Buckhorn lake, British Columbia, Canada
July 15, 2019
With breakfast out of the way and our donation left in the box at Kiwanga Centennial park we headed off on what we knew would be a long days drive. We were heading South East and given our last experience at Prince George we wanted to make sure that we cleared that city and didn’t have to find anywhere to sleep in or around it. The only place we had in mind to check out that day was the small town of Hazelton which wasn’t far along the highway from Kitwanga.
Hazelton was great. It’s only small with a population of just over 300 and comprises of Hazelton, New Hazelton and four first nation villages all within a stones throw of each other. The place has quite a rich textured history dating back to 1866 when the town was first formed. It is the oldest town in Northern BC and came into existence off the back of the overland telegraph system that passed through there combined with being the gateway to the Omega gold rush. Obviously the first nations history stretches back a lot further and this is what we wanted to take a look at when we passed through.
I was really disappointed that we didn’t get to Haida Gwai. Haida Gwai is a little bit like the Galapagos of the North as there are many species there that don’t exist anywhere else in the world. The other thing it is known for is its amazing First Nations art. I’ve been interested in this art for a lot of years now and it was great to finally get to see some up close at the village of Ksan. I find the artwork incredible and so uniquely stylized. It is all geared around characters and animals that are important to the native people. There really is nothing else like it anywhere else in the world, it is truly unique to these parts. It is predominantly red and black, occasionally with blue depending on the particular tribe and area.
The village of Ksan sits exactly where the original native village of Gitanmaax was situated for hundreds of years. The village despite having a small museum and art shop is not just a tourist attraction. It is used regularly by the native community and is a working village. There is an art school there and often they hold feasts and traditional ceremonies in the buildings. The buildings themselves are amazing. Huge black and red murals adorn the outer walls depicting mainly animals. As we wandered around the door to the art school was open. Despite there being nobody around we didn’t enter as we didn’t want to upset anyone but as we looked in from the door there was a huge totem pole half way through construction. These people are amazing artists and craftsmen. Knowledge that has been passed through generations over hundreds of years. It was a great place to while away a few hours but with time getting on and a big distance still to cover if we were going to clear Prince George we reluctantly headed off.
It was many hours later when we eventually hit Prince George. We didn’t turn off the highway at all and into the town. We simply filled up with petrol then headed South on highway highway 97 in search of somewhere to spend to the night. Yet again it was another voyage up a forest service road away from the highway, this time to a free spot on the shore of Buckhorn lake. It was a lovely peaceful spot. Just ourselves there for the night and we were just in time to catch a beautiful fiery sunset across the lake before settling in with a few beers and bourbons. It’s nice to have avoided a second visit to Prince George but also quite sad as we know that ultimately from now on we are slowly creeping our way back towards Vancouver and the end of the Canada leg of this trip. I’m sure we can still squeeze a few more new places in though before that time comes.
