Vancouver to the Prairies

The last couple of days we have hit the road again. We left Vancouver behind and headed back into the mountains, this time the Kootenays, and skirted the US border along the way (Washington, Idaho and Montana). We stayed for a couple of nights with a delightful arm of the Ackerman family in a small town called Trail.

Yesterday, lots of the relatives, too many to name, popped by Dave and Myrna's house to say hello and participate in much merryment and beer drinking. A great welcome to this area, and somewhere I will certainly be back to explore some more (mountain hiking, biking, skiing, fishing and hunting).

We met some real characters here and listened to their stories (and how enthusiastically they told them too). From Syd's hunting stories, to Eric's hiking, Tammy's foray's into soccer, and Myrna and Dave's winter bird trips South to Mehico in their RV to name a few. It was great to put faces to names on the family tree that Laurie and Des have researched over the years and talked about.

It was with some reluctance today that I hopped into the back of the van to start the long trip out of the mountains. I really do feel at home amongst the peaks, valleys, rivers, lakes and forests. For anyone who is considering a trip to British Columbia, I can honestly say it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, and is right up there with my love for New Zealand, and there is so much of it yet to explore.

The route from Vancouver to the Prairies, took us via Chiiliwack,

to Trail (past the ski resort of Rossland)

Staying at Dave and Myrna's house:

for a party to celebrate my Father's 75th birthday:

before shooting off today via Sparwood to look at a boys toy:

then Frankslide, where a 1km sized block of a mountain collapsed onto a small town in 1903:

before we had to say goodbye to the hills, and hello to flatland...

What a great, great place BC is...