Blue hills

I still have a few photos left from the Bella Coola trip: these are from the beginning of the start of the run-up to The Hill (always capitalized like that.

The mountains of the Bella Coola Valley, from near Heckman Pass.

Zooming out to show the gravel road, and a bit of the car motor.

From here, just inside the eastern edge of Tweedsmuir Park, the road goes down, down to a bridge over a creek, then up over a ridge, down again, up again, with each drop more precipitous. And then the road goes stark raving mad, dropping in grades up to 18% (7% is considered a steep hill), twisting and reversing, sometimes down to one rutted lane around blind rock faces, with nothing on your left but a sheer drop down, down, down to the tops of trees and your road below you. And then there is a river, and the road levels out, and you're at the foot of those mountains in the distance of these photos.

Kids drive up and down The Hill for fun. I white-knuckle it, but it's still exhiliarating.

Busily buzzing bees

On the Bella Coola road, top of The Hill;

Looking down over the upper slopes. That's our road, below, just starting down.

Goldenrod grows well here, at 5000 feet, but is a much shorter plant than at sea level.

The season is short this far north, and the bees don't waste time.

Hurry, hurry! Winter is on its way!

Overland to Bella Coola

I'm hitting the road. I'll be spending a few days with my daughter and her in-laws in Bella Coola, half-way up the BC coast.

300 miles north, then turn left and drive another 300 miles.

The road follows the Fraser River north, then the Chilcotin River west, through rugged, often dramatic country, dry and sometimes harsh, hot in this time of year. The last time I drove the road, years ago, parts of it were still loose gravel; after a few hours of this, we have dust even in our back teeth. The last bit is "The Hill", still gravel, going steeply down 4000 feet to the Atnarko River and the Bella Coola Valley.

Some people make the trip in 13 hours; Google says 14. I always take my time and stay overnight somewhere en route. This time, I'll be taking photos at every stop.

The trip was a last-minute decision, so I'm rushed, packing and planning. I probably will have internet access from Bella Coola, Tuesday evening. If not, then the blog will be quiet until Saturday, probably. I'll have lots of goodies for you then!

Old, old photo (1980 or so) of my little Datsun at the brake/engine-cooling stop halfway down the Hill.

Bye for now!