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| My favorite little Dryads going to seed |
We headed out again in July 2012 for another camping trip through Revelstoke and south through the Kootenays
It is always amazing to me how you can visit an area twice within one month and see such diversity. Our first trip was a weekend Day trip on June 30th 2012. This trip to the exact spot was only two weeks later July 14,2012 and the landscape was a whole different look....The little Dryads were now going to seed......(see why they are my favorite?) and the Indian paintbrush is doing what its named after and painting the landscape with dollops of colour everywhere.
Don't forget you can click on an individual photo and it will enlarge so you can see detail easier.
But again! we were foiled by the bears. Hungry little buggars....
Undaunted, we thought we would just press on and attempt at the end of our holiday rather than the beginning.....That is the
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| This one is worth a closer look! |
about!I have to be honest, we have been there so often and been unable to hike because of bears, they have actually got me nervous about hiking it at all....
I find myself wondering if this grey haired lady would garner some sympathy with the wardens if they would just once relax the rules and let me drive down the road for a few photos!!!!!!!
I have been told the grey hair gives me a few allowances!!!! (might have been a speeding ticket in there somewhere)
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| Beginning of Great Divide Hike |
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| Look at the colour, what a difference in 2 weeks! |
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| Monarch Campground, Field BC |
Field is a larger flat area in the mountain pass so they take advantage of the space.....It does appear very wet and I think prone to spring flooding, but obviously they adapt to that. Campground and road to Takakka Falls has at times been flooded and closed off. Doesn't seem to me to be a bad place to be trapped for a day or two.
We found the perfect site to set up for the night. First night out with the new tent...I had bought the tent the previous year but had only used it camping with the family, so had lots of help from grandkids setting it up etc. Because it was looking a little cloudy and forecast was for showers we pulled into site that seemed to be a little more protected with trees all around.....I have been camping in horrendous storms that brought trees down...but forecast was only for showers.....!
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| Bunchberries |
We set up camp and decided before it got to late to start off on a wee hike to an old railway camp......Just started off down this trail and we heard the first rumble of thunder!
Fair warning! So again we adjusted our plans and headed back to campground to finish setting up and ensuring everything was water tight.....
Rain held off through supper, timing was perfect.
But!!! it was no shower....remember I had not had the opportunity to test the tent out to see if it was water proof.....The sleeve that runs over the back of the car is only held on by elastic and straps! I had placed two blocks of wood under wheels so rain landing of roof would hopefully run down front of vehicle rather that the rear......The rear door of car is left open for access to tent while your sleeping and you would not want a shower in car or tent!!!
And it worked....not a drop in the tent. It turned out to be a raging thunderstorm that last throughout the night....I loved it! The conversation though turned again to a camper of somesort.....I missed being able to watch storm from inside my protective bubble....Of course all windows vents etc. had to be zippered up tight......
One look outside during the worst of it resulted in puddles!!! inside the tent.
I had to adjust the tent flap so we had no imminent collapse .
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| Morning Coffee, my favorite time.. |
We survived the tempest! Just imagine morning coffee, walk through the flowers, with the fresh smell of a rain.....How wonderful....We said lets not rush so things can dry out a bit before we pack up, but we both knew things were not going to dry up!!!! it was just an excuse to get the cameras out yet again.....
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| Suppertime in the Sprinkles |
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| Another favorite from the Yukon Twinflower! |
Twinflower covered the forest floor all around the campsite. A dainty little groundcover that did not appear to be at all phased by the storm. A soft soft pink bell beautiful little lady....
We finally packed up everything wet and headed down the road, of course taking photos all the way ranging from crows that looked like drowned rats to clouds over the mountains.....and Shasta Daisies in the ditches..
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| Trans Canada Highway Field BC |
I had camped at this campground 100 yrs. or so ago...
Elsie and I had taken a trip to the West Kootenays and not wanting for it to end to soon, we stopped at Field and had to stay at Monarch overflow.....Again a thunderstorm rolled through the valley so we had a sandwich for supper and with a cup of tea, our books, and of course my camera we settled in the front seat of my old Dodge Van to watch the show..
Understand why we need a van?
