Looking for a great summer road trip? Look no further than the Great Northern Circle Route in Northern BC. This trip starts in Prince George, and follows Hwy 97 as far north as Watson Lake, Yukon, a distance of 1325.5 km (823 mi.), then south on Hwy 37 to Hwy 16, and back to Prince George, a total of 3188.51 km (1985.25 mi). Here’s a short summary of our adventures: Wildlife – Grizzlies, bison, caribou, black bear, bobcat, moose (Stay in…
You’d think on an island as small as Denman, a park as big as Denman Island Provincial Park, 561 hectares (2.2 sq miles) would be easy to find. But no. This park was well-marked on our maps (we had a boundary map, trail map, BCAA map and the map given to us by the nice lady at the ferry who took our money). In spite of that, we found no signs of the actual park. Camping buddies Rick and Deanna,…
Why Stop Here? Historic Bridge This bridge is the first curved, banked wooden bridge trestle ever built in Canada, and the last one remaining in Western Canada. Originally, this bridge was part of the old Alaskan Highway, built in 1943. Please see here for a short summary of the history of the Alaska Highway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Highway As I looked at this bridge, I tried to imagine the huge US army trucks trying to manoeuvre along the hairpin curve of the Kiskatinaw…
Canyons, crevices and fissures are common geological features around the world, and yet I am always amazed at the power behind the earthquakes, volcanoes and glaciers that split, built and moved the massive rock formations so many millennia ago. Such was the case when we pulled our campervan into the day use area of Chasm Provincial Park for lunch and a washroom break. We were driving on Hwy 97, almost at Clinton, but opted for a picnic lunch at a…
After spending 5 days exploring Cortes Island last July, Trish and I decided that this is the island to visit if you are looking for quiet and solitude. There are three provincial parks on the island, but only Smelt Bay has vehicle-accessible camping. We had reserved one of the 24 sites, but found that wasn’t really necessary, as there were only half a dozen occupied sites the entire time we were. This island is not easy to get to, which…
After a great night sleep in our camping van at Smelt Bay Provincial Park on Cortes Island, Trish and I were ready to do some exploring. We started with Manson’s Landing Provincial Park, a 5km drive from Smelt Bay. This park was established near the Manson’s Landing settlement in 1974 and includes beaches, a spit, bike and walking trails, and the lovely Hague Lake. A well-kept wharf is situated on the ocean side of the road and a lovely sandy…