ROAD TRIP; Up over the mountains & down the other side.

Whoever came up with the slogan "Beautiful British Columbia" hit the nail right on the head. The scenery in this province varies greatly from rainforests to semi-desert & everything in between.

We just did a round trip of approximately 920 kms from Vancouver island through the lower mainland, up over the coastal mountains & down the other side into the Thompson Okanagan Valley. 

This was not a walking, hiking or biking excursion this time around, but any excursion is an exploring adventure. 

The country ranged from lush forests, mountains, farm land & the ocean while travelling down the Inland Highway on Vancouver Island to catch the ferry over to Vancouver mainland. 

Vancouver Island

Vancouver City

Travelling through the city of Vancouver & all the surrounding suburbs has it's own beauty with the amazing buildings of Vancouver City & all the gardens coming alive now that spring is definitely here. The weather at the moment is spectacular with temperatures hovering around 20 C in the lower mainland & steadily increasing as you travel inland.

 Once out of the city sprawl it is basically farmland, miles & miles of green & ploughed land with a strong pongy smell of manure at the moment as the farmers are getting ready for the growing season. 

Coming out of the valley you start the climb up over the coastal mountains travelling over & around spectacular mountains & rivers that at present are flowing high & fast with the melt off from the snow. 

Your senses are hit with the colour green as all the vegetation is coming alive. There are the coniferous trees which are generally darker greens & stay green all year round, & then there is a range of deciduous trees that at  present are in the process of sprouting new life allowing for a variety of colour greens.  

Coquihalla

The higher up you climb, the sparser the vegetation gets, but you get a clear picture of the snow melting and water crashing over rocks & roaring down the mountains. There is still a fair amount of snow at this level & I wondered if the bears were still hibernating up here.

Once over the mountain range you come down into the Thompson Okanagan Valley & into a completely different landscape. The first thing you see is Okanagan Lake & the surrounding hills or mountains, not sure what they are classed as. If they are hills, they are pretty large, if they are mountains, then they are not so large. Okanagan Lake is a rather long & skinny lake of approximately 135 kms in length & is home to the infamous Ogopogo monster.

Lake Okanagan

This area is the famous BC wine country & fruit orchards. The climate is semi-desert, so winters are somewhat colder than Vancouver mainland or Vancouver Island & summers are a fair amount warmer. At present the temperatures are hovering around 30 C here, so it felt great to feel that heat & warm up. Being a semi- 
desert there are not too many trees & vegetation & it is somewhat sparse apart from the orchards which just thrive in this part of the country. 

There are a number of cities in this area, Kelowna being the major hub. It is home to Big White Mountain, which is a well known skiing destination. Water sports & golf are predominant activities during the summer & the area is a popular camping destination. CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KELOWNA

From Kelowna we travelled to a city called Kamloops which is about 105 kms north of Kelowna. You travel along side Lake Okanagan until reaching a city called Vernon. Once past Vernon the country changes again & is very much a farming community. This valley is rich in heritage buildings & history & the vegetation is rather richer & greener in comparison to the Kelowna area. 

Kamloops area

Upon entry into Kamloops the landscape again changes. This area is sparser than the area around Kelowna & it is full of large hills that have very little vegetation. The colour of the landscape is a blue/green colour & very deceiving as it is hard to see just how large the city is due to all the hills in the area. The Thompson River runs right through the city & it is a very beautiful area, especially if you drive off the main drag & go into the country side. Cattle ranching is a major industry here making this cowboy country. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ON KAMLOOPS

Passing through Kamloops heading back to the Lower Mainland you start climbing the mountains again with a slow increase of trees before falling into the valley of Merritt which is definitely cowboy country & a country music haven. 

Merritt was famous for the Merritt Mountain Music Festival which was a 6 day event & ran for close on 20 years featuring famous country singers from all over North America. It seems that it has had it's hay day though & the festival has been cancelled for the second year due to a lack of ticket sales. CHECK OUT THIS SITE FOR MORE INFO ON MERRITT

Merritt is the last settlement in this area before joining up with the highway which brought us up from the lower mainland & Vancouver Island at the beginning of this road trip.

The route we took is called the Coquihalle Mountain Pass (highway 5). This is a relatively new highway & a much faster route up to Thompson Okanagan, but it is definitely not the prettiest. 

All these areas have great walking, hiking, biking & exploring opportunities. Fun activities don't stop with walking, hiking & biking though. Kayaking, sailing, golf, horse back riding, fishing, camping are just a few things to be enjoyed here along with skiing, snowboarding, snow shoeing and cross country skiing in the winter.  

If you are looking for a chance to do some walking, hiking, biking & exploring while travelling through this area, then I suggest you take Hwy 3 which heads east into the Cascade mountains. This goes through Manning Park where there are some great trails & camping sites to enjoy. CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MANNING PROVINCIAL PARK.

Manning Provincial Park

Otherwise there is the Fraser Canyon route which is a great place to explore & learn about the historical Caribbo Trail & the gold rush. This is truly a stunning drive with very interesting rock formations & the area is great for walking, hiking & biking, river rafting, fishing & digging for gold. CHECK OUT THIS SITE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CANYON.

Fraser Canyon

Both these routes are a longer way around to reach the Okanagan, but if you have the time, they are by far a more beautiful & interesting drive & well worth that extra time.

HAPPY WALKING, HIKING, BIKING & EXPLORING

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