June 2014 - Lillooet, Cache Creek, Ashcroft, Merritt, Harmon Lake

 

June 1st - Marble Canyon Provincial Park and Fountain Lake (Kwotlenemo Lake)

Took a drive yesterday to check out Marble Canyon and Fountain Lake. It was a good thing that we did not pull into Marble Canyon Provincial Park on the way here as there is no way that we would fit. Their description was "high density" and it sure was. There is actually 3 lakes with Pavilion Lake the largest, but has no access for the public unless you hike around it. It is of course, the most photographed one due to its crystal blue colour.

Picnic Area

Quite marshy between the lakes.

Look mom ... my personal swimming hole.

One of the tent sites. 

Above is Pavillion Lake with an island. Look at the different colours of blue due to the limestone.
 Next it was off to check out Kwotlenemo Lake Forest Service Site (Fountain Lake). Although there were lots of campsites with clean pit toilets in 3 different areas, there were only a couple that we would fit in. In particular the North campsite the first few in would be okay. A lovely lake but sure was wet up there due to the recent rains. The temperature was 4 degrees cooler than at Seton Lake.

 Driving back to town we stopped for Ray to take this picture of the old bridge crossing the Fraser in Lillooet. This is pedestrian only.

This is a picture of the Lillooet Passenger Train Station. They have a daily run up to Seton Portage and on to Darcy. You can take the 1 hour scenic ride to Seton Portage and back only on Fridays for $10.00 a person.  Some people in the campsite took the train on Friday and saw a momma bear with 2 cubs, a mountain lion and bighorn sheep. The 2 car train apparently stops so you can take pictures. Ray cannot sit that long on "bus seats" so we had to pass this time, maybe next time.

June 4th - Still at Seton Lake 

 

We're still at Seton Lake Rec Site. The weather is beautiful and hot, although it does seem to cloud up in the late afternoon the last two days with the wind picking up and we can hear the thunder in the distance. We see the rain coming down over the mountains, but other than a half a dozen rain drops we have been good. By 6pm the sun is back out, the blue sky is back and the wind has stopped, so we have our evening campfire with wood supplied for free.

Major thunderclouds

We took a short trip to check out some forest service sites on the way to Whistler ... we do not fit as we thought ... and took a short drive at the other end of town towards Seton Portage and saw all of the native fish camps on the Fraser River where it narrows just before town. There are extensive spawning channels beside the Seton River and they are a pleasant walk through.  I also happened to see the Rocky Mountaineer go by when I was at the shopping mall. (I use the term shopping mall loosely but they do have a Buy Low Foods, BC Liquor store, Pharmasave, Lordco and Fields with a hardware store next door.)

The Rocky Mountaineer train was passing through.... one of these days.

Hwy 99 towards Pemberton:

Another view of this windy highway with a lot of going way up and then way down. They had signs up to 16% grade!

Next pictures are of Seton Lake:

Fisheries contractors on the Seton River looking for Sockeye fry... only 7 so far.

The fisheries channels:

Apparently the fish camps below each remain in the same family for generations.

We will probably move on tomorrow to Cache Creek as we're running low on clothes. Hard to go with free camping and great weather though.

June 7th - Cache Creek and Ashcroft

 We left Seton Lake Thursday morning with half-full waste tanks and two weeks of laundry so headed to Cache Creek to take care of business. The community is celebrating "Graffitti Days" this weekend so we were lucky to get the last campsite available at the RV Park I had planned to stay in.

In the afternoon we took the short 10km drive to Ashcroft to grocery shop and checked out their lovely community park. Ashcroft is known for their potatoes that they grow. The CP Rail trains at one time only served their potatoes in the dining car all across Canada. We also noticed large fields of peppers.

