Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

  Before I get started let me first thank all of you who were concerned for our safety as we ventured forth into the smoke-filled interior of British Columbia. We, too, were concerned about whether we would actually get to Revelstoke because of the dire warnings I read about avoiding unnecessary travel through the wildfire zones. I had visions of being turned back and having to go south into the US in order to go east but we put that out of our minds and off we went.

  We encountered smoke in the south, around Chiliwack and Hope, then headed north on the Coquihalla Highway expecting Armageddon as we approached Kamloops. Well, nothing happened. No roadblocks. No horror. No smoke! Clear skies all the way. It was so nice we stopped in Kamloops and played nine holes of golf.  Yes, there were wildfires all around us but there was no evidence of them throughout the afternoon until we arrived in Revelstoke, where it was hazy throughout our stay.

  Along the road to Revy we found the site of The Last Spike, a monumental moment in the unification of the various regions of Canada in 1885:

  We arrived at Revelstoke and met Jim and Larry at Jim's house, where Larry lives when he's in town. They've been friends since Larry started spending his winters skiing there five years ago. Like us, he's doing the nomad thing with his belongings in storage and wandering around between ski seasons.

  Jim, retired like the rest of us, was on the local Search and Rescue team, being the guy hanging at the end of the rope dangling below the helicopter when they pull some poor unfortunate out of trouble at the bottom of a canyon. He's also a highly qualified ski instructor and he and Larry both ski some very challenging terrain around seventy days every season. I, on the other hand, have skied about seventy days if you add up everything I've done in the last forty years.

  Anyway, during the day we spent there Jim took us in his 4x4 and drove us up the local forestry roads into some outstandingly beautiful backcountry.

  And this one featuring our guide Jim, as the photographer, with Larry, Penny and I:

  We also took a walk down an art-filled alley in the middle of town... what a cool place.

  He and Larry also spent a fair amount of time selling me on skiing there next winter. Now, it's important to know that Revelstoke receives a TON of powder snow every year and I have never, in almost fifty years of skiing, managed to be able to ski in that stuff. I'm an eastern skier where powder is only an unsubstantiated rumour. Jim has promised to teach me how to handle it properly as well as correct any bad habits that bring tears to his eyes, so I might take them up on it next March.

  Finally, Tuesday morning we headed off to Calgary, through the Rogers Pass.

  We also came upon the Spiral Tunnel which was constructed in 1909 to facilitate trains ascending and descending what, at the time, was a 4.5 degree elevation change. Fortunately for us, a train happened along and we got to see it in action, watching the long line of freight cars snaking their way up and around and back out of the tunnels as they climbed the steep grade easily.

  Upon our arrival in Calgary we met up with Bryan and Sheila, fresh from evacuating Yellowknife. Sheila's daughter, Shiri, was also there and she regaled us with her adventures escaping various wildfires around Fort Simpson and Hay River before heading south last week. We all had a good laugh as she described the route she had to drive using Sheila's arm as a map:

  We had a wonderful evening sharing stories and catching up over dinner. We'll be here until Saturday, when we start the final leg of our odyssey.