Hotsprings in Northern BC

Butterfly!

During the long weekend last week, Janier and I decided to take a road trip.  We'd heard a lot about Liard River Hotsprings, so that's where we went.  We packed our little car, including the puppy, found a cat-sitter for the kitten, made some last-minute trips to Canadian Tire, and off we went.  

From Fort St. John, the Liard River Hotsprings are roughly 700km Northwest along the Alaska Highway.  This means 8 hours of driving one-way (definitely worth it).  The springs are not too far from the Yukon border.  And not to be confused with Fort Liard, which is a hamlet in the Northwest Territories.

How many wild animals did we see on the drive up?  It was better than going to the zoo.

Moose!

Black Bear! (which I turned brown)

Unidentified Hoofed Animal! (Reindeer?)

Colombian!

Mountain Goats!

Monkey! (Hermoso ripped the arm off his chew toy, and now the cat plays with the dismembered arm)

Hyperactive Puppy!

Not pictured: Bison

We stopped along Muncho Lake on the drive up, and camped there on the way back.  Beautiful blue/green waters, and Janier assured me it's "just like Colombia!".  The waters were freezing cold, but that didn't stop Hermoso and Janier from swimming in it.  Not much stops Hermoso from getting wet.

Entrance to the Hot Springs

The hot springs are located in Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park (makes sense), and they are the second largest hot springs in Canada.  I wonder which ones are the largest?  The water was very hot in some parts, and comfortabley warm in others.  The smell of sulphur was strong.

Unfortunately there was a no-dog rule for the springs, so we couldn't bring Hermoso in.  He probably would have annoyed the tourists anyways.

Local TV Star: Photo Scavenger Hunt in Fort St. John

Local TV Star: Be A Tourist In Your Own Town Week!

My Dog & Cat Playing Together

Hermoso and Cielo!

Moving Back to Nature

Our new house

This past week has been full of changes.  We moved from an apartment in Fort St John to a house in Charlie Lake, about a 10-minute drive from FSJ.  Our new place is definitely rural.  We have seen beavers, woodpeckers, blue-jays, horses, and bats so far. 

One strange thing is our new mailing address.  Our house is located on a frontage road, off the Alaska Highway.  We contacted Canada post, and they said that we'll have to pick our mail up at one of the rural drop boxes a few streets down from where we are.  Our new address includes things like "Site 7 SS #97, Compartment", etc.  Hopefully our mail reaches us! 

We are not hooked up to city pipes, either.  So we have to order our water every month or so, when a huge water truck comes to fill us up.  We are supposed to be monitoring the depth of our well, but it's not like there's a gauge or anything.  The property management company suggested we use a stick.

Our new house also has a name: Mukluk House.  This was another thing the property management company told us. 

Creek that runs along the side and back of our house

Woodpile for fire pit and wood burning stove indoors.

There are beavers in those waters!

Backyard with fire pit and creek.

The infamous beaver dam. There is a beaver family that lives there, we see them almost every day.

The 2nd living room.  We wallpapered the side to look like brick.

Reading area.

Wood stove.

Our new kitty, Cielo! We're training him to be a mouse-killer.

Too close.

Hermoso checking out Cielo. They are good at entertaining each other.

Hermoso peering through the cat door.

This bird flew into our window yesterday. I don't know what kind it is.

Hermoso wanted to play with it, before it flew away.

There's a farm with horses right across the creek from us.

Sunset on Charlie Lake, BC

Snow in June, Powwows, and Community Fun

We've been up to a lot lately in Fort St John, so I thought I'd upload some photos from my smartphone. 

Community Pitch-in Day!

As part of Community Pitch-In day, Janier and I volunteered to help beautify Fort St John.  The City provided garbage bags, reflective vests, gloves, and garbage pickers.

Pictured here is me and Jill, one of my summer students at the Visitor Centre.  This photo was later featured in the local paper, under "People of the Peace".

Municipal Government Day

On Municipal Government Day, there were activities for kids, music, community groups, a BBQ, and booths set up for each department of the City.  I helped set up and man the booth for Community Services.

At our booth we were giving away seed packets, tattoos, and eco-pens.  The seed packets were the most popular!

Line-up for Municipal Gov. Day BBQ (it was free)

We had a surprise Arctic front come down to Fort St John this June, and for a day it snowed!  This was right after having highs around 23C.

Poor bear at the Visitor Centre

 In June, the Visitor Centre organized  a week full of activities, calling it "Be a Tourist In Your Own Town Week".  The idea is to educate local people about all the fun things there are to do in town, and to celebrate community pride.

The goal is that after events like these, if tourists are talking to local people and asking: "what's there to do in town?", local people will be less likely to say: "Oh nothing really, you should keep driving!".

Janier with other volunteers

 For the first day of "Be a Tourist In Your Own Town Week", we organized the "Energetic Amazing Race".  There were clues we set up around town, and people were split into groups to get the clues and finish the race.  We had prizes lined up for the winners. 

We found people got quite competitive!  We kept all the activities kid-friendly.

After the event I was interviewed by 2 local TV stations.  Local celebrity!

Janier's station

The beautiful Peace River & Valley, from "The Look-out"

Old cars that went over the side of "The Look-out"

Drumming Circle in Taylor, BC

Most recently, we attended a Powwow in Taylor, BC which is about a 15 minute drive South-East from Fort St John, along the Alaska Highway.

There were singers, dancers, and lots of spectators.  There was also free bannock and stew for people.  We brought Hermoso, but had to leave him in the car since the event was indoors.

Spring in Fort St John, BC

Hermoso and his brother

Yes, that is a moose in my rear-view mirror

Kiskatinaw Bridge, the largest curved bridge in North America

A windmill farm in Northern BC