Through the Windshield - photos overload

I just got back from a road trip to Kelowna, to see my sister and her boys.  I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I haven't been to British Columbia for 20 years, so I'd forgotten how beautiful it is.  Lucky for me, my dad did all the driving so that I could gawk and take pictures.  I probably took 200 pictures through the windshield, on the drives there and back.  Here are a few (too many) of my favourites.


The water was incredible - I couldn't believe the colours of vivid blues and greens.

Bow Lake



Abraham Lake


The Columbia River, near Revelstoke

No water here - just a gorgeous mountain wall at the Saskachtewan River Crossing (this was about 1/4 of it)


A wildlife bridge.  The highway along the Banff National Park is lined with an 8' fence, and there are six of these bridges to allow the animals across without becoming roadkill.  They're about the size of a 4 lane overpass, but topped with trees and grasses to make them as natural as possible.

In the spirit of full disclosure, these next shots weren't taken from a moving vehicle.

A tree near my sister's house - and reinforcement for my determination that I will move somewhere with a friendlier planting zone than Central Alberta when I retire.

I found the Walloping Willow Tree!!!

Myra Ridge (East of the city) was destroyed in the 2003 Kelowna forrest fire, but is starting to grow back 

We rode part of the Kettle Valley Railway path, which is an old line of railway trestle bridges and tunnels that have been converted into a walking and biking path.  It was absolutely incredible, and the highlight of the trip for me.  

It involved driving up and down 8km of gravel switchbacks to get there and back, but the view was breathtaking.  We were a little intimidated at first, and not sure how far we'd go... none of us had been on a bike in 2 or 3 years.   It wasn't hard, though.  The trail was pretty flat.  We kept wanting to go around the next corner to see the view from there; and before we knew it, we had to turn around.  We would have loved to do the entire route (12km each way) but had to leave to go collect the kids from school.  We all agreed that we will definitely go back and do the entire route soon.

This was the first trestle

This was the view to the left of the first trestle.  I remember pointing to the far centre right, and wondering if we'd make it that far.  (We did - it's about 8km along.)

In case you're wondering, Yes, I do have a fear of heights.  I was pretty wobbly at first, and kept to the insides of the trails.  It wasn't too long before I got my bearings, though, and could really appreciate the view.