Stone Mountain Park

 Another long day of driving along what is possibly the most boring stretch of the Alaska Highway and possibly of all of BC.

But first we stopped at a viewpoint over the Peace River now flooded by the Site C dam. We talked to a local couple on motorcycles who said that they had cycled the bridge below before it was flooded and it was way above the river below. They were surprised when the reservoir had filled in just 6 months covering islands that locals used to boat out to for picnics. 

We remembered we had driven this way in 2029 and it was all under construction with giant earth movers clearing the land to be flooded. For now there is no access to the waterfront until the banks are stabilized.

So we drove on, stopping for gas - 1.77 at Charlie Lake, 1.99 at Pink Mountain, and 2.05 in Fort Nelson. But mostly it was just straight highways, slightly rolling terrain, boring pine and black spruce and work camps for the gas industry. Occasionally the road would dip down to cross a river (ooh, topography!).

No wildlife to be seen even though the highway verges were lush with green grass perfect bear habitat. Finally after Fort Nelson we spotted a bear, then another one, then 3 bears. 

Then we started driving up in elevation as we returned to the northern Rockies that we'd crossed at Pine Pass, finally reaching our destination for the night at Summit Lake in Stone Mountain Provincial Park.

It was busy!  It pretty much filled up by bedtime.  I'd say by nighttime but it doesn't really get dark.

We neglected to get a photo vut Summit Lake campground has the best outhouses ever.  They are composting toilets built high off the ground so you ascend a big staircase.  They are built of all wood, they are spacious and they don't smell. Quite palacious.

We all walked down to the lake and Leah spotted a caribou swimming across to the highway where it then browsed on the green verge.

North to the Alaska Highway

 

We left home on June 13 to drive up to the Yukon and take the Dempster Highway to the Arctic Ocean in Tuktoyuktak, NWT.

But first we had a lot of driving to do. Generally we try to avoid driving more than 3 or 4 hours (Google Maps time, it takes a lot longer in real time) but we have a lot of ground to cover so the first 2 days were big driving days. Cr

Leo had done a bunch of prep prior to leaving including sealing the truck canopy from dust and getting a hitch welded to the trailer to hold our ebikes.

Tall bluebells, Moberly Lake

Alas it became apparent soon after we left home that the bikes were too heavy for our trailer, affecting its stability so we turned back 20 minutes out of town and dropped them off at home.

After that delay we drove north to Prince George and on up through the Pine Pass.  

Our travelling companions, Mark and Leah, saw four black bears on the drive, we only spotted one.

We arrived at Moberly Lake around 6 pm. It was Saturday so the park was busy with families enjoying the warm, sunny weather.

Bird of the day was the black-throated green warbler, heard but not seen, but it still rates because we were now east of the Rocky Mountains and we don't see them in most of British Columbia.

Bluebird Box Route

Back in April we were determined to clean out our bluebird boxes before the birds started nesting.  We drove out to the Chilcotin in the middle of the month but as we crested the Sheep Creek hill the truck started acting up and we had to drive home. It took us a few weeks to get the truck repaired and then life got busy so we didn't get out again till mid May.

So we managed to time it to the balsamroot bloom.

The bear had been busy again knocking down boxes so Leo was kept busy repairing and replacing.

So far it looks like it will be a good bluebird year.  Way more bluebird nests than last year and there seem to be lots of eggs, sometimes 7 in a nest.

 The walk was lengthened when I realized I had dropped my phone during a toilet stop.  It meant we had to climb up a big hill again, Fortunately it was right behind a big burn pile so I was able to find it.

It was a chilly day but it never actually rained on us.  Thundershowers all around and we drove home in heavy rain.

Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park - Hike to Cosens Bay Beach

 We all drove to Kalamalka Provincial Park (day use only) for a hike.

The balsamroot were still blooming.

A little past their prime but still lovely.  I missed it but a rattlesnake was sighted. It slicked into rock before I got there.

We got a little lost but eventually reached our destination, Cosens Bay Beach.  Shoulda brought the bathing suits.  We had lunch on the beach.

It was a hot climb up the switchbacks on a treeless climb back to the parking lot.

Back in 2021 we hiked to the same place but we came from another parking lot.

Camping near Vernon

 We reserved 5 nights at Kekuli Bay Provincial Park on Kalamalka Lake near Vernon.  Leo and I left 3 days early because Leo had a medical appointment in Kamloops. We camped 3 nights at Steelhead Provincial Park in Savona.  Friday was taken up with Leo's appointment.  Saturday we visited friends who live just down the road in Tobiano and had just gotten  back from their winter home in the Baja.

On Sunday we drove to Vernon. The road through Monte Creek was closed so we took the Salmon to Enderby route.  Not sure why the road was closed but our friends were able to drive through later in the day.

The point of this trip was to get some camping in when the weather was still cold at home but instead it was pleasantly warm in Williams Lake and midsummer temperatures in  error.

In the evening we walked on the rail trail for a short distance.  Highlight was several bull snakes warming on the trail.

Closeup:

The next day we had plans to cycle to Oyama (24 km return).  But we were delayed till after lunch, and by then it was hot.  We got as far as the Crystal Waters subdivision (14 km return) and turned around.  Leo, Leah and I went for a swim afterward.  Weather was warm, water was not.

The next day we drove to Myra Canyon and biked the trestles (24 km return).

It was much less busy than the last time we were here.  So we didn't have to dismount on the trestles as there were no crowds.

Leo bikes through the tunnel

They have really expanded the parking lot, though, a d there's way more bikes for rent so it must be nuts on a summer weekend.

