If you’re thinking of visiting B.C., or maybe anywhere in Canada, it’s good to know about the long weekend. That’s the first weekend in August, i.e. now, and it seems everybody goes camping. We were lucky to find this spot, and glad we had already planned to leave B.C. today.
Oliver is in the Okanagan Valley, the premiere wine-growing region in B.C. As luck would have it, Apple Beach R.V. park is on the road that climbs a bench and leads to many wineries. We celebrated the 5th anniversary of our California marriage by staying put for a day, doing laundry, taking showers, and visiting four wineries. We had lunch at Burrowing Owl. Fabulous food and view, and the Cab Franc paired well with our Duck Leg Confitte. This was our view. In general the landscape here reminds as of the Sonoita/Elgin area in southeastern Arizona, but with lakes.
Back to the last week. After leaving the Silvery Slocan, we headed north on highway 6 towards Revelstoke. Enjoyed the low key town of Nakusp, then took a free ferry across Upper Arrow Lake. There are several of these in the Kootenay’s and they are amazingly efficient operations. In Revelstoke we purchased a 4-day National Parks pass ($7.80/person/day). We made good use of it, visiting Glacier, Yoho, Banff, Kootenay and Jasper National Parks.
Once we crossed the continental divide into day trip range from Calgary, things got much more crowded and busy. And it’s easy to see why. The Canadian Rockies are truly spectacular, and the area between Lake Louise and Jasper, the Icefields Parkway, is breathtaking. In Glacier we hiked to what used to be the edge of the Great Glacier, not far from that big waterfall, and learned a lot about 19th century Canadian rail tourism, and about glacier retreat.
On to Yoho National Park, where we learned there were no campsites available within 100 miles. Uh oh! The ranger suggested overflow camping in a parking lot of Trans-Canada 1, just south of Lake Louise. Turned out to be a fine spot. Same ranger suggested we get up early, drive to Lake Moraine and take a hike. We did. Because of bears, there’s a rule of four in effect. We hooked up with a couple from Canmore and hiked to a lake at the base of Sentinel Pass. Incredible! First photo is Lake Moraine. Second is from the Sentinel Pass are.
We camped in Kootenay National Park, and planned to head south towards Radium Hot Springs, Cranbrook and Creston. Over breakfast we decided to head north instead, and after consulting with our ranger, headed up the Icefields Parkway towards Jasper. Hiked Parker Ridge to a heart-stopping view of the Saskatchewan Glacier,
then camped just outside Jasper, on the banks of the Athabascan River. Spent most of Monday exploring the Maligne Valley, left the park just as our pass expired, and drove to Mount Robson, highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. Nice campground, and the next day, the mountain was “out.”
Mount Robson Provincial Park is as far north as we got. After hiking to Kinney Lake, we finally started south. Stopped for an oil change (5000 miles!) in Kamloops. Although we are glad to have sampled some B.C. wines, the Okanagan Valley feels way too busy for us. Driving through Kelowna felt like a suburban Phoenix rush hour. We’re looking forward to a quiet week traversing eastern Washington, the Idaho panhandle and Montana on our way to Bozeman and Red Lodge.
Love, Toni and Mary
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