Stewart BC / Hyder, Alaska #2

It's raining today but we still managed to get to the bears and had another sucessful shoot!  I've got about 20 gigs of Grizzlies so I guess it'll take some time to go through them all, lol.

We stopped and took some pictures of Hyder on our way out and visited some of the shops.  There are some interesting characters living way out here but it's fun talking to them!

What do you think of the downtown core?  It's funny, when we went to Waterton National Park in Alberta and took the tour boat down to Glacier National Park in Montana we had to go through US customs.  As we arrived on a boat, albeit a tour boat, we even were required to carry a passport.  Even though no one lived in this part of Montana and there was no way you could walk to anywhere from the US end of the lake there was US customs.  In Hyder- nothing, you just drive through the border.  Coming back into Canada however you must go through customs.  This point of entry is even open 24 hours despite the fact that no one would travel through here at night.  I asked them why this was so and was told that it's because Alaska has no requirements to carry any type of permits for firearms and that their main job was to keep US firearms out of Canada.

Perhaps I should have rephrased my answer when they asked why we were in the US and I told them to shoot the bears...

Ah, the bears!  What fun we're having with those!  Here's a few more for you...

The other day we drove up to Salmon Glacier with Robyn's friend Shannon and shot a few pics.

The alpine area up there is quite pretty as well.

There were some flowers still so now I have some new ones!  I'll have to ID this one later.

This is a snow cone near the Bear Glacier.  We passed it on the way in and Shannon got a nice shot of it but I couldn't really stop because we had the trailer on.  We went back the next day and when I compare my shot to hers you can see why the sign on the highway says 'Avalanche Zone- Year Long' .  There had been an avalanche between her shot and mine and you can see the differences quite easily.  We were not supposed to stop but this shot was worth it.

The light was bad, I was shooting into the sun- again.  I'm hoping the light will be better in the morning when we drive out but the weather has now turned so we'll see.

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!