MORE PHOTOS OF BARKERVILLE

I recommend visiting Barkerville for anyone heading north to British Columbia. If you are a history buff....this is a must see.

HISTORIC BARKERVILLE

In 1865 gold was discovered in the Williams Creek area of Cariboo.The gold rush in California was spent and many of the those miners heard of the discovery up north and headed that way. It is a beautiful area with all of the lakes, streams and wildlife. However, it is also very unforgiving. We heard that this area had 22 ft of snow this past winter. But one can't but help be romanticized by this place. We fell in love with it ourselves as the ones who came before us did. A town was soon built on Williams Creek named Barkerville after the man who discovered the gold in this area. We arrived in the late afternoon and soon went looking for a place to stay for the night. We went 2km back down the road to a town called Wells and spent the evening reading about this area. We got to the Barkerville townsite early after spending much time in the historic cemetery. This area also has the Bowron Lakes chain about 28 km from Barkerville. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to go there and paddle the lakes. (That's the next trip)! But, we did find the gravesite of the people the Bowron's were named after. John and Emily Bowron. Emily is buried there alongside a few of her children. John remarried and retired in Victoria and is buried there. 

We got to the town before the crowds arrived. It is a truly incredible place if you take the time to discover all of it's riches. We spent 3 hours there but could have stayed many days to discover all this old restored gold town has to offer. We found out later that there was another town up Williams Creek by the name of Richfield where the Courthouse was. We will definitely go back to explore more.

A LOVE AFFAIR

The oddest and most magnificent creature, the moose, totally captivates me. I don't know if it's just that we don't have moose where we live in Oregon or something much more alluring. They are strange, illusive, gentle beasts that I just can't seem to get enough of. We captured some shots along the road to Price George, British Columbia and then all around the historic gold mining towns of Barkerville and Wells BC.

HIKING MALIGNE CANYON

Steve took us to a deep gorge that is cut by the Maligne River. The hike was crazy....all I could say was "WOW". The gorge is super narrow and super deep. It was amazing and an awesome way to spend the day. As we headed over to Jasper Park Lodge we came upon this coyote. He stopped and watched us as we watched him. Finally, we stopped by the rocks in the water and had this ZEN moment. 

ATHABASCA FALLS AND RIVER

When you take the time to think about the early fur trappers and explorers traveling down this fast river in their birch bark canoes, you must have great admiration for them. This is a river I would like to do someday. How wonderful to retrace the steps of one of my hero's, David Thompson.

COLUMBIA ICEFIELDS

We met and old friend of Steve's, Nigel from Red Deer at Saskatchewan Crossing and all of us headed up to the Columbia Icefields. Right before we got on the Ice Crawler this wacky RCMP Bear grabbed and clawed my face. I was brave however, and made it up to the icefields. What an incredible place this is on the planet. The glacier has receded much in the past 20 years. Steve and Nigel both used to work in this area 20 years ago. 

LEAVING BANFF HEADING TO JASPER

We got up in the morning to leave Banff and were surprised by a snowstorm. It was wonderful! The skies were soft and cloudy as we headed north. We stopped at the beginning of the Athabasca River. The on to Bridal Veil falls and Mt. Athabasca, were the headwaters of the Athabasca River start.

FUN WITH THE FAM

We took Cheryl and Al to Lake Minnewanka only to find this beautiful speciman of a Ram Bighorn Sheep. We stood and watched the group for quite a while. Then we headed over to the Gondola for a ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain. There we could see the entire world it seemed! 

FAMILY

After a few delays my sister and brother in law, Cheryl and Al, arrived safe and sound to join us in this incredible adventure.

We took them to Lake Louise (one of our Favorites) and hiked the lake again. We also spotted the first duck on the lake after it thawed. Then back to Banff to check out all of the shops in town, have dinner and fall into bed after a long day.

