The day has finally arrived. This is the end of our voyage, the conclusion of our adventure, the close of our communion with nature. No more quiet days and even more quiet nights broken only by the gentle snoring of our campmates, the wail of a loon or the hoot of an owl. No more incredibly beautiful scenery, only accessible to those who choose to "earn" their way around the circuit. We will be rejoining civilization later this morning, and I must say that in many ways I am ready but then I also wish I could stay out here longer, experiencing nature at its finest.

I hear folks rousing from their slumber about 5am so get up and pack all my gear. We eat a light meal of granola to tide us over until we reach the Bear River Merchatile where we will have a buffet breakfast.

We leave at about 6am and quietly (no talking) paddle down the Bowron River towards Bowron Lake. The beavers have been busy building a dam.

As we round the bend, a heron takes flight upon seeing us approach.

A flock of Canada Geese just before they took to the sky.

Our first glimpse of Bowron Lake. The lake at this point is choked by a water plant that threatens to spread to the rest of the lake.

Sandy at the Bear River Merchantile sees us arrive and fires up breakfast. After taking care of the canoes and gear, we have a "celebration breakfast" of eggs, pancakes, bacon, ham, yogurt, fresh fruit, assorted juices, coffee, tea, and more. The food is good and the company is even better. We have been a pretty good group that worked and got along very well together which only enhanced the trip for everyone. We exchange addresses, phone numbers and email so we can stay in contact when we get home. We say goodbye to Barry and Patty who head home to Prince George directly after breakfast.

After breakfast Merlin and Cheryl go pick up her car but have to run an errand so I take the opportunity and pay $5CDN to take a shower and change into some clean clothes. It feels wonderful and I'm sure anyone sitting next to me at the airport or on the planes home will appreciate that I have recently bathed.

Our flight is finally called and we board--kind of like the Intel shuttle with no seat assignments. Only there is no door between the pilots and the passengers.

The flight from Quesnel to Vancouver is just over an hour so eventually the city comes into view. It is such a beautiful day--the area is a port city and surrounded by water--so you can see tankers and pleasure boats alike plying the waters below.

We land in Vancouver and walk through the terminal until we must go our separate ways. Susan and I hug and say our goodbyes and she heads for the bus to take her to the ferry go go home to Victoria. And I begin my quest for the international terminal and US Customs.

Because the 2010 Winter Olympics were awarded to Vancouver, the airport is undergoing major remodeling (but then, what airport isn't undergoing remodeling???) and I wind my way down relatively unmarked corridor after another. It seems like I'm the only one going there as I am rarely ever passed but I finally find the door I need to go through to get my luggage. An Indian (that what he looked to me) US Customs officer examines my birth certificate and asks me about my stay in Canada and lets me pass into the baggage claim area. I wait for about 30-45 minutes for my baggage to arrive. While I wait, I call my Mom to see if she'll pick me up at PDX as I have forgotten that it is Sunday and buses do not run with the same regularity as a weekday. She agrees and I look forward to seeing her at ~8:45pm. My bags arrive and after depositing them with the next baggage handlers, I get in a long line at the security checkpoint. I think the line is moving along pretty briskly and they only enquire about the spare batteries I have in my Pelican case for my camera. Other than that, it's a breeze. I decided that I needed to eat something so get a frozen fruit drink at Starbucks and a blueberry bar--YUM! I browsed around a bit at the terminal stores and then headed for the gate.

A kid from Rex Putnam HS who had been at band camp in Victoria for two weeks came and sat across the seat from me. He was stressed about making his flight. He thought customs took too long.

Soon, I hear the guy at the desk calling my name over the loudspeaker. He needs to see my boarding pass, photo ID and my birth certificate. I show them and he says I won't need them again. Pretty soon they call our flight and soon after that we're off--Goodbye Canada! It's been fun!