May | 2017 | Richard McGuire Photo

Steve Hohmann of Quesnel is thrown from his horse in the saddle bronc competition at Keremeos Elks Rodeo. (Richard McGuire photo)

Rodeo is a rural tradition that’s especially popular in the cattle ranching country of B.C. and Alberta and neighbouring U.S. states. Cowboys and cowgirls compete to show off their skills. The May long weekend is rodeo time in Keremeos, about 40 minutes west of Osoyoos. I went there to photograph the events on a sunny, but scorching hot Sunday. (Richard McGuire photos)

Joe Roberson, of Williams Lake, hangs on as his horse Trickster jumps very high to try to throw him in the saddle bronc competition at Keremeos Elks Rodeo. (Richard McGuire photo)

Steve Hohmann of Quesnel hangs on tight to Crooked Hillary in the saddle bronc competition at Keremeos Elks Rodeo. (Richard McGuire photo)

Blaire Smith of Vernon ropes a calf in the tie-down roping event at Keremeos Elks Rodeo. (Richard McGuire photo)

Blaire Smith of Vernon picks up a calf to put it on its back so he can tie its legs in the tie-down roping event at Keremeos Elks Rodeo. (Richard McGuire photo)

Denver Derose of Kamloops hangs on for a rough ride on Taboo during the bareback riding competition at Keremeos Elks Rodeo. (Richard McGuire photo)

Joe Roberson, of Williams Lake, checks out the view from up high in the saddle bronc competition at Keremeos Elks Rodeo. (Richard McGuire photo)

It was steers 5, cowboys 0 when none of the competitors managed to score in the steer wrestling at Keremeos Rodeo on Sunday. The cowboy has to slide off his horse and onto the steer as they all run. This guy seemed to have a good chance, but the steer ended up trampling him. (Richard McGuire photo)

Kiley Streeter, of Palisades, WA, ropes a calf in the breakaway roping, a women’s event. The calves get a short head start, and the women follow on horseback. (Richard McGuire photo)

Brandon Louie, of Cawston, BC, tries to hang on a steer rears up to throw him in the junior steer riding competition at Keremeos Rodeo. A fraction of a second later Louie was on the ground. (Richard McGuire photo)

For the half-time entertainment, they pen off an area, put in a bunch of youngsters aged eight and under, then throw live chickens into the pen. The kids that catch a chicken can keep it. I heard one adult ask a girl if she was going to roast her chicken, but she seemed horrified and said she was keeping it as a pet. Then I saw some other children feeding French fries to their chicken. (Richard McGuire photo)

Barrel racing is a woman’s event that follows the intermission and has many competitors. Unfortunately I couldn’t catch all the names when the announcer got carried away in banter and wasn’t clear on who was riding when. (Richard McGuire photo)

In team roping, one rider ropes a steer’s head and the other ropes its hind feet. This is the only event where men and women compete equally in the same event. (Richard McGuire photo)

Steve Hohmann of Quesnel looks back at the bull that just threw him in the bull riding competition at Keremeos Elks Rodeo. (Richard McGuire photo)

Ryan Jasper, of Williams Lake, B.C., slides off the back of a bucking bull in the bull riding competition at Keremeos Elks Rodeo. (Richard McGuire photo)

Darryl Brown, of Langley, B.C., tries to hang onto the side of a bull that is determined to throw him. A split second later he was on the ground, trying to avoid being trampled. (Richard McGuire photo)

Steve Hohmann of Quesnel gets bucked around in the bull riding competition at Keremeos Elks Rodeo on Sunday. It was a hot day and many people turned out for such events as bareback riding, saddle bronc, tie-down roping, barrel racing, team roping and others. (Richard McGuire photo)

Lillooet promotes itself with the slogan “guaranteed rugged.” In an area of rugged and rocky mountains, it’s an appropriate title. (Richard McGuire photo)

Lillooet brands itself with the slogan “guaranteed rugged,” which is appropriate for a small town where the Coast Mountains meet the dry Upper Fraser Valley.

This was my most ambitious trip yet with my new (old) trailer, both for distance — about a five-hour trip from Osoyoos — as well as for some of the steep roads I covered.

I camped two nights at Cinnamon Recreation Site under tall rocky mountains and right beside Cayoosh Creek. It was definitely on the coolish side, and higher up when I explored the area, there was still a lot of snow.

(Richard McGuire photos)

With the help of a long lens, I was able to explore the snowfields of the higher mountain elevations near Lillooet, without making a dangerous climb through avalanche country. (Richard McGuire photo)

A pair of mule deer take a pause from munching grass to curiously eye a photographer watching them with a long lens. (Richard McGuire photo)

Highway 99 climbs steeply after leaving Lillooet and soon there were snow-covered peaks all around. The Friday evening that I drove through, it was still very blue and clear. (Richard McGuire photo)

I camped two nights at Cinnamon Recreation Site on the banks of Cayoosh Creek. Tall, rugged mountains towered above. (Richard McGuire photo)

The Cayoosh Creek flows next to Highway 99 between Duffey Lake down towards Lillooet. (Richard McGuire photo)

There was still lots of snow on the ground at higher elevations as I approached Duffey Lake to the southwest of Lillooet, B.C. Duffey Lake itself was frozen, but this part of the Cayoosh Creek was open water. (Richard McGuire photo)

It was a cloudy day and the clouds hung around the snow-covered peaks near the Cayoosh Pass. (Richard McGuire photo)

I took a very short hike through a forest in Joffe Lake Provincial Park to the Lower Joffre Lake. The snow was still very deep and the trail was quite icy. It wasn’t too cold out — I was comfortable in a windbreaker. (Richard McGuire photo)

Cross-country skiers cross Lower Joffre Lake at Joffre Lakes Provincial Park. There were patches of open water and the ice was unstable near the edge of the like, but evidently it was fine to cross. I didn’t venture out onto it myself. (Richard McGuire photo)

The trees were thick with moss in Joffre Lake Provincial Park. (Richard McGuire photo)

A large rockslide has spilled down from the mountain next to Highway 99 heading back towards Lillooet. In areas like this there are signs warning not to stop, just in case something comes down the mountain. I was just before the no stopping zone when I shot this photo with a long lens. (Richard McGuire photo)

The B.C. Recreation Sites provide basic inexpensive camping. You get a picnic table, camping space, fire ring and there’s a pit toilet nearby. The fee is $12 a night, though it’s free and open in the off season. I was there at the end of April, which was the first weekend when they charged the fee. (Richard McGuire photo)

Tall mountains towered above my campsite at Cinnamon Rec Site southwest of Lillooet. The Sunday morning was more clear again after a cloudy Saturday. (Richard McGuire photo)

Clouds cling to snowy mountains near Lillooet, B.C. (Richard McGuire photo)

The blue waters of Seton Lake are held back by a BC Hydro dam just outside Lillooet, B.C. (Richard McGuire photo)

A steep, rocky cliff rises above the highway at Marble Canyon Provincial Park between Lillooet and Cache Creek, B.C. (Richard McGuire photo)

Burned trees mark the remnants of a past wildfire on a rocky slope at Marble Canyon Provincial Park between Lillooet and Cache Creek. (Richard McGuire photo)

Dramatic clouds create a mysterious landscape over a large tailings pond at the Highland Valley Mine near Logan Lake, B.C. (Richard McGuire photo)

Richard McGuire Photo

Month: May 2017

Keremeos Elks Rodeo – 2017

Lillooet: Guaranteed Rugged