June 25, 2020
Houston is at the confluence of the Bulkley and Morice rivers.
The Steelhead Park in Houston is the community’s central attraction on Highway 16.
A gift from a Mexican silver mine, Minera Real de Angeles, this ancient grinding stone used animals for crushing ore. A step required to separate silver by mercury amalgamation.
Hazelton Aboriginal artist Wilfred Sampson built the Wolf Totem Pole in the early '80s. A traditional native potlatch celebrated the placing of the pole.
The focus of the park is the trout water fountain and the “World’s Largest Fly Rod.”
The Steelhead Fountain was sculpted in 1992 by Frank Eberman.
This sculpture depicts the steelhead striking up the Skeena River.
With brightly-colored murals, Downtown Houston is between the sight of Steelhead Park.
Rob was a bull rider in 1999, 2000, and 2004. In the year 2000, he won the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) in Edmonton, Alberta.
Next door to the park is a small heritage village with relocated buildings and informational signs.
Originally a Mission House, the Church of St. Clement was built in 1916 and was later rebuilt as an Anglican church.
If you are driving on Highway 16, you should try to do a quick stop at Houston to learn about the tourism and recreational opportunities provided by small businesses in the community.
If you have a vehicle with good tires, you can drive part of the Morice River Forest Service Rd. This is the area where the Wet’suwet’en are opposing the construction of an LNG pipeline from Northeast B.C. to Kitimat.
Nearby is Owen Hat, perhaps the only rock-climb place in the area.
Owen Hat is an ancient volcanic plug created when volcanic magma hardens inside a vent on an active volcano. The formation appears when the surrounding land erodes.
Houston is a forestry town, the closing of mills and the spin-off effect on other businesses depending on them is a big blow to Houston's economy.
There are many articles about the forest industry crisis.
My theory is limited to two main factors: The province reached the limits of sustained yield management and an increasing proportion of young people are opting not to own household.
The trip towards Telkwa brought beautiful oxeye daisies in bloom. Oxeye daisy is an invasive plant introduced from Europe in the 1800s, which has an unpleasant taste for grazers.
The plant alters the productivity of pastures by replacing grass with low soil fertility, thereby creating economic losses.
Nestled at the confluence of the Telkwa and Bulkley Rivers, Telkwa is known as the village Where the Rivers Meet.
Lakes, rivers, and mountains encircle Telkwa offering a beautiful experience year-round.
The history of Telkwa dates back to the 1860s, with the first arrival of construction teams to build the Collins Overland Telegraph Line, stretching to the Far North.
The average American recognizes thousands of logos for commercial products, but fewer than five plants that grow in his/her area. Dandelions are most likely one of those familiar plants.
The dried leaves of Nootka wild roses can bee used as an air freshener, similar to potpourri. Chewing up the leaves has even been known to freshen one’s breath.
Mountain Bluet is an invasive tap-rooted perennial herb from Europe.
People often spread it by giving or selling the plants, and improperly disposing of garden waste.
Nearby is Tyhee Lake Provincial Park. In 1866 the Trans-Atlantic Cable was completed and consequently the Collins Telegraph Line was abandoned only two years after it began.
Little remains of the Telegraph Line, but one of its legacies was the original name for the lake, Maclure, for the original surveyors of the Collins Telegraph Line.
The present name, Tyhee, means fish in the native Gitxsan language.
During the 1800s, a town called Aldermere and part of the “Old Caribou Trail” was at the southwest end of Tyhee Lake.
With the abandonment of the Telegraph Line in 1866, Aldermere was well on the way to dying out by 1914.
Little is left of Aldermere except for some foundations and timbers, which are now on private land.
Telkwa is a tranquil place. Here, artificial noise is at a low level, and natural sounds – such as bird songs – can be relatively high.
It has been a while since I have been this relaxed and without stress for such a long period of time.
Many search for sounds to even out the frenetic rythm of their days. They want peaceful tunes to deliver audible anxiety relief, and I have it delivered for free.
