Part 2: Sights along the way: day 1 into the evening

Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford (endless city), Hope, Kamloops, Salmon Arm, Sicamous, Revelstoke, and finally to the Heather Mountain Lodge, just before Golden, where we finally stopped for the night.

Along Highway 1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia_Highway_1) to our first stop, there is lots of incredible scenery. Mountains, lakes, trees. I knew we would be seeing lots of changing scenery over the next few days, driving from the Island to the Prairies, so I just started shooting pictures from the car. More of them turned out well than I thought, given that we were driving on the highway in a sports car, and I was reticent to roll down the windows while we were driving. So, many of the pictures did turn out a blur of speed, and some, towards the end of the day when I was trying to shoot pictures of where we were going through the front window, were shots of scenes through a screen of bug goo. One of the hazards of driving on the highway in the summer, especially as the day draws to a close.

Of course, the mountains, being made of rock, are subject to rock slides.  So, netting is everywhere, keeping the mountain from piling onto the highway.

Lots of places along the way, where we did NOT stop. No stopping on this leg of the journey. Stops on the trip to the wedding were for the most part reserved for gas, the occasional meal, perhaps a desperation coffee, although, as you will see, we did make the obligatory stops in Lake Louise and Banff for a few photo ops. Getting out of Vancouver involved driving through Surrey, Langley (where we did make a quick stop for sunscreen at a London Drugs after realizing we were baking through the sunroof – a sunroof is a wonderful thing, but it IS all about the sun shining down on you through the roof!). Then through Abbotsford – an endless train of city, dotted with farmland and signs hawking fresh fruits. Then, the stretch to Hope (http://hopebc.ca/).

Hope is where the Coquihalla highway and Highway 3 (the Crowsnest) meet to merge with Highway 1.  It’s also where they filmed Rambo First Blood.  But if you’re going to ask me where the name Hope came from, I can’t tell you.  Although some do say that wherever you travel from, the rest of BC is beyond Hope.

After Hope, the next major city is Kamloops (http://www.city.kamloops.bc.ca/index.shtml) , and then the cities get smaller. Salmon Arm (http://www.salmonarm.ca/) , Sicamous (http://www.sicamous.ca/) , and finally Revelstoke.

One of the other hazards of the mountains is going downhill…fast.

By the time we hit Revelstoke, we were hungry and decided that perhaps it was time to stop for the night. Well, at least grab dinner and then decide what to do. The sun was getting close to setting, and single-lane mountain pass highways aren’t a lot of fun to drive on in the dark. So, we cruised around downtown Revelstoke for a bit, and finally settled on, of all things, a sushi restaurant. We were both shaking our heads as we come from a city that has some of the best sushi anywhere, but to our surprise, it was pretty good. And just what we wanted after a long hot driving day.

Yummmm….

Well, I guess technically I was just riding since Kevin did all the driving, but it was still long and hot. Anyway, after a nice dinner, we thought about what to do. Being folks that don’t go anywhere without the “I” devices (I tell you, the moments on the road when there was no service were a bit disturbing…) Kevin googled “places to stay between Revelstoke and Golden (the next city, and ONLY city/place to get gas on the route, after Revelstoke). He found the Heather Mountain Lodge (love Google!) So, he gave them a quick phone call from the car, and asked if they had a room. They did. Where were they? About halfway between Revelstoke and Golden (i.e., about 30 minutes away). BUT the front office was closing in 15 minutes (at 10:30). But it was only 9:15? Ah, but the Heather Mountain Lodge is on Mountain Time, whereas Revelstoke is still on Pacific Time. Can we book the room over the phone? Yes – and I will tape the key to the door of the office/lodge. How will we find it? We have a big sign – you can’t miss it! Okey dokey then. Room booked, off we went.

Did I mention she said about halfway between Revelstoke and Golden? Hmmm… More on Heather Mountain Lodge (and the getting to it) in my next post!