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| Rainbows! |
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| Hole in the Wall Falls |
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| Natural Bridge, Field BC |
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| Black Twinberry |
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| Dryads holding on for dear life! |
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Wee glimpse of the sun with my morning coffee      |
Dryads seems to be the hardiest, no wonder their range is so grand. Here they are on the cliff face of the falls With the spray from the water threatening their wee spot.
Of course they aren't the only hardy soul in the area!
Black Twinberry
In the morning, we headed west
towards Revelstoke and the skies opened up yet again. This crow was shopping for brekkie and was not perturbed we wanted his photo.
Ruth and I decided on our trips, if there was a place that looked interesting, stop! Our destination and how many miles it was, was not going to stop us from seeing something or more importantly, missing something....
And just look what we found, weeds! What a bright spot of colour on the fields, I couldn't find it in any of our plant books so started to ask about and no one knows the name....General consensus in that its a weed, but no matter, again, its beautiful
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| Small Flowered Senecio |
Just look at this odd weed....How colorful, standing tall in that storm the evg. before.
The color is so vivantly orange but the new buds purple!
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| Falsemitrewort (foam flower) |
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| Goatsbeard |
The area seems to be very wet, and I don't think due to the previous storm, the forest floor is covered in ferns, rain forest type plants.
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| False Solomen's Seal |
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| Mount Sir Donald campground |
This might be Red Elderberry! Identifying plants is such a challenge of mine....but I continue to enjoy trying!
I have heard this called a Host Tree, also
Mother Tree, so important to let fallen trees decompose and allow new generation to flourish.
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Hobbits home?
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| A whole bunch of hosting going on! |
This little fellow was so quick, hard to get a photo and he really blended in........
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| Giant Cedar Boardwalk! |
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| Might be Evening Primrose? |
This might be that Red Elderberry again.....You find some in the deep forest and some out in the warm sunshine. So they are in different stages of blooming and seeding, so I am guessing..but am drawn to its beauty....
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| Wintergreen |
Skunk Cabbage Trail. and another downpour. Felt like a kid with my poncho on walking in the rain. Wet feet. Have to admit my fear of heights bothered me, not that it was all that high but underneath this boardwalk was quite the community of high water, mud, bugs, plants, rushing streams, frogs, and I wasn't all that confident in the stability of the boardwalk....Ruth just had to put up with the lack of circulation in my knees and the inability to move them at certain points....!!!!
The disadvantage of not doing the blog as soon as I got home from the holiday is now I don't remember the name of this river! How fun to walk for an hour in the rain and enjoy the view.
I am surprised at the length of this blog already and we haven't even reached Revelstoke yet! Our destination is to reach Mount Revelstoke to see the wildflowers....We were rushing it....the park has just barely opened, still lots of snow.....I am sure there will be many more wildflowers later but also the crowds! I am not the only one in the world interested in wildflowers.....but do enjoy the lack of crowds, so we are going now!
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| Devil's Club covered in thorns underneath |
But wait, I am getting ahead of myself yet again.
I found more photos of Giant Cedar Boardwalk that I can't pass up.
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| Whewwww |
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| more hosting! |
We deserved it.....The first evg. we walked downtown to Grizzley Square and enjoyed the plaza with an outdoor band. No rain.....
I found this daylily to be so nice I bought one I saw at Home Depot the day after I got home....
Hopefully it comes up in spring and I enjoy it again......Can't be any warmer in Revelstoke so it should winter in Calgary.
Our plan was to head out in morning (after a hot shower, one in the evg. and another in the morning!)
and head to Blanket Creek Campground just south of Revelstoke and set up base there....Easy and close enough to run into town when needed.
Again, I have camped there before with Elsie...Great campground, Sutherland Falls near the entrance, original homestead, lush green site.....
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| Maggie & Ruth journalling |
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| Sutherland Falls |
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| Sutherland Falls |
We got settled in Blanket Creek the following morning and set up tent for it to take the day drying out.....The day started off bright and sunny so it looked promising. Packed up a picnic lunch and headed back to Revelstoke and Revelstoke National Park to see the wildflowers.
The roadway is a switchback up Mount Revelstoke if I remember correctly 23K.
along the route the road is lined with flowers wall to wall.....We were hoping it wouldn't all be snow at the top.....
