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| British Columbia - Quesnel |
We woke up this morning in a funk. I know you’re probably thinking that we are in paradise, why the funk? We thought the same thing-but couldn’t come up with an answer. Maybe all the planning for the trip, all the preparation, all the anticipation has finally ended, and we’re here! We decided to just ‘be in the moment’ and let the days ahead unravel as they should, letting all expectations slip away.
So, what to do today? We are approximately 50 miles from Barkerville, which is a reconstructed village depicting the gold mining days of the area. EVERYONE, and I really mean EVERYONE we have spoken to that has passed through this area says Barkerville is a MUST. Well, we’re not big history buffs-we can take the information for a short while before we lose interest. We were torn-we’d feel as if we missed something if we bypassed the village, yet really didn’t want to go. So, we decided to take the drive and see what evolved. We knew the trip would take us through remote wooded roads and looked forward to the scenery.
So, what to do today? We are approximately 50 miles from Barkerville, which is a reconstructed village depicting the gold mining days of the area. EVERYONE, and I really mean EVERYONE we have spoken to that has passed through this area says Barkerville is a MUST. Well, we’re not big history buffs-we can take the information for a short while before we lose interest. We were torn-we’d feel as if we missed something if we bypassed the village, yet really didn’t want to go. So, we decided to take the drive and see what evolved. We knew the trip would take us through remote wooded roads and looked forward to the scenery.
So, we packed our ‘food bag’ (pretzels, energy bars, fig newtons, water), loaded cameras, binoculars, computer (for GPS) and headed off for our adventure.
The day was sunny and comfortably warm. We drove through pine forests on a small 2 lane backroad (paved). Soon the snowcapped mountains loomed above the pines, creating a view of green trees, white snow and crisp blue skies. It was exactly how all the tourist books depict British Columbia. The snow soon started getting more apparent right on the side of the road..we were in summer clothes and surrounded by snow!
The day was sunny and comfortably warm. We drove through pine forests on a small 2 lane backroad (paved). Soon the snowcapped mountains loomed above the pines, creating a view of green trees, white snow and crisp blue skies. It was exactly how all the tourist books depict British Columbia. The snow soon started getting more apparent right on the side of the road..we were in summer clothes and surrounded by snow!
Dominic started to slow down and we were in ‘animal watch’ mode. The area looked prime for moose (still, shallow water), bear, and deer. We did see 3 or 4 deer, but honestly-we’re ‘deer acclimated’ by now. They are pretty and nice to look out, but the excitement factor is kinda low for us.
We both spotted a huge bird fly by us in the opposite direction-he seemed to have a small animal (or fish) with him. We think he was an owl, but have no photos of him-it all happened too fast.
We headed toward Barkerville and saw a sign for Bowron Provincial Park. A Provinicial Park in Canada is similar to a state or national park in the USA. I remembered reading about abundant wildlife in the park, so we abandonded Barkerville for the prospect of seeing animals. We turned onto a dirt road (after Dominic secured the tailgate with tape to avoid getting the bed filthy)..we had 24 kilometers of dirt (about 18 miles). It was well worth it…the park was home to a series of lakes-most of the park only accessible by boat (no motorized boats allowed). Most visitors spend 7-10 days to navigate through the lakes, which actually are in the form of a square. We spoke to one of the few people we saw in the park (I think it’s still early in the season), she was the owner of the mercantile store, which actually was a restaurant (eggs served before 11:30am and smoked salmon and cream cheese after 11:30), a gift shop, and a museum filled with lots of old tools, and memorabilia of the area and it’s gold rush history. She had quite an assortment of items. She told us a little about the park (she is one of 4 families that live there fulltime-there are 8 that are seasonal residents), and then told us she saw a grizzly and her cub a few miles down the road last night. She also told us how great Barkerville is and that we shouldn’t miss it! So, we left her and knew which decision we would make-off to see the bears!
We drove up 5 miles on another dirt road, stopped the car and waited. We were in an area that Dominic noticed had broken twigs and crushed grass. We felt the bear might hang out here. We waited, with binoculars, cameras and baited breath. Nothing happened! We were about to leave when Dominic looked up the road and saw them! Mom and baby were right in the middle of the road and thumping towards us in a casual stroll…OH MY GOD…what a sight. The pictures don’t really do it justice. I was so excited that I just keep pressing the shutter and forgot to focus.
