The British Columbian Sojourn - 01 Apr 2010

Contents at a glance -

i. Day 1 - Take off from Calgary

ii. Day 2 - Golden to Kelowna

iii. Day 3 - Kelowna to Castlegar

iv. Day 4- Back to Calgary

Day 1 - The Beginning of the Expedition (Calgary to Golden)

See that beautiful picture above? It is one of the many stretches along the road where the rail runs alongside it, converging nature with thoughtfully executed human creation. It has been taken from a Sony DSC H7 in Vernon, British Columbia, during one of the most memorable trips I have ever made. This joyous trip was undertaken on the 1st of April 2010 by me and some of my office colleagues who also happen to be my friends. The occasion was Good Friday, the 2nd of April, which was a holiday here in Canada.


I am in Canada on an official trip which lasts for one year - from Jan 2010 till Jan 2011. And whenever I get a long weekend, I sneak out of Calgary and venture out to visit tourist destinations in Canada. It was my second trip this year, the first one being to Banff National Park and surrounding places. I am planning to write a blog on that one too.


For making a trip this time, we had two options - the province of Saskatchewan versus the province of British Columbia. On much research and public opinion, we decided to go to BC. But we did not know where. I had assigned this task to the other stakeholders as well, including me. The members of this joint trip were - myself, my roommate Madhu Prakash, and my two IBM buddies - Anand Sastry and Dipak Mali.

Learning from our past experience, we had planned well in advance for this trip. We had bought lot of food stuff on the 31st of March itself, enough to keep the stomachs rolling for at least 2 days. We had  booked our car in advance from the Enterprise Rental Agency. From the time we had started to plan for this, the moments passed by painfully slow each day, waiting for the 1st of April to arrive. The situation got even more treacherous on the 1st itself as we were sitting in our office counting hours, minutes and seconds to pass, and come 3 PM, off we sped to our manor, at the double.

My Canadian friend Michael Paget had been kind enough to lend me his GPS device, which we used throughout the journey. We packed our bags and reached the rental agency, which is just two streets south-west of our apartment. The person at the desk offered us an upgrade and in just 5 dollars extra a day, we were presented with a Jeep Liberty. This was a fortunate event to occur, as the vehicle had 4 by 4 and you shall later discover how it came to our rescue. I have known the road through Banff to be disrespectful to drivers, the intensity of the emotion (disrespect) proven to grow sharply after dusk, and so I wanted to drive past Banff before last light. But by the time we had inspected the vehicle and penned the formalities down, the clock had already swept past 6.30 P.M.


We set the GPS pointer to a place called Golden, where we had booked a lodge in advance for the night. The map we followed on the whole, is shown below (extract from the guide that we followed, the direction taken by us was counter clockwise).


 
As time passed by, it grew darker, and much to my liking, more adventurous. I am fond of long drives and taking off with so many friends was a definite pleasure. The road winded through the Canadian Rockies, from the state of Alberta into British Columbia - it went right through the heart of the Banff National Park. The aroma in the air was a striking one - singing, gossiping and loads of music being its main ingredients; and it seemed to quite succeed in its propaganda, which was to keep the trip spirit soaring rocket heights.


Negotiating the curves of the splendid Rockies, the 3.7 litre Jeep's mean demeanor kept us firmly hooked to the ground. I am pretty good at the wheels and maneuvering the bends was a pleasure. Straight patches of long trails of silver on the road, an uncanny colossus cast mystically by the cool light of the moon, tall shadows of the trees with beams of light from the moon scattering through the coniferous tree tops injected a feeling of intoxication in the surroundings.


We reached Golden by 9.30 PM and checked into the lodge - Travelodge. The kempt, well maintained lodge was spacious and liked by all alike. We chatted for some time and then left out hunting for food. Our vehicle was a beast which I was enchanted to tame. Here is a snap of it taken right in front of the lodge.





It is a well known fact that "An army cannot march on an empty stomach" and hunger was met to the tastes of a subway. The subs were definitely relished by everyone, and the coffee equally despised. In fact 95% of the coffee was discarded by one and all. We got back to the lodge and then dozed off only to wake up to the sound of the alarm in the morning.




