Revelstoke

The happening place in the heart of Revelstoke's downtown seems to be Grizzly Plaza on MacKenzie Avenue. There would be a different band playing each night that I happened to be in town, and it's the location of the Saturday morning Farmer's Market.

Not sure why I was so captured by the Big Eddy Bridge. It really had no great significance or history, but I loved it just the same and had to walk it.

Revelstoke happens to be in a particularly high grizzly and black bear haibitat. I suppose that's why they chose the grizzly as the town mascot. Here is one of the town welcome statues.

Gold, forestry and railroads all played a part in Revelstoke's rich history. So did A. S. Farwell, a surveyor who laid claim to the town, and for whom the town was originally named. Farwell, the town, was a typical wild west town, but the establishment of larger industries such as the railroad changed the course of the town...and its name. Lord Revelstoke funded much of the railroad industry. During this time, a division incurred between the business districts, creating Upper and Lower Town. Many of the old historical buildings in Lower Town (the original Farwell settlement) are gone, though the town is quite proud of its many residential historical homes. The courthouse (pictured above) remains at its original location. Revelstoke, in the 1980s, began a major restoration project on many of the old historical buildings that make up Upper Town which is the main business district today for the 7,000 people who very proudly call it home.

The Columbia River provides beauty and many boating activities in Revelstoke as it makes its journey to the Pacific Ocean.

Revelstoke's Centennial Park down by the river side provides a pleasant easy stroll with great views of the Columbia.

Williamson's Lake holds one of Revelstoke's many parks, hiking trails and campgrounds.

The Giant Cedar Grove east of Revelstoke is a marvelous spot to ramble along a boardwalk surrounded by some of the most majestic trees around. It doesn't take long and it's a huge part of Revelstoke's beautiful surroundings.

In the vicinity of Revelstoke is the Skunk Cabbage Nature Trail, a short boardwalk among an unusual wetland that produces skunk cabbage. Its leaves are huge, and the stalk that produces the flower is also quite unusual. Fortunately, I wasn't there at the time the flowers were blooming...there's a reason its name is associated with a skunk.

A swiftly flowing creek graces the entrance to the skunk cabbage trail.

Another grove of trees easily reached from Revelstoke is the Hemlock Grove, pictured here and below.

Mount Revelstoke National Park is a hiker's delight...and a delight even if you don't hike. The Meadows to the Sky Parkway is a scenic drive that curves and winds up, up, up to the summit where views of the surrounding mountain ranges are spectacular. Even in early July, patches of snow persist. The next several shots were taken from the hiking trails of Mount Revelstoke.

This creature appears to be looking straight into the camera, but I don't think he's up for smiling and saying "Cheese" ! Not sure what it is: perhaps a vole, found in the brush of the skunk cabbage.

A marmot checks things out from an overhead boulder on the Meadows to the Sky Parkway.

To get to the true summit of Mt. Revelstoke in the Revelstoke National Park, one must climb a short uphill trail. From there, views in all four directions are unparalleled. Below, the ever-present Columbia River snakes its way through the mountains.

Balsam Lake makes for a very easy stroll at the parking lot level of the Mt. Revelstoke summit.

Orange Hawkweed

Yellow glacier lily

Indian paintbrush

A nice hike in Glacier National Park is the Loop BrookTrail which winds for about a mile past the old stone pillars that supported the railroad tracks. It's partly old growth, but with nice views of the mountains. It's part of the Rogers Pass National Historic Site.

Leaving the Loop Brook Trail in Glacier NP near Revelstoke

Highway 23 near Revelstoke is a north-south secondary highway. In each direction are memorable provincial parks worth anyone's time. The above photo was taken at Martha Creek Provincial Park on 23 north past the Revelstoke Dam. It has picnic areas, boat launches, hikes and a campground, all overlooking the Lake Revelstoke Reservoir.

This sign was as tempting to my travel partner and me as a bright red lollipop would be to a six-year-old. We only went about 10 miles north on this Highway 23 past Martha Creek, turning around only because it started pouring down rain. However, we did see one grizzly cub up on a ledge, but for a very short time when he popped his head up to check out the traffic below. We waited around for him to surface, but he never did. Sigh

A close look at this photo reveals several different types of pine trees all neatly lined up at the Martha Creek Provincial Park.

South on Highway 23 is Blanket Creek Provincial Park with its swiftly flowing Sutherland Falls. The groundcover here, a soft, green moss, is evident throughout the rainforest-type park. At another end of the park is a pond and picnic area and, beyond that, the Arrow Lake Reservoir.

Well, here we have it. The last spike. Just off the Trans-Canada Highway west of Revelstoke is the town Craigellachie. It was here that in 1885 the last spike was ceremoniously driven into the ground. It was here that a complete railway between the east coast and the west coast of Canada was joined. Of course, the golden spike we see here is only symbolic. The real one...actually it seems there were four of them...long story.

The words on the plaque at these grounds, I found very touching. It reads: "A nebulous dream was a reality: an iron ribbon crossed Canada from sea to sea. Often following the footsteps of early explorers, nearly 3000 miles of steel rail pushed across vast prairies, cleft lofty mountain passes, twisted through canyons and bridged a thousand streams. Here, on Nov. 7, 1885, a plain iron spike welded East to West."

How exciting also to me that just as I finished reading the plaque, I'd hear the whistle of an approaching train. I raced to the fence to get a picture of the deep red locomotive barreling through.

It's amazing what we might find when we cut off the main highway into the little "don't blink" towns that dot the sidelines. Such is the community of Malakwa where, hidden on a back, back road, is an old sign to this suspension bridge that crosses the Eagle River. What a find!

Sicamous, between Revelstoke and Salmon Arm, is considered the Houseboat Capital of Canada. We stood on the shore of the Sicamous public beach and park situated on the Shuswap Lake. It is a lively, popular spot for local beach-goers and boat enthusiasts alike. Pictured below, a pedestrian bridge joins the public beach with a private beach and travels over a canal that leads to a lagoon of private homes and boats.

A leading houseboat rental agency in Sicamous lines its rentals up at in inlet of the Shuswap Lake.

Enderby, a small rural town, sits on the bank of the Shuswap River. It's known for the Enderby Cliffs (seen in the photo on the right) which are considered a challenge to serious hikers. Below, a sign on a fence near a park on the Shuswap confirms the area is rural.