Nakusp, BC to Rogers Pass, BC

Day 31: Thu 21 Aug: I enter the Mountain Parks.

I woke up very late this morning. We had breakfast mostly-in-bed as Sean took our various snack-y purchases and combined them into makeshift sandwiches of cheese and sausage. We all ended up napping after breakfast, after which Brian and I got up and hot spring'd again. Check out time arrived sooner than we were ready for, and we quickly packed. I should have taken a picture of the inside of the cabin -- with the sofa bed out, and the other bed, we couldn't open the door all the way. It was the definition of cozy with all four of us in there.

Last night I noticed on a map, and Brian confirmed, that we were a long ways from Nelson, and very close to my next destination. Since I had all my stuff with me, Brian offered to catch a ride back home with Sean and Melissa, so I could just continue on. We said our goodbyes and headed out.

It was still rainy/misty/cloudy, but I got some better pictures of the lake and headed off.

These lakes are miles and miles long, and very narrow. Many of them have free ferries across them, and this one is no different. In fact, the highway ends at the ferry dock, and picks up again across the lake.

The scenery here is incredible. I keep saying that, but it continues to be true. Some of these lakes remind me of the Vermont road that goes by Greensboro. They have steep mountains and no beaches and sometimes lots of camps.

I drove to Revelstoke, BC. It is a Canadian Pacific Railway town (currently in the midst of Railroad Days) with a frigging intense beautiful mountain looking over the whole city. It's also a big lumber town -- the whole place smells like wood.

I forgot to mention that there are so many logging trucks and wood chip trucks on these highways that there is always tree bark in the road. You don't want to tailgate these guys.

I hung out in a bakery with wifi (Modern Bake Shop and Cafe) for a while planning my next step. Brian had mentioned that there was a hotel at the top of Rogers Pass (in Glacier Park) that I should stay at. I tried to find it online, but couldn't, but figured I would see it when I passed it. Glacier Park was only 30 minutes away.

I ended up finding it no problem. I checked out the Visitors Centre, bought my Canada National Parks Pass (since I plan on camping for several nights in Banff/Jasper, it was cheaper to buy an annual pass), bought some maps (including an intense wall-sized topo of the parks), and got some advice on a good day hike that would get me to a glacier. Then I watched Simpsons and South Park and went to sleep.