Tag Archives: mountains

nature, Photography

Cassiar Highway

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We have finished the 855 km (531 miles) Smithers, B.C. to Watson Lake, Yukon, leg of our trip via the Cassiar Highway (highway 37).

We experienced quite a number of rain showers broken by sunny periods but that didn’t dampen the beauty of this route. It’s one of the most stunning that you will find anywhere. We at first paralleled the Central Mountains but after turning a few more degrees due north, we drove through them for about 600 km. (373 miles).

We didn’t stop to do much hiking or walking through this portion of our trip but there are many opportunities for that and of course, there are lots of places to camp or to stay at a lodge.

As long as you are aware of and cautious about bears, there are many, many outdoor activities to be enjoyed in this area of the country.

Here’s a rest area sign showing details of the Cassiar.

Happy Saturday.

nature, Photography

Coastal Mountains

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We are almost 1100 km (684 miles) north of our home in Penticton and on our way to Watson Lake, Yukon, to see a good friend of ours.

Watson Lake is pretty much due north of our stop for the night in Smithers, B.C. which is marked on the map by the red pin. We have about another 890 km (553 miles) to go.

We have been passing the spectacular Coastal Mountain range and marvelling at their impressive beauty; we will see more of them as we travel further north.

Here, spring is about a month behind the development that has already occurred in Penticton; all the deciduous trees are wearing very new, pea green leaves and the mountains are still liberally topped with snow.

That’s it for now; more to follow later. Happy Friday.

nature, Photography

Cascade Mountains

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We are back home now after a lovely mini-break holiday in Victoria. On the way home we drove through the Cascade Mountains which encompass an incredibly large area from Kamloops in British Columbia all the way down the Pacific coast to northern California.

In Canada, there are a number of subranges of the Cascades, including those on the west side of our home in the Okanagan Valley, the Okanagan Range.

Although some snow had fallen, the trees and shrubs were covered in a layer of frost caused by the cloud and mist which treated us to some very beautiful seasonal scenes.

We arrived home to 5C (41F) and were happy to be back after our little break.

nature, Photography

Above Osoyoos

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Osoyoos is a community at the southern end of the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, and is directly next to the border with the United States. It’s only 60 km (37 miles) south of us from Penticton. We recently visited and took some photos of it from Anarchist Mountain, which at 1491 metres (4892 ft) above sea level provides some excellent views.

A southwestern view of Osoyoos Lake with the United States in the distance.
A western view of the lake with the Monashee Mountain range in the background.
And another western view but a bit more northerly.
Looking more toward the north.

Osoyoos is at the northernmost tip of the Sonoran Desert and can be extremely hot during the summer; it’s quite arid year-round. It’s known for its fruit orchards and the dry conditions also produce some stellar red wines. It’s a great place for outdoorsy summer holidays with lots of boating, swimming, camping and hiking and is definitely worth a visit if you like those activities – with maybe a nice glass of wine in the evenings!

Happy Sunday.