From the History of Ashcroft

Ashcroft is steeped in the history of the Gold Rush. With the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the late 1800's, Ashcroft became Mile "0" on the road to the goldfields, and the major freight depot for all supplies heading north. Accommodations and services increased rapidly with the influx of people, and by 1887 Ashcroft was bustling with harness and wheel repair shops, blacksmiths, livery stables and freight warehouses. During the period 1886-1920 the Village flourished, but in 1920 the Pacific Great Eastern Railway provided access to the northern interior from Alberta. Ashcroft lost its strategic position as a supply centre for the north, spelling the end of a prosperous era. In order to survive, and recover from the destruction of "The Great Fire" in 1916, the people of Ashcroft turned to agriculture. They realized that when water is added to the parched soil practically anything will grow in the intense summer heat. Ashcroft soon became known for its high-grade potatoes and tomatoes.

Ray walked around the campsite drooling over all of the old cars. They are having a show and shine Saturday afternoon so we will go and see them. Here are a few pictures of the cars that were in the campsite.

 

While doing research on the area, I located an article on the McAbee fossil beds, which are a short distance down the highway towards Kamloops. Ray was so excited about seeing these fossil beds. There used to be tours, but unfortunately they are closed to the public since last summer and still are under lock and key due to safety etc (read government bureaucracy). Here are a few pictures from the highway. The cliffs remind me of the hoodoos in Utah. We also checked out Juniper Beach Provincial Park but found the sites to be really tight together and not much else to do i.e. for Freya.

From Wikipedia

The McAbee Fossil Beds is a Heritage Site that protects an Eocene Epoch fossil locality east of Cache Creek, British Columbia, Canada, just north of and visible from Provincial Highway 97 / the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1). The McAbee Fossil Beds, comprising 548.23 hectares, were officially granted Heritage Site protection by the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Land and Natural Resource Operations on July 19, 2012.  The fossil beds were listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places (CRHP) on August 20, 2012.  The site is part of an old lake bed which was deposited about 52 million years ago and is internationally recognised for the diversity of plant, insect, and fish fossils found there. The McAbee site is one of the top scientific and educational fossil deposits in British Columbia largely because of the fissility (ability to split along planes) and well-preserved condition of the fossil-bearing rock. The palaeo-topography of the site is also ideal, permitting good accessibility for study of the fossils in-situ. The geology of the McAbee Fossil Beds site is important for the study of ancient environments, geological change, and development of the area. The stratigraphic exposure of the rock is rare - the site also exposes a huge variety of volcanic landforms and geology such as castellated lava formations (hoodoos) - and provides insight into British Columbia's place in the scale of 'deep time'. As such, this site is an excellent resource for teaching about landscape and landforms. The site also has geological value for the presence here of petrified wood, common opal, and agate.

These cyclists were biking from Vancouver to Nova Scotia to celebrate one of the guys 70th birthday who is from Collingswood Ontario. They ended up getting a lot of sponsors to raise money for local hospitals. The generous business people of Ontario donated the car and trailer for their use and his son and friend follow them with the unit and meet them up at the campsite. Very nice people.

June 8th - Graffitti Days in Cache Creek

Here is a picture of our campsite. As you can see a little snug but there is at least 10 feet between the neighbours awning and the side of our coach. With it being a busy weekend in Cache Creek this place is packed to the brim tonight. A lot of the old cars drive through the camp to visit their friends who are camping here.

We took a drive to the Historic Hat Ranch this morning to see what it was all about. We decided to just take a few pictures as they wanted $12 each which included a guided walking tour and stage coach ride ... all of which Ray could not do (too much standing), so here are a few snaps. I think it is kind of like a "Barkerville" only on a much smaller scale.

Ray went down to the show and shine at 5PM for Graffitti days to see all of the old muscle cars. Here are some pictures. There was a lot of people looking at the cars and they also had BBQ'd burgers and a beer garden that we opted not to attend and instead he brought a Herbie's burger home to share.

Tomorrow it is off to a forest service campsite near Merritt. (As long as we fit!)

 

June 9th - Cache Creek to Merritt

We left Cache Creek and decided to go to Merritt via Highway #8 at Spences Bridge. It's a very quite, windy 2 lane road that followed the Nicola River. Beautiful scenery. Here are pictures we took through the window going down the road. ( We were shooting towards the sun so the pictures appear a little washed out.)

The road was as windy as the river!

