Stewart, BC / Hyder, Alaska

We arrived here yesterday with Shannon (Spirit of the North magazine), her two boys and her Mom and spent some time shooting Grizzly and Black Bears just outside Hyder.  We then drove up and up and up to the Salmon Glacier.  I'll post some pics of there later as well...I'm just to darn busy right now!

I came here for the bears but was treated to the numerous glaciers, snow-topped mountains and sunshine as a real bonus!

As for the bears, well spectacular comes to mind!  I've got a Grizzly Sow with a 2 year old cub, a Grizzly Boar and a couple Black bears.  Watching the cub is fun with playful antics.

Momma Bear

Momma and cub

A tender moment...

Hide and Seek...

A Boar with breakfast.

Fort St. James

Another historic site, this one though is a Hudson's Bay Company trading post.  Gabrielle loves the 'old-fashioned clothes' and really gets into the era. 

"Long before Alexander McKenzie came west of the Rocky Mountains in search of a navigable route to the Pacific Ocean, the Nak'azdii had their home here.  Part of the Dakelh or Carrier people, the Nak'azdii nation depended mainly on the salmon for sustenance over the long winters.  It was their territory that Simon Fraser built the first trading post, Stuart Lake Outpost, in 1806.  The post formed an important part of the North West Company's expansion west of the Rocky Mountains.

Stuart Lake Outpost was renamed Fort St. James in 1821 with the amalgamation of the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company.  Today is what the was the fourth building phase in it's original location.  As a place for trade, the post was alive and active until 1952."

Last time Gabrielle discovered GOLD! and now it's FUR!  My but she has expensive tastes!

The fort has been restored to the 1896 era.  Many of the buildings are original and the storeroom even has original floorboards.

Furs were the commodity that the HBC wanted and these were traded for all manner of supplies.  One of the most desired and valuable even today were the HBC blankets.  Note the black lines.  Three and a half lines meant that it took one Beaver pelt for this blanket.  One would think that an unfair trade but if you know what an HBC blanket costs today perhaps it would be cheaper to trap a Beaver to trade for one!

Winter furs were considered the most valuable.  Here is a Coyote and a Wolverine. 

Fort Fraser

After a stop in Clinton where we picked up Gabrielle we headed north towards Barkerville. 

Barkerville is truly one of British Columbia's gems.  An 1862 gold rush town it is now a living museum where many exhibits are interactive and period actors make the town come alive.  I was worried that Gabrielle would get bored but I was very happy to be wrong!  She became so immersed in the 'show' and quickly became known by name by all the people of Barkerville.  Miss Gabrielle was greeted everywhere.

Mrs. Houser invited her to a cooking lesson where they made soda biscuits in a wood stove.  Gabrielle got to wear an apron which made her feel even more a part of the history.

Gabrielle even tried her hand at gold panning and came away with 5 flakes of gold from the bottom of her pan.  She now has gold fever and wanted to rush in and get another pan of 'pay dirt'!  At 5 years old she's well aware that gold is good and gold with diamonds is even better!  Someone's going to have to have money in her future!

I've been visiting Barkerville since I was young and this is my fourth visit here.  I must admit the while privitisation doesn't usually sit well with me it certainly is working very well here.  The town keeps getting better and the exhibits are increasing. 

While Barkerville started out mining for gold it really hasn't changed much other than shifting from gold nuggets to gold loonies!  Not much panning now, it seems to be more focused on strip mining wallets!  Ah but what are grandchildren for but to empty out your wallets occasionally!

Main street is still possible to photograph if you're careful about timing.  Early morning is the quietest.  This view is only halfway down the street, an equal amount is behind me and is comprised of Chinatown which is much more restored now than it was on our last visit.

St. Saviour's Anglican Church

Looking closely allows one to see some interesting pieces of history.  Here are two examples.

We dry camped while we were at Barkerville.  Campfires making S'Mores and Doughboys rounded out an experience that Gabrielle will not soon forget!

I'd like to show more pictures but internet up here is not very consistant or fast!  

Time to start thinking about packing again!

One more week and we're off again.

Another trip to the north country again.  We have a bit more time this trip and we'll be starting out with Gabrielle travelling with us.  We're planning to stop at Barkerville and perhaps even Fort St. James on the way.

We'll really be looking touristy as we'll be carrying the canoe on board for some fishing in some of the lakes along the way.  I didn't get the canoe racks I wanted for the truck yet, the kitchen reno ate up more than it's share of the money.  Ah well, I'll just leave the Tonneau cover at home and carry the canoe with the canoe blocks and tied down inside the truck box.  It's better than leaving the canoe at home!

We'll be travelling a tad heavier this trip than when we went to Moab.  Laura's been packing all kinds of fun stuff to do with Gabrielle.  We'll see if she wants to go fishing instead...

One more week at work though...