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.

Gridlock on the TransCanada Highway.

Yesterday, August 4th, I drove my son and a couple of his friends to Grindrod, BC in our Ford Festiva. The drive out was great; we made really good time,didn't use much fuel and enjoyed the great driving weather and relatively light traffic. From our home in Calgary to our friend's in Grindrod is a 500km westward run that passes through Banff, Yoho, Glacier and Mount Revelstoke National Parks and over the Rogers Pass.

Castle Mountain near the intersection of the Trans Canada Highway and Highway 93

I was really looking forward to the run home that afternoon as there are quite a few stretches that are a lot of fun to drive, and by fun I mean twisty two lane. I was also planning to take a short detour at Golden to drive up the Kicking Horse Trail, one of the roads I mentioned in one of my "favorite drive" posts. Before I continue with the story I must say that I had noticed that the eastbound traffic was a little on the heavy side. With it being the Monday of a long weekend I wasn't surprised but as you will see it turned out to be quite a bit worse than I first thought.

After depositing the boys at the designated spot I began my return trip. The first leg from our friend's Grindrod home to Sicamous is about 34km on twisty two lane  BC Highway 97A that hugs the shore of Mara Lake for about half of that distance. Highway 97A is the northeastern branch of the highway that runs from the US border just south of Osooyos BC, through the Okanagan Valley and joins the TransCanada Highway at Sicamous. I wasn't too surprised then to see a bit of a back up in Sicamous with all the holiday traffic. I filled up the Festiva's tiny (38L) fuel tank, registering a satisfactory 5.7L/100km, and then headed out eastbound on the main highway. 

Here's where things began to fall apart. The heavy traffic I'd noticed on the way in was now heavier and slower. It took ninety minutes of stop and go to reach Revelstoke BC, only 75km away! Average speed.... 50km/h! 

I stopped in Revelstoke and revisited the Nomad Food Co. on Victoria Ave where Sharon and I had dined on our June road trip. The place was hopping and the food was awesome; you should try their crispy chicken burger. I stayed in Revelstoke for about an hour and then hit the highway again. The first 25km or so were great, even with the expected heavy holiday traffic. Things came to a stop, literally, 28km out, right by the Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk with stopped vehicles as far as one could see up the road. From there it was stop and go again for the remaining 120km to Golden. I left Revelstoke at 6:00pm MST and arrived in Golden at 8:50pm MDT. Average speed....52km/h!

Stopped at the Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk turn-off

Golden was just crawling with hot, tired travelers trying to get gas or coffee. Once I had my coffee and a box of TimBits I returned to the highway for the last leg home. By now it's just after 9:00pm and I'm ready for home so I didn't make the little detour I had planned. After the first 20 minutes or so I reached the Kicking Horse Rest Area and the base of Ten Mile Hill where there is a long stretch of four lane divided highway. By this point the traffic was able to spread out a bit and I made the remainder of the trip home in relatively good time arriving just before midnight. Fuel consumption also suffered, the return trip worked out to 7.1L/100km.

A few observations:

1. BC Highways and the federal government desperately need to finish twinning the Trans-Canada Highway!

2. I don't mind being in heavy highway traffic when it is moving consistently at or close to the speed limit. That wasn't happening on this drive.

3. I was pleasantly surprised at the road manners of almost all the drivers caught in this situation. There are quite a number of passing lanes along the way and invariably everyone would just stay in their place in line, probably recognizing the futility of rushing ahead by about five or six car lengths only to end up stopped.

4. The car behaved well, the A/C worked when called upon, got to listen to some great tunes and the weather was nice enough that I could have the windows open most of the time.

I will be going to pick up the boys tomorrow, August 6, and my guess is the drive will be a lot more enjoyable. Maybe I'll make that detour on the way after all!

A 'ferry' tale road trip day seven, June 8, 2014

Homeward bound today. We purchased an annual National Parks pass earlier in the year so decided to take advantage of it on this final leg of our road trip stopping at a number of the places we've "always" wanted to visit. After breakfast we headed up to Mount Revelstoke National Park. When we stopped at the gate we were informed that the road was only open up to kilometer twelve for a couple of reasons; first that there were a bear and cubs in the area and secondly that there was still quite a bit of snow higher up. We were also warned of another bear lower down, almost at the gate. We drove up and enjoyed the views and twisty roads but didn't see any more bears.

At the park gate.