Day 2 - The Expedition Continues (Rogers Pass, Revelstoke, Vernon and Kelowna)


The day began, with us waking up early. There lay a long journey ahead. I did a reccy early in the morning with snaps to accompany. Breakfast over and we were headed to Revelstoke. This journey was a fabulous drive through the snow laden Canadian Rockies. It was an ascent into the mountains after Golden. We stopped midway in the Rogers Pass. We were really fascinated by the number of truckers waving 'Hello' to us. The below snap was taken when we had stopped in Rogers Pass.



We drove through the scenic Pass and tread along the Glacier National Park to arrive at Revelstoke. This is a small town famous for its railway history and this was the place where the last spike for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPRL) was driven, bringing the town into existence in 1880.


The Rail museum is a major attraction here. Unfortunately it was closed, 2nd April being a holiday. But we tried hard to peep in through the pane to get a glimpse of a very old rail engine. Below is a snap of the Railway Museum.





We then engaged ourselves in trotting the streets downtown, relishing glimpses of the beautiful country houses and the culture. This snap would do some, if not complete justice to the lovely houses that the town has.





A major chunk of the afternoon was spent searching for the Revelstoke Dam and the Forestry museum, both of which were closed for the season. But we did drive up to those locations and did some good photography sessions. While still at the city center, in Revelstoke, we had come to know of another tourist attraction called the Three Valley Gap, which has a Ghost Town in it. It is about 10 - 15 kilometers south west of Revelstoke.


I must admit that British Columbia has got one of the most picturesque sights in the whole world, and matching drives which run along the Canadian Pacific Rail tracks making the sight even more breathtaking. TVG is a settlement having a resort and heritage-themed amusement park. It is beside the Three Valley Lake. We ran into some minor trouble here when we inadvertently strayed into a no trespassing zone. Below you can see some pictures of the lake and the settlement.

After TVG, I revved up the engines to Vernon. The drive was as usual conversational. We stopped at a mall in Vernon to buy some stuff. We also had some real good coffee there and then walked around the place. The visit to a fun park was not on the cards and was impromptu, but fun. Our next stop would have definitely been Kelowna, as planned, had we not hit upon Swan Lake just as we stepped out of Vernon. The turn we took on the highway to soak in the grandeur of the lake also led us not only to the lake but also to the Kekuli Bay Provincial Park. This park has an RV ground too and is definitely a place worth visiting. We spent quite a lot of time here. This place reminded me of the song 'Pehla Nasha' from the movie 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander'. We did some good photography here and then left for Kelowna.


 

I must mention that each section of the highway we covered as different and picturesque in its own way. The ride to Kelowna was a totally different one, it was plainer, and we got to enjoy the view of many small country cottages along the way. The sight of the small hamlets nestled among the low lying valleys was too pleasing to the eyes to be described in words. Many of these hamlets had farm houses, and there were barns too, highlighting the landscape, which made the place feel even more desirable to be admired, more so to be lived in. As Kelowna came nearer the number of vineyards increased. The grapes had not yet started to grow, but stilts implanted in the vineyards gave a completely different finish to the landscape. Maintaining healthy speed, we were able to knock kilometers off the odometer to reach Kelowna by 8 PM.

We had not booked any hotel here and we used the GPS liberally to search for some. After some groping around and a visit to couple of overbooked lodges, we finally zeroed in on the 'Town n Country'. We got a good deal at the price. The beauty of the hotel was that it had an indoor heated swimming pool. After much ado, the choice of room was made. This one was not as big as the one at Golden but was good enough with two king sized beds and enough room for four. For dinner, we chose a lavish Indian restaurant which was in downtown and about 6 kilometers away from our suites. We treated ourselves to lovely Indian cuisine and every single bite was devoured to be relished. On our arrival back, we watched an English movie, which was of course background noise and trivial to the discussions and gossip which was making the round at that hour. We slept off early that day.


Day 3 - Inroads into Kelowna ( The Lakefront, Kelowna Downtown, Museum, The Wineries) and Castlegar

We woke up pretty late, gobbled down our breakfast and did what had been ticking in our minds from the past night - taking a dip in the pool. It was a good exercise and we played some water games along with doing the breadths and the lengths. The pool was a small one, 8 feet deep at its deepest.

