Moving on again! This time it's a long haul from the Okanagan to the coast. We used the "old road" which climbs south and west into some great scenery.
While the hills to either side were pretty arid, the valleys are largely green thanks to irrigation
which is why the Similkameen valley produces lots of scrummy fruit
The water comes from the river, bringing water down from the mountains between us and the coast, rising in Manning National Park..
We stopped for lunch near Beaver Lake - the beavers moved out 30 years ago, but the evidence of their handiwork is apparent.
Before Hope we stopped at Hope Slide - back in the 60s a small earthquake triggered a landslip that moved millions of cubic metres of rock, raising the level of the valley floor by 70m, and burying 4 people in their cars. Even now, the rock that moved is visible (in the foreground). Here after a little rain, the clouds clinged to the hillside.
Reaching Hope, we decided against the fast, easy drive down the Trans Canada Highway into Vancouver, in favour of the smaller highway on the north side of the Fraser River. The views are better, at least until the rain tipped down and we couldn't see a thing!
But we did see this lumber operation on one of the creeks running into the Fraser.
We crossed the river by (free) ferry, after a bit of a wait.
An easy drive took us to Tsawwassen and our motel. After a brief turnaround, we went and enjoyed dinner (BBQ) and a very pleasant evening with Tony and his family.
