Chasing Clean Air

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast

Push your history books to the side.

If you ever wondered what it'd be like to live in the wild, wild west, you can still make it to one of North America's last frontiers.

The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast in British Columbia is raw, wild, and vast. In other words: A land without limits!

Black bear. Grizzly bear.

Chinook.

Moose.

Cariboo.

Bald and Golden Eagles.

Temperate rain forests. Arid valleys and mountains. And some of the most lush mountainous and lake regions I've ever seen and enjoyed.

I took moose photo from Bowron Lake on the canoe I shared with White Gold Adventures tour guide Dave Jorgenson, one of the best.

My canoe trip was definitely a highlight, which you can read about here.

I woke realizing I only have two days left in the Cariboo, which I've grown to love thanks to my wilderness tour guides and the fact I love being in the untouched wild.

I'll never forget my Cariboo Falls adventure with wilderness guide Gary Zorn, a tough leathery spirit with humor, who was my gateway to see a chinook salmon jumping upstream, which was most exciting.

Gary also took me with grandson Mitchell to the first B.C. gold mining town at Quesnel Forks, which is currently being restored.

Fly-fisherman and eco-tour guide Doug Mooring of Cariboo Rivers Fishing & Wilderness Adventures took me down the famed Fraser River in a boat and a float.

And while he's best known for fly-fishing adventures, I'm not so...

We took in wildlife viewing in Cariboo cowboy country and cultural teepee and pit house viewing at the historic site Xat'sull, which was an important location for natives who caught and stored salmon here for long winter months.

Which brings me to issue of timing. May through Oct. 30th are best for boating and fishing, and beyond that we get into cold and snow season, dog-sledding and more. Weather has been wacky lately so there's no guarantees but the show generally does go on.

I went down the Fraser in the rain one day. Sun another.

One of my favorite destinations on earth is Yosemite but a good portion of the year Yosemite has crowds in a small space.

Not so in the Cariboo.

This land is vast and varied.

You can hike, fly-fish, canoe, float, watch salmon jumping upstream, bear watch, bird watch, walk along bushes of berries and tall trees, learning their names, which, if you ask me is the best history lesson one can have, and you can do it all without seeing another human being or very few.

And when you do...

What colorful folks!

In Wells, gateway to Bowron Lakes and Barkerville, the streets are lined with gold and air is clean and blue.

Locals  artists and actors hang out at the General Store near the Wells Hotel.

Here's an actor named Don, who plays a judge in nearby Barkerville, where many talented actors play parts of real people who once lived in this famous gold-mining town.

Meet Ms. Florence Wilson, a never married Phoenix Saloon owner who wasn't inclined to share her wealth!

In Likely, population 350, another gateway to wildlife adventures, I met gold-miner John who took me for a spin in his vehicle.

Who needs to learn the history of the wild west in a book if one can live it instead?

Chasing Clean Air in Typepad's Spotlight

Chasing Clean Air

Let’s go! Out of Los Angeles and into the world, chasing clean air, beauty, and a sustainable life! So says Chasing Clean Air, Donna Barnett’s blog, the “leading online producer of original clean and dirty air information.” And whether you live in New York, Mexico City, Cairo, or anywhere in between, you know that this is a subject that touches us all. Chasing Clean Air helps readers make environmentally-sound and healthier choices as it relates to breathing indoor and outdoor air, traveling to clean air destinations, and purchasing the best clean air products. Donna’s entertaining posts on renewable energy, thoughts about the renewing power of clean air, and change will provide inspirational reading and helpful tips for the tens of millions of Americans currently living in our growing smog belt. Clean air getaways offer just that to travelers looking to actually see blue sky, suggested actions and resources offer positive directions, other Categories range from Aerial Pesticide Spraying Alerts to Travel, and her site meter will give you a look at how many people are looking into Chasing Clean Air.

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Let’s go! Out of Los Angeles and into the world, chasing clean air, beauty, and a sustainable life! So says Chasing Clean Air, Donna Barnett’s blog, the “leading online producer of original clean and dirty air information.” And whether you live in New York, Mexico City, Cairo, or anywhere in between, you know that this is a subject that touches us all. Chasing Clean Air helps readers make environmentally-sound and healthier choices as it relates to breathing indoor and outdoor air, traveling to clean air destinations, and purchasing the best clean air products. Donna’s entertaining posts on renewable energy, thoughts about the renewing power of clean air, and change will provide inspirational reading and helpful tips for the tens of millions of Americans currently living in our growing smog belt. Clean air getaways offer just that to travelers looking to actually see blue sky, suggested actions and resources offer positive directions, other Categories range from Aerial Pesticide Spraying Alerts to Travel, and her site meter will give you a look at how many people are looking into Chasing Clean Air.