Some of the trestles:

Look, no crowds.

Leah and Mark head into a tunnel:

On our last day we finally biked all the way to Oyama.  We were hoping for coffee at Oyama but the cafes were closed.  Fortunately, just as we were heading back the food truck by the trail opened up and we were able to order ice cream (💓🍦 )

Taking a butt break

On our way back we saw a cinnamon bear trying (successfully) to cross the highway at Crystal Waters Road.  

Kalamalka Lake is very clear (crystal water clear) so we could see the suckered spawning at one spot along the lakeshore.

It was still hot but because we did the bike ride in the morning (and icecream) it was bearable.  Leah and I went for a dip afterward.  We met a friendly woman from Miscou Island, New Brunswick, on the last day of her vacation.

Checklist of New Zealand Birds

For my own records, here is the list of birds we identified in New Zealand (South Island).

1. Brown Kiwi*

2.  California quail

3. Black Swan
4. Canada goose
5. Paradise shelduck*
6. Grey Teal
7. New Zealand scaup*
8. Mallard
9. Grey duck (or hybrid with mallard)
10. Australasian shoveler*
11. Australasian crested grebe (seen in europe?)
12. Little (blue) penguin*
13. Southern royal albatross
14. Northern Royal  Albatross
15. Wandering albatross*
16. White-capped albatross*
17. Salvin's albatross
18. Northern giant petrel*
19. Cape petrel
20. White-chinned petrel
21. Sooty shearwater
22. Australasian gannet*
23. Pied shag
24. Little shag
25. Otago/Foveaux Shag*
26. Great egret (white heron)
27. White-faced heron
28. Royal spoonbill
29. Swamp harrier*
30. New Zealand falcon*
31. Weka*
32. Pukeko
33. Eurasian coot
34. South Island pied oystercatcher*
35. Variable oystercatcher*
36. Masked lapwing
37. Pied stilt
38. Banded dotterel*
39. Bar-tailed godwit
40. Kelp gull
41. Silver gull
42. Black-billed gull*
43. New Zealand pigeon*
44. Kea*
45. Kaka*
46. Yellow-crowned parakeet*
47. Sacred kingfisher
48. Morepork* (heard only)
49. Welcome swallow
50. Rifleman*
51. Silvereye
52. Grey gerigone*
53. South Island saddleback*
54. Tui*
55. New Zealand Bellbird*
56. New Zealand fantail*
57. Yellowhead*
58. Starling
59. Australian magpie
60. Tomtit*
61. South Island robin*
62. Blackbird
63. Song thrush
64. Dunnock
65. Skylark*
66. New Zealand pipit*
67. Redpoll
68. Greenwich
69. Yellowhammer
70. Takahe* - tame
71. Rock pigeon
72 Barbary dove* (African collared)
73. White-fronted tern*
74. Westland petrel*
75. Caspian Tern


75 species identified
*37 lifers

April 2026

On April 12, I took a photo of our forsythia starting to bloom.  Harbinger of spring.

On the 20th of April we went for a walk on Scout Isalnd.  Trees were just beginning to leaf out.

We saw some kayakers on the lake.  It turned out to be our friends training for their trip to the Lund area in early May.

 

And on April 25 we dusted off our ebikes and rode down to the Fraser River with our friend Matt.

A Day in Downtown Christchurch

We drove into downtown Christchurch and parked in a residential neighborhood near Christchurch's big city park.  We walked to the botanical garden and stopped for tea and a goodie.  Leo had a date scone and I had an espresso cinnamon bun.  Plants were nice too.

We walked by the dahlia garden.  The gardener told us it was not as it's best due to recent rain storms.  It was pretty fantastic!  

On learning we were Canadians he confided that Donald Trump was not welcome in his garden.

Not at its best!  That tall shrub in the back right is a dahlia (annual). It doesn't flower till late fall after spending so much energy growing its vegetative parts.

We passed the fountain and walked into the CBD (central business district).

First we walked through this complex that survived the earthquake.

The Arts Centre, galleries and concert spaces

Lots of construction and modern buildings in the city centre.

We wandered about and had lunch at the Riverside Market.

New buildings, Maori art

Then we followed the River Avon.

Lovely greenspace in the city

  Apparently they've really fixed it up since the earthquake, returning it to nature with lots of native plantings and inviting the wildlife back.

We passed by the boat sheds, where you can take a punting tour.

Back in the city, there's lots of murals

And lots more modern buildings.  There's not much evidence of the earthquake left

Christchurch Convention Centre

But lots of open spaces that are presumably the sites of demolished buildings.

Christchurch Cathedral, however, has not yet been restored.  It's surrounded by a big fence with photos of it after the quake and plans for its recovery.

Here's how it looks now.  There's no activity at all on the site.

I suspect they have run out of money.

We visited the Christchuch Art Gallery in a large modern building.  There was an exhibit of a New Zealander photographer (European) who photographed all the places that Captain Cook visited, including where he was killed in Hawaii.

Then we had tea and a slice at the gallery cafe.

Nice china. The art was nice too.

Then we walked back through the botanical park to our car.  We happened by this wollemi pine.

Of interest to us because we camped in Wollemi National Park in Australia.  It was here they discovered a stand of wollemi pine, long thought extinct.  We couldn't visit them though because their location is a secret to protect the trees.  Also probably a long bushwack through thick Australian forest.  Great to finally see one.

And that was our last day in New Zealand. The next day we turned in our van at the rental agency, caught an Uber to the airport and began our long flight to Vancouver.