I HEAR THE TRAIN A COMIN

Besides the early fur trappers of Hudson Bay Company and the Nor West Company, the Canadian Pacific Railway was very instrumental in the settling of this country. They, in fact, were the ones that found many of the incredibly beautiful spots in the Canadian Rockies and then built the fabulous hotels at these spots, i.e. Banff Springs Hotel, Chateau Lake Louise. The Candian Pacific Railway runs from the east side of the country to the west side of the country. We happened to catch a Canadian TV program on the passenger train from coast to coast. It looked fascinating and fun. "All Aboard"!

I'M MELTING!!!!!!

We had decided it was time to travel back up to Lake Louise to see if the ice had melted any further. We were bound and determined to paddle this incredibly beautiful lake before we headed to Jasper. As we apprehensively rounded the corner by the Chateau we were greeted by the most wonderful site. It looked as if the ice on the  entire lake had melted! We took the kayak off the top of the truck and started the trek up to the lake. After stopping numerous times to rest our arms (we forgot to pack the rolling kayak cart), we launched the bright yellow kayak on the most vibrant blue lake one has ever seen. It was 7:30am and we had the lake to ourselves. I believe we are the first ones to paddle the lake this year. We floated dreamily across the mirror that only we could appreciate at that moment in time. Time, somehow, is different for me now. I have more marks on the ruler behind me than in front of me. I have always been appreciative but now more so. SMILE

THE WOOD

After heading back to Canmore from the tranquility of the mountains, we walked the old town streets and ended up at an resturant called "The Wood". The view from the deck outside was incredible and condusive for sitting and having a glass of wine and some dinner. Our server, Maxime, was very gracious and helpful. We started with Calamari and it was undoubtly the best we had ever had. We continued with an Asian noodle, vegetable and chicken stir fry. The flavors were delectable and we craved for more. If you ever make it to Canmore, you definately have to get to  " The Wood" and discover the fabulous flavors that Chef Andrew Tutt delivers to your palate!
  

THEY WHO TRAVEL THE FURTHEST

While enjoying Canmore, we found an incredible gravel road that led us deeper into the mountains.

The beginning of the road seemed to be the hot spot for climbing. As we traveled further, we came upon a beautiful little lake by the name of Goat Lake. Up the road from that was Spray Lakes. We drove down the boat ramp and got out to enjoy the serenity of it all. We were just getting ready to leave when we spotted a duck out on the lake. I grabbed my new super power lens and saw it was a Loon. They have to be one of the most beautiful and spiritual birds on the planet. As we traveled down the road back towards Canmore we stopped at a little wetlands along the road. The bird traffic was great and I shot these photos of birds. The grey one is a yellow rumped Audubon's warbler. I couldn't find the yellow one in my bird book. Can anyone identify it? The ground squirrels are everywhere in the Rockies. They are driving the dog crazy!

HELIO WORK

If you ever wanted to be a helicopter pilot, this is where you could definately get work. There are many options for viewing the area from the sky. But yesterday we went to Canmore, Alberta and watched some helio logging going on up by the Nordic Center. Quite fascinating!

TAKE ME TO THE RIVER (LAKE) Drop me in the water

We found a beautiful lake called Two Jacks Lake. We put in and  paddled to the south end of the lake in the hopes we could travel the canal to the next lake down...Johnson Lake. The canal was calm and we paddled for a while only to come to a low bridge. I didn't think we could make it under. However, Steve, being the positive one, told me to duck down and got us under it. As we paddled further we came upon a dam and had to return to Two Jacks Lake. The scenery is undescribable!

ON THE WATER

We drove up to Lake Minnewanka to see if we might be able to paddle it. The wind was horrendous and we heard tales that the Indian Spirits bring the wind up to a tremendous speed to those who do not belong on the Lake and tip them over. It was not a paddle that Steve or I wanted to make. A beautiful lake but not that much fun paddling. We are in search of another paddling location. We also stopped by the Bow River Falls in Banff. It made me think of our upcoming trip down the Rogue River.