Fantastic Views of Lake Botanie

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After posting the blog yesterday, we made the decision not to go further north.   The BC visitor’s center checked on the highway conditions and the storm and told us it wasn’t advisable to go to Clearwater.  Too bad, we really wanted to meet up with Darrel and Sandy.

We walked around the town of Lytton.  Pretty small place and not much on the main street.   We walked over to the local market to see what we could find for fresh veggies.  Slim pickins, the potatoes were beyond use and the broccoli was pretty expensive.   We kind of figured that being such a small place.   We bought a couple of apples, onions, bananas and a small cut of meat we used in a great pasta dish we fixed for dinner. 

 

 

We took pictures of the mighty river that is now swollen causing the local ferry to shut down.   Yes, the rains continue to fall and it is time to move on.  They say the sun will start to shine this weekend and I hope it’s true. 

 

 

We decided to top off the gas tank at the same station where we were given good instructions on the Botanie Lake campground.   The same woman was there and we talked for quite a bit.   We told her we had just spotted a coyote.  She explained that it is a sign to slow down, either at the moment or in life.  Does she know me?   Then the talk about bears came up.   Everyone in the station store began telling stories about the real reason there is no trespassing; poachers.   Apparently poachers had killed four bears in the last two years and the bear is sacred.   Also, the fact that an elderly woman was eaten by a bear last year and that we should be on the lookout.  Sorry, no bear pictures but we did keep our eyes open.

 

 

The coyote that crossed our tracks.

 

With the rain we stopped by the video rental.   Most of the movies were outdated or we had seen some of them.   At $5 a rental we decided to move on.   We will find some RedBox rentals along the way.   There is no signal here at our site for radio either.   I have enjoyed tuning in to the CBC stations along the trip.   We are learning a lot about Canada from the people we meet, the things we read and listen to.  I will have to do a post about what we think of Canada.   Some of it is interesting to say the least.

Back up the mountain for a rest and then we took a hike to a place I thought I’d never see in person, Bontanie Lake.   It looks just like pictures I have seen since I was a child.   I’m really here and I am seeing some things I have never seen.  Pretty cool for an old dude.   We found a couple of fishermen there and continued on our hike around the lake.   Awesome is the only word I can use to describe it.   The same feelings I get at home when we go up in the mountains.   Kind of like the day trip we took with David and Kim to Juan’s old school house.

 

 

 

Evening came and we had our happy hour inside.  The temperature was dropping fast and with the wet air we stayed inside.   A nice pasta dinner and an old standby for a movie, Goldmember (Austin Powers), we got some good laughs and then went to bed watching a Golden Girls episode.   If people wonder sometimes where I get my lines and our private chuckles that get us some strange looks, it is mostly from SNL, Golden Girls, Three Stooges, Austin Powers, and Twilight Zone.

Off we go to Merritt for some eggs and milk at the local Wally World before heading to the Kentucky Alleyne Provincial Park.  It was below 0C this morning and when we left the lake it was 4C and 13C down below.