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Tuesday, July 1 : Canada Day!

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 My Canadian Flag July 1:  Canada Day at Creston: Monday, June 30, was a resting day for me.  My primary concern was moving the truck along to the Creston area, as my bike was now around 50 miles ahead of the motel I was staying at.  Mondays are good days for rest days because many restaurants, resorts, and other tourism-oriented businesses do not open on Mondays.  While missing meals was not a concern on this trip, it can be disappointing to work up a raging hunger on the bike only to find there is no food available in the little burg you were planning on stopping for lunch.   So no progress on the Trans Canada Trail on Monday, but I did find a nice family motel in Creston, so I took up residence there for a few days.  It was apparent the motel had changed ownership lately.  It was managed by a nice young couple; when I asked for some ice for my water bottles, he went back into their own living quarters to fulfill my request. It was called t...
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Sunday, June 29: Sirdar to Creston

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Lockhart Beach Provincial Park  Sirdar to Creston:  26 miles Sunday was a good day to sleep in - I checked online for a Catholic Church, and found one nearby in the tiny hamlet of Riondel, population 253.  Such a small place, but it has everything I need to get by in a community.  A grocery store, post office, restaurant/pub, church, golf course, and a curling club!  The church listing said that the Catholic Church was a mission church connected to a parish in Nelson  (or maybe Creston).  Mass was at 2:00 PM.  I counted 15 parishioners.  I had a chance to talk with one lady in the congregation.  She said that there was no tabernacle for the Eucharist, so the priest had to bring the hosts from the main parish each week.  After Mass, the congregation has to extinguish all of the votive candles, to guard against a church fire.  They only have Mass at this mission during the summer months, because roads can be treacherous in the co...
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Friday, June 27, 2025 : Boswell to Sirdar

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  Kootenay Lake June 27:  Boswell to Sirdar In my travels today,  Rhapsody in Blue were my thoughts as I took more photos of Lake Kootenay.  Blue were the skies, blue was the lake water, mountains in the distance were  a darker shade of blue.  Sorry my photos don't capture the beauty of the scenery today.   Parking my car  at Boswell, todays travel was 22 miles to Sirdar, and of course 22 miles back to Boswell.  I noticed the hills were longer today, compared to yesterday.  When cycling along a long lake, one hopes for flat and level riding.  But with Lake Kootenay hemmed in by both  the Purcells (easterly) and the Selkirks (westerly), the Kootenay valley is narrow.  Whenever Highway 3A strayed away from the lakeshore a bit, you could bet there was going to be an uphill involved.  There were hills along yesterday's ride too, but today the hills were longer and steeper.  But I was feeling strong after a succe...
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2025: Return to the TransCanada Trail

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  Awesome Lake Kootenay Oliver Rd - ending point 3 years ago Thursday:  June 26, 2025 - Gray Creek, BC Three years ago Audrey and I finished our travel for 2022 on the TransCanada Trail at Gray Creek, BC. For the past couple years, it just wasn't in the cards for me to get back to my trek through beautiful British Columbia.  We stopped in Gray Creek on the shore of Kootenay Lake faced with an important decision.  At Gray Creek, the TCT continues by climbing the very steep backroad up to Gray Creek Pass.  The road is a wash-boarded  4 by 4 road which climbs 4500 feet in 10 miles.   Then  the road descends steeply and arrives at Kimberley, BC 40 miles further.  Since this is a very difficult section of the TCT, there is a detour route using regular BC highways to also arrive at Kimberley, but the detour is 120 miles longer. I took my F150 out to the back road, to check how steep and rough the road was.  Would it be possible for me to ...
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Wed/Thur 9/22-23: Castlegar to Gray Creek

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  Kootenay Lake 9/22   The Castlegar area posed a quandary.  How do we go to get to Nelson?  Audrey had spent some time looking at our maps of the area, and was concerned because the route adopted by the trail, did not seem to go through but just ended in a dead end.  At the same time I took a bike ride, just to try to find the  Trail.  I found a trail, and followed it for quite awhile.  But it was very rough and I found myself walking the bike much of the way.  I continued, expecting that eventually I would get to a well-defined path, with a good surface.  When the trail deteriorated to not even being a good hiking trail, I knew I had to turn back.   Our guidebook was not helpful, as the original trail in this area went to the south,  but according to the website, there was a connection to Nelson which lies to the northeast. Finally the decision was made that I would travel along the main  highway toward Nelson,...
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Tuesday 9/20: Lake Christina to Castlegar

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  Lake Christina Area Lake Christina Tuesday, 9/20: Today we finished the rest of the ride from the Paulson Bridge to Castlegar.  While I continued on the  Columbia & Western  rail trail, Audrey traveled along  Highway 3, and we had to hope that both of us would safely arrive in Castlegar.  The first part of the day was a climb for me, until I got to Fife, which was nothing more than  a place on the trail.  I continued through the Bulldog Tunnel, and shortly after that I came upon a sight I had been anticipating - the Columbia River.  Beautifully blue, and at first quite a distance away, I was able to see the river from quite a great elevation.  The rest of the ride today was downhill all the way to Castlegar, which is the location of a dam on the Columbia, which creates the Arrow Lakes Reservoir. Today illustrates one of the differences between the TransCanada Trail and a highway, like the TransCanada 1.  The TransCanada 1 is g...
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Monday 9/19 Lake Christina

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  Early Fall Color near Christina Lake Monday:  Sept. 19 Today we leave the Kettle River area, and turn northward on the Columbia & Western Rail Trail.  Dominating the scenery today is Lake Christina.  This is a lake I knew nothing about, and it was another scenic highlight.  After my ride today, I followed my tradition of a lake swim.  Very late in the Canadian swimming season, but fortunately the lake had a shallow beach area, and was warmer than I expected.  Our guidebook cautions cyclists that this section of trail is 87 kilometers with no amenities.  Normally that would be an issue, since it meant that Audrey and I might not  be able to connect today.  At the end of 87 kilometers was the city of Castlegar.  However we were  saved by the Paulson Bridge.  This is a relatively new bridge on Highway 3, which Audrey would be traveling upon.  At the bridge Highway 3 crossed the old railroad route. It was our hope, ...
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