Day 4
Bella Coola
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| We stopped in Hagensborg, a small community about 15km East of Bella Coola. This is the beautifully maintained Augsborg United Church. | Built in 1904, and still going strong today. I took a quick walk to the church early Sunday morning before breakfast. | Adjacent to the church is this restored home built in the early 1900s. | We stayed at the Brockton House B&B. Our room had three beds, kitchen, fireplace.....and a pool table. The men check out their billiards skills. |
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| After breakfast, our bus took us out to Clayton Falls on the estuary. The scenery is fjord-like - it's no wonder the area was settled by Norwegians! | Our group walks to the falls for some good views of seals & eagles in the estuary. | Looking back towards Bella Coola. | |
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| Stan Espeseth captures the estuary scenery with a camera that turned out to be pretty temperamental. | Mom at Clayton Falls. There's a small hydroelectric generating facility here. | I don't know what the "ICEWORM" sign means. It was at all four corners of this bridge. | We saw dozens of eagles on the stumps and driftwood at the estuary. |
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| On our way back from the falls, the group stopped by the church for a tour. Rev. Sangster talked about the church, then led a group chorus of "Church in the Woods" on the piano! | Look at these magnificent cedar planks, still tightly interlocked with hand-cut joints. | The exterior and interior of this early 1900's house have been faithfully restored. The cedar is every bit as sound today as it was when new. | After lunch, we stopped at Bella Coola's annual Fall Fair. Check out this cleverly built ride. Tractor PTO powers an old truck axle & transmission to spin the home-built swings. |
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| An unexpected place for another "train". Free rides to all the kids around the field! | A logging show with events for everyone. These ladies are competing for the fastest time to drive the spikes. | The usual chainsaw bucking event, with chips flying (and hearing protection recommended for the onlookers!) | Booths and exhibits line the field. The stitchery was impressive, or so I am told (I was too busy watching the trains, tractors, and chainsaws to venture in). |
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| An axe thrower practices - you can see the axe in mid-air. This looks like a Hoquiam Logger's Playday event! | Mom and Dad enjoy the native (First Nations) tour of the Nuxalk band. We learned about the importance of the oolichan, a smelt-like fish highly valued for its oil. | We had an excellent tour of the Bella Coola museum. You can see more of that wonderful hand-crafted cedar plank construction from the early 1900's. It was here that I learned about the dog that accompanied Alexander Mackenzie when he worked his way West to the coast. | It's a long way from Bella Coola to anywhere. The first 50km or so take you up the Big Hill, then it's a long stretch across the Chilcotin plateau to Williams Lake, ending with a dramatic crossing of the Fraser at Sheep Creek. |
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| The Nuxalk band welcomes you to Bella Coola. | Our bus got stuck in soft ground while attempts were made to repair a fuel leak. The local volunteer fire department pitched in to get us going. Small towns are great! | There were many dogs roaming freely in Bella Coola. This fella wanted to chase the dirt that was being used to fill in the damage caused when the bus tires spun. | And a group of concerned onlookers from our group wonders if the bus is going to get them home from Bella Coola! |
| Back to Days 1-3 from North Vancouver to Bella Coola | Chilcotin Tour Home | Continue on to Days 5-7 from Bella Coola to Seattle |