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| Lots of pullouts along the road with waterfalls. |
We arrived at the top parking lot and the warden explained there was still a lot of snow, especially at the summit but well worth the walk. They have a shuttle bus running in the summer (can you imagine the crowds?) but as road was still snow covered it was not running yet.
Our first glacial lily poking out of the ground along side the parking lot...Wherever there was an open area the warm sun had quickly melted the snow...In fact the whole side of the mountain seemed to be melting....water was running in waterfalls everywhere....sparkling in the sunlight.
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| Still haven't decided what these are... |
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| Brave little fellows....Sun was so warm |
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| Half way up just where snow started. |
Just where the snow started there was an empty bench in the warm sunshine on my back....
By the way I used sunblock and wore my floppy hat and I sunburnt quite badly on my neck....
This seemed like the best stop for picnic lunch....cheeze & crackers, humus & eggs....
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| White Crocus! |
Felt good to reach the summit 26K up!
But my destination was Heather Lake at the summit....I was hoping it wasn't completely frozen still and that there would be access at this time of year.
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| First Glimpse Heather Lake Revelstoke National Park |
Heather Lake's Reflections
Still frozen but very beautiful.
Reached my goal, got my photos
Life is good ;-)
There were bare patches of snow all around the
lake and everywhere the sun was able to
reach the flowers were able to reach towards the warmth.
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| Blanket Creek Campground mascot |
Relax time after our great day...We always
took the time to journal, usually ate suppers at the camp.
Its a good campground..Seldom bugs and the site we
picked turned out to be very sunny and hot in the
afternoons....That's apparently what we were looking for
after those rains to dry everything out...But next time pick
one on the other side...Sunny mornings, and shady afternoons that's the way to go....
Our plans were to head back to the park the following day. We heard there was a trail
that was also partially clear from snow on the other direction from the parking lot...
My memory thinks it was called Eagle's Knoll Trail. A harder slog for me! Elevation gain is much quicker, but take it slow ;-) the method to my madness is if you get tired...just pretend there is a great photo to take until you get your legs back! It worked, I made it also and was very proud of myself...Good on you Heather......
The summit of this trail was the best......the best part of the trip.....If you are not a believer in anything.....climb this trail....This is my church....my peace.....my thought that all is right in the world......
Remember to Breathe
I could have sat there for days......Ruth was having trouble with the heights (usually that's me!) but I was on solid ground. I could have sat there for days, until I heard sounds from the brush that rose the little hairs on the back of my neck......Something grunted...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank goodness home was downhill ;-)
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| Western Anemone |
and take some photos on the way down...
Nothing stops me ;-)
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| Rocky Mountain White Heather ;-) |
Lake Revelstoke created of course when
they built Revelstoke Dam.
Amazes me they were blooming almost before
they were up.....What miracles that warm sun
can bring...
Water is running everywhere....under your feet
under the snow, must be full of nutrients for these
plants to flourish so quickly.
Sparkles like jewels.
Even the little lake at the bottom of the trail gave us excuses
to relax and enjoy our efforts....There was beauty everywhere!
I am sure if you traveled these paths a few weeks later there would have been a multitude of blossoms all around. But I have to balance that with the fact I'm perhaps a little selfish, I need the space to myself....and I got it......We are so lucky to live in this part of the world, I count my blessings regularly.....
A good friend to share it with, good weather, and a beautiful spot.
Ruth has taught me to catch the reflections.
Tailends of our day.
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| Lupin |
I can't find this beauty in any of the plant books.
Probably it's there in full bloom, which this
wasn't yet.....So it's a mystery. Found right at the top of Eagle Knoll...very high up, short season...
Doesn't have much time to emerge from the heavy snows and bloom and seed!'
Lupins almost like ground cover...They just glow
on the forest floor...I have seen other flowers do the same.
Perhaps its the spring light, soft not harsh like the summer sun.
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| Rocky Mountain Pink Heather |
I always have to find my
Heather. Up at the Eagle Knoll
summit I found both White and Pink. Bonus!
