Friday, Aug 2, 2013

I was not happy about leaving Kaslo.  After several years of just treating the Kootenays as a through route, coming to the area as a destination in its own right was a brilliant move.  The trouble is that you just start to get into a good groove after a few days, and it’s a GOOD groove. I took solace in the fact that I had some great riding roads ahead of me, and a short distance to travel.  I had decided to stay at the Three Valley Gap Chateau to the west of Revelstoke.  There was no need to hurry-it was only about 4 hours away.

I took my time getting up, mostly because it was raining when I woke.  After a short walk downtown for some breakfast, I took one last walk down the beach before heading back to the Kaslo Motel to pack, load Silver, and checkout.  The people who own the Kaslo Motel are super cool.  They remember me every time I come, the place is clean, and you can’t beat the $70/ night rate.   That’s a hell of a deal.

It was about 10:30 by the time I left Kaslo, and I headed west over the Kaslo-New Denver highway one last time.  I love this highway in the morning.  Well, I love it anytime…but in the morning there is a crispness in the air, and since it’s been raining there was a nice morning mist/fog along the Kaslo River that parallels the highway.  It was an awesome ride and I enjoyed every minute of it.  I was feeling so relaxed that I decided to hang out in New Denver for a bit and check the place out.

It was Friday…and as luck would have it on Fridays New Denver has a community street market.  I thought this was a perfect chance to get to know the town.  The market had a few produce vendors, but for the most part it was handcrafts…lots of homemade shoulder bags and other cloth items…some pottery…and a dude that was selling rock jewellery.  This piqued my attention.  Given my recent decision to get back into rock polishing, I paid attention to the rocks themselves and talk to the dude a bit about how he got his gems and made jewellery.  After five minutes I realized that there was no reason I couldn’t do what he was doing…basically taking little polished rocks and setting them in jewellery…even had a bucket of polished rocks that little kids were buying for a buck a piece.  I ended up getting a garnet pendant as a gift for Heather.  She likes garnet.

I checked out the quaint downtown and found it was every bit as charming as the downtown in Kaslo.  There is a real authenticity to these little towns.  Lots of artists…crafters…hippie stuff in general.  The marijuana trade is one of the biggest economic drivers to these remote former mining towns.  During the Vietnam War thousands of draft dodgers from the States hid up here in the south interior of British Columbia…and they stayed.

After a quick sandwich I jumped back on Silver and headed northwest back to Nakusp. The clouds were dissipating and rain was no longer a threat.   I reached Nakusp after about 40 minutes and was in a nice groove on the road so I kept on going, after a few stops I was heading north on the highway toward the Galena Bay- Shelter Bay Ferry.

The highway itself is about 50km long and is very straight.  It is very similar to its sister road to the south of Nakusp. There are some good scenic views overlooking the Arrow Lakes, and at one point there is a rest area with a very cool waterfall on the side of the highway called Ione Falls.  I stopped here for a picture but there was a group of hippies in a tent by the waterfall…drinking water from the Falls itself and sitting around in the grass.  I asked them if the water was good, and after getting a good review I tried it myself. A little earthy…but clean. Glacier water from the Selkirks. Good stuff.

I was both excited and sad to reach the ferry at around 2pm.  I was excited because this was a kick ass ferry…it takes you across the widest part of the Arrow Lakes and offers some pretty stunning scenery of snow peaks mountains in the north Selkirks and Monashees.  This was the third different ferry I rode and the fourth ferry ride.  It was also going to be my last…which is why I was sad.  I really enjoy the ferries.  They are a nice break, give a chance to see some awesome scenery, and you get a real appreciation for the natural beauty of the lakes and mountains of the British Columbia Kootenays.

There are some who would be frustrated with the ferries because they do present a pretty big delay in travel…but for a guy riding around on vacation they are pretty awesome.

After the ferry I was witness to a line up for the southbound ferry that was about 5km long.  It was huge and I’d never seen it that long.  I suppose that since it was Friday afternoon on a long weekend, and this was one of two entrances into the Kootenays from the east (the other being through Creston)…the weekend warrior crowd from Alberta and northern British Columbia would need to take this route to get to where I had just come from. Some of these people will be waiting about 6 hours to get across.  I would probably enjoy it.

It takes about a half hour to reach Revelstoke from the Ferry, and Revelstoke is always a natural place to fuelup.  After getting gas I decided to ride Silver up Mount Revelstoke.  There are a shitload of switchbacks that take you about 24 km to the summit of the mountain.  I got a few good views but was not able to take Silver up to the peak. One of the disadvantages of taking a motorcycle is that you can never really leave it unattended, because someone could easily just grab your gear and take off.

By the time I got back down the mountain it was about 5pm.  I rode onto the TransCanada #1 and rode about 20km west to Three Valley Gap.  I decided to stay at this resort while heading east on the Fellowship of the Road episode.  It is tucked in a valley along the highway in the middle of the Monashees, and looks like a European chateau.  I just had to try it.

I wasn’t disappointed when I checked in.  My room overlooked a large garden at the Three Valley Lake.  We were high up in the Monashees and there was a real alpine feel to the whole place.  I was pretty hungry after unloading my gear, and decided to revisit Joe Schmuck’s Road House in Sicamous for a burger…the same place I had eaten at with Greg on the Fellowship of the Road.

Sicamous was another 45 minutes down the highway to the west, but I felt the ride was worth it.  I ordered the same burger when I got there, but the place was packed and the service suffered as a result.  My server even apologized and bought me a beer for my trouble.  That was nice of her, and very unnecessary.  The food was excellent and the ambiance was the same as it was a month and a half ago.  I still recommend very highly.

An hour after eating I was back at the Three Valley Gap Chateau.  There was no cell service, no internet access, and only three channels on the television. There was only one thing I could do: enjoy the sunset and the beautiful scenery of the Three Valley Gap.  This was my last official night in the Kootenays.  Tomorrow I head back east.