After the water Olympics were over, we took a quick shower and headed downtown. We started off with the lakefront and parked our vehicle in the lot along the lake. What a splendid sight it was, simply enchanting. There are many 'To Sees' along the walkway on the lakefront, prominent being the sculptures and the War Memorial. Here are a few pictures taken on the lake front -

 

Kelowna has a couple of museums downtown. We decided that the Wine Museum would not be a bad choice, Kelowna being the land of wineries. Parking was not an issue; there was ample space, a little expensive but not too much. We had to shift the parking spot every 2 hours due to the timing constraints set on public parking. The Wine Museum was being renovated and had been shifted to a smaller facility just beside the original one. The curators were very nice people, one gentleman and a girl, and they helped us out with all our queries. I looked around the place and bought two fine varieties.


We then walked around the town to see the place and found another nice Indian restaurant for lunch. One thing I liked about BC is that the towns are quietly nestled among the hills, aloft snow laden ridges and valleys. They, I believe, are the strongest and most wonderful eye magnets.
 

The last attraction on our cards in Kelowna was the Mission Hill Winery. This was a first of a kind experience for all of us - wonderful lowlands all along the Okanagon Lake, retreating up into the low lying hills. And with acres of land dedicated to viticulture (cultivation of grapes) this place carved out a portrait on the landscape. What is unbelievable is the years of tradition the family estates bring along into the wine culture of the valley and also of the world.


The Mission Hill Family Estate is one among such many estates engaged in wine production. The terrific way in which the roads have been implanted into the winding valleys is really marvelous, you feel like you are in God's own land. The whole environment that hangs around the place is mesmerizing. This is how the entrance looks like
  
We took some good snaps inside the estate. The place was simply marvelous.


 
Below you can see the big bell which was made 7 generations ago in the Mission Hill Estate. The artisan was got specially from France by the owner that time, and he had to be persuaded to come to Canada.


 
Inside there is a big collection of wines. The estate also offers some very pretty souvenirs which are worth collecting.





Kelowna done, we were headed towards Nelson. This place was really not on our list, but we were lucky to have Michael suggested us this place. By the time we were out of Kelowna, the sun had already started to set in. We drove all the way to the south through Carmi, Westbridge and Greenwood on HWY-33 and then on HWY-3 until we reached the US border. We then took a left towards the east and traveled all along the US border crossing Grand Forks. After Grand Forks it was back to climbing the mountains. To my bewilderment the roads were not as good as they were back in the trailing part of our journey.


To be frank, they were one of the worst roads I have ever seen in the western hemisphere. It was getting tougher and tougher to drive as night fell upon. And there was very little traffic, as good as none at all. To make things worse the roads were badly tarred and had no markings on them. The optical phenomenon it created was nothing near to a mirage but the consequences were even worse than a mirage could have offered at sale. In a while we were to witness what I shall never forget all my life. I had been maintaining some good speed, varying from about 15, to sometimes 20 and at instances, reaching 30 notches above the legal speed limit, so that we could reach Nelson in time. Lucky as we could get, we came across another vehicle that was ahead of us. Something struck me that moment and I decided to cut down on my speed. I made that vehicle my escort and driving became much easier as I just had to follow the vehicle. The weather had started deteriorating and it had begun to rain. We were following the vehicle in front continuously and I gave in extra pence of effort on the driving, lest we lose the escort.


We were still about 80 kilometers short of Nelson when it started to snow all of a sudden. The change in road conditions was immediate and within no time I felt ice on the road and the vehicle started to skid. I did not ram in the brakes instantly but left the accelerator and braked softly until the vehicle started to recover. I could hear the grinding sound of metallic teeth, as the ABS underneath kicked in. Good enough, the vehicle screeched to a halt after negotiating quite a few meters of the skid.


But while I was cushioning me and my friends to safety, what we witnessed was completely blood curdling. The driver whom I had been following, did not take cue from the initial skid the vehicle must have had round the first corner. He seemed to maintain the same speed which he had been cruising at, at least it looked like that. All this was happening while I was still bargaining with my vehicle for a safe, if not a smooth halt. Just as my car was stopping, the vehicle in front, which was now a good 40 meters away was beginning to shake violently while still skidding on the ice laden road. Within a fraction of a second, the tail of the car was too disjoint in motion with the front and in one jerk the car flipped and down it went the cliff. I almost became a statue that moment and so I believe did everyone. We rushed and pulled over to the side. We could still see the lights of the car from somewhere below. It looked like it had been held by a tree, which had stopped it from going down. Sigh of relief for us. We screamt to hear if anyone could hear us. No answer. We screamt again and still no answer. It was frighteningly cold and I could feel my nose and ears go numb. The thought of whoever was in that truck, never coming up, ran a chill down my spine.


