My dad wasn't one to take the family to Disneyland or Hawaii, but he sure LOVED driving and once we moved to Alberta in 1975 we spend many weekends exploring the National and Provincial Parks to the west of us. It left me with not only a desire to travel, but a deep love of the Rocky Mountains.
When we lived in Grande Prairie I would often make the journey through Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, and the Pine Pass down to Prince George where my Siberian mentors Bob and Loreen Bridges lived. It was a lovely drive that I always enjoyed (as long as the Pass was open and in good condition). When we moved to Athabasca the trips to Prince George which now went through Edson, Hinton, Jasper, and McBride were less frequent, but the drive was even more lovely.
Helen and I did this drive in March to go out to the Fort St James race but it stormed for a good part of the trip and the roads were mostly covered with snow and ice, so it was not a particularly relaxing and enjoyable drive. Still pretty though!
This past weekend when Tess, Wonder, Q and I did the trip the weather was lovely, the wildlife plentiful (and well off the road), the wildflowers bold and colorful and the mountains clear and rugged. It was a wonderful trip.
Unfortunately I didn't have as much time as I would have completely liked to explore and photograph (and I still need to get my camera in to get cleaned, so I was leery of spending tons of time getting just the right shot) but I still managed to take a few pictures here and there.
Although I saw elk, deer, moose and bighorn sheep on the trip, I refrained from taking animal photos. There is just something remarkably unchallenging about jostling for a spot in a crowd of tourists to get a photo of an elk standing 20 feet away oblivious to the crowd. Though the young bull elk with velvet covered antlers in the Jasper townsite was tempting!
I did inadvertently take a few elk photos when I stopped to give the dogs a chance to stretch their legs.
See them? They are there! Q pointed them out to me!
I was very enchanted with all the wildflowers, especially the red Indian paintbrush. Around us it is all pink!
On the drive home I stopped an hiked a little bit up the trail to the 'Ancient Forest'. I wish I had time to do the whole hike!
I stopped at a little campground outside of McBride, BC (a place I'd move to in a HEARTBEAT) to let the dogs out for a break and got completely enchanted with this rushing little creek that was flanked by tons of wildflowers. I could have spent the whole day there!
It was a wonderful day, but it really just made me want to get that camera cleaned and spend more time in the mountains!
More of my pictures can be seen at http://picasaweb.google.ca/northwapiti2/PrinceGeorgeTripHome#
Karen
9 comments:
I remember my trip through the Canadian Rockies from Spokane, WA to Merritt, BC 18 years ago. They took my breath away and I still want to go back someday!
Gosh Karen, your dad and mine must have been born under the same sign.
After WWII my dad bought one of the 1st house trailers and a big ol car and sold our house, loaded up my mom, my brother and myself and we took off on our great adventure from Maryland to California. It took us about 5 months to get where we were going. I was in several schools and one for only 1 day, and when we finally settled in , he used to have Mondays off so we would all go on long day trips all around the beautiful and interesting beaches and mountains in California. Remember this was in the late 40's so things were really pretty pristine, roads were not all paved and it was wonderful. He told our teachers it was an education for us and they always thought it was a great idea. (times have changed..lol)
Anyway, it was the greatest gift my dad ever gave me. I shall never forget it.
So I understand what a great trip you had to and from the shows and where you got your "wanderlust". Good for you!
What a beautiful area. Thanks for sharing.
Doug and I love that trip with a few variations. We've always been going to the Alaska Highway when going through Grand Prairie to Dawson Creek, but have always come back to Montana via Prince George, McBride and Jasper. The Provencial campgrounds, are awesome, the scenery spectacular as the miles roll by. We're always looking for an excuse to be in that part of the world. Your photos were lovely. Great eye ['er nose] Q !!
Marlene, mlg
Doug and I love that trip with a few variations. We've always been going to the Alaska Highway when going through Grand Prairie to Dawson Creek, but have always come back to Montana via Prince George, McBride and Jasper. The Provencial campgrounds, are awesome, the scenery spectacular as the miles roll by. We're always looking for an excuse to be in that part of the world. Your photos were lovely. Great eye ['er nose] Q !!
Marlene, mlg
Lovely photos and fantastic scenery. We too love being out in nature. I always find it relaxing and wonder why we don't do more 'nature' stuff.
Beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing.
Breathtaking! what a nice scenery compared to the swamps down here!
Thanks for the Pictures Karen, so awsome.
Thanks for sharing.
Post a Comment