August 2009 Road Trip - Kelowna, Spokane (70)

We took a week in August for a road trip. Our plan was to do a little circuit from Calgary down through the Crowsnest Pass to Kelowna/Peachland, then drive south to Spokane and return home via Coeur d'Alene .

One road we really like is highway 22, which runs parallel to the foothills. We got on that and started south - a change from our usual route of the Trans Canada highway. It's a relatively new road, so nice pavement. The traffic is always light and it is scenic. Unfortunately on the day we went, it was overcast and off and on rainy, so not as nice as it could have been. Still, here is a pix to show the potential.

Highway 22 dumps you out at Lumbreck Falls at the south end, where we caught highway 3 and headed west.

This is coal mining country. Of course most of the mines closed years ago when they became uneconomic, but there is still plenty of evidence of their existence. We stopped at Sparwood for a few minutes - here is a 1974 "Terex Titan", which I believe would have been used to transport coal. Built by General Motors, it is promoted as the largest dump truck in the world.

Back on the road again....

Wildflowers in a meadow.

Sort of looks like whipped cream on the top of the mountain...

This was interior British Columbia. Forest fires were burning and what you see here is not fog - it is smoke. It just got worse as we progressed.

We stopped at a park. I actually used my flash for some of the pix - the trees were so tall they blocked most of the light.

Flash on the tangle of tree roots - well trod upon by many travellers such as ourselves.

Joe.

We stopped overnight in Nelson. It was late when we got in, no pix - too dark. Then we were in a hurry to make the ferry across Lower Arrow Lake. So didn't get a pix on our way out, either. No Nelson pix.

We breezed through Slocan, Silverton, New Denver, and Nakusp on the way to the ferry.

Smoke on the Water (apologies to Deep Purple).

Dome Quixote Lodge.

Here is the ferry!

Smoke on the water again.

Bridge just off the ferry.

Lumby - we stopped here for ice cream. They didn't have too many flavours, but the cones were extremely generous!

Coming into Kelowna on day two. Smoke, smoke, smoke. We could smell the charred wood. The Kelowna fire was within two kilometers of my parents' place in Peachland. It was grim.