What a great day! - sunshine all the way. Williams Lake was clear and crisp when I left, with just a tiny little drift of cloud over the lake. The Cariboo-Chilcotin is peppered with little lakes, and it felt as if no sooner had I passed on than another would appear. Apparently they're leftovers from the glacial retreat - little depressions that are filled with run-off. It reminds me of flying over Northern Canada - BC doesn't have nearly as many lakes as Alberta, but more than 8000 of them are here in the Cariboo-Chilcotin.
Travelling on down Hwy 97 I paralleled the lovely Lac La Hache, and on to 100 Mile House where I stopped for a coffee, and then walked the accompanying donut off at the nearby so-called Swamp Trail. This is a project for treating run-off water, but has the added benefit of attracting wildlife, and they've added good identification signage.
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| Reedbeds full of redwinged blackbirds |
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| Such a pretty place! |
It was something of a blessing, with all this standing water, that there were few mosquitos (though that might be because I was well coated with bug spray!) but there were lots of the little transparent blue dragonflies, and the goose-poop on the pathway led me to guess that there might be geese around.
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| Can you see the dragonfly? |
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| Parents keeping a careful eye open while the kids graze |
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| A reedwarbler singing its heart out |
From 100-Mile I headed on down the highway, and then suddenly spotted a sign for Green Lake and veered off-route. Dennis Tupman is much in my mind through this part of the journey - he loved life in the Cariboo, and I have a memory of a BCCF Executive meeting/retreat in his home in Green Lake. I was on the wrong side of the lake, but remembered how peaceful it was. Travelling past the bottom end of it I encountered more of the little lakes - some of them open water, some of the mostly reedbeds, a few where there was no longer water, just cracked mud. I had a short break sitting by one of them and watching a few little divers appearing and disappearing - unfortunately just too far away to be able to identify them.
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| Green Lake |
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| So still! |
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| The reedbeds encroach on the lake surface |
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| Somewhere out there a little duck is diving happily! |
Back onto Hwy 97 again, and this time the next turnoff was planned. My friend Brad from RAPS told me that I had to go see this place if I had time - and I determined to make time!
The Chasm was formed at the end of the Ice Age when glacial runoff water cut through the layers of lava formations to form this spectacular gorge. There's a pathway (and a very secure fence) along the top rim, and some wonderful views. It's 8km long, 600m wide and 300m deep, and the swallows were out in force below us, swooping and dancing.
I finally tore myself away from the Chasm, and headed for Clinton, where I had a quick lunch and then headed for the long descent to Cache Creek. More spectacular road-building, and an easy drive for those of us heading south, but I felt for a pair of cyclists I encountered at the approach to Cache Creek - they had a very long haul uphill ahead of them! From 396m elevation to Begbie Summit at 1232m is a tough prospect!
The scenery really changes at Cache Creek, where I abandoned Highway 97 after more than 440k on the Cariboo Highway, and joined the TransCanada Highway, aiming for Kamloops. Rocky desert slopes on both sides, with the Thompson River running far below - this is very different terrain. Sagebrush and some grassland from place to place, but like the Chasm, this is a clear result of the effect of water on rock, and the ancient lake bed lies high above the current river, with millions of years of lake floor sediments showing in the valley walls.
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| Thompson Valley with the surrounding walls |
This was the first place I felt surrounded by traffic, after miles of open roads. I was glad that the road basically bypassed Kamloops as I headed east, and found the Barnhartvale road exit, driving up through the canyons to grassland areas. Janette Walker and her husband David live in a very beautiful, peaceful space; David has recently sold his cows and largely retired from farming; Janette remains active as one of the area's leading accompanists. She was on the BCCF Board for years, serving as VP, President and Past President; we miss her!
We had a lovely quiet evening catching up and making plans for the next day.
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