by slow road, pt 4
We continue driving southwards along the winding Highway 99 which edges steep mountains overlooking the rushing Fraser River. Here we have come to a view over the town of Lillooet, one of the hottest spots in BC. Interesting history, if you feel like reading the link. We stopped for lunch here.
Soon after we come upon beautiful Seton Lake, with a portion of this informative sign below.
We pass many whitewater streams, exciting glimpses of glacier topped peaks and another lovely lake,
Photos just cannot do justice to the huge majesty of the snow topped mountains, rivers, lakes and trees. Next stop, our bed-and-breakfast stay.
ADDED later: a cropped scan of a map I found in our favourite Beautiful BC Travel Guide (1994 ed.). Please follow the lime green line I traced along our route from east of Kamloops west, then south to Vancouver. I hope it gives a better idea of our slow road home.
Added even later: The rest of the slow road series may be viewed at the links below,
part 1, part 2, part 3, part 5, interlude, part 6 and the finale.
July 10, 2013 in Canada and BC, History, Nature, Travel by Marja-Leena
The pictures may not do justice to the reality of being there but they certainly do a good job of showing just how gorgeous is the territory along the Fraser River. I bet you can still see some of those vistas when you close your eyes.
Susan, thanks and yes, these scenes are burnt in my memory, refreshing a previous trip taken well over 10 years ago. It also brings back memories of crossing the Rockies for the first time when I was still a teenager – that feeling of awe, if you know what I mean.
I should have clarified that our road followed the Fraser River only a relatively short distance as the river takes a turn slightly to the east at Lillooet. Hwy #1 follows it from Lytton to Vancouver – that’s quite a stunning route too.
I shall post a map of the area. I finally found a good one in our old BC guidebook though it may get lost in making it smaller for this site.
Yes, quite stunning pictures of a beautiful country. I don’t know why it is but the grander the scene the less able is a camera able to capture that essential essence. Perhaps it is because we “see” with more than just our physical eyes, a facility no camera has.
(Incidentally, I notice that since your malware mishap, you’re coming through much more quickly.)
Wondrous big country. It must have been quite something when the folks from small-scale Europe first started their journeys across the American continent. And now we zip around. It’s strange to think about the complete disconnect our concept of time must have with that of previous centuries.
I loved the third photo down on your last post – the contrast of the quickly made mechanical lines with the slow geological formation of the rock makes a fascinating juxtaposition. I tried to comment soon after the post went up, but your blog told me that I was commenting too often!
Tom, it’s true that our eyes ‘see’ more than the camera particularly the wide panoramas. On the other hand with better digital cameras and computers one can really zoom into details we may have missed. Where the loss occurs, to me, is in making the image small and compressing it for the web.
I’m happy to hear that uploading is faster now. The server hosts did some updating while dealing with that so-called malware.
Olga, I’m sorry you’ve had trouble commenting. Your first attempt did come through which I posted here. I too sometimes get that message that I’m commenting too often, I think when I go back too quickly to do another one, so I have to wait a few moments. An odd quirk that’s been here for quite a while. I hope you will not have any further problems now that you are “in”..
Yes, it truly is amazing how this country was explored and travelled in the beginning, full of dangers it was. Imagine the challenges even of putting in the railways and roads. We are reminded of this when we read some of the historical plaques here and there, as well in the museums ( which we didn’t visit this time).
Thanks, I like that photo too, at ‘slow road, pt 3’.
I loved the U. S. Rockies as a child but was somewhat disappointed when I returned as an adult–my first stop, I saw children throwing cans into a ravine and adults marching on the tundra in heeled boots. Then I went to the Canadian Rockies and felt like a child again–so relatively uninhabited.
Marly, oh, that is appalling behaviour. Yes, our mountains are not heavily inhabited though the Banff and Lake Louise areas are very busy in the summer. I remember the first time crossing those Rockies just after doing my high school exams. My father’s sister was visiting from Finland and we drove from Winnipeg to Vancouver Island. First impressions are so very vivid but subsequent visits have been great too. What amazed me on this jaunt was how equally magestic are the Coast Mountains.