Where were we??  Oh yes.  We had just landed in Prince Rupert in the middle of the night and in the rain.  We got off the ferry, got settled, and then crashed!  Pre-scheduled in our plan was a sleep day after the long ferry ride.  And that’s pretty much what we did. Plus, since it was raining (did I mention that Prince Rupert gets the most rain than any other city in Canada?), we stayed in and got caught up on several things including our sleep! We did find that the dumpsters were inspiring.

But the next day we were up and at ’em.  We grabbed our rain jackets and headed downtown to the Visitor Center for more sightseeing info.  There happened to be a cruise ship in town, so the area was bustling with people, and we fit right in!

And interesting fact we discovered at the Visitor Center is that Prince Rupert is a major shipping port.  Didn’t seem practical but geographically, it is the closest port to Asia on the west coast by as much as 2-3 days travel.  That answered a lot of questions about all the bright lights and container cranes we saw as we arrived two nights ago.  The cargo is offloaded here and then reloaded onto the train system for delivery across the country. 

With more things to see around town, we went for a walk.  The first stop was across the street at the Sunken Gardens park.  Maintained by the Prince Rupert Garden Club and the Port Authority, it is a small but very beautiful and peaceful space in the middle of town.  And the flowers were amazing. 

After a quick stop for a lunch of seafood chowder and sushi, we hiked down the Rushbrook Trail around Cow Bay.  The trail was very well maintained, which made a comfortable walk.  There were a few small waterfalls and Gail learned about some of the berry bushes from some local hikers familiar with the different kinds.  She’s now on the hunt for more blueberries!

We called it a day after running some shopping errands and a stop at the post office to mail our newest Great-grandchild, Draven, his 1^st birthday card! 

The last thing to do in Prince Rupert was a hike on the Butze Rapids Trail out on the edge of town.  It was mostly a rain (of course) forest with lots of old growth trees, lots of moss, large skunk cabbage plants, ferns, and berries!  At about 4 miles, we had a good hiking day, and it didn’t rain too much.

Next day we were off on Hwy 16 headed east to the town of Terrace.  The scenic drive went along the famous Skeena River with snow covered Kitimat Mountains in the distance.  Lots of turnouts and vista points to check out along the way.

Back to the local Visitor Center to get some bearings and local lore.  We decided to take on part of the longer Terrace Mountain Trail to the overlook of the Terrace Wolfpack Sculptures.  The hike was pretty much an “uphill” trail over a lot of rocky steps, but only for about a ½ mile.  The “sculptures” are welded steel frames that are meant to be viewed in profile.  There are 5 wolf and 4 bird sculptures on the overlook.  Very photo worthy even if it is difficult to get the right angle!

Our RV was parked under a lot of trees and we had no Wi-Fi access on the Starlink antenna.  So, we packed it up, drove the Jeep down to the marina and, utilizing the inverter and putting the antenna on the roof, we got some needed work done and raised some looks from people in the park!  But it worked.  We are not great Musk fans, but you have to admit the Starlink works!

Our next stop in Terrace was to Ferry Island for a walk through the Cottonwood Forest.  The trees are very tall and impressive.  Don’t remember seeing Cottonwood trees like them in Texas.  It’s a flat, 3 mile walk and there are carvings in the bark of some of the larger trees.   They were mostly small and a challenge to find but it also made the hike more fun!  Very nice. 

We also did a quick drive around town to see some of the various murals.  Lots of different styles but all relating to life in the area.

Back on Hwy 16, we headed to Smithers.  But along the way, we attempted to stop at the Kleanza Creek to hike to some waterfalls, but the parking lot was under repair, so we continued on.  Then we stopped in New Hazelton at the visitor center for lunch.   

Yes, they call the residents Smithereens!  It is famous (?) for its Mountain Goat population.  The area is supposed to contain about ½ of all the mountain goats in the world.  We asked everyone we met about where to see the mountain goats and almost to a person, they all said “What?  I’ve never seen any!”   From the Google searches, you would have expected to see them walking down the street.  

We got settled in and decided to check out the Twin Falls Recreational Site and Glacier Gulch Trail.  The parking was easy to find but the trail quickly took a steep turn uphill to the viewing platform.  Very nice even if a bit challenging.  The falls were dramatic, cascading over 500 ft from Kathlyn Glacier above.  And with binoculars we searched the hills around to find any mountain goats.  None to be seen.   Up a rougher and steeper trail to the upper falls for a better view.  Great falls and still no goats.  But on the bright side, we came across a mamma bear and two cubs on the way there!  Very cute.

Next day and after washing the Jeep and checking in at the Visitor Center (and after Gail corrected their Apple Maps opening/closing hours info!), we headed off on the Babine Lake Road to find some mountain goats.  We were given some directions and landmarks where to look.  The road was good for about a mile then turned to gravel and dirt.  We think that we had located the landmark and got out the binoculars again.  Maaaaybe, we saw something white and maaaaybe moving on the mountain across the way.  And then again, maybe not!  We drove some distance further to Chapman Lake and were rewarded with another bear siting.   Part of the road was being regraded with water added so we had a stretch of mud to cover!  And, needless to say, the last stop was back at the carwash. 

So finally, we found and got a photo of the mountain goat statue!  After some time walking through downtown, we had a nice dinner (ribs but with real vegetables – not the traditional coleslaw and fries) and headed back to the RV.   

Before leaving the next morning, we went back to the car wash.  This time I washed the RV while Gail rewashed under the Jeep, the wheel wells and tires.  We were ready to go with two clean vehicles.  Now off to Prince George and the next blog.