Signs of the times

What do we do with all this beauty?

The beauty and mystery of the north brings the reality of modern-day decisions in focus. Signs of protest of LNG, pipeline and coal-bed methane development spot the communities. A 50 mile plus drive past the installation of transmission lines gave us an inkling of the impact of these enormous projects. The question of what we are doing to our world in the interest of a growing economy is never closer to the surface than up here. 

We are watching the sunset times. As we drive north the sun sets later and later. Before long the sun will outlast us! Sun is setting around 11:00 pm and Fay noticed a streak of pink on the horizon at 3:30 am! Eyeshades are close at hand but the evenings are glorious. The following pictures were all taken after 10:30 at night!

Northern Wildlife

But wait, since that note, a ptarmigan showed itself on the road - sitting like a statue - and a few miles later, a caribou! We grabbed cameras and got one shot of it hiding its head before it disappeared in the bush. An exciting preview of what we hope is our future. 

And sure enough, we had more excitement starting yesterday. We hiked four Km around Boya Lake and found signs of bears scratching the trees, moose and bear tracks, and freshly beaver-cut logs all to confirm that we are in the wilds of northern B.C. Our sightings came later as we travelled the Alaska Highway. A caribou stood and looked at us for a moment before doing a trampoline trot off the road, brown nose and white tail in the air. This was followed not long after by a black bear. His first reaction to us slowing down was to walk a few feet in the bush and sit down with his back to us. Once he felt a bit more confident he came back out to have a sip of water at the culvert and take one more look at us before we drove off. 

Mighty rivers

We have been travelling in some of the most beautiful parts of BC at times following the mighty Skeena, Buckley, Nass and Stakine Rivers. They are currently swollen, raging bodies of water dragging silt down to the ocean. We've been told the silt might be the signal for the salmon to begin their journey up-river to spawn. People talk about the rivers as living, breathing forces that bring life and meaning to the communities they flow through. We are continually amazed by their size and force. 

The landscape changes - but is always incredible. Coastal Mountains on one side of us with the Hazelton and Cassiar Mountain ranges on the other, all surrounding the Stikine plateau. We are now in boreal forest with a mixture of black spruce, white spruce and aspen trees. A few native flowers are peeking through but the grass is still brown this far north. 

We have stayed at provincial parks for the last three days on two beautiful lakes. Bill and Ted tried their luck fishing - no luck. Apparently two-pound rainbow trout lurk under the surface. 

Grizzly bear lookout - no bears....

Two nights at Meziadin Lake allowed for some time for fishing (the loons had more luck) as well as a day trip to Stewart, B.C. and its neighbour, Hyder in Alaska. We were reprimanded for not all having our passports with us even though this is "the weirdest border crossing there is" according to the customs official. We weren't checked going into the US. There is nowhere to go from Hyder but back out. Our purpose was to go to a bear-watch station. We guessed we were too early for bears but enjoyed the trip, the lunch in the Glacier Inn in Hyder, the conversations with Americans and Canadians on either side of the border and the scenery all the way. 

Still not much in the way of wildlife but we are always happy to see the beautiful little tree swallows swooping and diving after mosquitos. We walked out to the end of a board walk over an estuary and got down on our hands and knees to look at the one or two beautiful black lilies. A large ship in the distance reminded us that Stewart is a deep-water port even though it is far up an inlet. We passed six logging trucks returning empty after dumping their raw logs at the shore. The ship's cranes move the logs on board. Mines also send their gold and copper to this port. 

Last of wi-fi for a day or so...

Not much wildlife yet. The wonderful ravens talk to us now and then, a red-chested sapsucker (how's that for a name?) fluffed himself out for me, and one yearling bear showed his face for a moment at the side of the road before dashing into the woods. 

We are heading to Ksan Heritage Park for guided tour. Then travelling again. Staying in provincial park with no facilities - will be a day or so before next entry. 

Kispiox Stories

We travelled up the Kispiox River and stopped in a village to admire the poles. One resident didn't know how long they had been there. "Forever" was his answer. Many of the poles have fallen down and so the others have been reinforced. 