We watched for a while and then attempted to drive toward them slowly, but they decided to head into the brush. It was an amazing experience to be so close in such a remote area.
We stopped back at the mercantile store to thank the owner for her advice and headed to Barkerville (they have a Chinatown restoration complete with a Chinese restaurant and we were hungry as bears (oops, sorry-I couldn’t resist the pun).
Off to Barkerville-since it was late in the day, the gal at the entrance said we can just go in and she wouldn’t charge us. Very nice of her. It is a cute village-seems to be very well done. We went to the Chinese restaurant and they had just opened for dinner, and a school trip of 50 kids were just seated. It would be a long wait to get in, so we left.
Dominic spoke to some workers telling him of our bear sighting. They said there is another mama (a black bear) with 4 cubs between the village and where we’re staying in Quesnel. So, we drove with eyes peeled on the road…lo and behold…Mama appeared with a cub. As we stopped and started snapping away, a 2nd cub appeared.
What an incredible day. We went from funk to exhilaration in a matter of hours..we always say-“we never know what the day will bring!”.
Tomorrow we leave for Prince George. More to come.
We both spotted a huge bird fly by us in the opposite direction-he seemed to have a small animal (or fish) with him. We think he was an owl, but have no photos of him-it all happened too fast.
We headed toward Barkerville and saw a sign for Bowron Provincial Park. A Provinicial Park in Canada is similar to a state or national park in the USA. I remembered reading about abundant wildlife in the park, so we abandonded Barkerville for the prospect of seeing animals. We turned onto a dirt road (after Dominic secured the tailgate with tape to avoid getting the bed filthy)..we had 24 kilometers of dirt (about 18 miles). It was well worth it…the park was home to a series of lakes-most of the park only accessible by boat (no motorized boats allowed). Most visitors spend 7-10 days to navigate through the lakes, which actually are in the form of a square. We spoke to one of the few people we saw in the park (I think it’s still early in the season), she was the owner of the mercantile store, which actually was a restaurant (eggs served before 11:30am and smoked salmon and cream cheese after 11:30), a gift shop, and a museum filled with lots of old tools, and memorabilia of the area and it’s gold rush history. She had quite an assortment of items. She told us a little about the park (she is one of 4 families that live there fulltime-there are 8 that are seasonal residents), and then told us she saw a grizzly and her cub a few miles down the road last night. She also told us how great Barkerville is and that we shouldn’t miss it! So, we left her and knew which decision we would make-off to see the bears!
We drove up 5 miles on another dirt road, stopped the car and waited. We were in an area that Dominic noticed had broken twigs and crushed grass. We felt the bear might hang out here. We waited, with binoculars, cameras and baited breath. Nothing happened! We were about to leave when Dominic looked up the road and saw them! Mom and baby were right in the middle of the road and thumping towards us in a casual stroll…OH MY GOD…what a sight. The pictures don’t really do it justice. I was so excited that I just keep pressing the shutter and forgot to focus.
We watched for a while and then attempted to drive toward them slowly, but they decided to head into the brush. It was an amazing experience to be so close in such a remote area.
We stopped back at the mercantile store to thank the owner for her advice and headed to Barkerville (they have a Chinatown restoration complete with a Chinese restaurant and we were hungry as bears (oops, sorry-I couldn’t resist the pun).
Off to Barkerville-since it was late in the day, the gal at the entrance said we can just go in and she wouldn’t charge us. Very nice of her. It is a cute village-seems to be very well done. We went to the Chinese restaurant and they had just opened for dinner, and a school trip of 50 kids were just seated. It would be a long wait to get in, so we left.
Dominic spoke to some workers telling him of our bear sighting. They said there is another mama (a black bear) with 4 cubs between the village and where we’re staying in Quesnel. So, we drove with eyes peeled on the road…lo and behold…Mama appeared with a cub. As we stopped and started snapping away, a 2nd cub appeared.
What an incredible day. We went from funk to exhilaration in a matter of hours..we always say-“we never know what the day will bring!”.
Tomorrow we leave for Prince George. More to come.
additional pictures : http://picasaweb.google.com/Patriot8573/BritishColumbiaQuesnel
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