Monday July 15th

Full moon over Nimpo Lake Resort from my trailer door.

Heading up the road to Bella Coola! We all travelled in Bill's truck for this day trip. Thankfully.

You can see the pine kill which has affected this area.

Roadside wildflowers were abundant. Common red paintbrush everywhere.

I think this could be an orchid of some kind.

Lupine

Views from the roadside pull-off where we were photographing flowers.

Fireweed

Now begins the "Freedom Road" to Bella Coola. https://bellacoola.ca/portfolio/history-of-the-hill/

Take a moment to read the history. If you're going to drive it, wear your brown pants!

The road ahead on the way in.

There weren't many pictures of the road because, while I was not driving (I don't have the experience with the truck and trailer to take this on quite yet) I spent most of the time clutching the passenger side handle. With a shear drop of 2000ft down one side and a cliff on the other, the road surface of washboard gravel, and barely room to pass oncoming vehicles, it was an exciting experience - one not to be missed! Felt a bit like a mountain goat.

A rest stop at the end of the road - left by a glacier.

Pictures below are at a lovely campground on a river. Would love to stay here for a few days! This is a picnic house at the campground - beautifully made of cedar.

I was struck by the size of this tree - it felt monstrous and so different to the trees in the interior.

Raven carving at the campsite.

We followed the Bella Coola River from the bottom of the 'hill' to the town itself.

Bella Coola. This is an old store where I purchased a few momentos.  We had lunch at a spot just behind where I was standing to take this photo. Delicious food - seafood of course.

The inlet with a fisheries building.

Walked up to a falls at the end of the road up the inlet.

I really missed the west coast cedar - I spotted it immediately when it began to make its appearance. We had these massive trees in our backyard when I was growing up, and I've always loved their lacy elegance.

A shot of the inlet.

Three shots of seals leaping from the water. Notice the skill with which I captured the animal each time it jumped! NOT! Not the wee dot in the last photo - that's a seal's head. We weren't sure what they were doing - but it looked like they were simply playing. But honestly, I could sit in a chair and just stare at those mountains for a whole day to see how they change with the changing light. I have such a strong affinity for this place and this landscape.

West coast cedar draped over the inlet.

A longhouse.

The start of the drive back.

We stopped at a Federal fisheries building where a young biologist talked about their chinook and chum salmon hatchery programs.

Back up 'the hill'

Looking down from the passenger seat going back up the freedom road.

The cliff on the other side.

And this is why the road is so steep - a mile high in a very short distance.

Back down the road to Nimpo Lake

I took this picture to illustrate a clear cut that has been made as a fire break. After the dreadful fires of 2017, they have tried to ensure that there are breaks to make the spread more manageable.