One of many great vistas

We were a little disappointed we weren't able to get to the top but that gave us a bit more time to enjoy the rest of the day. Made our way back down, rejoined Highway #1 and headed east. The stretch of highway between Revelstoke and Golden makes its way up and over Rogers Pass but before getting there we stopped at the Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk adn picnic area on the banks of the Illecillewaet River. Not a very appealing name I agree but it was worth the little detour. The parking area is a very short drive off the highway and is well signed. The main attraction here is the boardwalk through some valley bottom wetland habitat. Many different species of birds come through here on their various migrations which makes the spot popular with bird watchers.

Trail map for Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk.

Sharon on the boardwalk.

Some of the birds that frequent the area.

Just east of the summit of Rogers Pass (1330m/4365ft) is Rogers Pass Discovery Center that is worth a stop. There was no snow on the ground this trip which is a huge contrast to the more than 6ft we found there when we were through the pass in late April. There are a total of eight snow sheds in the pass, three west of the summit and five east.

First of the eight snow sheds

Avalanche debris on the side of the road

Here we go....

So over the pass we go and start the 80km (50 mile) mostly downhill run into Golden BC.

Eastbound and down into Golden BC

East of Golden approaching the Kicking Horse rest area at the bottom of Ten Mile Hill

We didn't stop in Golden but continued on to our next destination, Wapta Falls. This is another of those stops we've often said we should do but were either anxious to get home or didn't have a park pass but... today is the day!!If you're not paying attention the turnoff is easy to miss. The trailhead is not marked on the TCH for westbound traffic as there is no left turn lane here. Continue 3 km to the west entrance of the park, turn and come back to access it from the eastbound lane. Once you do leave the highway it's about 2km up to the  parking lot. There were quite a number of cars in the lot which was assuring. The trail up to the falls is 2.4km (1.5 miles) one way and except for the last quarter or so is relatively flat. The trail reaches the river quite a bit above the falls and there are two routes that take you down to the bottom. The first is quite steep and provides some really impressive views of the falls. The other slightly longer route has a gentler slope but doesn't have the views of the other one. We took the first route down and the second route back up.

The road up to the Wapta Falls trailhead

The trailhead

Typical trail conditions

Admiring the view at the top of the falls

Lots of little inukshuks.... this one is my favorite

Wapta Falls

It took us about two hours to hike up to the falls, spend a little time admiring the view and return to the parking lot. Another of those "why did we wait so long to stop here" moments! 

Picturesque Field BC

Rundle Mountain

Entering Banff AB

Back to the highway and further eastward through Field BC and over the Kicking Horse Pass, which at 1643m (5390ft) is the highest point on the Trans Canada Highway, and into Banff for our last meal on the road. Our favorite place to eat in Banff is the Old Spaghetti Factory. The atmosphere is great, as are the food and the prices. I don't think we've ever been really disappointed with any meals here. 

We took a stroll after supper and picked up a couple of last minute gifts and then headed home retracing our route along Highway 1A through Morley and Cochrane and then home.

Homeward bound through Banff National Park.

McDougall Memorial Church, west of Cochrane AB

Sweeping vistas looking over the Bow Valley south west to the Rocky Mountains.

We have thoroughly enjoyed this trip. Driving the so-called backroads or minor highways really slowed the pace down which I think we both needed. Driving on the major byways always seems so rushed and hectic. Our chosen route had generally lower speed limits, light traffic, great scenery and lots of twists, turns and rolling roads. Thanks for following along; we hope you've enjoyed the ride with us. Stay tuned as we are starting to plan our next big trip!

 

More favorite drives

I can't believe it's been six months since I last posted so this is long overdue!

Here's a link to five great Canadian drives. Of the five, two are in my backyard, Bow Valley Parkway and Kicking Horse Trail. We've done the Bow Valley Parkway in the Festiva and I have to agree it is a beautiful drive. Low speed limit, great scenery and a few really nice stops in between. Be sure to stop by Johnston Canyon if you can. One thing the article doesn't mention is that this stretch of pavement is currently only open from 8:00am to 8:00pm so plan accordingly. The Kicking Horse Trail is only a 3 hour drive from our home so I'm sure we'll get that one checked off the bucket list in the not-to-distant future. 

We did the Pacific Rim Highway about 32 years ago in our then new 1982 Mazda GLC Sport. Do be honest, I don't remember doing the drive so a return trip is definitely on the bucket list.

Haven't been far enough east to even consider the remaining two drives but may be able to get in the Frank Macdougall Parway in 2015 as we are considering a cross Canada road trip.

If you've done any of these drives be sure to leave a comment or two.