So it’s been a few days, and a few campsites since my last post. I’m trying to hit a balance between feeling I should post every day whether or not I have anything to say, or show, and not posting for so long that it all just feels like too much and there’s no point and I quit altogether. Not sure I’m there, but will keep working on it.
Anyway, after the last post I spent a couple of nights just south of Prince George, in a private CG in order to have electricity for AC. The temperature was in the mid-80s both days, and heat is just not my favorite thing. Originally intended only one night there, but the spot
was nice and shady (80s aren’t too bad if we’re in the shade), and the CG had good laundry facilities, good restroom and shower facilities, and good water with which to replenish my tank, so I decided two nights were warranted. Got various housekeeping chores done, took CJ on a decent ride-run early enough in the morning to beat the heat, and lazed about a bit. Here’s CJ and my feet after we got back from the ride-run.
The next morning was devoted to errands in Prince George–groceries, visit to a hardware store, separate visit to liquor store for wine, and diesel. At which point I just wanted out of the city. I think I’m getting more urban-averse rather than less so in my old age. Drove awhile and found a spot to pull over for lunch, then drove some more. Here’s a few shots typical of what the countryside looked like much of the day.
Eventually we were getting more into the mountains and seeing any number of ponds and small lakes. Decided to pull in to the Provincial Park at McCleod lake to check it out and get some pictures.
Thought about staying there for the night, but decided to make a few more miles before stopping. Ended up at Azouzetta Lake Lodge CG
(You can also see where I am now in that screenshot, in the top right.)
Azouzetta Lake is a beautiful setting. . .
. . But did you notice that big yellow machine on the right in the top picture? Yup, the campground is very much under construction. Which would have been no big deal–wasn’t, really–except they kept telling me they’d stop with the noisy machines in just an jour or so. For hours they told me this. I wish people wouldn’t do that–just tell me the truth, if it’s going to go on for four hours, just say so so I know what I’m dealing with. Anyway, it’s going to be an excellent place when it’s done, but I wouldn’t want to spend a whole day there right now listening to those backup beeps.
That night the skies opened up and dumped on us big time, then settled in to a steady, heavy rain. I ended up getting out early for me, by eight o’clock. Since it was raining most of the way, opted not to do the (maybe) more scenic route, but took the more primary highway almost to Dawson Creek, the “official” beginning of the Alaska Highway. However, decided against going in to Dawson Creek to find the marker and get the picture, partly because of that increasing urban-aversiveness mentioned above, so turned north a bit before and drove on up to Fort St. John. Which is also way too citified for me.
My impression of the Alaska Highway so far is that you can tell it’s the main artery for a lot of traffic. It looks tired and much-used, and the traffic increased by several orders of magnitude when I turned onto it. But we’ll be on it for several hundred miles now, until we turn north at Whitehorse.
After lunch and diesel in Fort St. John, and consulting weather apps to see how best to avoid rain, decided to stay at one of the Provincial Parks just north of town. Canada’s Provincial parks, by the way, have consistently done well by me on all my travels. Tried Beatton first because it’s further off the highway, and decided to stay. Here’s my spot.
Google showed evidence of trails, so this morning CJ and I went looking for them. Turns out they are nice wide swaths in the forest maintained by a local cross-country skiing group. There was a sign saying no dogs on the trail, but it clearly was intended for ski season, so off we went. Here’s a couple of shots of my grass-eatin’ fool of a dog.
The big advantage of her grass addiction from my point of view is she falls behind and then runs to catch up, so she gets a bit more vigorous exercise than when she only paces along sedately by my side.
Bluebells . . .
. . . were all profuse and beautiful. (I worked hard for that butterfly shot, they refused to hold still for me.) Unfortunately, mosquitoes were even more profuse, and if my repellents are working at all, I need to apply more next time. So I didn’t look around as much as I would have liked, or take as many pictures because standing still caused them to swarm around me, but did get a few good shots. Which you can enjoy in the mosquito-free environment of your own home 🙂.
Got that top picture later in the walk, braving the mosquitoes to get it because I thought the gone-to-seed weeds were so pretty.
Here’s another in-spite-of-mosquitoes picture. Saw several of these little guys, mostly out of the corner of my eye. They aren’t as showy as the big yellow butterflies, but I thought they were kinda pretty. This one was maybe 1-1.25 inches across.
So, all caught up now. Will go for another, shorter walk this afternoon (morning walk was 2+ miles according to my step-counting app). Fort Nelson is only 240 miles away, but I’ll probably do it in two short hops, stopping tomorrow night in a freebie where I don’t expect to have cell.
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Good to have a catch up with you. A&J are in London today, Budapest tomorrow. Mosquitos aside, there is a lot of beauty up there. Nice campsites you are finding. Looking forward to your next installment when the time is right. 🙂
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Wow, those are some beautiful pictures! I enjoyed reading about your current travels. Take care fellow wanderer.
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