Sunday, June 06, 2010

Sat, June 5, 2010: A day trip to Kimberly, BC....and the source of the Columbia River

Ahhh.....it was a rather cloudy morning, but we were positive that it would be a great day for our day trip down to Kimberly, BC. This little town lies just below the mts that have the Kimberly Ski Village.....and this little town is full of it's German heritage. Only about 48 miles from our condo suites, we left about 10AM.....and made the drive along the Columbia Lake and on southward, arriving about 11.

We wandered around the city centre, stopping in the little tourist stores, as well as some gift boutiques.....doing this for about an hour or more. No one seemed to be around this morning.....as the square and little shops were void of people. However, it was nice just to have the place to ourselves.

We stopped for lunch at a local bakery.....and it was really quite good. I had a bowl of the beef stew which was accompanied by a freshly baked roll......and, they were both OH SOOOO GOOD!!!! I would certainly eat there again!!!!

Enjoying each little shop, we found ourselves back at the van....and then headed up to the ski area. Doug and Diane both said the changes had been drastic since they had been there several years ago......sooooo many new homes and condos/time shares in the Ski Village area. We spent a couple of hours just visiting their show condos, as well as going through two new homes that were for sale. The condos were not what any of us would purchase........very cheaply appointed, no great details, and both very dark inside with terrible lighting.....and for a half million each!!!!!! NOT good buys, to say the least. The houses were much better for about the same price,....one of them being sold for closer to $600,000....and it was well built with some great detailing.

From there we then headed to Cranbrook..... a larger town about an hour north of the USA/Canada border with Idaho. Doug needed to get an item from Staples....which he finally located and purchased. Then it was back towards Fairmont Hot Springs. On the way back........we decided to.....

Locate the headwaters/source of the Columbia River, which is located just outside of Canal Flats. After several inquiries we found our way to the gravel road and the little parking area about a mile from the town. From there, it was a half mile hike to the muddy, marshy area where the Columbia River rises in several small, unseeable springs in the marshes.......becomes a shallow, but very cold and clear creek through the marshlands....and finally enlarges to a small river until the many other rivers begin to pour into it....and it then eventually empties into the Pacific Ocean along the Oregon coast. This is a river I have always read about....and I have visited the spot where it flows into the Pacific.....and so, it was just a great experience to actually see where this large and historical river is "born".....WOW!!!!!! A really cool experience!!!!!!!!

Back to the condo/suites, we began to get things in order for our departure tomorrow to return to Edmonton in the Province of Alberta. We will again drive throught the Kootenay National Park, Banff National Park....and make a stop at the very well known Lake Louise. Should be a great day.....albeit several hours and many kilometers of driving from here. It has just been an amazing week here, even with the dental problems I had for a few days!!!! We are sooooo indebted to Doug and Diane for inviting us to join them for this week at their condo......and we have had such an incredibly great time......seeing soooo much, and having sooooooo much fun being together again!!!!!

Soooo, as always with me........

LIFE IS JUST FANTASTICALLY GREAT!!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!

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