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On this meandering route
north of Lillooet, you'll look down on the awesome Fraser River
gorge far below. The rocky channel the Fraser carves through
and the Bridge River joins. The Fraser eventually spills
800,000 gallons (3550 cubic litres) of fresh water per minute into
the sea at Vancouver. The air is fresh up here.
Indian settlements, farms and ranches are everywhere, with picturesque
churches and weathered cabins reminiscent of Gold Rush days.
And long vistas of purple hills with nothing but sky at the end.
The
Marble Canyon has a mysterious feel to it, with strange outcroppings
of rock towers jutting oddly from the mountain sides, making you
feel as though they were once watch towers guarding whatever lurks
beneath the crystal waters of Pavilion Lake. Unique in the
world, Pavilion Lake has been found to have odd
coral-like formations in its depths. Called microbialites and thought to have
been associated with Earth's earliest life forms. There is also a strange ridge at the
bottom of the lake with growths of interconnected mounds that are
unexplained and under study by UBC scientists. Even NASA is
studying the lake for a Mars expedition. Some believe that the whole
valley was once a huge cavern that caved in. Indians here were wary
of this area. Perhaps life was being cultivated here a billion years
ago and watched over carefully by some other life form in those
towers? Yet the lake has a magnetic attraction for its wonderful
luminosity of blue green hues in sunlight. Now a protected
ecosystem.
Indifferent horses are everywhere. Cowboy horses that aren't
friendly because humans only mean work for them. You might see a
bear among the pines, luxurious in his black coat. Eagles and
falcons will be glimpsed hunting from the sky. The Hat Creek
Ranch is said to be haunted. Near Cache
Creek the big sky country seems of endless velvet hills with
shafts of sunlight dancing down their rippling folds.
Others melting into tinctures of purple and blue. The Thompson streams its water steadily toward the Fraser at Lytton,
often the hottest place in Canada.
The road
is well paved and smooth all the way. Each twist and turn
brings a new look to the countryside. High cliffs, pine forests,
some devastated by the Mountain Pine Beetle, others still green, and
endless expanses of honey wheat grasses beside small farm plots with
rambling fences. Aspens and maples splash yellow and orange into the hills in
autumn. And even if you're with a partner, you may roll
along in the silence of nature's awe. A wonderful respite from
the clanging city. You might even see a road sign with a camel
on it, something for you to look up about BC. So if you are staying around this year,
watching your dollars, you needn't suffer boredom or frustration,
just take a day and head out into beautiful, bountiful British Columbia and enjoy
your province --- truly the greatest
place on Earth! |