It only took 2 hours to reach the N'kwala Forest Service Campsite which is 20 minutes west of Merritt which was easily seen from the highway. Ray and I just love this place. We lucked out and got a wonderful spot right on the river with our own lower patio. The river is quite high, but right below us is a small tributary where Freya can swim. Perfect! There is also a short sandy beach. Water and sand  with a stick involved are three of Freya's favorite things. She did not know what to do first as she ran helter skelter back and forth in the sand and then into the water after her stick. She was talking constantly... I've never seen her so wound up. Took all afternoon running around before she would just lay down. It must have been from 4 days of inactivity at the RV Park at Cache Creek where it was too hot to do much.

Tomorrow it is off to Merritt to restock as they have a Walmart etc. We will also check out the sani-dump situation and potable water. (The water in Cache Creek is hard and spots up everything...kinda like Arizona water.)

We have satellite TV but no cell service here, but as Merritt is only 20 minutes away no problem to go to town once a day to check for messages. So this post was done at McDonalds!

June 15th - Week in Review at N'Kwala Forest Service Site, Merritt

Freya is finally played out! This only took about 3 hours of running in and out of the river and up and down the beach.

There have also been a bunch of canoeists/kayakers at the campsite this weekend going for a short run down the Nicola River. Freya had fun playing with them.

The rest of the week we spent around camp with a few trips to check out possible future camping spots near Merritt. We have some really good choices at some lakes that are stocked with trout. The first picture is of Marquart Lake Recreation Site. A smaller lake with a few sites at each end of the lake, 4 or five of which we would fit it. Noticed lots of bugs though so must be good fishing. Muddy bottom however so not great for Freya. (Freya coming back into the coach!)

A little further down the road was Lundbom Lake with 2 areas for camping. This also has an area for horse camping with corrals available. Apparently there are miles of trails through the grasslands for riding. ATV's are only allowed on the roads or wider trails so as not to interfere with the grassland ecosystem but there are miles of roads for them as well.

We preferred the other end of this lake. These are the two spots we liked best. The lake has a sand/gravel bottom so definitely good for Freya. It did not seem so damp so less bugs.

On another day we checked out Helmer Lake, north of Merritt. It was quite a bit higher up so much colder. The day we went it was only 7 degrees at the lake and back at camp on the river it was 21 degrees, so big difference. A good lake when it is too hot down low.

We met a guy who manages a recreation site at Merritt's city sani-dump and fresh water station so that meant another outing to Harmon Lake Recreation Site. Just before the Harmon Lake site there was the Kane Lake site and there were a few sites that were great. We also get cell service here so that is a plus. In this area there were half a dozen lakes all joined together with little channels and all stocked with fish. Here is Kane Lake.

Over the bank is our own private beach for Freya to swim.

 At the Harmon site there are two areas to camp in, with a few sites in each that we would fit in. Most of the sites on the water were very close together but we managed to find one that was on its own.

The weather and temperatures have definitely been nicer here in the Nicola Valley compared to downtown Merritt and higher up at the lakes. There have been rain clouds over the mountains daily with only a couple of sprinkles where we are camped. On our excursions we have hit rain a couple of times and come back to camp to find everything dry.

Took a short drive up to check out Monck Provincial Park just outside of Merritt. There are several waterfront sites that we would fit in so we have the info for a later date. Here a picture where we stopped to eat our sandwich overlooking Nicola Lake.

So even though we spent many hours just lazing around we have seen quite a few things with me driving to town for water and groceries which was only 20 minutes away while Ray handled the navigaion. All of the forest service sites we checked out were within a 20 minute drive outside of Merritt. We really liked this spot, the N'kwala FSR and would definitely spend time here again. The only negative was no cell service.

