John Harvey Photo

Farwell Canyon

Go to Slide Show Smaller Images First night in a RV!


We rented the RV on a Sunday afternoon with the intention of packing Sunday night and leaving Monday morning.  We rented pretty bare bones - we had to provide all of the kitchen stuff and bedding.  On the plus side, we had a large collection of camping gear so we just had to move stuff from our storage room to the RV and we were surprised to discover how much extra space we had!  We packed jackets in closets, bathroom supplies (16 rolls of special RV toilet paper) and everything else we could think of.  We brought our handy non-stick frying pans from our home kitchen and a few jugs of drinking water.

The next morning we got the kids in the camper and hit the road - at 11am!

Kids Packing Last Items Cleanest The Camper Will Ever Be


We had lunch in Abbotsford - our RV was too tall to go through most drive throughs so we had to use "curbside" pickup.  Our first destination was a rock hounding site I wanted to try up past Cache Creek.  We had a brief drive on a dirt road and got to place where we could mine for amethyst!

Burned ForestCrystals In RocksAmethyst Skin On Rock

The rock was easy to find (right at the side of the road), but it was low quality - almost no purple colour and very small crystals.  The real problem was the matrix - crystals were solidly attached to surround stone which had very few cracks.  The only obvious option is to take either hit the crysal (not a good plan) or follow a big crack and hope you can take off something large.  Neither works well.

Common Gaillardia Growing Roadside
That said, getting off the highway and moving slowly lets you see things you would normally miss.  There was lots of cactus in the grass and most of it was blooming.  Prickly pear cactus is quite widespread in BC, but this is the first time I've seen it blooming.

Brittle Prickly Pear Flowering

We didn't stay long (We had a long way to go still) so we got turned around an continued North.  In William lake we stopped for take out and got to our destination - The historic Chilcotin lodge - around 8pm.  They are both a lodge (rooms for rent) and a RV park for a dozen vehicles.  We were the only guests for the night.

Bluebirds On FenceFemale Mountain Bluebird

The lodge has relatively new owners and while it's only 30 minutes from Williams lake, you are out of the way here.  There is no cell phone signal and the lodge can only get ADSL - 1.5 Mbit or lower.  That said, there are birds everywhere and not a lot of city noise.


The owners have horses for their own riding (they don't offer riding services) but they did give the kids an apple each so the kids could feed the horses.  The kids were thrilled!

Claira Feeding Apples To HorseNara Feeding Apples To Horse


On the road again!  We drove roughly 20 minutes to Farwell Canyon and found it empty.  We originally thought about just camping at Farwell Canyon, but there are no services and it was our first night so we wanted a bit of a safety net.
 
Cliche RVPhoto
The view from the pull out is amazing.  The Chilcoot river is chewing its way through the soft sediment which causes steep cliffs and lazy s-bends in the river.  The far side of the river has an enormous hillside which has hoodoo's and a sand dune at the top.


 
  UBend In Chilcotin River
 
From the parking lot you can walk down to an old farmstead (which is probably private property) or out to the cliff edge.  We decided to check out the old farmstead to see the view from below.

Claira Sitting In Log Home Window
The buildings are log homes that are slowly returning to nature.  You definitely don't want to go inside and the wood is likely rotting.

Log Home Missing RoofDerilict Log Homes With View

There is a field and an old apple tree which is still hanging on.   We spotted birds and butterflies calling this place home. 

  Survivor Apple TreeEastern Kingbird With Flowers Behind
 
Yellow Salsify As Giant DandylionWell Worn Purplish Copper

Back at the vehicle, we walked out to the edge of the cliff.  In theory you could walk down to the river, but I'm not a big fan of walking down steep sandy slopes as you might not be able to walk back up!

Sandy Mountains Across River

I really wanted to see the sand dune and the view from the top.  There is quite a nice trail with a trail head about a km back towards the highway.  We parked, loaded up our water and started walking! 

Sagebrush Mariposa LilySteep Descent At StartWalking Across Field To Sand Dune


The hike is about 2km there with 160m of elevation change (says AllTrails) - my little GPS says the elevation at the start and end are almost identical.  Most of the hike is on vehicle level roads, but there are some parts climbing steep sand slopes where progress is really slow.

