Between Alaska Marine Highway and Clearwater

We arrived in Prince Rupert at 5 am PST. Any touring of the museum in Prince Rupert had to wait until after 10 am. To pass the time we stopped at a Tim Horton's (a Canadian fast food chain). I had seen Tim Horton's all through Canada and had never been in one. This T.H. had breakfast items only. We had our caffeine fix and a bagel. It was decent but the other ferry passengers were overrunning the joint and the bagel selection was limited. Then we found an internet cafe in the Safeway. It was always pleasant to catch up on home news via the internet.


Prince Rupert is known for its totems and the Museum of Northern B.C. To pass the time we found the museum and took pictures of the museum building and nearby totems. The museum was as beautiful inside as it was outside. The writeup and scenes of local First Nation tribal life were informative. Traveling on the rivers was the primary mode of transportation; models of the boats used by the natives were displayed. The aboriginal artists from this area, upper western B.C., were well represented. The recent history of Prince Rupert was also shown via photographs taken by a family who migrated to this area.

From Prince Rupert we drove East toward Prince George. The road followed the scenic Skeena River. I thought that I saw some river otters swimming; it was an unconfirmed sighting. We had our picnic lunch along the rushing river.

Outside of the town of Telkwa we camped at the Lake Tyhee Campground. At every new campsite we took a picture noting the number of times we had put up the tent. Sandy is holding up her fingers noting the campsite number. The loons on Lake Tyhee serenaded us at dusk.

Houston, B.C. housed the world's largest fly rod. The signs noting this world's largest object were posted along the road before we reached the campgrounds. The morning after Lake Tyhee we raced toward Houston. We had to stop and take pictures of the rod and its history. The name of the town was great; Houston we have landed another world's largest.


The road continued on to Prince George, our next stopping point. All the towns along this route (Highway 16) had impressive flower displays. One had a flower decorated volkswagen at both ends of the town. Prince George had an old truck planted with flowers by the Visitor's Center. Prince George also had Mr. P.G. Mr. P.G. was made from septic tank parts. It was originally made of wood and displayed in a parade. The original Mr. P.G. rotted; therefore the remade version was made of metal. Prince George is the largest town in this area. It is a major hub of transport, commerce, services and culture. In 1981 it was the second largest city in B.C. The manager at our hotel recommended we eat at Mr. Jake's restaurant. Locals always know the best places to eat. We walked downtown past several wedding gown stores to reach the restaurant. Mr. Jake's was a hit with our group. The popular food offering at Mr. Jake's was a steak dish. Not all of us ordered steaks but we all felt our dinner was the best. The prices for our dinners were very reasonable. We chatted with the staff who worked at Mr. Jake's. A man named Alex owned Mr. Jake's. That Alex passed the restaurant on to his son, also named Alex. This Alex did not know why the place was called Mr. Jake's. I will remember Prince George for its wedding dresses and Mr. Jake's restaurant.

On the road from Prince George toward Clearwater (first picture), there is an ancient cedar forest. We made a stop there to explore the park. A group of local conservationists bought the land and set it aside as a preserve. They wanted to save these ancient trees from the logging industry.



Walking around this preserve was a step back in time. Many of the trees were presumed to be about 2000 years old. The air was heavy with moisture. It was a cool day. The scents of the forest were a touch of cedar and a wonderful loomy smell. I felt as if I was in an enchanted forest. The coloring in the forest was vibrant due to the cloudy, moist weather.




There was a waterfalls in the preserve as well. Another hiker was worried about bears and was constantly clapping her hands as she hiked. This noise was a bit discordant in this serene place. We never encountered any bears along the trail and neither did she. There were only a few other hikers along the trails. We (another group of hikers and our group) all admired the people who stepped forward to save this ancient forest. The pictures do not do justice in displaying the height and breadth and feel of the trees and this sacred space.

This tree was named Treebeard from the "Lord of the Rings" series.


The ancient cedar forest was a wonderful stop on our way south toward Clearwater. We wanted to drive this slightly longer road (Yellowhead Highway) toward Kamloops because it was rated as scenic. Our trip was coming to a close and we wanted to enjoy every scenic road en route to Seattle.

Canada is a beautiful country. We often exclaimed in the car about the great scenery we were experiencing. My favorite road traveled was between Banff and Jasper; it was not the road less traveled but it was the most spectacular. This route was in my top ten list of scenic highways. The road runs down the west side of the Rockies; Jasper and Banff displayed the eastern side of the Rockies. We were seeing some of the same mountains from the opposite side. On the western side, the mountains have more of a Rockies look, more jagged, sharp peaks. Along the valleys between mountain ranges were some gorgeous ranches and farms. Here were some scenes that we passed:





These pictures were only a brief snapshot of the road. There were many other mountains, meadows and waterfalls that we passed and were not able to photograph. The slogan on the British Columbia license plate is "Beautiful British Columbia"; the slogan does not lie.

Our destination for the day was the North Thompson Campground near Clearwater. This campgrounds offered a peaceful river nearby and clean, rustic amenities (pit toilets and no showers or sinks).