Salmon Run at Cariboo Falls

Today was most magnificent!

I wore pink for the occasion of my first salmon run adventure where a giant chinook jumped above the thunderous roar of Cariboo Falls.

It was thrilling to observe!

The chinook is the largest of five salmon types found in British Columbia. It weighs up to 60 pounds, and according to my wilderness guide, Gary Zorn of Eco-tours BC, British Columbia has the largest chinooks in the world.

(And the largest sockeye salmon run in the world.)

I watched the gray chinook, with silver on its back, defy the powerful gushing water as he jumped up valiantly against the force of the river.

After traveling thousands of miles from the ocean, the chinook's natural instinct to return to the spawning ground from which he is born, is so powerful that he musters strength to fight nature's force against him and continue the journey home.

So exciting!

When the chinook finally makes it home, he will fertilize the females eggs and die.

Bears and bald and golden eagles will feast on the salmon.

And the life cycle continues.

The chinook, or King salmon as they're known in  America, are a marvel of nature.

So much a marvel that as I waited patiently on slippery moss-covered rocks for the treat of seeing jumping chinook, one of the most phenomenal feats of nature I've ever seen, I wondered...

What is civilization?

What is the civilization that drove me north to seek space and clean air?

The civilization that drove me away to find my natural rhythm otherwise buried beneath the sound of honking cars? How civilized is that?

Nature is so well-planned.

Instincts so well-developed.

Nature all knowing.

Why can't more of us trust and respect nature within ourselves, and without?

The salmon is an elegant species in an elegant life-cycle governed by nature.

Maybe we need to join nature more often to experience our own nature, and appreciate other species in our eco-systems that join as one whole.

The chinook salmon run lasts 6 weeks beginning in mid-July.

According to Gary, they arrive like clockwork every year.

These fish like deep, fast-moving, cold water.

Licensed fishermen (I'm licensed for 4 more days!) are allowed to take one salmon a day for three days, beginning the first week in August. If you want to take one home to eat or harvest, you need a salmon tag with your fishing license.

Due to the powerful force of nature, it's hard to hook a chinook.

It can be dangerous, too.

"I've seen reels and lines explode!" You've got to control the rod," Gary said, as he moved his arm up and down to demonstrate.

"Once on the hook, a chinook can take 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours to reel it in. What we eat probably comes in from the ocean on a fish boat."

Gary took my hand for this shot, and a few others in slippery areas near the rushing water's edge.

I've been doing a lot of hand-holding this journey as I break personal boundaries with new experiences, such as this amazing salmon run viewing on the "Don't slip on the mossy covered rocks!" adventure.

Another great day.

I suggest you check out a salmon run, if not this August, then next. And having an experienced guide like Gary Zorn is a must. He can be reached here or by calling (866) 299-9100.

Or arrange a wilderness viewing tour in the fall when grizzlies and bald and golden eagles feast on salmon carcasses amidst fall color foliage.

Watch the life cycle in action.

With over twenty-five years leading wilderness adventures, Gary specializes in black and grizzly bear eco-tours, bird-watching, gold-mine tours, alpine hiking, and winter wildlife viewing, which includes snow-shoeing and dog-sledding.

Gary's passion for grizzly bears, the signature species of the Canadian wild, has led to a life committed to studying their habits and habitats. As such, he's known as the Cariboo Mountains "Bear Whisperer".

Located in the quaint gold-mining town of Likely, Gary runs an Eco-Tour Lodge with his lovely wife, Peggy, who is quite a cook!

Three home-cooked country-style gourmet meals are provided along with comfortable beds and hospitality.

These meals are so delicious, I don't want to leave.

If you're interested in clean air and escaping big city living, consider an eco-tour with Gary and Peggy Zorn.

You'll experience an adventure that will stretch you in ways you haven't dreamed of.

Here's a photo of Mitchell, Gary and Peggy's 14 year old grandson, hiking in nearby alpine meadow. He came with us today on the salmon run, a real pleasure to have around.

This eco-tour surely has been an experience to remember the rest of my life.

Ghost Lake Falls

Skirting the gold-miners route in the backcountry of the Cariboo, we stopped at Ghost Lake Falls.

Backroads of the Cariboo Mountains

Today, Steve Harkies of the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association offered to drive me through the backroads of the Cariboo Mountains to Likely, population 350.

Likely is located on Quesnel Lake, the deepest fjord lake in North America.

2000 feet deep!

Likely is the original area where gold-miners staked their claims, and built mining towns before Barkerville hit the map.

