My partner's brother-in-law, Michael, has a jet boat and for many years has used it for his work in the Terrace area so when he offered to take us on a river trip we jumped at the opportunity. We drove from Terrace to where the Exchamsiks River empties into the Skeena River and launched the boat. The beauty along the Exchamsiks River is beyond compare. Michael understands his boat and the river so well that he can speed along at exciting speeds and each corner we turned there was another magnificent sight to behold. He took us through some small rapids and it amazed me how he was able to negotiate smoothly through all the enormous rocks. We stopped and had lunch on a sand bank covered with tiny toads who quickly vacated the area we chose to invade. The breeze chilled the air quickly as we passed various glaciers and eventually we stopped at the base of a waterfall. Trying to capture a better image, my partner and I tromped through intensely dense bush. By the time we emerged from our expedition to find Michael and the boat, we were covered in dirt, flies, and thorns from the Devil's Club. I can't imagine how it feels to be on that show "Naked and Afraid", we were fully protected and it wasn't pleasant.

From there we started back down the river, the wind blowing in my face and surrounded by some of the most magnificent country, I breathed deeply and was filled with gratitude for having this opportunity. What an incredible gift Michael bestowed upon us sharing "his" country in this way. I would highly recommend taking one of the many river tours if you are ever in the area.

After a full day on the river we were hungry and stopped at the newly opened Evergreen Pub in Terrace. The food was above average. I had pork stuffed with some sort of delicious concoction. Feeling comfortably full we headed back to our motel and snapped a picture of one of the many beautifully painted bears which decorate the streets.

A phenomenal day!