Thursday, October 12, 2006

to Kamloops

Again, the installment plan...I took too many pictures again...so, off to the 'Loops through the Frasier Canyon. It is a gorgeous drive. This is the same drive we took in July when it was so hot we thought we would be cooked in the van like a tv dinner....we didn't stop to look then, only to plunge ourselves into the river to cool off. This time we took our time. This is the Alexander Bridge...this was the main route long ago, but it was bypassed with a change in the road and a new bridge. The cables were cut, there was no deck to it, just the pillasters that used to hold it all together...they have done some work for travelers and tourists. It is now open to foot traffic and is part of a lovely park, a good rest with a refreshing walk when you have been on the road a while...tour buses make this a stop.
Here is a view from the bridge...
Looking straight down.....
We made some friends on the trip. These mountain goats came down to the highway and stopped traffic. There were about 25 or so. They were absolutely unconcerned about the cars they stopped, nor did they even flinch when the irate semi-truck driver started blowing his horn to move them along. Why, I ask you, can't that driver just relax a bit and enjoy this for what it is?!? It was a fantastic site! Get over your damn self. The rest of us out there were jumping out to take photos and to marvel.
Across the canyon...I imagine when the big road went in on the opposite side of the canyon, hundreds of places just like this died. That side is the ghost town side. We'll make it over there, yet.
I love this shot in particular, though I couldn't explain to you why....
Prickly Pear and Juniper...we are in the desert for sure, now. Prickly Pear are edible. You can pull the needles off, mash 'em up a bit and fry them. They also have a bloom that is edible, though I have never seen them bloom up here, my timing on these trips must be wrong. They are gorgeous when flowering...they were everywhere in Colorado and in Texas.
These are the colours of fall in the high desert...stunning, isn't it? I have said before that I am forest-born and green, but I am overwhelmed every time by the beauty of the desert...wait until you see some of Kamloops! Oh, and the drive home through another mountain route, the old road, long and scenic....but, for now, I have to go.

10 comments:

Biddie said...

I love the photo of the bridge..looking down. I am not brave enough to do something like that myself.
I have never been to the desert, never been anywhere, actually, other than east. I love the photos, I get to see BC from your point of view. Any photos of you, Michael, or Emma coming?

dilling said...

Michael doesn't like to post us online, and I get that, plus I am about as camera shy as they come...but I can email you some later...and, Emma will make it up there...she won't be upset by it! wink.

Swampwitch said...

I love the bridge photo. Visiting your blog is almost like watching the Travel Channel. The pics make me a little homesick as we live in the high desert and being on the road so long makes me miss the prickly pear blossoms. I think I recognize your feet. :)

Michael Colvin said...

Your pics make me want to visit. They are great. You are so lucky to live so close to nature.

Biddie said...

Please do. Can't wait!

Crafty Missus said...

nice photos. my favorite is the train the way it precariously looms above you. i'd have been a bit creeped out in person i think.

gawilli said...

The pictures are beautiful, but I am taken with the second one. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

I just want to go to the ghost town and check out that lonely old church. I wonder what happened to the houses and if there was any congregation to speak of! And me and heights...well, I almost fell sideways off the chair when I scrolled to that view looking down to the water below your shoes. Yikes!

katy said...

again wow WOW fantastic, i just could not go on that bridge!

ldbug said...

So beautiful, remindes me of home:-(

Uh, please don't get mad, but, I think those were mountain sheep. The mountain goats are the all white ones...sorry, I know it's a silly point...

Anyway, I love looking at your pictures since I'm stuck here in the city, looking at stained buildings.