Leaving the bears behind

I am reduced to photographing sleeping chickens; I have resigned myself to not seeing a bear catch fish. The fish are the problem. Either they are late or we are early. I went to Hyder twice to see the bears, and the second day was worse than the first. We got to the bear viewing area at 11:30 and the fishing grizzly left at 11. Oh so close.

There was a bear reported down the road; he had faced down some people on a motorcycle, and they turned tail and came back to the ranger station. We drove to see it, but it had moved into the creek by then. I have given up on fishing bears. I did have a great conversation with the ranger about salmon spawning. And the other ranger was amusing because he would get very excited at bear sighting reports and try to find the bear. What a life. Watching fish spawn, counting fish, waiting for bears. I think it is a bully good time, your forest service at work.

On the way back to the Cassiar Highway, we passed 20 glaciers. I didn't count them, but I am taking the word of the guidebooks on the area. Once on the Cassiar, we spotted bears again. It's all timing. Are you on the road at the particular time that a bear decides it is time to cross? If so, you see bears. If not, they are hiding in those bushes somewhere.

We turned east toward Prince George and found a lovely camp site at Seeley Lake Provincial Park. I took Daisy walking on her new long line and she drove me crazy treeing squirrels. Every time she took off after one, she wrapped herself around a tree or too. Finally, the new long line had no more braking power. We need a new one.

Next day, just east of the park, we visited the lovely historic village of Hazleton. We think it should be marketed better, because there was not much mention of it in our guidebooks. We almost skipped it. All the houses and buildings are in prime condition, there's a river walk, an old paddlewheel, and lovely flowers everywhere.

The land south of Prince George is ranch land, rolling, pretty. The major metropolis is Quesnel, which had gorgeous bike paths, classic cars rolling the streets, and a side trip to the Pinnacles Provincial Park. Daisy and I hiked in with a family from India. The man said he lived there, and he was just taking the family for a hike. He goes there all the time, and he pointed out the best views of Quesnel and the hoodoos.

We had picked out a lovely RV park on Dragon Lake in Quesnel. When we arrived the sign said FULL. There were also dogs everywhere. An obedience/agility course was set up on the lawn. Too bad. What fun that would have been to stay there.

We went on to Williams Lake, where the RV manager said everything in Quesnel was full because of Billy Barker days. It's rodeo time, party time, parade time and carnival time, not to mention agility. She just got back herself.

Next day, we turned on to the Sea to Sky Highway, and the scenery was dramatic. So was the road. Lots of 13% grades and hairpin turns. We went through vertical canyons, then the landscape turned to high desert. When we reached Lilleoot, we were greeted by an RV manager who said it had been 102. Lilleoot is a historical town high on a bluff above the Fraser River. Our campsite was right above the river, below the town. Very desert, but with a roaring river.

After Lilleoot, the terrain became mountain green again. We climbed and hairpinned and twisted. I took over driving at a summit. By the time I reached sea level again, the brakes were smelling, even in 2nd gear.

Daisy has related in her Journal our fun day in Pemberton. Pemberton is a bedroom community to Whistler, home of the 2010 Olympics. Such construction! The highway to Whistler is being rebuilt and widened, and signs pointing out Athletes village, Nordic Events etc are everywhere.

Lakes, streams, waterfalls, mountains, glaciers....we saw it all today. What a lovely corner of the planet. Tonight we have settled in at Squamish, just south of Whistler. It is cool again here under the firs.