A beautiful sunny morning greeted
us in Prince George as we got on the Yellowhead Highway. The vast forests of
the north are a totally different colour than when we were here last. They are
green rather than pine beetle red-brown. Pine
beetles killed off more than nine million hectares of forests in B.C. by the
peak of the infestation in 2004. The makeup of the forest has changed now.
The
Yellowhead Highway is in bloom! Wildflowers lined the highway all morning: yellows,
reds, purples and whites predominate. There are fields of oxeye daisies almost
making one think they have been sown. Quite spectacular and very fragrant in
places, actually.
Lots of
signs warning re moose on the road but alas none to be seen. We did see a
lovely deer prancing along with her little fawn trying to keep up.
We
stopped for an early lunch (leftover chicken from last night’s dinner) at a
rest stop near Burns Lake. The reason for the early stop was the sky ahead.
Very soon it started to drizzle/rain and continued to Hazelton. The rain took a
brief break in Houston, so we did too, at the visitor’s center where there is a
large fishing rod and a Mexican millstone – there is a combination for you.
Prior
to dinner we went for a 2.5 km walk to a pretty waterfall in Hazelton. The
mosquitos were quite voracious, however. More rain began on our way back.
Unfortunately
the weather forecast for the next day or so is not good. Regardless we will
ride into rainy Stewart B.C. tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment