Falls into spring: day four

Monday, May 1

Today was to be a day of driving with our next overnight in Canmore, AB. Our route would take us over Kelowna's William R. Bennett Bridge. Opening in 2008 it replaced an older, smaller bridge across the lake providing more traffic lanes and 18m (almost 60ft) of clearance under its navigation span.

Approaching the William R. Bennett Bridge from West Kelowna.

Once we passed through Kelowna we made our way north on Highway 97 along the shores of Wood Lake and Kalamalka Lake.

Passing through Vernon, Armstrong (famous for its cheese), Enderby, then Grindrod; along the eastern shore of Mara Lake to Sicamous where we stopped to top up the gas tank. But before stopping for gas we made one slight detour to one of places we've been meaning to see for a long time. A short 400m (1/4 mile) drive off the main highway to the trailhead and a strenuous 67m (220ft) hike brought us to Sicamous Creek Falls.

Trailhead sign for the Sicamous Creek Falls Trail

 

Sharon at Sicamous Creek Falls

Turn around 180º and this is the view!

In the traihead parking lot

This little hike is well worth the stop. There are couple of picnic tables and washrooms so it would make a really nice lunch stop.

From Sicamous we headed east through Three Valley Gap and on to Revelstoke where we stopped to pick up a snack.

Through Three Valley Gap

In downtown Revelstoke.

First of the eight snow sheds through Rogers Pass

Made it through Rogers Pass without incident, on to Golden, past Field, over the Kicking House Pass into Alberta, past Banff ending the day's travels in Canmore.

Out of Golden and up Ten Mile Hill and over the Park Bridge

Not much construction to deal with but there was some....

Picturesque Field BC

Always like it when numbers line up.

Past Banff and Rundle Mountain

We spent a relaxing evening in Canmore to end the day's adventure. Tomorrow we head home, but not after a couple of stops in town.... stay tuned.

A 'ferry' tale road trip day one, June 2, 2014

Started the day off by finishing up the exhaust system on my daughter's car. I learned my lesson last year about doing last minute work on mine!! 

Left the house at around 11:00am and headed west. Our target for the day is Creston BC via Canmore, Radium Hot Springs and Cranbrook. We took Highway 1A out through Cochrane AB and continued through Seebe and Exshaw before a stop at one of our favorite thrift stores in Canmore. Before reaching Canmore we noticed that the Bow River was running quite high. Hopefully this is not a precursor to another flood like last year's!

Heading down the hill westbound into Cochrane, AB

High water in the Bow River between Cochrane and Canmore.

After a successful stop in Canmore we continued on our way past Banff to Radium Hot Springs via Highway 93. We had purchased a National Park Pass recently so that allowed us the option of making some stops along the way. We chose Marble Canyon, just on the BC side of the continental divide, for our first one. This area was ravaged by a forest fire in 2003, you can see the bare trunks in a couple of the photos. It was raining when we pulled into the parking lot and we debated whether or not to stay and make the short hike up the trail. As we sat in the car discussing things the rain stopped and the sun came out... easy decision!

Making the turn off Highway 1, the Trans-Canada, onto Highway 93.

Here's a couple of photos at Marble Canyon...

Yes it's June and yes, that's snow and ice...

At the top just before the creek drops into the canyon. You can see the bare trunks... remnants of the 2003 forest fire.

Almost at the bottom on the way back to the parking lot.

It's sometimes hard to believe that beautiful spots like this are just a five minute walk off the highway. The parking lot is well marked and it's well worth stopping.

Back in the car and southward! 

Highway 93 southbound just before Vermilion Crossing.

One of the two black bears we saw just before Radium, around Olive Lake.

If you look closely you should be able to see the grizzly spotted along the same stretch of road!

Through Sinclair Canyon.

So that was exciting... two black bears and one grizzly within a 3 km stretch of highway. When you see the two different types of bears that close together the difference is really striking. From Radium Hot Springs we continued south towards Invermere for a gas stop.

Down the hill into Invermere, BC.

After filling up with petrol we made our way southward to Cranbrook. This took us through Fairmont Hot Springs and Canal Flats. We opted to take the main route from there so that we didn't go through Kimberley. Another quick stop in Cranbrook for a snack and then on to Creston.

Highway 93 between Invermere and Fairmont

Across Dutch Creek

Overlooking Columbia Lake and Canal Flats... headwaters of the mighty Columbia River! That's what it said on the sign.

Across the Kootenay River...

Welcome to Cranbrook.

Moyie Lake on your right...

After we passed Moyie Lake we crossed the Moyie River several times before reaching our destination; the Ramada Inn in Creston. 

Across the Moyie..

...again...

... and again!

Welcome to Creston!

Nice to see grain elevators still standing.

Today was a great day for a drive. Even though it rained for some of the time it stopped when we wanted to be outside. Our route is mostly two lane highways and of the kind I really enjoy... lots of twists and turns through some awesome scenery. I have a great co-pilot and the car is running well so far. Thanks to Sharon for taking all the photos you are enjoying in this post. I have a couple on my phone that I will add later.

Tomorrow it's off to Nelson BC via the Kootenay Lake Ferry and then on to Osoyoos BC!

CLICK HERE FOR DAY TWO

A road trip called 'gorge'ous.... day one Friday June 7th.

After a late night in the garage it was time to head out on our road trip to Portland OR. This trip would see just Sharon and I in the Festiva with our first overnight in Kennewick WA then on to Portland for two nights. The return would see us stopping in Sandpoint ID then home on Tuesday evening.

Got away a little later than we had hoped but headed west on the Trans-Canada highway to head through Banff and Yoho National Parks.

Western bound on the Trans Canada Highway

The car is running great, traffic was relatively light, and the weather perfect for driving. So far so good...

Through the Banff National Park gates

Passed through Banff, turned up Highway 93 with Radium Hot Springs as our next first stop. We even passed a Porsche! Not that he was going very fast but it still felt somehow satisfying. So far so good...

After that we both noticed that the car was making new noises like the lifters losing pressure. The noise was getting louder the closer we got to Radium and as we passed through Sinclair Canyon the oil light came on... now it's not so good. Although we did see a bear, but not in enough time to get a picture.



Through Sinclair Canyon just east of Radium Hot Springs

Pulled into the gas station at the bottom of the hill and discovered that there was no oil! Checked underneath and the oil pan gasket repair I did the previous evening had failed... now it's getting worse.

After trying to see if I could fix it we decided to return to Calgary and switch vehicles. Purchased six litres of oil, put four in right away hoping the remaining two would get us at least to Canmore. It turned out that two extra only got us about 60km down the road. Stopped at the Kootenay Crossing store and bought six more litres and nursed the car back to Canmore where we phoned the AMA to arrange to have the car towed home. If there's a bright spot in this we saw what we guessed was the same bear we'd seen a little earlier...

Our bear sighting...

Oil film on the back window... that will be fun to clean!

Getting loaded up for the rest of the trip home.

Doing the switcheroo at home.

By now it's 4;30 in the afternoon and we had arranged to meet a friend in Kennewick for supper at 7:30. Well that wasn't going to happen. We had phoned him to let him know and also let the hotel know that we would be "a bit" late. And late it was. After a relatively tame drive back through Radium then Cranbrook BC, Bonner's Ferry & Coeur D'Alene ID, and Spokane WA we arrived at our Kennewick hotel at 1:30am PDT. I joked with Sharon that for the amount of driving we ended up doing today we could have gone all the way to Portland!

So now our road trip is not in the Festiva but in our '04 Pontiac Montana, which doesn't really qualify as an econobox. It does however fit the "box" part of that.

For day 2 we have planned a relatively light driving day with a couple of museum visits along the way.

CLICK HERE FOR DAY 2

Going-to-the-Sun: Day 3

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 22nd, 2012

The third and final day takes us from Cranbrook BC home to Calgary. The weather was great for driving as we headed north on Highway 93/95 towards Radium Hot Springs. This is a relaxing drive with enough twisty bits, hills and valleys to make it interesting and not too much traffic.

Somewhere north of Kimberley

Another great vista.

Approaching the hoo-doos just south of Fairmont Hot Springs.

It is amazing how much the stretch between Fairmont and Radium has developed over the past number of years. There's even a Tim Horton's at the Windermere turn-off! Highways 93 and 95 take their own routes from Radium Hot Springs. Highway 95 heads north to Golden BC and Highway 93 turns east as it heads towards the Continental Divide and into Alberta; this is the route we took. There's along climb from Radium out of the Columbia Valley that starts in earnest just past the world famous Radium Hot Springs swimming pools. We didn't have time to stop for a swim... we'll just add that to our "places to visit" list.

Heading through Sinclair Canyon between the town of Radium and the hot pools.

Castle Mountain in the distance where Highway 93 joins the Trans-Canada.

HIghway 93 is another great stretch of highway that I always enjoy. Traffic was fairly light and the
weather very comfortable. There's lots of places to stop along the way but we chose only one as we had to be home at a specific time. That stop was at the Great Divide which forms the Alberta/British Columbia border for much of southern half of the provinces.

Which way do we go?

At the Great Divide straddling the provincial border.

As we crossed from British Columbia into Alberta we also moved from Yoho National Park into Banff National Park. Our plan is to drive right through, saving Banff for another time, and stop in Canmore for a quick lunch. One of our favorite places in Canmore is the Rocky Mountain Bagel Company. It's a big step up from a typical fast food restaurant and a lot healthier too. They have two locations, one on Main Street and the other on the Bow Valley Trail. 

After lunch we continued our eastward trek down Highway 1, the Trans-Canada Highway.

Leaving Canmore.

Lots of room with the two boys in the back!

E and I hamming it up for the camera

Only 10 miles to go! Eastbound on the Trans-Canada Highway approaching Calgary.

Although this trip has been the shortest of our recent road trips to date it was no less enjoyable. The Going-to-the-Sun Road is a stunning experience from both driving and scenery perspectives.

Would I do it again? With no hesitation. Next time, and there will be a next time, we'll take more time to enjoy the stops along the way.

If you are anywhere close to the north west corner of Montana I would highly recommend you add this drive to your itinerary.

A couple of stats to close out the trip...

Distance travelled: 1240km / 770 miles

Average fuel consumption: 39 mile per US gallon / 6.0 liters per 100km.

Average hotel cost: full price one night, second night free on points! 

Watch for more travel adventures. We're already discussing our next big road trip!