On the Road Again – Merritt, Day 1

13

My last trip for a month or so. I needed to come up to Merritt to visit Spius Creek Salmon Hatchery for some work. I generally take about three days to finish the first stage of the work, and this one went in a different direction than most of the other trips. I’ve spent most of the last few months on Vancouver Island, so it was nice to head inland for a change. I left Vancouver on a semi damp morning, and arrived in Merritt about two and a half hours later on a gorgeous sunny one. I’m hoping it lasts!

The drive up was lovely, heading out of Vancouver and into the mountains, there were low lying foggy patches. Moody, misty low places. Traffic was light and I made good time. I stopped briefly in Merritt to grab a sub for lunch and then headed off to find the hatchery. I was glad to have received directions to take Sunny Valley WEST road…because I immediately turned down the first road I saw with the appropriate name only to pull to a halt and think….hmmmm I didn’t see a sign to a hatchery…so I turned around and went back up the road a bit to find a sign that said EAST….back on the main road for a bit farther and finally found the right place.

Had a tour, did some work, headed out to find my hotel. Found the hotel, got my room, walked in and choked! I was in a smoking room! I had reserved a non-smoking room! Sorted that out and went to find some food. Then went for a bit of a drive and took some photos. Lots of really great old barns, hay bales, fences…all very rustic and very much what I remember of this region. Two oddities made me slam on the brakes and turn around for a look and a photo.

The first was what appeared to be a plane crash in a yard. A closer examination revealed that it was obviously scrap, but it’s placement was entertaining and warranted a double-take.

The second was the strangest fence I’ve ever seen, well, actually it was the fence posts that caught my eye. A long row of fence posts was topped with hard hats. Why? I had no idea. When I asked at the hatchery, Gary told me that lots of farmers put stones on the top of fence posts to stop the rain from rotting them (that was new to me) btu the problem is that with the winds and such, they get toppled off. This fellow was innovative! He nailed any old used hard hats he came across to his posts…..that’s a lot of hard hats though!

What was not familiar was all the pine beetle kill. It was shocking to see it this far South. An heartbreaking. All these gorgeous, massive trees, red. It’s terrible, and it’s frightening when you think back to 2003. Another tinder dry year could spell another horrible disaster for this part of the Province. The fuel for the potential fires is enormous. And the valley is a wind tunnel. Add that to a future fire and the devastation could be massive. The only positive note is that the forests here are sparse, it is mostly grassland….but that’s also a nasty prospect.

And speaking of that wind…when I was heading up here I said to Kirk that I wouldn’t have much to photograph since the forecast was for rain. He said I could take pictures of tumbleweeds, I said that was Cache Creek area…not here. I owe Kirk an apology….driving back from the hatchery, the winds gusting across the road….a tumbleweed crossed my path…..