Alaska – Canada Travels 2014, From Stewart through British Columbia to the Canadian Border, August 19th to 27th.

After our visit to Stewart and Hyder we travel south on the Cassiar Highway.

The Seven Sisters Peaks on east side of the Coast Mountains in BC.

We take a short side trip to visit the First Nations Historical Site of Battle Hill, a place worth visiting for an understanding of the culture and historical interactions of the various bands.

An interpretive sign at Battle Hill.

A stairway leads to Battle Hill, the flat topped, conical hill below.

When we get to the junction with Highway 16 we've come to the end of the Cassiar Highway.  We’d heard a lot of different reports on the condition of the Cassiar but all the way the road is good, light traffic and beautiful scenery. Definitely a road you must travel and experience.

We leave the Cassiar Highway and turn onto Highway 16 heading into southern BC.

Now we’ll be traveling through the more populated regions of southern BC and it will be quite a contrast to the remote and lightly populated north.

Our camp overlooking Seeley Lake.

Beautiful Seeley Lake from our campsite.

We camp at Seeley Lake, a beautiful little campground along the highway east of Hazelton.

'KSAN Historical Village.

The next day at Hazelton we take a guided tour of the ‘KSAN Historical Village, a reconstruction of a Gitxsan village. There is a museum, two workshops and four long houses.

'KSAN Museum and First Nations gift shop.

Walk in the shadow of the Totems that occupy a place of distinction in front of the Long Houses.

People can visit the museum and walk the grounds in the shadows of tall totem poles but the long houses can only be seen by going on a guided tour given by a First Nations member. 

Eagle perches atop this totem,

The tour gave us a sense of the richness of the Gitxan culture, tradition and ceremony.  Pictures are not allowed inside the long houses so we can’t show you what the interiors are like.

The exterior of the long house which interprets the societal life of the Gitxan people.

This was a great tour. Each of the four buildings had a theme that revolved around an aspect of the cultural and daily lives of the First Nations with exquisite artifacts to tell the peoples story. We came away with a better understanding of the people and their life in this far northern land.

To get to Hazleton we crossed the most photographed bridge in BC.

At Hazleton we leave the long open roads and enter more civilized southern BC with its towns, cities, and agriculture, mining and logging industries. The highways are busy and our next three days are travels days. We camp in a few provincial parks and boon dock a night in the forest.

The Tintagel Cairn monument.

Imagine a stone from an old British castle here in the middle of BC. Another roadside attraction.

A few of the highlights from our travel days are the Tintagil Carin that contains a stone from the Tintagil castle in England where King Arthur was believed to have been born. It was given to BC because of the connection with the people and name of this providence.

Lake Williams Visitor Center with its giant red cedar posts and beams.

The unique Lake Williams Visitor Center has an architectural theme of giant Cedar Trees.

The Red Cedar rises from the lower floor to the top of the high upper story ceiling.

This beautiful tree is the center piece inside the building. The roots were carefully excavated to form the base of this impressive central post.

BC knows it's tourists. This car in the Lake Williams Visitor Center is stacked with every conceivable toy.

At Revelstoke we travel up Hwy 23 North to camp at Wadey Recreation Site to take a great 44-mile bike ride along the Columbia River.

We take a bike ride oh Highway 23 along the wide Columbia River.

The Columbia River from our Wadey Provincial Park campsite. 

To continue our travels south on Highway 23 we take a ferry across the Columbia River.

We take our place on the ferry to cross the Columbia River.

Heading  across the Columbia River.

We camp a few more nights before we reach the Canada/US border.

A view from one of our many quiet boon dock camps as we travel toward the US border.

Koocanusa Lake,

Heading down the last stretch of highway to the US border.

Our last night in Canada is spent at Kikumon Provincial Park on Koocanusa Lake. The large Ponderosa Pines and grasslands remind us of our home. This park is more like a wildlife preserve. There are kettle ponds where Painted Turtles can be seen and opportunities for hiking and biking. Didn't get any pics of this campground but it's really nice and the perfect place to stay at when you cross the border.

We’ve come to the end of our adventures in Canada.

Our next destination is West Glacier.

Until then.

Jackie