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Published: August 31st 2009
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(Jack is singing)
Happy Birthday to me.
Today I turned 63.
I'm cruising through Canada
And I saw a lot of tree(s).
(tune by Patty and Mildred J. Hill)
And many of the trees that I saw today were dead or dying due to the Mountain Pine Beetle. The infestation is MASSIVE and can be seen almost everywhere in this part of British Columbia. In years past the beetles would largely die out in the winter, but due to changing weather patterns (i.e. global warming), the beetles are surviving the winters and multiplying each year. All they need is one good, cold winter to slow them down. For now, all they can do is cut the dead trees as soon as possible (to salvage the lumber) and then replant new seedlings. It's hard to see in the photo here, but the "red tinged" trees below the mountains are actually all dead trees.
I've had an incredible string of great weather days! Today was mostly sunny with highs in the mid-70's. It turned partly cloudy to mostly cloudy late this afternoon, but that only added an extra dimension to the amazing scenery. At one point it started to
sprinkle for a few minutes and quickly stopped (not enough to put the top up on the Miata!).
I arrived at my destination, Smithers, at 2:00 and spent the rest of the day exploring the area. It's very mountainous and Smithers is like a Bavarian village with lots of flowers and a Swiss atmosphere (kind of like Leavenworth, WA but bigger).
About 20 miles from Smithers I visited an amazing spot on the Bulkley River called Moricetown Canyon. The river is about 300-400 feet wide in this area but suddenly narrows into a deep channel that is only about 40-50 feet wide. The water becomes a raging torrent and there are places where the local native Indians are fishing for salmon with nets. Only Indians can fish here and they sometimes sell the salmon on-site for $20. There is a relatively quiet spot near the torrent where the fish tend to congregate before they attempt to jump the rapids. The Indians just stand above the spot and dip their nets into the water and pull up a fish or two every time. This fishing hole is called "the idiots hole" (any idiot can catch a fish here).
I was going to post a video on YouTube so you could watch the action at Moricetown Canyon, but then I found a video already posted that's much better than mine. Check it out here:
(I think that you'll need to "copy and paste" this address into your browser to make it work)
My lodging this evening is a unique Bavarian style hotel that includes a hot breakfast with the price of the lodging. They have a strict policy of "no noise after 10 pm" and they lock the outside doors at midnight. If you're not in the building at midnight, you're locked out until morning. They're clearly trying to avoid the "drunk and rowdy" crowd at this place (fine by me!). The proprietor told me that a prospective guest showed up one day and, when he was told about their policies, the guest said that the place was like a jail. The proprietor responded with, "No it's not like a jail at all. You don't have to stay here and you can leave any time you like."
I visited a glacier today with a good-sized waterfall created by the melting ice. Pretty cool!
I had dinner at a Bavarian-style pub this evening and ordered a "Peach cider" because I didn't want anything alcoholic. By the time I finished the cider I had a definite "buzz". It was then that I realized that it was "hard cider" and had alcohol (not complaining; just surprised).
Tomorrow I'm heading for Prince Rupert where I'll spend one night and then catch the ferry to the Inland Passage on Tuesday.
I just discovered that when you leave me a "comment" on my travel blog, I have the option of "accepting" the comment (which makes it viewable to all) or I can delete it. If you leave me a comment and DON'T want it made public, then let me know.
More later!
Jack
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Scott
non-member comment
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday Uncle Jack!! Hard to believe you are 63 years young!! Keep on trucking through the rockies to Alaska!!! Love, Scott