when there is wildli

fe close by!!

This was the shortest day of the trip (Fort Nelson to Liard Hot Springs) but it took me much longer to get here than I expected; I kept stopping by the side of the road to see the sights. They were amazing. The road is changing.  It's still that two lane ribbon with wide enough shoulders, but now the trees are a little closer to the road, and there are often cliffs on one side.  At the top of Steamboat Mountain, you could see just forever – the mountains and valleys went on and on.  Soon after that, the road went through a canyon with steep walls on both sides, and down into a lovely valley. 

Oh, wait, there's something by the side of the road, and it's at a turnout.  A Stone sheep (a relative of the bighorn sheep).  The angle wasn't too good but then I noticed the man in the other car looking behind us – there up on the hill was a whole herd of Stone sheep.  This called for my super long lens, and my monopod (a tripod with only one leg – easier to carry, but it steadies the camera just fine).  Stayed here watching the sheep for quite a while; I'd never been so close to animals like this. 

All day, it seemed like I never drove for more than about ½ hour without pulling over to see something.  Next up was Muncho Lake.  I think if it had been a sunny day, I might have stayed longer, but it was cloudy and cold.  The lake was still beautiful with its green glacial water. It was almost like a piece of jade.

A little further down the road (after a sign that said watch for buffalo) whoa, the biggest darn buffalo I've ever seen. Holy cow, he was huge.  I didn't stop there (I was afraid to) so went a little further along where a couple of big rigs were pulled over. We all marveled at its size, and I got out the monopod and long lens again, but he had moved up into shrubs and wasn't as visible. So I turned the car around and drove past him again, stopping only for about 10 seconds to get the photo, then turned around again and continued on.

Next stop was my destination for the day, Liard Hot Springs. I'm in a Provincial Park in a primitive campsite (no hookups, pit toilets, but I'm prepared for all that).  After lunch and a nap, I walked down to the hot springs and spent a very nice
1 ½ hours soaking.  The water is quite hot – about 108^o so I was in and out and in and out, but it was so relaxing. I forgot to take my camera with me, so I'll be going back again tonight to get some pictures. I can't let this site go unphotographed – that would be unthinkable!!

 This last photo was taken from the path back from the hot springs to the campground.  It was about 9:30 PM, and the sun was nowhere near going down.  Luckily it clouded over and rained a little during the night, and I managed to sleep till almost 6 AM!  

To Whitehorse tomorrow!!

On the Alcan

Today was one of those just perfect days -- cool, sunny, not too windy and I was finally on the Alcan Highway. Did you know that the original was built (1942) in just 8 months?  1500 miles of clearing forest, building roads, crossing rivers and creeks and brooks and ditches... I saw a short film about it this afternoon and was simply amazed. World War II was the impetus for a lot of things, and this is one of them. But back to yesterday.

Saw my first wildlife; there was a moose grazing along the treeline( the road is cleared about 100 feet back on both sides) but I didn't see it until it was too late to take a photo. But there were also these sweet geese next to a pond-- there were about 6-8 geese and a whole bunch of goslings -- and just two of the geese were watching over the goslings. It was like a preschool!!

I had lunch in Prince George (after visiting a quilt shop!) at the Fort George park. It was a lovely municipal park with walking paths, gardens, and picnic tables. Such a pleasant place to eat a meal. 

The park was right along the Fraser River

I love pasque flowers -- used to grow them when I lived in Seattle.

A bit later in the day, I passed the Bijoux Falls Provincial Park, and this waterfall so close to the road that I just couldn't miss it.

A bit later in the day, I arrived in Chetwynd, a town known for it's carved wood sculptures. There were several hundred of them, and I couldn't photograph each one, but these appealed to me.

There's actually a baby eagle in the nest at the top (a carved one!!)

I got into Dawson Creek pretty late, found a campsite (on an old baseball field -- at home plate!) and ate a quick dinner. It was still light out (about 9 PM) so I went looking for a grocery store and found a Safeway not too far away. Got some fresh veggies (and apples and pears!!) for the haul up the Alcan, and filled up with gas. So this morning I was ready to get on the road fairly early. (When I woke up this morning, the sun was already up, and it was only 4:30 AM. I'm going to have to find a way to get used to this!!)

Mile 0 sign.

This is what it looks like -- long stretches of empty highway with the trees cleared back about 100 feet on each side.

Something has been killing a lot of the trees --- whole hillsides are mixed dark and lighter green and this rust color of the dead evergreens.

The day ended with a visit to a quilt shop here in Ft. Nelson, a trip to the visitor center, and the local museum.  Now it's time for bed, but it's still light out.  The sun is down and it's the twilight kind of light, but I can see all the way up to the road from my campsite and that's about 300 yards away. 

Cache Creek to Quesnel

l planned a much shorter driving day for today, and boy and I glad I did.  I learned a lesson yesterday -- stop and see what's there.  Read before you go, not after (duh). Remember that this is once in a lifetime. Yesterday I fairly flew through the Fraser River canyon and didn't stop to see anything, but when I read about it this morning, I realized what I had missed. I WON'T let that happen again.

