I got my first loooong driving day in Canada out of the way early in the trip. I had only been in Canada a little over a week and I needed to drive the majority of the way across southern British Columbia to the town of Cranbrook. Mapquest indicated point-to-point between my two Airbnb’s was about 500 miles and would take a little over 9 hours. I would drive east a short distance on the Trans Canada Highway (which hasn’t given me a reason yet to call it “the dreaded TCH”), before turning right on BC Highway 3, the “Crowsnest Highway” to continue east. I would be on it the rest of the way, and it continues all the way to Alberta province.
I recently posted a few photos in the “tease” post of the small wildfire I saw as soon as I exited the TCH near the town of Hope. I had stopped at a gas station (previously planned), and the fire was burning on a steep hillside behind the gas station and on the opposite side of the exit I had just taken. I stayed there a little while to watch a helicopter come and go, about every 4 minutes, to drop a large “bucket” of water on specific spots. I have no idea how much water was dropped on each trip but given the size of the helicopter I’m guessing it may only be about a third the size of my car.
The folks inside the gas station said the fire had been burning about a month and hadn’t gotten better or worse during that time. It was still classified as “out of control” the day I was there, and is STILL smoldering as I write this about another month later, but is now classified as “being held”. British Columbia as a whole is still bone dry and the fire danger is extreme. Parks Canada just implemented fire restrictions in Jasper and Banff National Parks, in the Canadian Rockies, which had been low risk but are now on the extreme list along with all of BC.
Here are some of the things I saw as I drove east towards Cranbrook:
There was a fairly substantial overcast to start the day but it would clear up and be a rather pleasant drive.
Route 3 kind of weaved between lots of large mountains but I only experienced a significant elevation change a handful of times. I also started seeing warning signs about various animals I would rather not hit with my car – bears, deer and elk, moose and even these guys:
Canada frequently covers several bases with a LARGE sign showing images of three or four animals, something I have not seen done in the US.
There was a small river which ran alongside the highway various places and at one point I saw this unusual watercraft on a pedestal just off the roadway:
Further up the road there were several cars pulled over and people were milling about with their cameras. I stopped, grabbed my cameras, and joined them – thinking it was an animal sighting. I was mistaken. It was an unusual lake which has significance to the indigenous people of the area.
I’m guessing the largest circles are probably 10-12 feet across.
I have other photos of the signage explaining the significance of the lake but have not had time to read them or research the issue further. I was near the Okanagan (pronounced oak-uh-NOGGIN) Valley, known for large farms and fruit groves, among other things, and will be spending more time there later in the trip when I stop in Kamloops. I did drive past some farm stands after taking these photos.
There is a pronounced indigenous presence in various places throughout the western US but nothing like it is up here. Indigenous tribes are EVERYWHERE in western Canada, and make their presence known. They sometimes pool their resources with other local tribes to help protect the greater good and provide resources for their people. Many large commercial Canadian ventures (like WhistlerBlackcomb ski resort, northeast of Vancouver) sit on indigenous land.
At one point when the highway did climb to a fairly high elevation we had to stop for a one-lane section of the roadway due to construction. I was stopped behind this truck, a support vehicle for the Snowbirds, Canada’s precision flying team, which has been putting on airshows throughout the country during the summer.
I recently posted a photo in the “tease” post of one of their jets atop a pedestal outside the Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Visitor Information Center. The Snowbirds are based at a military base just south of Moose Jaw.
I soon came to the town of Osoyoos (pronounced oh-SUE-yuss, NOT oh-SOY-yoos as it appears). I became interested in Osoyoos because of a billboard I saw advertising a business there and decided I would stop in town for lunch.
Another climb to elevation and there was a scenic overlook (they call them Viewpoints up here) which showed a rather expansive town with two large lakes.
I would have guessed this was the west side of town, because of my direction of travel, but looking at the map I realize this is the north side – significant for a reason I will explain shortly.
While I was in town I stopped at the business I saw advertised as I approached town. It is a Paintball facility, and I really like their logo. I found the place but it didn’t seem to be open. The owner pulled up just as I was about to leave. Unfortunately he didn’t have any t-shirts in my size, so I left empty-handed. Here is their logo, on their sign next to the highway.
I climbed another big hill as I was leaving town and had a great view of the south lake.
This is significant because the majority of the south lake is in the United States! The town of Osoyoos, between the two lakes, is only a very short distance from the border.
Further east on the Crowsnest Highway, at the town of Almond Gardens, I turned right at one of the many signs I had seen during my drive indicating “turn right to US Border.” I forget the exact distance but it was probably less than a mile:
I turned right around and headed back to Highway 3 and my journey east. Not feeling homesick yet – by any stretch of the imagination!
I stopped in the little town of Castlegar, which had been highly recommended by one of the folks in the Campbell River Visitor Center. I spoke with a young man at the Visitor Center there, picked up maps and brochures, but was already “on the clock” to make it to Cranbrook before dark so I told him I would probably return there someday. Someday is today. I am sitting in my Airbnb in Castlegar as I make this post, and the area has exceeded my expectations. I will save the photos I took yesterday when I arrived and today while I was out and about. They will have to wait their turn and be posted in sequence, but they will be worth waiting for.
The remainder of my drive to Cranbrook went without incident. I posted photos in the “tease” post of the amazing sight of a portion of the southern Canadian Rockies which I took just as the sun was setting. I was hoping for a repeat performance the next night, but low clouds spoiled it. It doesn’t look like I will get another bite at that apple this trip.
It ended up being just over 12 hours in the car because of all the stops I made, but it was a very enjoyable day.
johnboystravelblog 