Buckley River Valley Views

We are staying at the Ksan campground adjacent to the Ksan Heritage Centre. The poles and buildings are especially powerful surrounded by the Hazelton Mountains. 

Copperman

Through his volunteer work, Ted had arranged for us to meet with Roy Henry Vickers who has moved back to his ancestral territory of Hazelton. We arrived at his beautiful home overlooking the Skeena River and during our hour-long visit we realized we were in the presence of a gifted storyteller as well as artist. It was an amazing opportunity to hear Roy's description of his personal story of survival and renewal as well as the incredible story of the Kispiox and Hazelton area. The mighty Skeena river was raging and the arrival of its muddy waters in the ocean signals to the Springs to begin their journey upriver. This is followed later by the arrival of the Sockeye and Roy pointed out their favourite spots and the path they follow along his banks. 

Roy is proud of his heritage and considers himself an elder who must teach the next generation, He is known as Tlakwagila' or Copperman. His reverence for the beauty and bounty of the area was contagious and we felt honoured by his willingness to share his stories with us. 

Canada's swat team!

Leaving Vanderhoof, the geographical centre of B.C., we knew we were in trouble when what we thought were raindrops on the windscreen turned out to be hundreds of bug splats! We've entered mosquito territory and now move quickly from outside to in. In spite of that we are tormented at night by the high-pitched whine of a straggler. Bill has made me wonder what kind of trance he is in as he sits stone-still staring into space. Turns out he is waiting for the little bugger to come into range. It will only get sillier… 

Take a left on the Yellowyhead

We spent two nights in Quesnel to give us time to drive up to Barkerville, an hour away. We are now taking the Yellowhead highway to Ksan in Hazelton where we'll stay two nights. We haven't decided what the trees are but the drive through the Interior Plateau was acre after acre of beautiful lime-green trees with bright white trunks spotted with black. Either cottonwood or birch. The giant piles of logs in Quesnel were probably fir?

Clinton in the Cariboo

On our way through the beautiful Cariboo region, we stopped in Clinton, a proud little town of 2300 people. They are nervously watching the weather as their rodeo weekend approaches. We wandered through their indoor/outdoor museum and stopped for freshly- made coffee. Clinton has had at least four name changes from its original native name, “Pethdethd” meaning white earth. The next three names reflect stages of various gold discoveries: Cut Off Valley, 47 Mile House, and The Junction. But its final name sums up the colonial attitude. Queen Victoria christened the town in honour of Lord Henry Pelham Clinton, Colonial Secretary to the British Government and 5^th Duke of Newcastle when he retired. I've contacted Elizabeth to inform her that Bill is retiring….

Barkerville in the Snow

We spent the day yesterday at Barkerville. The weather helped give a slight hint of the hardships of life for the desperate prospectors. Barkerville gets on average 26' of snow in the winter. Piles of snow remain in spite of the rain falling. The streets were muddy with water running in small streams, boards here and there helped us navigate and we watched the ladies in costume dragging their long skirts through the mud. It was cold and miserable, especially inside the cabins where prospectors lived. We hugged the wood stove in the general store. The main restaurant was closed because of water (we don't exactly know what that meant) Since we came early for their breakfast, we were disappointed momentarily but soon felt better at the sight of plate-sized cinnamon buns and hot coffee served at the bakery across the street.
One of the highlights for the four of us was a lesson in the Chinese school. Our patient young teacher taught us four mandarin phrases, how to write 10 characters using brush and ink, and learning how to count using the abacus.

