Traveling North to the Bowron Lakes
Columbia Ice fields, Alberta
Mount Robson, British Columbia
Barkerville Historical Town
Entrance to Barkerville
Main Street
Trapper's Cabin
Stage Coach
Town School
School Classroom
Barkerville Hotel
Lunch in Calamity Janes
Current Placer Goal Mine just outside of Barkerville
Alex Panning for Gold
Eric showing off his gold nuggets
Bowron Lakes Canoe Circuit
Bowron Lake Lodge
Dinner at Becker's Lodge before the trip
Eric unsure about the canoe trip
Marie packing the night before the trip
Alex "weighing in"
Packing at the weigh station (60lbs per canoe for the portages)
First portage from Bowron to Kibbee Lake
Blue sky paddling on Kibbee Lake
Marie and Eric paddling on Indianpoint Lake
Alex on a lookout for a campsite on Indianpoint Lake
Marie and Alex canoeing into the third portage
Third portage from Indianpoint to Isaac Lake
Eric checking the map to see when the 3rd portage is finished
Arriving on Isaac Lake - 38 km long
Pulling in for a lunch stop on Isaac Lake
Lunch time on Isaac Lake
Swim time on Isaac Lake
Eric reading on the beach at Isaac Lake
Dinner time in front of a trapper's cabin
Alex eating dinner on the beach
Norm relaxing on the beach after dinner
Marie relaxing as well
Norm and Alex canoeing on Isaac Lake
Marie and Eric canoeing on the glass surface of Isaac Lake
Alex looking for a campsite on Isaac Lake
Second campsite on Isaac Lake
Eric reading on the beach
Marie relaxing after dinner
Pulling out after "shooting" the first set of rapids on Isaac River
Getting ready to put the canoes back on Isaac River
Eric getting ready to paddle some whitewater on Isaac River
Alex excited after paddling another stretch of whitewater on the Isaac River
Pulling out again on the Isaac River to avoid a waterfall
Canoeing the final stretch of the Isaac River en route to McLeary Lake
Norm and Alex canoeing the glass surface of McLeary Lake
Marie and Eric paddling on McLeary Lake
Paddling on the cold, muddy, fast-moving Cariboo River en route to Lanezi Lake
Eric and Marie on Lanezi Lake with snow in the lower portions of the avalanche slopes
Campsite on Lanezi Lake
Alex carving a paddle to hang in the campsite shelter
Eric and Alex having dinner on Lanezi Lake
Eric and Marie canoeing past snow and a waterfall on Lanezi Lake
Marie and Eric canoeing from Lanezi to Sandy Lake
Marie hiking from Una Lake to Cariboo Falls
Alex, Marie and Eric on the edge of Cariboo Falls
Cariboo Falls "roaring" with spring run-off water
Dinner under the tarp at Una Lake
Alex "hill rolling" with the canoe wheels
Portaging to Babcock Lake
A moose in the marsh area around Babcock Lake
Marie getting the canoes ready for the portage from Babcock to Skoi Lake
Marie and Eric paddling through the marsh of Skoi Lake
Final portage of the trip - Skoi to Spectacle Lakes
Alex and Eric portaging their own canoe to Spectacle Lake
Spectacle Lakes - End of portaging
Lunch on Spectacle Lakes to avoid the bugs
Marie unloading the canoes at our final campsite on Swan Lake
Our campsite on a sand spit on Swan Lake
Paddling with the wind at our backs on Swan Lake
Sailing on Swan Lake
Norm, Eric, Alex and Marie posing at the end of Swan Lake
Chris, Jane Sylvan, Luc and Hugh - our canoeing family friends
Marie and Eric canoeing the Upper Bowron River from Swan to Bowron Lake
Alex arriving on the shore of the Bowron Lake Lodge
Rainbow over our canoes on Bowron Lake at the end of the trip
Rainbow over our tent trailer on the shore of Bowron Lake
Touring from Barkerville west to Prince Rupert, BC
Hiking to the Twin Falls near Smithers
Alex and Eric on the observation deck below the Twin Falls
Eric and Alex at the base of one of the waterfalls
Marie joins Alex and Eric below one of the waterfalls
A lumberjack beside the visitors centre in Hazelton
Driving into the K'saan Aboriginal Village
Eric, Marie and Alex beside the totem poles and long houses in the K'saan Village
The decorated front of one of the long houses
The lava fields of the Nass Valley from a volcanic eruption approximately 250 years ago
Eric and Alex on the "middle of the road"
Marie walking on the lava fields of the Nass Valley
Eric and Norm with a pile of lava behind them
Norm and Marie near the source of the lava flow
Alex inside a petrified tree mold (hole left in the lava from a burning tree)
Village of New Aiyansh situated on a plateau overlooking the lava field
Totem poles and community centre for New Aiyansh
Fish wheel on the side of the Nass River
A salmon in the wheel being moved to one of the storage tanks located on each side of the fish wheel
Prince Rupert
Skeena River en route to Prince Rupert and the Pacific Ocean
Eric and Alex posing in the Cow Bay area of Prince Rupert
Alaska Cruise Ship docked in Cow Bay
Alex with the Prince Rupert Harbour in the background
Salmon (limit of 4 per day per person) and Halibut (limit of 2 per day per person) catch from a fishing charter
Filleting a halibut
Olde Volkswagen van at the North Pacific Cannery
North Pacific Cannery Museum outside of Prince Rupert
