What a view!
June 22, 2015 12:00 pm Leave your thoughts
Nothing makes you crave fresh air and sunshine than sitting behind a desk staring at a computer all day. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy it but it does help me appreciate the time I get to explore. A childhood friend actually lives in Quesnel and this past week he was my tour guide to some of the hidden jewels this town has to offer. On a warm night after work we headed out to Pinnacles Provincial Park.
As a seasoned girl guide, I never turn down the chance to throw my hiking boots and a day pack. The trail was wide and well maintained which made our nature walk more leisure than adventure but my guide did not disappoint. Our first stop was a few feet off the trail towards the edge of a cliff where he told me the rule was only one person at the edge at a time and not to get to close, safety first kids. From our vantage point you could see all of Quesnel. He pointed out all of West Fraser’s operations, stretching from one side of town to the other and even a few that weren’t within range.
We continued along the fenced off ridge line till Sam stopped us to overlook a canyon carved out by a glacier once upon a time. He then pointed to a spire that jutted out like pride rock from the lion king and said that’s where we were headed.
A mud slide had washed out part of the fence that had been cut by rebellious teenagers wanting to get closer to the edge which made our decent down the sand stone face a little easier. As a popular destination there was a well beat trail down the side of the mountain and through the bush. As we walked out I was grateful that I wasn’t afraid of heights or that it was windy. The view was amazing standing in the middle of the canyon surrounded by sand stone spines and coniferous trees.
To finish off our evening Sam asked me if I wanted to join him on his first jump of the season into Dragon Lake. It was early, and still warm out so I thought “Hey why not”. We grabbed our swimming gear and headed out into his back yard and down to where his boat’s docked. Having grown up in Chetwynd, we usually spend our summers at Moberly Lake, a huge body of water that even at the end of June is known to have school kids scream as the run in and those who braved the chilly water, soon had their lips turning blue.
The idea of jumping in and swimming in a lake at the beginning of June had me pretty wary as I really don’t enjoy the cold and I wouldn’t call myself the strongest swimmer. But not being one to shy away from a challenge or adventure I put on my life jacket and offered to take the first jump, all while complaining about how cold it was going to be. One deep breath, and one big jump and I plunged into the water. Only to be extremely pleasantly surprised “This is like bath water” was the first thing I said as I surfaced. We floated and swam as the sun continued to dip lower. Ducks paddled around us and fish jumped for their dinner, it was something out of a Disney movie about summer camp. The lake is covered in birds, all different types of ducks and geese, and the song of the red wing black bird that nests in the edge of lake in the tall marsh greets you as come back to shore. Only 10 minutes from town Dragon Lake is the perfect after work retreat to unwind after a long day.