One of the main attractions today was the town of Hundred Mile House. This road that I'm taking is the route of the Cariboo Gold Rush of 1858. When gold was discovered in the wilds of British Columbia, thousands of men (and women too, I suppose) rushed from California and Oregon to the wilds of BC.  The Cariboo trail was the route to the gold near Barkersville, and many of the towns along the way were supply stops for the miners. Apparently there wasn't much gold, but many of the towns have survived, supported by tourism, the logging business, ranching, and agriculture.

All day yesterday and today I saw roadside signs for fresh fruit and vegetables, and kept looking (and hoping) but these were left over from last year. Since I had to leave my apples at Sumas, and I forgot my pears at Carrie's in Seattle (I hope you and the boys enjoy them, Carrie!!) I've been wanting some fruit.

 Back to Hundred Mile House -- I stopped at the visitor center there (they had free wireless, so I did a check in on Face book) and had a lovely chat with the person manning the desk. She was incredibly helpful and informative, and as a result, I drove a few  blocks to Centennial Park. There is a trail along the river that goes to a waterfall that is just spectacular.

There are benches strategically placed along the path -- one caught my eye. I'm not sure if you can read it, but the sign on the left says "In memory of my first love...." and the one on the right says "In memory of my last love...."  I thought this was a very touching tribute to a woman's two husbands.

At last I came to the falls -- along with being very beautiful, they were very loud!!

On the way back, I saw this shrub growing almost in the water, and loved the red branches against the water and the green leaves.

There was one more sight today that was the first of what I'm sure will be many along the way!!

This afternoon I had a lovely time with a shop owner that I have been corresponding with a little on facebook -- we sat on the front porch of her shop and talked for quite a while and tonight I'm camped on Dragon Lake -- what a name!!  --  in Quesnell BC. Tomorrow -- who knows?  I just know that I'll be reading about it in the morning, or before I turn out the light tonight so I can be prepared!!

Canada

After a delightful weekend in Seattle, a weekend of baseball, T-ball, soccer, bicycles and lots of time with grandchildren (and their parents!), it was time to get back on the road. I finally made it into Canada, avoiding the collapsed bridge on I-5 and the associated detour by taking the much more picturesque Route 9.  I'd been on parts of it before, but most of this route was new to me, and so very pretty. I sure got my green fix!!

Owen in the outfield.

George as catcher.

Owen playing soccer and Ted refereeing.

Ballard Market

Harry Potter wizard chess -- Owen and Dad.

Crossing the border at Sumas was really easy -- it only took about 10 minutes, but I had to get rid of my apples.  I forgot that I had them in the car until I stopped for lunch before the border and saw them there. I managed to eat one before the border, but the other two had to go.  Oh well.

Crossing the border at Sumas

The afternoon was perfect for a drive along the Fraser river, through Hell's Canyon (but no photos -- couldn't find a place to pull over and take one) and finally to the evening's destination -- Cache Creek BC.   I did manage some photos earlier in the drive, before the Hell's Canyon area, and it was so restful to stop and spend a few minutes just drinking in the beauty of this place.

Along the Fraser River

For some reason, I am having trouble uploading photos, so I'm going to publish this and hopefully I'll have a better wireless connection in a day or two, then I'll do an edit and add the photos.  But for now, it's time to close and see if I can get this published....

First night campsite -- Brookside Campground, Cache Creek BC

Moab

 Several years ago I drove to Seattle and passed through Moab, Utah. At the time, I wanted to stop and have a look around, but had a schedule to keep, so I decided to save it for another time. This week was that time. Again, I had a schedule to keep, but I had planned a whole day in Moab.  Turns out, I'm going to have to go back to see more -- one day was not enough time.  It was as enchanting as I thought it might be.

 My first campsite was in a Park Service campground right along the Colorado River. Imagine cliffs towering on both sides of the camp, and the river flowing by. I couldn't actually see the river from the site I was camped in, but I could hear it. The birds were out in full force, singing every evening and morning.









A little way down the road from the campground was a pulloff from which I could see where the Colorado River flowed between sets of cliffs.  Trying to imagine how that formed just boggled my mind.  
 

Three Gossips and Courthouse Rock

There is a drive that goes all round the park, with pullouts at many strategic and scenic points, and I took that drive --- very slowly.  I even had to keep pulling over to let cars pass me by so I could go as slow as I wanted to!  But oh, the views, and the rock formations... they were quite amazing.


 








Balanced Rock was one of them.

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One of several blooming cactus -- another was yellow, but I loved this pink one.

Landscape Arch

But I think the thing that most impressed me was the fabulous views of so many different kinds of rock formations.
 










Being old (well, not that old, but not a spring chicken either) and definitely out of shape, strenuous hikes are just not within my abilities, but shorter easy ones are.  I decided that my hike for the day would be to Landscape Arch --- described as an easy hike in the guide book.  Easy, I guess, if you are younger and in  better shape. I don't think it was easy, but I did it!  I think the hardest part was the last 75 yards or so through the soft dirt -- it was like walking on a sandy beach, and not the firm sand near the water!! But the effort was so well worth while, the views all along the trail, and of course at the end, were just breathtaking. Just to prove that I actually did make it here's the photo that another kind hiker took.

But I think the thing that most impressed me was the fabulous views of so many different kinds of rock formations.

Delicate Arch

  Reminds me of an old song -- On a clear day, you can see forever....  You sure could from Moab!  

Now on to Seattle to see kids and grandkids for a weekend, then the rest of the adventure begins!