It is also where I hope to see bears, gold mines, and salmon jumping up-river with my experienced tour-guide, Gary Zorn.

So leaving colorful, historical Barkerville where streets are paved with gold memories and gold mines for the Cariboo Mountains, I moved near a route where original gold-miners traveled to strike it rich with gold.

Only I traveled to strike it rich with clean air.

I was driven in a truck along an unpaved road where each bump reminded me of my previous meal--pot-hole-after-pot-hole but that's okay.

I imagined I traveled like an authentic native.

And as an authentic native, we traversed small wooden bridges that looked like they could buckle from mud, rain, or by chance, the truck in which we drove.

I was assured the bridges were strong, though.

Nonetheless, as we approached wooden bridges, I practiced prayer and carefree living.

Steve and I practiced things we'd sing should we run into a bear.

"Bear! I'm too skinny for you. Bear. Go home!"

And over the bridge we'd go.

I was told these bridges were used by loggers regularly.

Safe.

I was like a tough, singing logger, and we were fine.

Steve and I stopped at Ghost Lake Falls for photos and an outhouse, as we headed for the destination of my next eco-tour with Gary Zorn of Eco-Tours B.C. 

Gary Zorn is known throughout the world as the "bear whisperer" and he lives with his wife Peggy in the town of Likely where I am writing you now.

They are quite hospitable, and upon arrival I enjoyed a family meal.

In addition to wild grizzly and black bears, Likely is home to some of the largest salmon, the deepest fjord in the world, a wealth in gold mines, and most definitely clean air!

Likely, Quesnel, Williams Lake, Wells, Bowron Lakes, and Barkerville make up towns in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region of British Columbia, and combined comprise approx. 73,000 people in 75,000 square miles.

Los Angeles is comprised of approximately 11 million people in about 4,000 square miles, which it shares with cars, cars, and trucks.

If you're tired of crowds and cars, and air pollution, let me suggest the Cariboo region as a place to visit.  There are rugged and not-so rugged adventures to participate in, which I'll be sharing. Much wildlife and clean air.

I will tell you more about my trip to Barkerville, Bowron Lakes and Likely, where, weather permitting, tomorrow I may see bears on my tour with Gary.

Actually, I saw my first black bear today on that backroad, as Steve manuevered pot holes. It walked across the road and into the bushes.

Steve I learned is an incredibly talented portrait artist. If you're inclined to memorialize your child or family in a painting, Steve is your guy. Check out his web site here.  

Bowron Lakes - 7th Natural Wonder of the World!

Translucent azure waters reflect puffy white clouds.

Mountains sturdy in the distance frame this paradise rarely found on earth.

A loon is heard on the water. An eagle soars overhead.

A moose wades in the water with her calves.   

Running, walking, swimming, flying they go as we quietly glide on Dave's yellow canoe across Bowron Lake, the 7th natural wonder of this world.

So says I.

Today was ground-breaking.

A reformed city girl went au natural, deepening my spirit as I swayed to bird songs and the soft swoosh of slow moving water in a yellow canoe, which lifted me higher.

Today was my first canoe trip ever, and how lucky was I to do so on Bowron Lake, which is part of a series of lakes known as the world's most famous Canoe Circuit.

Bowron Lake Provincial Park includes ten lakes, which encompasses 100 miles or 116 kilometers.

The circuit surrounds a mountainous area known as the Cariboo, and includes marsh land, rivers, and a habitat for caribou, mountain goat, black and grizzly bear, moose and beaver.

Waterfowl are abundant!   

Dave Jorgenson of White Gold Adventures was my guide.

Dave has decades of experience leading wilderness adventures, and he did an amazingly terrific job leading me into an enchanted magical journey on Bowron Lake.

His friend Bill paddled at the front of the canoe.

Bill runs Amazing Space art gallery with his wife in Wells, an artists community nearby.

I loved paddling, and feeling at one with the spirit of the mountains, water, and animals. Having my guides paddle as I played the Cleopatra-like nature photographer was a most appreciated luxury.

This trip was so spectacular, I'm considering Dave's 8 day journey next year, which completes the 10 lake circuit.

I must get ready for an evening Barkerville musical revue now, so more about Barkerville, the restored gold mining town, and my favorite, Bowron Lake and guide Dave Jorgenson, later.

Thank you, Dave for one of the best times of my life!

I highly recommend Dave as your tour guide and Bowron Lakes for your next nature adventure. Dave mentioned if you mention Chasing Clean Air, he'll arrange 15% discount on your hotel in the closest town to Bowron Lakes, his home town of Wells.

Awesome trip!