British Columbia

A not uncommon sight travelling up Highway 99 between Whistler and Lillooet, good highway, rock and trees.

A hard limestone bluff being mined for processing.

Then small areas of cultivated grassland appear along valley floors.

The small town of Lillooet signals entry into the historic Cariboo Trail and cattle ranches that followed the Cariboo gold fields trail north from Kamloops.

The trail and country was not easy with difficult tallus slopes below steep rocky mountains or...

...steep alluvial tree covered terraces and ...

large flood prone rivers to cross. This meant that moving cattle into the area along rough pack tracks was extremely difficult.  There were areas where there was limited feed along the route before reaching the Cariboo grasslands from where beef was supplied to the goldfields.  When the gold rush waned the established ranchers had difficulty getting cattle to Vancouver for sale and many had disappeared before a rail link was established.

Today the sealed roads leading through small towns make it hard to visualise the hardships of 150 years ago.  Highway 99 between its junction with 97 and Vancouver has only been sealed in recent years with the development of the Whistler ski resort.

Irrigation and hydro electricity add to the ability to improve farming and process timber in the region.

The reservoirs also provide recreation opportunities.

The old (above left), the present (above right) and on the left the preserved Hat Creek Ranch homestead near Cache Creek.

Some real farming in the Cariboo region north of Williams Lake. An intensive dairy farm, no sign of the cows which it appears are housed in the buildings shown below.

NB:  These photos have been severely reduced in size to try and ease uploading but have caused too much reduction on quality.  Next blog will revert to the recommended size, Sorry Phillip, Vicky and boys.

Alaska 2011

22 June, 2011 is the start of our trip to Alaska to take in a local ferry trip along the Aleutian Islands from Homer, Alaska.  Prior to departing Christchurch there were a few possible impediments to manage.  The ash cloud from the South American volcano eruption a week previous had returned to lie over south eastern Australia and was threatening to enter New Zealand (NZ) airspace later on 22 June.  Our afternoon departure from Chrischurch was brought forward to 5.40am requiring us staying in Christchurch the night before.   The friendly motel proprietor had no sooner directed us to our room and we moved out baggage to the door when the ground shook, lights of the Avonhead area went out, however the door was open and with the use of a torch it was to bed for the night.  Without further drama we rose at 4am and were taken to the airport for the early flight to Auckland and after the day at the airport, boarded the overnight flight to Vancouver.  The day in Auckland gave a chance to catch up on a few things deferred due to the early departure and we still arrived in Vancouver mid afternoon "the same day" due to time zones.  The first night we stayed in North Vancouver and next day proceded up Highway 99, near the coast, stopping at Squamish to shop for food supplies.  Yes, we brought our camp cooking gear.  Highway 99 joined 97 north of Cache Creek, where Highway 1 turns east to Kamloops, and we stayed at Williams Creek, a few hours further to the north.
The photo journal will now follow our progress