Last days in Canada, Part 4...Meeting family and Seeing the Lava Beds

What an opportunity we had to view Bear and Salmon Glaciers and to visit Hyder, AK. We sure do love the landscape in British Columbia and we've only scratched the surface. A return visit to B.C. will be on the list. On our final couple of days with Ron and Patsy we had the opportunity to meet their daughter, Jessica, and her family. The live near Terrace on a small acreage ranch/farm with several types of animals. We arrived at their home and were immediately greeted by their youngest granddaughter, Lauren, who was playing with some baby goats. Lauren would run around the yard with the goats chasing after her. It was quite a sight to see.

Lauren with the goats climbing on her

Glenda had to hold one. They were very soft and cuddly

Then one of their other granddaughters brought out one of the horses that they have on the property. If you know Glenda, she loves horses, so they invited her to take a ride. It was a tall horse and we had a funny time trying to get her up on the horses back but she made it.

Then we took a walk around the property and checked out the chicken coop where the rooster was strutting his stuff.

They have two donkeys too. this one was making a funny face as if to say "What are you looking at?"

Enlarge the photo to see his expression better. 

We had a wonderful visit and we got to know Jessica, her husband, Keith and the five children(3 girls and 2 boys). They have a very nice acreage and have even built a couple of barns and horse stalls by themselves. Quite an undertaking but they are so skilled and talented. They're raising they're kids the way we all should. Everyone pitches in to help around the ranch. They're a wonderful close knit family. It was a real pleasure meeting them.

On the way to meet Jessica and her family we made a quick stop at a beautiful city garden above the town of Terrace.

The garden had several different flower plantings and we enjoyed the scenery and beauty. 

Patsy and Ron

Our final day in Terrace was made up of a day trip to the Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Corridor and Lava Bed Memorial Protected Areas.

Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Nass River valley in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, about 80 kilometres north of Terrace, and near the Nisga'a Villages of Gitlakdamix and Gitwinksihlkw. 

 It is believed to be the site of Canada's most recent volcanic eruption and lava flow, a geological disaster that killed an estimated 2,000 people.

The source of the eruption was the Tseax Cone. Large lava flows dammed the Nass River and destroyed two villages of the Nisga'a people around the year 1700. Lava beds rise as much as 12 metres above the modern road.

Nisga'a oral histories record the names of the two villages destroyed in the eruption, Wii Lax K'abit and Lax Ksiluux. 

The landscape is amazing and to think that so much destruction was done to so many. Of course back in the 1700's there wasn't the kind of communications we have now to alert people of an impending doom. 

However there were some areas of beauty where life had come back in the way of lichen and plants and trees. 

Some areas had rushing streams and waterfalls. 

We stopped at the Visitor's Center but no one was there to open it up.

 We then moved on to a large lava field where there were holes in the lava called tree casts.

This is where lava engulfed a tree and was so hot it instantly incinerated the tree then cooled quickly leaving a hole in the lava.

Ron was looking back at me through one of the tree casts.

On our auto tour of the lava beds we stopped at one of the villages. I think it was the Gitwinksihlkw village. Until a new, more modern bridge to the village was built over the river this was the bridge used to get across. 

The new modern bridge

At each end of the bridge there were totem poles with interesting carvings. 

Very Native American

The village consisted of only a few homes and maybe a couple of businesses. Unfortunately they were in some disrepair. 

Such an incredible history and story of the area. In addition to our tour we did stop to pick up a few geocaches. Had to get my British Columbia souvenir. 

As we headed back to Ron and Patsy's home we stopped to visit the peeing tree in Rosswood, B.C. near Terrace. 

Rosswood is a kind of ‘last frontier’ in British Columbia. The community of about 150 people is located 37 kilometers north of Terrace where Kalum Lake Road and the Nisga’a Highway meet. Probably the most memorable landmark in Rosswood is the Peeing Tree. Originally called the ‘Magic Tree,’ some 40 years ago the tree was outfitted with a pipe connecting it to a neighboring stream, which it then grew around. Don Parmenter, the creator of the tree, remembers thinking “it would be so much easier to collect water if we just put a pipe in that tree.”  Since then, the tree has been a water collecting hotspot for Rosswood residents and, with the introduction of loggers into the area, the name slowly shifted towards the ‘peeing tree.’

Glenda and I took our turns at drinking from the tree.

The water was very cold and very pure tasting. No comments on this please. HaHa. 

 No auto trip of the area would be complete without a visit to the Rosswood General Store. The only store in Rosswood, and one of the last general stores in B.C. Beautiful drive, and interesting hard to find products. local honey, and other specialty foods. Gluten free and organic baking supplies.

On the way we enjoyed some of our last views of the surrounding mountains and look forward to making a trip back to B.C. again some day.

While visiting Ron and Patsy we also enjoyed going to some of their favorite restaurants with great food and libation. 

It was hard to say goodbye the next day but it was time to head back to the States. We'll be seeing them again soon in AZ this winter. We're so happy everything finally worked out to make this trip into B.C. In some ways the issues we had with the car and motorhome really worked out to our advantage. Always a sliver lining in a crisis. 

We left Terrace and stopped in Prince George overnight again and then back to Oroville, WA and the motorhome. We had a day to rest up before moving on into Idaho. Next post will be a compilation up to our stop near Yellowstone NP. We continue to move eastward to see family and friends.