BRIAN REID PHOTOGRAPHER
Canada West Day 8 - Enjoying the Kootenays
Sunday 14 May 2023 05:36
The weather is certainly warming up but I am glad to be in the Rockies rather than the planes of Alberta where they are experiencing a heat dome. I was pleased to note that the Upper Arrow Lake ferry was running today after maintenance kept it out of action for the past two days. This is not academic as the alternative was a detour of over 200 km! As it happens I was able to follow the road untravelled through the West Koots, along Kootenay Lake, over the mountains and along Arrow Lake on the mighty Columbia River, overall a short hop from Nelson to Revelstoke. The latter on first inspection was not impressive along the Trans Canada highway but a visit to the downtown for dinner revealed a quite vibrant little town considering that we are seriously out of season. I dopped into a Provincial Park just south of Revelstoke and encountered two rangers having a kick about in an empty car park I quipped that it was not too busy to which they told me no-one visits at this time of the year. Not strictly true as there was a family down by the lakeside. I always enjoy a ferry ride particularly a scenic one and today’s was no exception and I could not have planned it better arriving just as the incoming ferry docked. Rather than show a few more snaps I have created a short video to music of the crossing here. I did see another ferry at the dock at Balfour on Kootenay Lake and below are a couple of snaps from this nice little town. At Kaslo I took a final panorama of Kootenay Lake before heading over the mountains following sparkling streams and by crystal lakes. A real treat. I had planned to visit a mountaintop fire monitoring station with apparently spectacular views but common sense prevailed when I saw the state of the road, boulders and gravel and overgrown and looking like the last time anyone ascended M. Trudeau’s dad was in power. After crossing on the ferrry I mentioned a Provincial Park, Blanket Creek, so I’ll finish with a couple of snaps from there with the aforementioned family and a panorama looking towards Revelstoke.