Bob and I visited Ten Mile Provincial Park on our first trip through Canada. Quesnel is noted for its large gold pan on the north side of town. We didn't stop for a picture this time. Connie and Larry arrived at the campground first and chose two sites side by side. Since there are no hook-ups for electric or water, it didn't matter which way we parked. We prefer the social setting with doors opening on the same side.
Bob and I went walking on Lakeshore Trail. The trail close to the lake is wider than the trail through the woods.
The lake is a popular spot for boating, swimming and skiing in the summer.
During the winter the trail is used for cross country skiing.
Bob and I toured the historic town of Barkerville on our first visit. We recommended it to Connie and Larry. So while they went to Barkerville, we went to another provincial park north of West Quesnel--Pinnacles. Now, Bob and I have seen hoodoos in a lot of American national parks so we weren't expecting to see anything as grand as Bryce Canyon's hoodoos and we weren't disappointed.
The Pinnacles were just in a very small area and the area was fenced to prevent damage.
The views from the observation area were pretty good. Once we walked the .75 kilometer trail we discovered that the trail extended beyond the Pinnacle area along the ridge of the mountain. And yes, there were geocaches along the trail!
Bob and I continued on the trail finding geocaches and enjoying the hike even though we weren't prepared for a long hike--we left the walking sticks and bear spray in the car. Bob did have one walking stick to help us search for the caches near Pinnacles observation area.
Well, as we walked and found caches, we came to an area where there were a lot of downed trees. The trail went around the area and near a small meadow with a stream running through it. It was beautiful, but we were searching for caches. All of a sudden, Bob stopped and shushed me---he had seen a cub and a mother bear about 50 yards from us. We stood still and sang 'Clementine' as loudly and as off-key as possible. The mother bear raised up on her hind legs, took one look and listen to us and took off opposite direction! She had already shooed her cub that way. Needless to say, we don't have any pictures because we were more interested in singing than in photos! It was then that we decided to start back toward the car. As we crossed the meadow, we spotted another bear and continued our singing--we had never stopped after the first bears. I think that is the fastest Bob and I have hiked a 2+mile mountain trail----ever!
Note to self: always take the bear spray and all the hiking sticks when going for a hike in the wilderness--no matter what the length of the hike!
Once back to the car we headed toward Quesnel to walk the city hiking trail. We crossed the pedestrian bridge over the Fraser River and returned to walk around town.
We made a stop at the Provincial Liquor Store for beer and wine before continuing back to the campground. The further north we go, the more expensive these items get. Even in this area, a case of beer is almost $50 after you add the deposits and taxes.
It was a beautiful day in Quesnel, but evidently, 50 miles away in Barkerville, it was cool and rainy all day. Connie and Larry enjoyed their visit and like us, they were ready to move on up the road on Wednesday.
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