Another great day accomplished...Our holiday is winding down The following day
we planned on making a day trip to Nakusp . One of our future trips we would like to travel around the East Kootenays. Nakusp, Nelson, Blafour I remember a great campground at Riondel BC.....and now we know we will be able to do so in "Willow" But on this trip at this time we were not aware of that so we decided to take the Shelter Bay Ferry across to Nakusp and try out the Nakusp hot springs......Unbelievably I did not appear to take any photos on this day. I do remember taking a few but am unable to find them. I may be losing control with all my photos!
We had a good soak in the springs although couldn't stay in long as it was another warm day. Later we walked around downtown in all the shops and one gentleman expressed his view that we may be nuts going to the springs in the summer...."Only tourists go there in the summer" We found a treasure in a shop called Spiritwood Unique Gifts.....I bought a few prisms for gifts and Maggie. (you must hang a prism off the mirror in the car to have rainbows on your travels) Now next year we must stop and buy another for Willow. Ruth could have spent hours in the shop (oh wait she did) I certainly didn't mind, after my stint in the hot springs, I very cheerfully went and had a nap in the car in the shade.....See we bend in the breezes....
A picnic by the lake and then across the ferry and the drive home....Not a bad day at all .
The following morning we decided to have a very lazy morning, we toured around the campground, went to the falls and toured around the original homestead that was originally the site.....The pioneers have always fascinated me...How they managed through the winters, how they found their way through the mountain passes.
We drove into Revelstoke and wandered around town also just to see the sights. The dam apparently usually hold tours of the facility but this day due to the high water table they had to cancel tours as the access to the dam was blocked when they had to open the floodgates to relieve the pressure. Even the locals were out watching the flue gates. Doesn't happen often...We were lucky to time it just right, they had opened the gates only a few minutes earlier...
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| Revelstoke Dam Access Road |
they had signs up blocking the entrance. Disapointed we drove around on the highway to see if we could get a better viewpoint...
It may have been spectacular at this point also.
They had not fully opened the gates at this time.
As we were driving around to the highway, you could see the plume getting higher and higher...
The sound of the force of the water was amazing.
You could feel the power and the energy of the water.
Apparently the water level in the lakes rise quite dramatically. Even the ferry dock is moved up the ramp to enable cars to load....Until the water level stabilizes the ferry may be shut down for safety reasons. We did certainly time it right.
Beautiful is it not...
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| Maggie and I at top of dam. |
It was time to head her home, but not the end of our adventures. We stopped along the way of course still thinking we might miss something and we found yet another couple of potential campground on the Rogers Pass.
The most impressive is the Loop Brook Campground. Looks like a potential for next year lots of trails to walk and photos to take...
These towers were massive, hard to tell with not perspective. Ruth became the perspective
beside a fallen giant.
Again you have to go back to the pioneers and the accomplishments without all the modernday equipment they now use....I can't wait to go back and find out more.
To camp in all this splendor.....
Our trip was not without more drama on the way home...Just before Banff the traffic came to a standstill on the transCanada. Seemed like an hour passed with us thinking there had been an accident ahead. Ruth was searching on her IPhone for road reports when the RCMP came down the opposite side of the highway explaining there had been a mudslide just before Banff (good timing again) and the highway was closed...As you know there are few passes through the mountains...Your choices are to go south through the Crowsnest Pass or north toward Jasper to Saskatchewan Crossing on the Yellowhead......We decided rather than wait for an undetermined amount of time sitting on highway (with no biffy!!!!) we would take the Jasper route. It would mean an additional 6 hours onto our already long day with all the stops we had made. but we had already been south this year through the Crowsnest so Jasper highway it was.....Couldn't make a bad choice traveling the Jasper highway..!
Believe it or not perhaps due to the additional hours spent, we did not stop along the way! No photos, I did hear us ooooh and ohhhh over the beauty of the scenery, but the only stops we made were a outdoor biffy on the David Thompson highway (attacked by mosquitos!!!) and Tim Horton's in Rocky Mountain House. We ended up taking highway 22 south past Sundre and Mike's straight home arriving about 11pm.....We did hear in Rocky that the highway had been cleared and was now open.....So if we had stayed with legs crossed we may have saved about two or more hours....but just think of what we would have missed. ;-)
Somehow I think we made the right decision....in the long run.....:-)
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