Jan and I, being empty nesters – did a nice drive yesterday to celebrate the long weekend. In Europe they would be astounded we would drive 600 km’s in day – but it was fun.
Cattle Call!
We started at 10 AM or so, spur of the moment. We headed West to Beaverlodge, then cut across country towards the mountains. Just before the Kelly Lake Indian Reserve we stopped for a few minutes. The local farmers were moving their cattle across the road. It was fun to watch them. We then crossed the British Columbia border and onto gravel for 75 k’s towards Tumbler Ridge, BC, a coal mining town built in the 70’s. It’s fate rises and falls with the coal industry. We had a nice lunch there and from there went for a hike toward a mountain river. Very Nice.
Neat Tumbler Ridge, BC. Windy but a nice day for a hike.
We then headed south towards Gwillam Lake, BC. Gwillam Lake is where we camped a lot when the girls were little. We loved it. A mountain lake – it is deep and cold. The campground was always quiet and remote. BC Parks does a great job of their campgrounds. The roads are paved and the place is well maintained. When we got their the gates were locked at the road so we hoofed it from the gate all the way down, down, down to the campground. It was quite a hike but a great day. We had not been to Gwillam for maybe 8 years I bet. We made it down to the lake side. We hoofed around the campground a bit where we surprised the heck out of a forest ranger there doing some work. It sure was a nice time in there.
Overlooking Gwillam Lake, BC.
We stopped for a beer in Chetwynd, BC, a logging town. After that it was Dawson Creek (Home of Mile Zero of the Alaska Highway) and off to home for supper.
A fun day. It was so windy we never did take the bikes off the car but that’s okay. Good hiking.
Kevin Hilgers 