Wednesday 13 May 2015

Cariboo Country

I have just returned from a visit to the Cariboo region of British Columbia.

Old Trappers Cabin


 
"The Cariboo was a land born of dreams … dreams of discovery, yellow dust and instant riches. In 1862, Billy Barker found gold on Williams Creek, a discovery that started a rush of adventurers from North America and around the world.

Between 1862 and 1870, over 10,000 adventurous people travelled the Cariboo Waggon Road, and towns sprang up in their wake, from Lillooet in the south to the goldfields of Barkerville in the North.

The gush for Cariboo gold soon declined, but not the trek of discovery into the rugged wilderness of the Cariboo. People from all over the world still venture here, following the footsteps of the expeditions that went before them. It is still a land of golden dreams with summer images of golden rolling pastures, grazing horses, and forest meadows filled in spring with beautiful flowers."

http://britishcolumbia.com/plan-your-trip/regions-and-towns/cariboo-chilcotin-coast/cariboo/

My sister and brother-in-law live in a beautiful log house, not at all like the trappers cabin above, near 100 Mile House. The numbered place names get their names from distances on the old road that started in Lillooet and led north to Barkerville.

We visited the 108 Mile Heritage Site and walked around the lake. First here are some pictures of the Heritage site.
 

 
 
 






 

 
 

 
The Clydesdale barn below is the largest log barn in Canada.

 
 
 


 



 

 
 The Heritage site is open to the public from the third week of May to the beginning of September, so I was a bit too early to see inside.



Next we walked around the lake. There are many wetlands and lakes in the area and they attract a lot of birds' some passing through and some nesting and raising young. I saw quite a few birds that I had never seen "in the feathers" before.

These Red-necked Grebes were clacking their beaks together in what I presumed was part of their courtship ritual.




 
Mergansers below, here the female seems to be outnumbered.

 
At first we thought that the birds below were swans, but a closer look revealed them to be pelicans, they are on a shallow "island" in the middle of the lake. Also a new bird to me.
 


I think this little beauty is a Western Tananger, another new one for me. There is gold in them there trees!
 



 
He thought I had enough pictures and turned his back on me below.

 
These next two I am not sure of, the first I thought might be a Cedar Waxwing but now think a Nuthatch (thanks Tex)
 
and the next two are either a Cowbird or a Blackbird.
 

 
Speaking of a gold rush look at these little fluff balls!
 
These Canada Geese were keeping their goslings very close, we though we saw a hawk in the area.
 
  
 
A Barrows Goldeneye.
 

 
 
The birds were wonderful but here are a few other sights from our walk.
 


 
Well I took almost a thousand pictures, so there will be more in future posts.
 
Sorry no art to share this week.
 
 

Until next time...

Thank you for all your kind comments on my last post.
 
Thanks for stopping by,
 
happy Whimsy Wednesday, 
 
Gillian.




 

12 comments:

  1. It looks a very interesting area. Worth several visits that's for sure.

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  2. neat village and i like the mile marker addresses. :) love the bright tanager and cute little geese fluffballs! i think that one might be a nuthatch instead of a waxwing. :)

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  3. No art this week = lots of fun and awesome images!! What a beautiful place, I was hoping to see some clydesdales. The yellow bird is beautiful.....

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  4. Definitely a Western Tanager, Brown-headed Cowbird and the other is a Red-br asted Nuthatch. I'm in love with several of your images......the Red-necked Grebes are gorgeous! While the Canadian Geese and gosling photo is worthy of a painting! Beautiful day!

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  5. Oh yes, beautiful images Gillian, the larger set of the old barn, yet they were made of wood. And it is always filled with birds, so precious. British Columbia sounds really nice.

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  6. Nice spot you visited, pretty bird shots and love the rustic cabins, wood furniture and such.

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  7. Lucky you to have a sister living in the Cariboo region - a reason to visit over and over. The logs used to make that barn must be very long!

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  8. Thank you for solving a mystery. When I lived in Prince George I often drove to the coast and always wondered what was the significance of the names but after all these years I have my answer. Glad you enjoyed your trip.

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  9. One of my favourite places to be, it's gorgeous up there. My husband keeps trying to get us to move there, but it's just a little too far from civilization for me. And spring comes too late, so the growing season is shorter then even here.

    But all in all, it's gorgeous.

    Jen

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  10. One of my favourite places to be, it's gorgeous up there. My husband keeps trying to get us to move there, but it's just a little too far from civilization for me. And spring comes too late, so the growing season is shorter then even here.

    But all in all, it's gorgeous.

    Jen

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  11. Such beautiful, beautiful photos, Gillian! I can hardly believe all the varieties of birds and the beautiful buildings and waterfall! Cariboo looks like a wonderful place to visit. Thank you for taking us along. blessings ~ tanna

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