The Fishing Highway 24, BC

Little Fort Fly Shop-Thanks Steve for the Fawn Lake recommendation

 

 

After spending the night at North Thompson River Provincial Park we were ready to settle in to a  more permanent campsite.  We weren't sure which way to head ,but we knew if we drove into Well's Gray Provincial Park (our original destination), we would have to drive 90 minutes until we got to Clearwater Lake.  Jim wasn't crazy about doing that drive until he talked to the locals about how the fishing was at Clearwater.  So off we went in search of the local fly shop.  We had come through Little Fort the night before and missed the Little Fort Fly Shop. So we backtracked a bit and Jim got to find out what fly patterns to use and where the good fishing lakes were.  Being the sweetheart that he is, Jim asked about campsites with electric and water hookup so that I could take a hot shower ! Steve ,at the fly shop, recommended Fawn Lake Resort-he said I would love it,and he was right; and he said Jim could do some pretty good fishing there and he was right about that too.

 

We were looking for a place to stop for breakfast but everything was closed up so it was granola and yogurt with hot coffee that we had brewed before we left camp in the morning. We took Highway 24 out of Little Fork-it's surrounded by lakes (8,800 in the Cariboo region which surrounds the highway; take a look at the Google Earth Map ) and it's the ultimate fly fisherman's destination-thus the name THE FISHING HIGHWAY.  It should also be called the breathtaking view highway because every curve in the road presented scenes more beautiful than the last.  The climb out of Little Fort was pretty steep but once you got to the top the road leveled out.  It really is a beautiful highway,lovely curves and lots of turn outs for those photo ops.  We met a couple from Switzerland who didn't speak much English and we spoke no Swiss but we did discover that they had fallen in love with the area and wanted to move there someday !  I tried my best to tell them through sign language and my poor high school French about the black bear we had just seen very close to this rest stop.

Rest stop above Lac des Roches

One gorgeous view after another along the Fishing Highway 24

 



Eagle Island

 







 

This black bear jumped out in front of the truck in front of us.  The truck stopped until the bear crossed the road. We pulled over to the side of the road and took these pictures about 30 feet away from the bear. Love this highway !

 We definitely plan on coming back to explore this region and check out the other 8,799 lakes ! 

 

View San Juans to Wells Grey Country in a larger map

Lopez Island WA to Wells Gray Country,BC

 

September 18th is when we left Lopez Island.  We had planned on staying only until the 15th but we just couldn't bear to leave the sunshine and beautiful campsite behind.  Our original plan was 3 day on Lopez then head over to West Yellowstone and Hebgen Lake so that Jim could enjoy some fly-fishing.  Since we extened our stay on the Island we couldn't see driving 1400 miles round trip to West Yellowstone and only get to spend 3 days there.  So we made the decision to head to British Columbia.  Jim remembered there was some good fishing around Well's Gray Provincial Park so we set the TomTom driving directions and headed North.

 

Once we entered Canada at Sumas we headed East on Highway 1.  Our first stop was at the Hope Visitor Center.  We both loaded up on travel brochures, maps and regional magazines. In talking to the guide , she suggested we stay on Highway 1 since it was more scenic than Highway 5-the Yellowhead Highway.  I'm glad we took her advice, the road followed the wild Fraser River through Fraser Canyon and up into the Gold Country.

 

When we stopped to take this picture there was a couple in a Mustang Convertible taking the same pictures.  We started talking to them and found out they both decided to play hookie from work,put the top down and take a ride up the canyon along the river-our kind of people !



 

We were right along side the Rocky Mountaineer-a ride to Banff and Jasper on this train is still on my bucket list.  We waved at the conductor and passengers and enjoyed the view as much as them. Later on we caught up with them in Kamloops.

 

We fell for the "Best Burgers in the West" sign outside of town and went in search of Hungry Herbie's.  Were they the best? No,but they were pretty good and the fries were crispy and delicious.

After driving into Clearwater, the entrance to Well's Gray, we decided it was too late in the day to drive another 90 minutes to get to a campground we weren't  sure about yet.  So we spotted this one just outside of Clearwater and decided to stay here.  Note to myself,when traveling in Canada,make sure you make the ATM stop before you get to the campground because they don't take checks !  You should have seen Jim and I going through our pockets and my purse to come up with the fee that night. Our first stop the next day was the ATM in Clearwater.

Campsite #17 at North Thompson River Provincial Park-great view over the river and the pit toilets and water faucet were right across from us-it's the little things that make us happy when we don't have electric or water hookups !

Autumn has arrived in British Columbia-this is a beautiful campground but if you stay you will be subjected to occasional train sounds as the Canadian Railroad is directly across the river from the campground.  Jim found the sounds soothing, I didn't even notice them since I was totally mesmerized by all the stars that were out that night.

 

We talked to the Park Ranger at night and she filled us in on the park, the 2 black bears that wander through the park, and the weather and how hot it has been this year.  Everyone was worried about the fire danger.  We actually only had 1 campfire while in Canada and that was our last night at Fawn Lake.

 

Back on the road again after spending the night of September 18th at this park-headed to the ATM and then the Fly Shop-we have our priorities straight.