The Kootenay’s

No, the Kootenay’s are not some new celebrity family but an area in British Columbia’s ‘Interior’ as they call it, which makes it sound a tad dull, but it really isn’t. It’s a different but spectacular area of Canada that was a lot of fun.  The Kootenay’s is a region full of lakes, mountains and forests. Probably fair to say it’s becoming these days, a tad gentrified in some of the key towns but it does have a retained charm in its architecture and vibe. We planned to head South first through The Kootenay Valley, the ski/bike/hike towns and some really scenic roads and then head back up through the Okanagan Valley trying to avoid the overcrowded RV Parks as we went.

An evening in Revelstoke was an eye opener, mainly for the queue of mainly women and girls in pink, queuing around the block at The Roxy to see Barbie. There was street music, a rock band playing to an audience of young girls in pink sparkly frocks, quite surreal! Revelstoke is great, a hip vibe and very outdoorsy, lots of biking trails in the surrounding mountains and lakes to cool off in. Sadly, it too is becoming a gentrified place the locals can’t afford and is during the summer, taken over by ‘Revenge Tourism’.  A new term to us, we were told it reflects American’s going bigger and better in their vacations as a way of avenging Covid and its restrictions, hmmm. Kind of think that could be a universal thing for anyone who does ego travel. This was the first time we’d seen real forest fire smoke too.

More really pretty landscapes and drives on Hwy 23 then 31A, which included a ferry as part of the road, across Upper Arrow Lake. After a brief walk at Sutherland Falls we stopped at a really pretty and floral town called Naksup for a wander and ice cream then on to Kalso, known for its Jazz Festival… well actually, not to us, internet poor as we are. It explained why we could only get 1 night camping. A fun stop over in a great little town, that included ‘Scary Movie Night’ with a family of Albertans who invited us for drinks with them. (For anyone interested, The Descent ☹) We’ll probably frighten them with a visit en route to the US soon! Kaslo has, aside from Jazz a preserved Paddle Steamer at its lovely lakeside and characterful, main street.

The best part of Kalso was however, on the way out. Spotting the vehicle of someone we’d met at Drumheller, we pulled over, only to see a Grizzly bear mum with cub, and a fleeting young deer. Our first Grizzly, amazing. (Photos from the back of Nick’s camera) We watched her until she headed into the grass. Further along the quiet roads we also spotted an Osprey nest with a chick close to fledging, its parent flying back and forth before arriving with a fish, scooped from the lake. The tall one took about 200 photo’s, my phone shot is not quite as impressive so you get one from the back of his camera!

Continuing our travels through The Kootenay region we headed to Nelson, crossing the bridge into a town very much known for its heritage architecture rather than it’s namesake, Willy. We cycled the walking tour, as the breeze in the heat was welcome relief (34 deg) Some wonderful places and superb graffiti, which frankly, should be called art. Especially the theatre art! We noted that they have a very well read Police Force (see pic!) The Kootenay Lake with a cool breeze was an obvious attraction for many, on its beach, who were merrily frying.

Rossland was the next stop on the circuit. Arriving early afternoon on a Sunday we found they’d rolled the roads up early, it was deserted save for a couple walking their dog who spotted the cat. We wandered the quiet main street admiring the buildings and street art. The couple we met, were however the second people to tell us that the local “Goldfever Follies” was a must. Finding they were playing that evening we bought tickets and headed along. By am-dram standards it was more am than dram but hey, we supported the local economy and have a fun story to tell. To be fair, the women out acted the men who’s roles seemed to become comedic as the play went on. Anyhow “Trapped at The Murphy Inn” will stay in our hearts.

We’ve talked about bike trails in lots of the places in this area, our Rossland ride out has to be up there with the ‘why the hell did we….’ set. Blue in Rossland is more technical that other blue classifications we’ve done and the 24km of it played havoc with our bodies for days. As ever though, it’s chalked up as a memory and we bask in the knowledge that we did it and didn’t fall off. A bike injury isn’t on the bucket list for this trip. Don’t know why, maybe because our hands were gripping on so tight, but only one pic!

A fabulous breakfast in Rossland we then headed out of The Kootenays, further South towards Osoyoos, and the Okanagan Valley. A long drive but stunning, on the Crowsnest Highway. The landscape changed from Rossland’s forests in The Red Mountain area to an area visibly dry and with fewer tree’s, just coulee’s near the rivers primarily. A long and winding road through tiny communities, we were skirting the Canada USA border before arriving at a great Ranch for the evening, literally overlooking the border.

Osoyoos had recently been on fire so we’d been keeping an eye on the BC Fires App in terms of our route but they had receded but were still smouldering, west of the area. A gorgeous drive down into the Okanagan Valley and Osoyoos itself, still smokey, we could see across the lakes. In the area, we discovered a couple of great, natural phenomena. The Spotted Lake was unbelievable, as it dries during the summer, the minerals form literal spots of varying colours. The Osoyoos Oxbows have become a birding paradise. There’s a manmade channel running alongside them which is now the river route. We weren’t disappointed, walking the area numerous species of birds erupted from the tree’s like fireworks as we walked along, disturbing their peace! Some many varieties of swift (thanks to the Merlin app) and the prize event a nesting Osprey with two chicks. It is incomprehensible that the Osprey nest was marked on Google! That would never happen in the UK as some idiot would basically, be an idiot. ☹