Into British Columbia: butterflies and rainbows!

The past few days have been beautiful, and if the political situation hadn't been so messed up at home, it would have been relaxing.

Smith River Falls

I left Watson Lake, swearing up and down that I will be back to walk the byways, greet the birds, and maybe find a moosehide.

Heading south again, I veered off on a side trip to Smith River Falls, where there was supposed to be a lovely waterfall.

There was, indeed, a lovely waterfall.

Sadly, the trail down to the falls used to have a wooden stairway down to it, but it was burned in a forest fire that ripped through here, and it has not been replaced.

There is a way down, but it was for someone with more courage than I had. It was so steep that some kind soul had attached a rope at the top in order to halt one's progress down, or aid one to get back up.

I declined, and just admired the falls from the top of the cliff.

Looking for a nice lunch stop, I stopped at Teeter Creek. There is a little trail here that goes up a small, rushing creek.

Compton's Tortoiseshell  (Nymphalis Vaualbaum) I think.

This was sort of a magical stop, because there were so many butterflies, it was like being in a butterfly house! Butterflies are chameleons of sorts: they look like dead leaves when their wings are together, but once they open up, they are brilliant orange. I'm tentatively identifying these as Compton's Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis vaualbaum).

They were really pretty fluttering around. You'd walk along and couldn't see them, they were so well disguised against the ground. They particularly like mud and puddles. Then when you walked close to them they would all rise up and flit around in erratic movements with bright flashes of orange! They were surprisingly difficult to photograph as they kept moving, and even when they were on the ground, they kept opening and closing their wings.

Purple aster and friend!

Plus, the sun kept going behind clouds, and it was starting to threaten rain. Not that I minded, it just was challenging.

The flowers that are blooming now are late-summer flowers. The fireweed is waning, and the first fireweed flowers that came out in early summer are now going to seed. Yarrow is still blooming, and yellow goldenrod seems to be in full bloom. There are also purple asters and clover, all of which are quite lovely.

Again, one would think that flowers would be easy to photograph, but they don't stay still! Unlike in a studio, these flowers are moving in the wind, beaten by rain, and often have bugs flying around them, drinking nectar or gathering pollen. In fact, more often than not, an insect is photobombing the flower picture!

I spent most of the afternoon at Liard Hotsprings Provincial Park. For the grand sum of $5, you can spend all day there if you want. There is also a campground, so if you soak in the hot water so long that you have turned to jelly, you don't have to try to leave, but can just fall asleep into your tent or RV. And get up in the morning and do it again.

Yes, it's that kind of place.

The "swamp" around Liard Hot Springs

The unique thing about Liard is that it is completely natural. There is a gravel bottom, but the sides of the pool are mud and soil. This doesn't seem to slough off into the pool, and the water stays pretty sparkling clean except for the occasional patch of algae that floats through the water.

Goldenrod

The upper pool is pretty warm, and as you get closer to the source of the hot water, it, well, gets hotter. Some daring souls approach the source and there is a "bragging stack" of rocks that people have put there. While I was there a couple of boys (probably 8 and 10 years old) got up on the wall where the source of the water is and then just couldn't figure out how to get back into the hot water pool. They had managed to approach the source while in the water (frog in the frying pan syndrome), but when they got out their bodies wisely told them that it was "too hot." They eventually climbed up the cliff in back of the water and came around. (You may ask, "where were the parents?" The parents were mother and father to four boys, and these were the middle two siblings. The parents were watching carefully, but they did not offer advice or criticism, as one might have expected in Marin. They let the boys figure it out for themselves, although they did seem to be poised to haul them out if needed. It was kind of refreshing to see that parenting style.)

Dogwood berries and leaves starting to turn!

There is a cement dam with a waterfall that divides the pool, and the lower section has cold water feeding into it from another source, but it's still pretty warm. There were advisory signs of "BEAR IN AREA: DO NOT ENTER" and more advisories that loud noises may go off at any time. They are trying to keep the bear to one side of the hot springs, apparently, hoping that the other side will be for the people.

It rained, which was fine, because there is a building where you can keep your clothes dry.

It was a peaceful and relaxing afternoon.

I had planned on dinner at the day use area, but unfortunately it was raining, so I had a cold sandwich and kept on.

I stopped at a gravel pit as my overnight stop. Honestly, these are the best places for overnight stops — they are private and, if you pick a good one, can be very quiet and away from highway noise, and certainly people.

The clouds and rain make for dramatic evening pictures, and this night was no exception!

First, the hills lit up with dramatic light, with dark, lowering clouds above.
You can just barely make out the beginning of the rainbow (center top)

Then, as the sun set, a bright rainbow appeared in the mist over the mountains.
Note that this has NOT been enhanced in any way. It was that intense!

Finally, there was some alpenglow hitting one of the peaks when the sun drifted below the clouds.

Alpenglow, and then the sun is down.

It had been a pretty remarkable day, filled with butterflies and rainbows. It almost made up for the sadness of leaving the Yukon...






























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