These waterways dictate the roading.mit is the Transcanada Highway that we are on. Quite a lot of the time we travel beside the railways , yes there are two lines, because there were two competing companies. Often side by side. Conversation drifts around the construction,of this mammoth railway, and hardship.
Apart from luxury tourist oriented trips the major use now is freight, with several engines pulling. Anyway both road and rail, often follow mountain streams, and because the others have been on the train, discussion arises about a famous spiral built to traverse a steep incline. Chris knows this and we see it from the road.
Then we get to the last spike when the two railroad teams met up. They started from each end, and net in the middle.
Seems it was about as harshly driven as the Great Wall of China, and the camps of men building it were expedient, labour was cheap, life was harsh and cruel,, so it is a poignant thing to stop and see the monument of the 'Last Spike of the Canada Pacific Railway.'
The gold one, is the 'last spike' at Craigellachie, which is named after the owners hometown in Scotland.
A monument, with samples of every kind and colour of rock that they have cut throughout the construction. The colours range dramatically from province to province
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This is Chris by the photograph commemorating the ceremony. Chris is photographed putting himself in the photo of the ceremony.
I think this is one of Gary's ski resorts in the background on the left. They cut a swathe of trees enough for a run. oh I hope I have the right photo here Gary. anyway in Summer the ski run is just grass.
Well may be this is a ski field. Whatever they ski between the trees.
The roads may be straight but they are steep. You would not something without a bit of grunt, to confront these slopes.
We have been following the Columbia River, the biggest in the Pacific North West,which starts in the Rockies, specifically at Columbia Lake. It is huge and it is long ands comes out down in Washington ,but we are there at the start, and evidentially I will see this River later in the week.Anyway there iis this massive dam at Revelstoke and Lake Revelstoke is our next visit.
Here we are above the river, see the cars like ants down below,
It is here that I manage to drop my camera. oh it has happened before but this time I do it thoroughly and kindly Sandra's iPhone stepped up to be our official photographers, on this epic journey. I keep taking them for a while, and maybe that Canon can ring a miracle, but. . Onward.
This is me at the dam with dropped camera.
If you look at a map we are travelling to the left, (West) we follow water pretty much, wherever we go in this province.The terrain changes as we get lower down and it is all pretty attractive and I'm told that Albertans come over here for their cabin holidays. It is a boaters dream as there endless places to explore, and picnic and the water looks like it never gets rough, like the sea does. We are going across BC and down a bit to Kamloops . To do this we pass Salmon Arm at Shuswap, and I decide I remember that this is where I could live. ( Shuswap is an Indian name) It is shaped in a convoluted fashion like a sort of H shape with various arms and we are travelling down the Salmon Arm. It is all connected.
Shuswap Lake with all little holiday places
We follow the Thompson River this time. David Thompson who is deemed the greatest land geographer who ever lived. we are still on the Transcanada highway#1, and getting close to Kamloops where Chris and Cheryl depart.We drop them at a hotel, from where they will connect with their friends coming down from Jasper
and back down the Trans Canada, we go beside the Thompson River and turn South Ono Highway #97
We are heading down particularly pretty almost European looking rural scenes. my favourite is Falkland, which is near Monte Lake. We are travelling down a valley that it connects Thompson Country with Okanagen, where Sandra lives. Here is Monte Lake.
notice Monte Lake has an RV park and these have been a talking topic. RV just means a recreational vehicle but it has come to encompass the biggest sort of Paris Hiltonor Dolly Parton tour accommodation on a set of wheels. And when you go to an RV park they have hook up connections, that truely enable a home away from home experience.We are starting to see some of them on the road. Not all are huge.
Note there are no treesWe are heading south towards Sandra's home on Lake Okanagen.
we first come to the town of Vernon, where Sandra and Gary lived for years
But it is getting dark and iPhone or no the dusk does not warrant photographs.
The eye can see though, and we are on the home stretch as we pass places like Oyama and Winfield before we pull into Mackileys's Landing where they live. It is on the Lake , amongst trees and glittering below I and across the lake are lights.
We swoop down the drive, the garage doors open and we park and sit and look at the km.s . Sandra has clocked up since 6.30am this morning.
A truely mammoth effort, and three people's holidays have been saved.
We go in to check out yet another view from the verandah. Gary is away at a family graduation /celebration.
This place is truely a refuge from the busy world and yet it is a suburb of the city of Kelowma (population 106,000, but you feel you are in the wild, but with all mod cons.
It is tastefully decorated, and my bed is comfy. There are blackout blinds and curtains and it is altogether bliss to be here. ow fortunate am I.
Thank you Sandra
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