When God invented the world he started in Alberta (BC’s eastern neighbor) and worked his way toward the rising sun. He worked around the globe until he completed BC, figured he could not do better and decided to quit.

BC has a larger land mass than California, Oregon and Washington state combined. It has a population of about four million folks of which 80 plus percent live in two cities, Vancouver and Victoria. Ninety-five percent of all BC lands are owned by the federal government or in local speak, “the Crown”.

Like NYC, BC has its areas of residence. One is either from Vancouver, the Island (Vancouver Island where the capitol city of Victoria is located and Vancouver is not), the Coast or the Interior. Most urban dwellers have never been to the interior nor care to. It is like the Australian Outback. Glad its there but never plan on going.

The pearl of the interior is a region called the Chilcotin which is about half the size of Nebraska and has 3,000 residents or so. I describe it as Montana 1910. Folks are nice, very independent and there aren’t many of them. Someone a hundred miles away is considered a neighbor. Most folks are loggers, fishermen, tradesmen or ranchers by trade. If you want a “quality” woman in the Chilcotin, you best bring her with you as the softer gender is a bit scarce.

Chilko Lake is located in the interior of the Chilcotin. It is the largest (52 miles in length) high altitude lake in North America. In some spots it has a depth of 1,100 ft and the water is a beautiful turquoise blue that makes it look unique from other lakes. The water quality is so good it would be bottled and sold anywhere else. The Chilko Lake area is so beautiful that it was turned into a provincial park in 1994.

Chilko River runs out of the north end of the lake and forms a beautiful valley. This is where Charly’s Guest Ranch is located. Its exact location is 30 miles from the power grid, 45 miles to the post office and 200 miles to the grocery store. However, on a clear night, it seems as if one could reach up and grab the big dipper if they wanted. Its location is just about perfect.

The Chilicotin, while sparsely populated, has a high percentage of first generation European residents. Mostly German and Swiss who come for vacation and never return home. I was told by a noted area attorney that the Chilicotin was actually a spy sanctuary. He defined sanctuary as place where spies from around the world would come to decompress and take extended breaks from their profession or even retired without concern as it was “safe territory” for all in their industry. Seems one of his clients was a former CIA “employee” who had done some “wet” work in Cuba in the 60’s and convinced him of the story. Locals are skeptical of the claim. I actually have a high school friend who until recently did analytical work for the CIA and asked him to verify the story. He could find no evidence but since the attorney is now dead at a relative young age of apparent natural causes…

Charly’s was originally built by an Austrian guy in the late 80’s whose aka was Charly. He was a colorful character who sold interested individuals shares in a nonexistent gold mine and would allow, and maybe even encourage, several people in the same party to pick up the bar tab for a night of drinking at his establishment. That is the legend at least. Local concuss was you would not want him as a business partner. In 1997 he sold Charly’s to a Swiss fellow named Freddy. Freddy was a blond hair, blue eye individual that looked like Burt Bacharach and one could picture as a colonel aside a panzer tank a few decades earlier although the age did not fit. After three years, Freddy sold Charly’s to return to his former employer in the Fatherland or rather Switzerland. It seems his services were once more needed. Very interesting.

I became the owner of Charly’s in 2000 via a 20+ year route. In 1979 I was returning by vehicle from my first ever trip to Alaska when I picked up a hitch hiker in northern BC. He had been traveling about and told me about the Chilcotin area he had just visited and now enjoyable it has been. Of special interest was the Dean River and the fishing it offered. I decided to see for myself and ended up spending ten wonderful days there. I visited each year thereafter for several years and then did not return for seventeen years. I had gotten married, started a family and a career and just never made it back. In the late 90’s I returned and after a few years decided I would like to buy a ranch on the Dean River. The original ranch I fished on in the 70’s was now owned by a German and managed by another German named Frank Zeller. After a long visit with Frank he convinced me that Chilko Lake (2 hrs away) was where I should look. Fortunately, for Frank, he was a realtor and just happened to have a listing there. Fortunately, for me, it was good advice for a self serving reason and all ended well because I had an attorney (yep, same guy) who made sure all was kosher with the purchase. I later got a call from Interpol asking if I knew a Frank Zeller. Seems he and some associates were selling BC real estate via the internet to some unsuspecting Germans for one hundred times market value. He left for South Africa about that time after maxing out a score of credit cards. Maybe there is something to the spy rumor.