We took the road to the north of the Fraser River which took us through Mission and Harrison Hot Springs. On the way to mission we were stopped and advised that there gad been an accident on the road ahead and that there would be possible 30 - 45 minute delays. We decided to continue in this direction and have a look at the countryside rather than turn around and go another way. There were lots of farms along the way, all with crops, fruit and animals in the fields. The berry crops were all ready to harvest and there were stalls selling berries, cherries and other fruits and vegies along the route.
We pulled on to a side road to have a look at the berries. We stopped at one farm that had blueberries growing. As we were looking at the berries and taking photos there was a blast from what sounded like a shotgun nearby. A few minutes later there was another one. Looking around I realised that they had a setup to scare birds away. There was a large tube on top of what looked like a large sprinkler on stilts. Every now and then a blast came from the tube and it spun around to face a different direction. A few minutes later - another blast.We bought some cherries and blueberries and continued on our way. There was one lane of the road open because they were still clearing up the mess. Apparently a train had hit a truck at a level crossing. Cleanup crews were still tidying up. The remnants of the truck had been lifted on to the back of another truck, and they were cleaning up the road.
We continued on towards Harrison Hot Springs. When we got there we realised that this was the weekend of their annual Art Festival. There were no suitable camping spots left in the town so we headed for Bridal Veil Falls.
At Bridal Veil Falls there were a couple of sites left, so we picked the best one and checked in. We had stayed in this campground back in 2001. They are close to a waterfall, have very good facilities and have a swimming pool. They also have a pretty good price to match, but we needed to camp somewhere. We pitched the ten, had dinner, and I walked to the waterfall. It was only about a 15 minute walk. The falling water created a bridal veil look over the rocks as it dropped to the bottom of the falls. It had been pretty dry recently, and most of the snow has melted, so there wasn't a lot of water falling. In the morning I packed up the tent while Paula, Bridget and Daniel went for a walk to the falls. We all then went for a swim in the pool before we left.
We stopped in Hope for a while and had a look at some of the wood carvings down the street, bought some groceries, and headed for Manning Park. The road followed the valleys of the rivers and creeks, and the scenery was amazing. I was constantly looking in different direction when I should have been watching the road. We ended up stopping whenever we could to take photos. We pulled in to a Provincial Park that was right beside the river. What I didn't realise was that this was at the Skagit River Trail Head. The Skagit River is the one that flows thro
ugh Burlington and Mount Vernon on the way to Puget Sound. If we followed it, we could end up near our 2001 residence in Burlington. The water was crystal clear, a bit of a comparison to some of the Blue/green coloured lakes and rivers that were coloured with rock flour. As we were eating, chipmunks were darting about, getting whatever food they could find. The day was warm enough that I decided to have a dip in the river. It was quite cold, almost numbing on the toes, but very refreshing. Bridget decided to venture in as well, and once we were dry we continued on our trip.We drove on to Princeton and found a campsite alongside a Similkameen River. We looked around the town, but almost everything was closed being a Sunday night. We woke again to another sunny day and I ventured into the river for a wake up splash. The rocks were quite slippery, and I wished I had some sort of footware on.
Okanagan Lake was our next destination. The environment was getting dryer, and the trees less dense and big. We arrived in Penticton on quite a warm day to find that most of the population must have been at the lake. Anyone who owned a boat must have had it out and on the lake. The beaches were covered with umbrellas, and there were people everywhere. We continued along to Okanagan Lake and found a beach along the shore for a swim and a picnic. There was evidence of fires along the shores in recent years, and the area was very dry. There were patches of green where fruit trees and vineyards were growing.
We continued north towards Shuswap Lake and ended up camping just out of Sicamous. The next day we headed towards Lake Louise. We travelled via Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park. The mountain scenery was breathtaking. From here the road went west towards Yoho National Park. We stopped at the ranger's station to get information about the area.
On the way to Lake Louise we stopped at the spiral railway tunnelsand happened to be around to see a goods train go through the tunnels. The goods trains are so long here that we could see the front of the train come out of the spiral, the middle of it entering the tunnel, and the tail of it on the track just below us. Amazing technology!
We continued on to Lake Louise and hoped that we would be able to get a tent site inthe campground. When we were there 7 years ago, we were not allowed to camp in the campground with tents because there was a mother grizzly, with 2 cubs in the area. This time we were able to get in on a cancellation, and the camp area was now surrounded by an electric fence. Instead of using one to keep animals in, this one was to keep the animals out. There was an electrified grate that you drove over to get in to the camping area, and fences encircled the camping area. There were gates with insulated handles that campers could use to leave the area and use that walking trails.
I woke the next day to an overcast sky. Unfortunately the others were not up before it started to rain so we waited for a break in the showers before we tried to pack the tent. We drove to the lake and walked around the shore to the canoe area. The clouds were down low over the peaks and there were intermittent showers. It was still a very picturesque scene.
We left Lake Louise and headed towards Jasper on the Icefields Parkway. On the way we stopped at the Crowsfoot Glacier. The scenery along this road is just stunning.
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