British Columbia CN

5/20 – 5/31/2016 – BC Travels – We traveled the Yellowhead Highway across BC from Jasper NP in route to Prince Rupert and the Alaskan Marine Highway Ferry.  Mount Robson in BC was really the best scenery we saw for many miles; have to say Alberta has it all over British Columbia. 

First stop was the northern capital of British Columbia Prince George, and the campground (MamaYeh RV Park) was totally ghetto.  We pulled into the gravel road and the first thing we saw was the “Office” sign, next to an open canopy with folding chairs and a money box.  Since we made reservations ahead of time, we proceeded to our reserved site, which already had an RV parked on it.  No worries, the site next door was empty so we pulled in.  The pull through site was level with full hookups and good water pressure (we needed to do laundry), that is the only thing the campground had going for it.  The weeds and dandelions, which seem to be the provincial flower of BC since they are everywhere, were two feet high all over the site, there is no bathhouse and they allow tenter’s, not sure I want to know what they do for a restroom.  We did enjoy our stay in Prince George, played some golf, hit the casino (LOSERS), hiked some of the parks, toured the town, and got the laundry done. 

 

 

From there we moved on to the little town of Telkwa and stayed at our first Provincial Park, which are like State Parks in the US, no hookups, wooded and scenic.  We hiked the park with the dogs as they were getting fat and lazy,and took a ride into the town of Smithers to get some information on the local sights.  On the way out of the information center we ran into a nice couple from NY who were making their 4th trip to Alaska and provided us with lots of tips.  We checked into Glacier View RV Park just on the other side of Smithers BC the following day and true to its name, we can see the glacier right outside the RV window.  Smithers is a picturesque little four season town at the foot of the Hudson Bay Mountain, which is a very popular winter ski destination for cross country as well as downhill with one of the highest ski hills in BC with a 3700 ft vertical drop, and in summer the Bulkley River which borders the town, is one of the world’s great steelhead rivers.  We hiked to Glacier Gulch and Twin Falls a Smithers landmark, gushing from the Kathlyn Glacier hundreds of feet above and it was beautiful.  We also enjoyed several of the scenic drives in the area including Babine Mountains and Driftwood Canyon Provincial Parks (site of the earliest known salmonid fossil) and Moricetown Canyon and Falls a little further west.   

 

 

 

 

 

Arrived in Prince Rupert where we will catch the Ferry, next stop Ketchikan Alaska!!!!!