Farwell Canyon From Dune Top

Sand Blowing And Thermal Distortion
The view from the top is amazing.  There was a constant breeze blowing sand up from below so the patterns in the sand were untouched.  The front (river facing) side of the sand dune isn't steep so there isn't a risk of falling in and becoming trapped.


Kids On Top Of Sand DuneSBends In Chilcotin River
We stayed at the top and appreciated the view of the river (and drank water). 

Sand Dunes Looking Down On SCurves

Nara Trying To Slide Down Sanddunes

But all good things - we decided to return back the way we came.  Going down a huge pile of sand is much faster than going up.  By the time we got back to the camper, we still had a few sips of water in the water bottles.  The air conditioning in the camper was really really appreciated.


Next: North to Beaumont Provincial Park


Survivor Apple Tree
Altitude: 456m (1496 feet)
Location: Go To...
Brittle Prickly Pear Flowering
Species: Opuntia fragilis (brittle prickly pear)
Altitude: 617m (2024 feet)
Location: Go To...
Sagebrush Mariposa Lily
Species: Calochortus macrocarpus (sagebrush mariposa lily)
Altitude: 630m (2066 feet)
Location: Go To...
Derilict Log Homes With View
Altitude: 455m (1492 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: building, derelict, house, log home
Kids Packing Last Items
Sand Dunes Looking Down On SCurves
Altitude: 631m (2070 feet)
Location: Go To...
Well Worn Purplish Copper
Species: Lycaena helloides (Purplish Copper)
Altitude: 468m (1535 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: butterfly, insect
Farwell Canyon From Dune Top
Altitude: 629m (2063 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: canyon, river, s bend, sand
Sandy Mountains Across River
Altitude: 478m (1568 feet)
Location: Go To...
Claira Sitting In Log Home Window
Person: Claira
Altitude: 453m (1486 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: derelict, window
Female Mountain Bluebird
Species: Sialia currucoides (Mountain Bluebird)
Altitude: 897m (2942 feet)
Location: Go To...
Sand Blowing And Thermal Distortion
Altitude: 632m (2073 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: heat haze, sand, sand dune
Crystals In Rocks
Altitude: 821m (2693 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: rock, rockhounding
SBends In Chilcotin River
Altitude: 629m (2063 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: river, s bend, sand
Eastern Kingbird With Flowers Behind
Species: Tyrannus tyrannus (Eastern Kingbird)
Altitude: 450m (1476 feet)
Location: Go To...
Bluebirds On Fence
Species: Sialia currucoides (Mountain Bluebird)
Altitude: 901m (2956 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: fence
Log Home Missing Roof
Altitude: 453m (1486 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: derelict, house, log home, roof
UBend In Chilcotin River
Altitude: 477m (1564 feet)
Location: Go To...
Amethyst Skin On Rock
Altitude: 821m (2693 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: rock, rockhounding
Claira Feeding Apples To Horse
Person: Claira
Altitude: 904m (2965 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: hand feeding, horse
Yellow Salsify As Giant Dandylion
Altitude: 476m (1561 feet)
Location: Go To...
Cliche RVPhoto
Altitude: 478m (1568 feet)
Location: Go To...
Burned Forest
Altitude: 820m (2690 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: burned, forest
Cleanest The Camper Will Ever Be
Steep Descent At Start
Altitude: 615m (2017 feet)
Location: Go To...
Nara Trying To Slide Down Sanddunes
Common Gaillardia Growing Roadside
Species: Gaillardia aristata (common gaillardia, brown eyed susan)
Kids On Top Of Sand Dune
Person: Claira, Nara
Altitude: 631m (2070 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: sand dune
Nara Feeding Apples To Horse
Person: Claira, Nara
Altitude: 893m (2929 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: fence, hand feeding, horse
Walking Across Field To Sand Dune
Altitude: 610m (2001 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: sand(3), derelict(3), hand feeding(2), horse(2), sand dune(2), rockhounding(2)
People: Claira(4), Nara(2)
From: John Harvey Photo > John's Overnight Page > Prince Rupert Road Trip > Farwell Canyon
From: John Harvey Photo > John's Overnight Page > Farwell Canyon

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Last Modified Sunday, January 22nd, 2023 at 00:07:29 Edit
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