the beyonds of British Columbia

the beyonds of British Columbia ...

Ok, now we're really heading north, really heading into the wilderness…

Lots of driving, lots of mountains, lots of clouds, valleys, and yes, wildlife. Bears, foxes and more bear. What we didn't see much of were other cars!  It took days to drive through British Columbia (it is huge by the way). 

We camped at these gorgeous remote lakes. (Ok, everything is remote once you're an hour north of Vancouver in BC.)  And yes, there were other campers there. Most were traveling through to somewhere else, north or south, but a few were there for the week.  The lakes were all so quiet and serene. Sometimes you could hear loons calling, sometimes not, but always, always, one had to be on the alert for bear. And we're talkin’ big ole bear. Not just black bear, but grizzlies.  No food stuffs or anything remotely smelly could be left outside and the door to our camper was closed at night.

But the very best part as we headed north over mountain ranges, past waterfalls, wildflowers and wildlife was the way the daylight hours were lengthening.  We both had so much energy and could get so much done in a day that was continually extending. We could drive to a new spot, set up, make dinner and eat and still have time for a short hike or a walk or a chance to explore before even remotely worrying about it getting dark. Every night I would take a pic and text it to the fam saying can you believe how light it is??? I finally stopped with the daily texts after a week (or two) but it really was remarkable.

on to pics:

It wasn't long after leaving the Howe Sound that these signs started popping up on the side of the road. (Like I need to be told not to feed the bear 🥴)

driving through the mountains 

sometimes the clouds would clear (slightly) and we could get a view of some of the mountains.  I believe they were pretty amazing …but we didn't actually see too much.  It was all mysteriously misty leading us into a new adventure …

Sometimes it would clear as we came down a northwest slope or around a corner and we might get a surprise view of a mountain or a waterfall or yikes (!) a bear eating the fresh, new grass on the sides of the road.  One day we saw six bears and a fox! The fox was just tootling up the road. Did I mention there wasn't much traffic?

black bear (I know he's brown, but he's a brown black bear) the whole bear naming thing gets pretty confusing, especially in coastal Alaska. But that's a story for another blog. Let me just say that “black bear” is a species and comes in blacks, (which is most common in the east), browns, cinnamons and tans (which are more common in the west).

So again, here is a brown black bear enjoying the fresh new grass right along the roadside. (And he was a big guy)

more clouds, more mountains, more waterfalls 

a bit of blue sky and sunshine as we head down the pass into Lillooet.

Lilooet is one of the oldest towns of the province and was once the largest settlement west of Chicago and north of San Francisco. It was also the terminus of the first interior road built in British Columbia. Now it has a population of a little over 2,000.

One night we stayed at Juniper Beach on the Thompson River and it had lots of birds. That was an unexpected and happy surprise.

Bullock's oriole

a chipping sparrow 

a western wood-pewee

another pic of a Bullock's Oriole, likely a female since it is not as bright

nest up in a tree

tucked in the branches, a yellow warbler is sitting on the nest

This robin was just about as happy as he could be with those big juicy grubs. I'm pretty sure he was taking them back to the nest. I watched him for awhile and he didn't eat them. What a good papa.

Osprey nest with someone in the nest …

Meziadin Lake - one of the lakes we camped on

Boya Lake - another one of the lakes we camped at


Teslin Tlingit Heritage Center 

We spent some time visiting this heritage center. It was on another stunning body of water with white capped mountains in the distance. It had artwork, regalia,  fishing and fish preserving (drying) sheds with demonstrations.      

the totems of the clans


Next blog: the Yukon Territory 

It's early June and we've entered a province that doesn't have a page in the Rand McNally Atlas, not even a shared page. None. We're starting to encounter permafrost (the ground stays frozen throughout the entire year) and let me just say that permafrost results in “wicked bad” roads. (Think of being in a condition of permanent spring frost heaves!) And truth be told, the further out and up we're driving, the more excited I'm becoming ❤️






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