Highlight Reel #2

My last blog mentioned all the places we've ridden our bikes through that I wouldn't want to have to cycle again.  These places aren't so bad - it's just that there are so many other places to visit in B.C. that are better.

Midway for example looks like a ghost town from the Crowsnest Highway, yet only a few blocks south, a well tended campground lines the banks of the clear-running Kettle River.  Two summers past, Roy and I spent a relaxing few hours in a canoe drifting down that river quaffing cold beer and conveniently ending our excursion right at our campsite.

Midway campground

For years I've wanted to find the enchanting Mascot Gold Mine that clings precariously to the ridge of a mountain high above the town of Hedley, B.C.  It was a hot day a couple of years ago when we rode our bikes down the Crowsnest and pulled off the highway into Hedley.  It was a relief to find an air conditioned restaurant downtown that took us out of the blistering heat.  After lunch I managed to buy a poster of the mine which the vendor wrapped carefully in a cardboard tube and I managed to strap to my panniers and carry around for the rest of our trip.

The poster

 

Cascade in the Kootenay Boundary area has a long trestle to ride your bike over that offers a bird-eye view of the swimmers swinging from a rope into the blue green waters of the gorge far below.  Many times we have gotten off our bikes to enjoy the view and have an impromptu contest to see who could take the best picture of someone splashing into the fast moving water.

Swimming under the trestle

After some discussion on the phone, it looks like we have come up with a plan that includes Brookemere, a place we've never cycled to and a dozen places where we've had adventures ranging from having our campsite deluged in the middle of the night by an irrigation system to being handed a large caliber rifle by a local farmer out for a stroll with his dogs. Whatever happens, you’ll be sure to read about here.