North Pacific Cannery building at the mouth of the Skeena River
Eric and Marie visiting the indoor displays of the museum
Ferry from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy, Vancouver Island
Departing the Prince Rupert Ferry Terminal at 7:30am
Prince Rupert Grain Terminal
Coastel mountains, rain and fog south of Prince Rupert
Norm and Marie with the coastal mist in the background
Fog lifting along the coast
Marie with fresh snow on the mountain tops in the background
Eric with an abandoned cannery in the background
Lighthouse station marking the entrance to another inside passage
Canadian Coast Guard patrolling the waters of the Inside Passage
A school of dolphins passing by the ferry
Marie, Alex and Eric enjoying dinner on the ferry
Getting ready to dock at Port Hardy around 10:00pm
Northern Vancouver Island
Port Hardy Harbour
Commerating the completion of the highway to Port Hardy in the late 1970's
The old growth forest in the Quatse River Campground - just south of Port Hardy
Campfire of Western Cedar at the Quatse River Campground
Getting ready to hike to the San Josef Beach in Cape Scott Provincial Park on the north-west corner of Vancouver Island
The "wheel chair accessible" trail to San Josef Beach
Playing with the kelp on San Josef Beach
Hiking along San Josef at low tide
A series of sea stacks exposed at low tide between two beaches
Eric and Alex building an inland waterway along the beach
Eric, Alex and Marie at Telegraph Cove on the north-east coast of Vancouver Island
Telegraph Cove
Restored buildings along the boardwalk in Telegraph Cove
Stubbs Island Whale Watching Boat
Norm and Marie on an evening whale watching cruise
Eric and Marie enjoying the evening sun on the cruise
Alex on the look out for whales on the bow of the boat
One of many eagles flying over the Inside Passage waterways
Killer whales along the coast
Mother and baby killer whale
Humpback whale showing its tail fins as it dives for food
Humpback whale diving
Kayakers heading out into the Inside Passage from Telegraph Cove
Marie, Eric and Alex heading out in kayaks
Marie and Eric paddling along with eastern coast of Vancouver Island
Alex and Norm paddling past a small cove and beach that leads to our campground
Alex stretching as we pass by several islands along the coast
Eric getting ready for a beach break
Olde tree stumps and logging equipment along the eastern coast of Vancouver Island
Campfire in the old growth forest of the Telegraph Cove Campground
Southern Vancouver Island
Marie, Alex and Eric building a sand castle on the beach at Rathtrevor Provincial Park near Nanaimo
Norm reading the paper, Alex and Eric continuing to build their sand castle while the tide begins to rise
The sand castle very quickly being surrounded by water from the rising tide
The sand castle becoming submerged by the rising tide
Alex buried in sand by Eric (hopefully above the rising tide)
Nanaimo to Vancouver Ferry painted for the 2010 Olympics
Alex and Eric having lunch on the ferry with Vancouver Island in the background
Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal
Vancouver
Urban camping in Vancouver
Bill Reid Orca sculpture at the entrance of the Vancouver Aquarium
Sea Tortoise
Jellyfish
Marie, Eric and Alex waiting for the dolphin show
Dolphins jumping in synchronization
Dolphins swimming using their tail fins
Dolphins on the dock for their external examination
Beluga whale with her trainer
Beluga whale with her new baby (born in June 2008)
Norm with the Capillano Suspension Bridge in the background
Alex and Eric on the Capillano Suspension Bridge
Eric looking for birds in the forest with a tree house in the background
Eric and Alex on a forest bridge
The forest walk in the Capillano Suspension Bridge park (the bridges are anchored to 8 Douglas Fir trees with compression belts rather than nails and screws)
Eric and Alex with the totem poles in Capillano Suspension Bridge park
Vancouver to Calgary
Alex, Marie and Eric having lunch along the Sea to Sky Highway from Vancouver to Whistler
Alex at our last ocean stop near Squamish before we head inland to Calgary
Eric at Nairn Falls just outside of Pemberton (east of Whistler)
Marie with Nairn Falls in the background
Marie at Joffre Lakes Provincial Park
Eric, Alex and Norm at Lower Joffre Lake with the Pemberton Glacier in the background
Norm overlooking the reservoir just west of Lillioet
Northern Okanagan landscape with the trees located on the hilltops and covered ginseng crops in the valley floors
Swim time in the Shushwap Lake, Okanagan
Alex and Eric getting ready to "take the plunge" in the Shushwap Lake
Some of the many boats parked on the Shushwap Lake
Our final campsite of the trip - Pierre's Point Campground on the Shushwap Lake
One of the Giant Cedars in Glacier National Park, British Columbia
Norm, Eric and Alex on Giant Cedar's Boardwalk trail
Calgary
The University of Michigan Solar Car - winning the North American Solar Car Race from Dallas, Texas to Calgary, Alberta
Getting a look "under the hood" of the University of Michigan Solar Car