There was no signal on our phones and there was no traffic at all, no passersby in the still of the night, no moon, it had been covered by the clouds. Pitch dark and snow all around. Five minutes and we had been screaming, hoping that someone would hear us, but no signs of anyone. And that moment the lights emanating from the fallen truck went off. This was it. I decided to go down with my cellphone's screen light. When I was just about to step down, I could hear a woman's voice and then I shouted back. I got a response. I turned on my car's head lights and shouted to them to follow the lights up. In a few minutes one girl and a guy came up. They must have been in their early twenties. We checked to see if they were hurt, but they seemed OK and had just minor bruises. We asked them where were they headed - Castlegar, came the answer. So we decided we would first ensure the guys were dropped at Castlegar.


The drive to Castlegar was painfully slow. The road had iced up and the car was skidding. I kept it below 30. We reached Castlegar at about 10.30 PM, spent some time locating the coordinates of relatives or friends of the ill fated people. We finally dropped off the couple with their friends. They were thankful to us. We took up a hotel at Castlegar. Nelson was still a good 40 kilometers uphill.




Day 4 - The snow stays and so does the expedition


Though not all, but some were glum due to the happenings of the previous night. But the thought of going to Nelson and having another full day free with us brought back the spirit. And we headed to Nelson. I am indeed grateful to Mr. Michael Paget that he suggested us this place. We would have really missed something, had we not seen Nelson. This town is indescribable; its sheer beauty took me off the ground. The way these small towns in the Rockies are connected together by roads, reminds me of the olden days. I have grown up in a hill town called Ranikhet, which is located in Northern India in the Himalayas, and Nelson reminded me of just that. It was nostalgic.





This place has got a population of just over 9000 and it came into prominence in the 1860s with the discovery of gold and silver at a nearby mountain. Nelson has got chateau styled buildings which were built from granite and were developed in 1900 by the architect Francis Rattenbury. They give a unique look to the town. Below is the building where the court is, looks amazing -
   
We walked down the streets in downtown and were fascinated by the very typical hill town look they had. Canada is a country of lakes and as you might have picked the hint by now, this town too has a lake. It is cradled in the Selkirk mountains on the edge of the Kootenay lake. Boating/motor-boating in the lake was closed to public during that time, but people were using their private boats. Below are some good snaps taken along the lakefront. I really liked this house.





The walkway along the lake - 
 

After covering Nelson we targeted reaching Calgary by 9.30 or 10 at night. We came down the hills through Salmo and then cruised along Creston, Cranbrook and Fernie. We stopped at Fernie for some snacks. Problems started when we reached Coleman. The GPS misguided us and despite various settings it showed us through street 85 unto a road that it called HWY 940 (which is 40 on googlemaps and elsewhere).





This sounded fishy as the road called 940 was mud road and after about 9 kilometers the road was complete snow. As the GPS said 24 more kilometers on that road we decided to go, but just as we had covered about 800 meters the vehicle got stuck in snow. It was luck that we had taken this vehicle in place of a regular car. The vehicle had GPS. Slowly but painfully I reversed the vehicle in 4 X 4. The other guys were helping me with the reversing. And luckily we came out of that mess. We went down on that road till HWY 3 and stopped at a place and inquired about the roads. Then we drove all the way east until 6 kilometers of Lundbreck and then took HWY 22 north till Calgary. It had grown completely dark and we were on a straight stretch of road with some minor bends for another 150 kilometers. Not a soul on that road, not a car, not a gas station. The road was completely desolate. We finally saw civilization when we crossed Black Diamond. And then driving along we reached Calgary by 12.30 midnight.


Wow what a journey that was, unforgettable, 1728 kilometers driven in 3 and a half days, through a plethora of landscapes - prairies, grasslands, valleys, hills and mountains; tonnes of sentiments and emotions including but not limited to adventure, thrill, fear, safety, rescue amongst others and action & super action on the packs. This definitely shall be remembered by me all my life and narrated to a few in times to come. I would pen down by saying - thank you Canada, long live Canada and long live India.