From the island into the desert
This article is part of the series “2026-09: Canada”.
13 September
My wife Annika and I stand on board of the ferry Queen of Cowichan. After several days on Vancouver Island we are heading back to the Canadian mainland, this time to Tsawwassen, which is south of Vancouver. To get there we have to cross international borders twice, first into the USA and then back into Canada. These borders are invisible because they are on sea. Back on the mainland, we see signs to the USA border at several places as well.
We make a stop in the village of tucckʷiowhum which is part of the Nlaka’pamux Nation. British Columbia is home to many distinct First Nations, each with its own culture, history, territory, and language. Often the languages are visible on the bilingual signs. The following stop signs show two different languages. According to the AI I used for research, “ƛ̓éyi” is Nłeʔkepmxcín which is spoken in the Fraser Canyon and Nicola regions. “T̄ÁLLEC” is St̓át̓imcets which is spoken in and around Lillooet, the town we are heading for today.
But we are not in Lillooet yet, we are in tucckʷiowhum. This is the first place where we can see the devastation caused by this year’s forest fires. Some hills are covered with black trunks. Even some of the buildings have burnt down. We know that forest fires are part of nature (or can be) but it makes me sad to see the black trees, some standing, some fallen.
We continue our trip north. The landscape changes slowly. The forests are less dense, the soil looks drier and is often vegetated with brown grass.
At half past seven we cross the Fraser river and arrive in Lillooet, a small town with a population of about 2300. The sun starts to set, but the mountains in the east still have sunlight.
We check in at our first motel ever. We get a giant room with two double beds, a fridge, a coffee machine and a microwave. Since there is no proper kitchen available we walk into the centre where we eat salad and pizza at Manny’s Corner. The delicious Tandoori Chicken Pizza is massive and although I ordered only “medium size” I only manage to eat half of it. The leftovers will serve as tomorrow’s breakfast. On the other side of the street: The Roman Catholic church and a fast food chain.
In the streets: some pedestrians, especially younger ones and cars – mostly pickup trucks. The latter are very common in the area, the bigger the better. No wonder that our rented VW Tiguan, not a small car either, was rated as an “undersized vehicle” by the ferry company :-D .
14 September
Yesterday it had cleared up and when I wake up, the sky is blue. I go outside, just to the road where I see a flock of mule deer grazing on the dry meadows.
Our first action this morning is to visit Seton Lake. Sam, the manager of the motel said, it was a good place to take a swim and it is. There are some other people around but it is only us actually swimming in the lake.
Back in town we are looking around. I already knew that the landscape around Lillooet is desert-like, but I never expected cacti to grow here. This species seems to be the Brittle pricklypear.
You meet the Brittle pricklypear in person when you are stupid enough to wear sandals. But it is the yellow-blooming Rubber rabbitbrush that shapes this landscape. You can see them everywhere.
Nearby lies the Lillooet Suspension Bridge, built in 1913 and in active use to cross the Fraser river until the modern “Bridge of the Twenty-Three Camels” was built in 1981.
Our way leads north along the Fraser River canyon. We stop several times, mostly to enjoy the views and once at the Fountain Flats Trading Post, a convenience store where we buy snacks and something to drink.
Another stop we make is at the second-hand shop in Clinton where Annika buys a Thermos flask with an interesting feature: it does not insulate for a minute. In a corner of one of the rooms: Two pairs of large snowshoes.
Near Chasm we leave Highway 97 and drive north on unpaved roads. Beside the road are several alkaline lakes, most of them dried out. On the surface there is a thin layer of soda crust, underneath it is black mud. I never saw anything like this before. My rubber boots get muddy and it takes ages to wash the soft-soap-like mud away.
At half past eight we arrive at our motel, the Stampeder Inn in Williams Lake where we’ll stay for two nights.
Again I remember my wondering before our journey: Will Canada be different from Scandinavia apart from its size. And again I get the answer: Some parts are very, very different!