Snippets from the Mountains

 

On the first Sunday of September, we locked the door and drove to the ferry, towing our travel trailer behind us. Once across the Strait, we drove to my parents' home in Abbotsford and enjoyed lunch and a short visit with them before driving over the Coastal Mountains, across the Interior plain, and into the Columbia Mountains. 

The town of Revelstoke was a good place to spend two nights. We walked along the river in the evening, admiring the vast Columbia River that begins in BC and loops its way through the mountains before crossing the border into Washington State. A stone arch commemorating workers seemed fitting on Labour Day weekend. Mount Begbie is seen in the distance. 

Once, when I was very young, my parents took my sister and me to The Enchanted Forest. For nostalgia's sake, Tim and I revisited the place on our trip. He had never been there. It's a place full of whimsy and fairy tales. My one distinct memory was of a large egg with a window in it through which one could peer in to see a medieval village. The egg was still there, and it was still enchanting. 

Above is the straw home of the first little pig. The buildings are small scale, child-sized, but I saw a number of adults crouching in to walk through them. It was a fun trip down memory lane.

Not too far across the highway was Three Valley Gap, where an enterprising gentleman who wanted to save the history of the area bought a large piece of property, and over many years he moved historical buildings onto it, creating an old town. Above is St. Stephen's Church, built in 1887 in the town of Donald, moved to the town of Field in 1902, and finally to Three Valley Gap in 1967. 

The buildings, including school houses and a three-story hotel, were dismantled board by board and reconstructed. 

One of the rules for teachers from 1872 that hung in one of the old schoolhouses stated that "Male teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they attend church regularly." Another rule stated "Teachers each day will fill the lamps, trim the wicks, and clean chimneys." 

From Revelstoke we traveled into the Rocky Mountains (there are range after range of mountains, but they are collectively known as the Rockies). The town of Golden was our stopping place for several nights. Here we met up with two of Tim's siblings and their spouses and enjoyed good food and good times around the fire, along with some fun activities. 

Tim and I visited the Golden Skybridge, a new attraction featuring Canada's highest suspension bridge. Two suspension bridges cross a very deep canyon. 

When we lived in the jungle in Ecuador, a suspension bridge over a river connected the hospital where Tim worked with the property where we lived. We all got very used to walking across it, although it took me a little bit of time to do so. Although the Golden Skybridge is much longer and much higher, I felt that I could walk across it without too much difficulty. 

I did have Tim walk in front of me so that I could focus on his back rather than a vast amount of space ahead of me. Looking down didn't bother me, but looking out across the expanse did. 

On the far side of the canyon a wooden beam is suspended for the sole purpose of taking photos. However, the bench is not stable and requires some balancing to actually let go and "touch the sky". 

I thought I could get away with hanging on with one hand and was just about to get down after another tourist took the photo, when someone else said, "she didn't let go!" And here I thought I could get away with cropping the photo to make it look like I had. So, another photo was taken and I let go for a very short second. The bench was very wobbly! 

 

With Tim's brother and sister we visited Wapta Falls on the Kicking Horse River. The hike was mostly level until the very end. This is the view from the top of the falls, thundering and crashing tons of water. 

We hiked down into the river bed, and could walk out to face the falls as the water level was low. The rocks were such pretty colours and shapes, smoothed by the water. 

The falling water created huge sprays of mist that dampened our hair and clothing. It was exhilarating to stand there and experience the power of the falls up close. We climbed onto the small hill in front of the falls to watch the water tumble down. 

During the spring and early summer the area we walked on is covered by water. These stone structures were built by others who walked here, and some winter/spring, they will be washed into the river. 

I hope you've enjoyed this little taste of the mountains of British Columbia. There are more experiences to share. I am always amazed at the beauty and magnificence of our province. I was surprised at how many tourists were in the area - from Europe and the UK, and Asia. Our air border opened to vaccinated visitors on September 7, and the visitors we spoke with said that they flew as soon as they could. 

I'm not quite ready to travel internationally yet, and was very glad to spend our vacation exploring closer to home. 

Have a wonderful new week, dear readers.