April 30, 2005

April 30, 2005

Rock Creek to Creston, B.C.

DAY 317

 

Today was sunny and cool. I think it was cool only because of how high up in the Kootenay Rockies we were for most of the day.

We left Rock Creek this morning heading east on Hwy. 3, which from this point east is called The Crowsnest Highway. That's because it eventually leads to the Crowsnest Pass through the Rockies. Most of today was spent either ascending, or descending very high mountains. There was hardly any time when we were driving on flat ground. The ascents and descents ranged from 20 to 40 km. / 12 to 24 miles long ! Hauling Harvey uphill for a solid hour at a time is extremely hard on Dee-Dee ! On the longest, steepest sections, Dee-Dee's maximum capability was 40 km. per hr. / 25 mph in first gear at 3000 RPM. On one of these long, steep ascents, struggling at 40 km./hr. we came across five Bighorn Sheep in the middle of the road. I didn't want to slow down and lose what little momentum we had, so I just kept chugging on towards them. They split on the road, letting me pass right through the group ! WOW !

We stopped at Grand Forks to fill up with diesel, buy some groceries, and drop some mail at the Post Office. Grand Forks is a pretty little town. One of my mother's brothers settled here over 50 years ago. He started a furniture and appliance store which I think is still owned and operated by ( distant ) cousins of mine. As we drove through town, we passed a furniture and appliance store. I wonder if it's my cousins' ? Grand Forks doesn’t seem like it’s large enough for more than one furniture and appliance store.

At least a couple of times today, we were at such a high elevation in the Kootenay Rockies that we were surrounded by snow, driving by lakes still frozen. The Kootenay Pass Summit elevation was about 6000 feet ! We stopped at a snowmobile trail access area, and I took some pictures of Bo in the snow. As were walking back to the truck, a couple of snowmobiles came driving out of the snow covered forest, drivers in full snowmobile suits. An amusing contrast to us standing out there in short sleeved shirts. No wonder I felt so cold !

We stopped for the night at Pair-A-Dice RV Park in Creston. There is an Escapee RV Park in Nevada by the same name. This is the area of B.C. with Dukhobors and polygamists. After getting backed into the really tight squeeze campsite we were assigned, we took Bo for a training walk, I did some work online ( this campground has Wi-Fi ), barbecued another great supper, did today’s accounting, journal, and photos, and we watched a bit of TV ( this campground has cable TV ).

DSK