We spent only enough time in Banff to drive in and out again. Lake Louise was off limits to us with the fifth wheel. So we spent negligible time in either of these two places...however once we reached the BC border and Yoho National Park, everything shifted as the road switched to single lane and the mountains again were looming directly around us. Barreling down though Rogers Pass, the view was tremendous, and we did stop off and have breakfast at Revelstoke and cruise through the town. Then we turned off south onto another backroad which took us down the edge of Lake Revelstoke and across the little car ferry to the east side of Upper Arrow Lake. Here we enjoyed a lake with no sign of cabins or vacation homes, and some stunning scenery. We passed a forest fire high up on a cliff face and watched the helicopters dump their buckets and refill them in the lake. The smoke was noticeable. Eventually we reached Castlegar having completed a huge circle around BC, Alberta and the edge of Saskatchewan. We stayed here last night and enjoyed the view of the Kootenay River at its junction with the mighty Columbia as it swings southward towards Washington State, Oregon and the blue Pacific Ocean. Here, it is a great river for sport salmon fishing.
It is 9AM and the helicopters are at it again. It seems all of the province is in flames. The dead and dried up pine forests are going through their renewal and eventually
the forests will regenerate naturally. Hopefully by then the nasty pine beetle will have done their evolutionary duty and gone elsewhere (or perhaps become extinct?)...we try to remind ourselves that this is just part of the nature's cycle, but sometimes it is hard.
Here are the photos.
Banff
Wildlife corridor over the Trans Canada
No comments:
Post a Comment