Trailer life

Back on line. Bill's PC computer is convalescing but in the meantime, he is now proud owner of a Mac so we're good to go with the blog!
Thought you'd like to hear about what trailer life involves. The learning curve is steep but four days in, some things are becoming routine. Each stop involves a series of steps before you can sit back and enjoy yourself. In the morning, the steps happen in reverse. Plug/unplug the power, connect/disconnect the sewer hose and water supply, lower/raise the stabilizer jacks and power tongue jack, turn on/off the propane, push out/in the stairs! Arriving also involves opening cupboards carefully, watching out for falling objects, picking up apples from the floor (!) and finally learning how to set things up to stay put. Once settled, there are many comforts. I am sitting on the couch with my feet up while Bill works at the kitchen table. It was Fay's turn to cook so we relaxed until called for a delicious dinner then left before the dishes were done! Not a bad life!

Sorry no pictures for another day....

The computer is in the hospital. Bill and Eileen are okay;-)

Hell's Gate on the Gold Rush Trail

We joined the Gold Rush Trail at Hope and began to follow the swollen, clay-coloured Fraser River. This time of year you can truly understand Simon Fraser’s description of waters from Hell when you take the Tramway across the raging river at Hell’s Gate. From the lookout you can watch water two times the volume of Niagara Falls crash and boil through the narrow gorge. Full-sized trees are tossed in never-ending pools until they are shredded. You had to shout to be heard over the roar of the water. The river is an amazing 180 feet deep at the outlook. In the 1940’s, fish ladders were  built in the deepest, wildest section in an attempt to undo the damage done by builders of the railroads decades earlier. The ladders are paying dividends with salmon run numbers increasing every year since and expected to be record-sized this year.

We continued along the Gold Rush Trail through Lytton then followed the Thompson River through sage-covered country and beautiful rock canyons to Cache Creek. We had booked two camping spots and pulled into a  campground with the background sound of rushing water from the small creek behind us. Dinner was put together while the novice campers figured out electrical outlets, turning on propane fridges, and plugging in various electrical devices – especially camera batteries - before going on-line to look up the history of 100 mile house, and plan for sites tomorrow. A great first day!

Wildlife  spottings: Three tiny playful chipmunks, a red pine squirrel and a swirling gang of rufus hummers. 

10-4 good buddy, we're rolling....

Up in good time, we loaded last-minute supplies, turned the trailers around, and pointed them down the hill. You’d think we were going to the Yukon with all the fussing and picture-taking going on! Early enthusiasm for the fact we were actually on the road resulted in “You should put that in your blog!” whenever we passed anything interesting.

We spent the first section of the highway practicing our use of the walkie  talkies. You really don’t want to be here if you like to look cool but that is not one of our problems. Our handles are Penguin and Butsy and phrases like “Mobile Mama, you’re running straight and true” and “Roger dodger” were actually spoken. We avoided “Over and out” and only Bill says 10-4 but all-in-all  it is a very useful way to communicate.

We gassed up at Chilliwack and Fay took over their rig for her practice run from Chilliwack to Hope. (Female penguins don’t drive trucks but they are good encouragers.)

Spare tires ready, books organized and sleeping masks packed.....

We've bought our first trailer and are now getting it ready to leave for a six-week trip north to the Yukon. Fay and Ted have organized us with a spreadsheet of mileage, campsites and highlights we've identified during two planning weekends. In the meantime, Bill has bought an extra spare tire and bracket (so that makes two spares as suggested!),  a power-tongue jack, sewer hose and fittings and misc other necessities I've never heard of. He will now figure out the furnace, hot water heater and how to lower the awning. I'm figuring out our reading material! I have loads of hard-covers, ebooks, and audio books organized - all fiction set in northern Canada or the Klondike. That should keep us entertained in the Midnight Sun.
Fay and I each have 13 suppers to organize along with packing all other food needed. My lists from our days on the boat were a big help. We will alternate cooking - Fay, Eileen, then a night for leftovers (or peanut butter sandwiches in this trailer).
Bill and I keep meaning to go out one night to sleep in the trailer in our driveway. We need to figure out if one double bed with a triangle cut off the bottom is going to do it for us or if we have to bring the mattress for the bunk bed too! (Ask Bill about our VW camper days....) It is looking more and more like we'll figure out all of the above on the road. Bill is trying to be retired but clients keep popping up! Tuesday is our deadline and Bill's official retirement and our adventure north begins!