June 20th - Mom's 90th, trip to Vancouver and Merritt repairs

Sunday we settled into Claybanks RV Park so the coach was safe and sound while we went to Vancouver for 3 days to celebrate Ray's moms 90th birthday and visit my Dad and Betty. Monday morning we left, with me driving and I was very surprised to end up in White Rock 2 1/2 hours later. The Coquihalla sure makes getting there much quicker. Tuesday we spent doing a little Costco shopping for supplies and Wednesday was the dinner for Mom that Ryan, Ray's brother had organized at the old Sylvia Hotel on English Bay. What a gorgeous venue, the view of the bay spectacular with the sun shining. Here a few pics of the last couple of days.

Freya loves Dad and Betty's back yard, lots of room to play.

It's even better when my sister, Kira, comes to play. 

Betty always working hard in the kitchen to feed us all special treats!

Dad with his new compression device that he wears for 3 hours a day for his circulation. 

At last, Betty gets to sit down!

Happy Birthday Mom! (L to R, Mom, Ryan, Me and standing Garrett, Ray and Paul, Ryan's husband)

We love you. (Our son Garrett and Ray's brother Ryan)

We had an uneventful trip back but, even though I did all of the driving, Ray is pretty sore and spent the afternoon on ice in bed.

Friday it was off to Kal Tire to get a rear inside tire fixed as it had a slow leak - Great people to deal with here in Merritt. We asked them about who we could see to fix a leaky front hub seal and they sent us to Merritt Truck and Machine Service who took us right in and did the repair. Great diesel shop to get stuff done. We were very impressed. Within 3 hours we had both problems taken care of and back to the coach for lunch.

June 22nd - Claybanks RV Park Merritt

We been in Merritt for a couple days now.  We have a site off in a corner with plenty of shade and lots of grass for Freya.  Here's a couple shots of the Claybanks RV Park.

1990 Tiffin Phaeton

Just across the road from the park is a large field to throw the chuck-it for Freya and the Coldwater River is just beyond that to keep her cool.

The site of the Merritt Mountain Music Festival

Lower Nicola Valley

We've noticed a large Canadian flag flying above the town, so we took a drive up to see it up close.  What an excellent view of Merritt from there.

Local First Nations tribes are having a PowWow

Claybanks RV Park

We had power issues yesterday morning. Our neighbour drove away with his power cord attached.

Tomorrow we leave Claybanks and go a short distance up Highway 5A/97C to a Forest Recreation Site.

Oops maybe not....

This week went by really fast with spending 3 days in Vancouver. We got back Thursday afternoon and Friday night we received a call from Ray's brother that their mom had been taken to the hospital as she fell and fractured her hip (at 90 years old). Her hip protector she is supposed to wear to prevent this was in the wash. The doctors are monitoring her and hoping for no surgery, especially at her age. Garrett is checking up on her for us as Mom did not want us to come back to Vancouver as yet. It is a wait and see game. Once we know what her prognosis is and how long she will be in hospital we can make some plans. Ray will have to stay in Merritt and I will go to Vancouver when I'm needed. There is no way Ray could handle another drive to Vancouver as he is still recovering from the last one and he cannot sit at the hospital for hours either. Ryan, Ray's brother, is working on Vancouver Island as well so it makes it difficult to book time off when you do not know for how long you will  be needed. Fortunately mom has a good friend Pam who does a lot of running around for mom and lives in her complex. Pam often takes mom to her appointments etc. We do not know what we would do without her. Thanks Pam.

June 23rd - Dinner at John and Kate's

Yesterday we left Claybanks RV Park in downtown Merritt and headed the short distance up Highway 97C to Harmon Lake Forest Service Site. We were lucky to get the spot that we wanted but had to wait for 2 1/2 hours for the people in it to leave. Checkout was 12 noon and the did not start packing up until 12:30. Some people!!! Needless to say Ray was quite perturbed just waiting around. Luckily we had our zero gravity loungers to sit under the trees as it was about 28 degrees here yesterday.

Once we were settled it was off to dinner at my cousins who have a ranch just a short distance down the road from the campsite. I called her on Friday and spoke to her for the first time in 20 years. The last time we saw them our kids were 10 and 12 and we stayed on their ranch on the Coldwater River for a few days on our way back to the Charlottes. Since then they have sold the family ranch and moved out here a few years ago to the Kane Valley on some property they had bought in 1985 or so. They live "off the grid" in a beautiful setting looking over Kane Lake. Their house is put together with the wood from the old Merritt Train Station that they purchased, dismantled, and used the timbers and wood to build a house with the help of my Uncle Bob, Kate's dad. Very cool!

