Northern BC trip, July 2008.

Erebus · Post by **Erebus** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:40 pm

Thanks for the great photos. Now I'll have to do another trip to see Vanc Island.

BTW when in Stewart, the campground there is really nice. We didn't stay there, because we succumbed to the siren song of the Glacier Adventures B&B, only $65 bucks. Free internet too. Really nice hosts. I said something about our vehicle, Sylvia (host) asked what we had. I said "Mitsubishi Delica." She went wide-eyed and said, "You have a DELICA?!?!?!?" and ran to the window to look. She wants one.

Take the road to Hyder then up towards the glacier. Is a 40 km drive or so but incredible scenery. And we saw it in cloud and fog. In sun it must be even more amazing. The only place I know where you look down on a glacier from the road.

Bitter Creek Cafe in Stewart does really nice things to food, great place for dinner. And they made us wonderful sandwiches to go the next day.

Enjoy.

Post by **FalcoColumbarius** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 12:33 am

Hell, let's all drive to Stewart and park in front of Sylvia's place. Maybe we can get a cup of tea out of it!

Falco.

Profister · Post by **Profister** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 4:38 pm

From Lava Bed Memorial Park we took a shortcut to Hwy 37, a 60-km gravel road and finally when we hit a highway our Delica was looking like a real offroader. Driving from Kitwanga to Meziadin Junction was uneventful and at around 6 pm we arrived to Meziadin Lake provincial campground. The weather was much better that day but mosquitoes forced us to dress up and stay closer to the campfire.
Next morning we took Hwy 37a to Stewart. The weather was changing to mist and rain again and that was very disappointing because of nice scenery on both sides of the road. By the time we came to Stewart it was sunny again and it stayed that way for the rest of the day. Stewart with a population of less than 500 people looked like a nice small town and although it was only 2 pm the visitor center was already closed. Hyder, Alaska was our next stop. It looked like a ghost town but there were some signs of life such as a post office and a pub. My favorite sign was ‘Speed limit 20’; I guess it makes maintaining your speed an easy task, there is no need for recalculation.
30 minutes later on the way back to Canada we were stopped by a customs officer asking us how much time we spent abroad. I looked at the clock and gave him the precise answer: 27 minutes. We did not buy even a cup of coffee, so there was no need to answer any other odd questions.

josh · Post by **josh** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 10:44 pm

What great pics, I love it. Such a wonderful trip you both took. Rose and I are really glad to have been a small part of it. It was great talking at the campfire. Keep in touch. And thanks again for the great pics.

Josh

Profister · Post by **Profister** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 2:10 pm

Coming back on Hwy 37A to Meziadin Lake campground was different: the sun and the blue sky made it more spectacular. It was a bit tricky to take pictures because of deep shadows but the tripod and Photomatix software did a good job.

Profister · Post by **Profister** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 1:49 pm

Next morning we were on the road again driving from Meziadin Junction to Watson Lake. The road conditions were good at the beginning but getting worse as we were getting closer to the BC border. The shoulders and ditches on both sides were covered with flowers compensating the rough ride. At the same time the weather was getting better and in the middle of the day when we stopped at Kinaskan Lake campground for lunch it was almost hot under the sun. Dease Lake town was the most expensive place in BC we have ever been to. Diesel fuel was $1.71/l and if you turn your imagination on you get the prices for groceries. Strangely enough people around did not look wealthy though. That night we spent on Boya Lake campground which was really nice and we enjoyed calm and peaceful evening on the lake waterfront with a magnificent view and a fabulous sunset.

konadog · Post by **konadog** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 5:49 pm

Niiiiice

I love the whiskey-jack, (they're such characters!) and the shots of the lake. Beautiful country. Good shot of your restful campsite too! Great thread - Thanks!

Post by **FalcoColumbarius** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 11:22 pm

Those last three pictures of Boya Lake are stunning, Profister. The composition is exemplary. I really like how you hint at the shingle beneath the marbled reflection of the calico skies and capture the warmth of the diminishing sun.

Falco.

Profister · Post by **Profister** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 4:25 pm

The next day we finally reached the return point, Watson Lake. Driving on Hwy 37 was getting worse and we were glad that we were under protection of our tough but friendly Delica.
The only attractions found in Watson Lake were a sign post forest and a visitor center where we spent 30 minutes watching a video about history of Alaska Highway. Finding a decent dining place to eat was unsuccessful and we continued our trip back to BC. The next mark on our map was Liard Hot Springs.

Erebus · Post by **Erebus** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 6:45 am

Profister wrote:The next day we finally reached the return point, Watson Lake. Driving on Hwy 37 was getting worse and we were glad that we were under protection of our tough but friendly Delica.
The only attractions found in Watson Lake were a sign post forest and a visitor center where we spent 30 minutes watching a video about history of Alaska Highway. Finding a decent dining place to eat was unsuccessful and we continued our trip back to BC. The next mark on our map was Liard Hot Springs.

Yes, good food in Watson Lake is a bit of a trick. Loved the signpost forest. I'm guessing you didn't find the Delica.ca sticker I put there?

Enjoy Liard. You going to try a side trip to Smith River?

Thanks for your wonderful posts. Your photos are great, really capture the scenery. You seem to have stopped at all the spots we didn't stop at, like Boya Lake. We will just have to go again to see all the stuff you saw!

Profister · Post by **Profister** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 3:17 pm

Well, Erebus, I think we were in Watson Lake ahead of you and the sticker was not there yet. We will take a chance next time on our trip to Yukon.
BC was cheering us with the sunshine and a pleasant relaxing drive. Just by the time my wife complained about not seeing any wild animals they showed up!

Erebus · Post by **Erebus** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 7:54 pm

Profister wrote:Well, Erebus, I think we were in Watson Lake ahead of you and the sticker was not there yet. We will take a chance next time on our trip to Yukon.

Could be. I planted the sticker on 21 July. I think I recognize that bison

and I definitely recognize the Liard River outlook. The shot I posted on my thread of the sunset was taken from the same lookout.

Reliving my trip vicariously. Thanks, keep up the great work.

Profister · Post by **Profister** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 4:22 pm

“Liard River Hot Springs provides relief to Alaskan bound travelers after a long day on the road.” This info from BC Parks tells you exactly what we needed. We arrived at around 7 pm, took a campsite of our choice, registered and took a walk to the springs ignoring the rule: set up all your camping gear first. The weather was good but somewhere half way to the springs we spotted a huge dark cloud spreading it's nasty heavy rainy wings over the trees and we rushed back to set up a tarp after which we had a dinner and left the hot springs thing for the next morning.
I wish we had more time to stay there as it was very nice. The Alpha pool is shallow but hot at some point: +53C close to the springs and much cooler at the bottom and futher down the stream. The Beta pool is +41C all over it because of the 3 meter depth and springs coming from the bottom and because of the depth you can swim too. Most people sit in the Alpha pool because it is closer to the campground and there is no need to move; just sit on one of the underwater benches and enjoy your life.

rdub · Post by **rdub** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 9:13 pm

Fantastic trip thanks for sharing.

Rich

Profister · Post by **Profister** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 2:52 pm

Fort St.John was our next destination point. Heading south on Alaska highway that day we saw the record high number of wild animals. It was a scenic drive with changing weather and the traffic was building up as we were getting closer to Ft. Nelson.