Big Bar Lake

 

Finally made it down to Big Bar Lake Provincial Park for our annual camping trip.  More importantly it was a shakedown trip for our newly purchased pop up tent which we hope to use next year on a trip up the Dempster highway, which is too rough for our trailer,  

We also brought along our big screen tent that we bought last summer for our Yukon trip  (not yet erected over the picnic table in this photo).  They both got a good test as it rained all through our first night camping.

The new tent passed muster; it didn't leak despite the measly little fly.  Importantly to Leo, it pops up in 90 seconds.  It's also large and heavy but you can't win them all.

We didn't travel very far, we walked twice a day on the Parks lovely trail around a Marsh, through the forest and up to the top of an esker.

After the rain the lichen really popped against the damp tree trunk

Our friend Glen rode his bike around the trail with his too granddogs:

Closeup of  Pepper andGlenn's mountain bike that he coverted to an ebike 

Here are Leo and Glen washing the dishes.

And here we all are gathered around the fire.  

Shiny Badger and Moon Road

Selfie with Doc English Bluff in the background on Moon Road.

 Patti have changed up our training hike and this month we have walked on the Shiny Badger Trail  just West of the Sheep Creek Bridge over the Fraser River

Climbing up the Shiny Badger trail

And Moon Road just east of the Sheep Creek Bridge.

We hiked as far as the platform on Shiny Badger.  From here you can see the Chilcotin Highway across the Fraser.  

In the upper left of this photo you can see a meadow. That is the start of Moon Road.

The wildflowers were lovely along the trail.  We spotted Mariposa lilies

And a single bee balm (wild bergamot) flower.   I had no idea they grew this far north.

Here's Henry looking photogenic on the grassy slope.

A week later we checked out Moon Road.  

Here we found lots of bee balm growing on the side of the road, along with lots of Mariposa lilies. I guess you just have to be out on the grassland at the right time of year.

Lots of nice views across the river to the ranches on English Road:

Camping Horsefly Lake

Hard at Work or Hardly Working?

We camped out at Horsefly Lake for 2 days a couple of weekends ago.  We didn't get up to much, it was too cold for swimming but we did hike up to the lookout.

Like every other berry/fruit tree/shrub this year, the salmon berries are going to have a bumper crop.

The tiger lilies

And columbines were blooming.

Patti found a giant moth.

I lost my phone so I didn't take my customary photo of our trailer in our campsite but Leo did get a shot of three empty chairs in front of the campfire.