We had cool bevies on their sundeck and then it was a great coho salmon dinner as the sun started to go down. Met their youngest son Elliott and his girlfriend as well. Last time we saw Elliott he was 2.

After dinner I helped John feed the orphan calves. They have two of them currently. John sent their dog Kirby to round them up and put them in the pen for the night and we then took 2 large feeding bottles and fed them through the fence as they apparently are quite aggressive with their bottles. What fun. Took them only a couple of minutes to down their milk.

We will have them over for dinner at camp when John can decide on a day as haying is on top of his list of things to be done at this time of year. It sure was great catching up with them.

June 24th - Our piece of paradise

Although today is raining we have had a lovely 2 days here on Harmon Lake. We think that we have the best spot. The place should be full this weekend with it being a long weekend but this spot is kind of by itself.

Ray's mother is doing better and does not have a fractured hip just a lot of swelling and bruising. She will be in hospital for several more days until they can get her walking again without too much pain. Our son Garrett is visiting her and making sure she is having good care and our daughter, Kristi has called and spoke to her nurse so she is in good hands.

The meadows are in full bloom and absolutely gorgeous just walking down the road.

Here is a picture of "home" for this week.

There is so much that Ray used to love to do and cannot now and one of these was fishing.  He cannot stand anymore so fishing from shore is impossible. Our friend Bill Freckleton suggested a V-tube as the seat arrangement allows a reclined position for Ray.

He is reclined like his zero gravity chair. Although this picture does not show him leaning back, I caught him just as he cast the line. His lower body is weightless like physio in the water and with paddling a little he is working his inner thigh muscles which are a must to support his back. It is nice to see the smile on his face doing something that he loves. After 30 minutes he felt his back tighten up ... just like excercises in the pool, so quit and came back in.


June 26th - Davis and Boss Lakes

 Yesterday I drove us further down the Kane Valley Road to investigate a few more lakes for camping (and fishing) spots. These spots are only 1/2 hour further than where we are now. Great possibilities for both. We look for sites right on the water so there is minimal carrying with the V-tube. The weather was spectacular for taking photos.

Englishman Lake that we drove past.

 

The first lake we stopped at was Shea Lake.  1 km in from the Voght Lake Road. Not suitable for us to camp but a great fishing lake. There were tons of little fish right at the shore. On the drive out Ray spied a porcupine. Definitely not suitable for Freya!

Freya fell into Tahla Lake as there was just a little wood walkway to get to the lake as it had overgrown so much. Unfortunately it was where it was like a frog pond ... all muddy and green. Fortunately a short drive later took us to our picnic site so we could throw her in to clean her off. Did not get a picture of this lake.

Next it was Boss Lake North and South. One old-timer here told us that he limited out this morning fishing at 6am. Lots of room for big rigs with good access to the lake.

This would be our favourite site on this lake.

We decided to have our picnic lunch at a beautiful double campsite along Boss Lake. Even though this site is right by the road there was very little traffic. I sure on the weekend it will be a little different.

This is where we got Freya cleaned off. 

Davis Lake is just on the other side of the green space at the top of this picture. Lots of camping areas and very spacious for any size rig with lots of areas to get into the water.  Quad trails leading everywhere!

Next a short distance down the road was Boss Lake South, only one site that we liked. This guy sits on a peninsula between Boss Lake and Davis Lake. These areas are both known for all the quad trails nearby. A lot of off-roading goes on here so can be noisy during the day.

Later after the princess was all clean she needed to dry off so she was fed her snack. Spoiled rotten! Or as Kristi used to say "spoiled sweet"!

Smokey the Bear - 2014-06-29 06:54

While cooking dinner last night we had unexpected company! Smokey the Bear! BC Forest Service was doing a presentation at the Interpretive Center adjoining this campsite and was recruiting guests.