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.