Another Canadian National Park

Trip Start May 29, 2009
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Trip End Oct 03, 2009


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Where I stayed
Canyon Hot Springs RV Resort
(Revelstoke hotels)

Flag of Canada  , British Columbia,
Friday, July 3, 2009

Today we set out to see Mount Revelstoke National Park. We headed to Meadows in the Sky Parkway.  This scenic road travels 26 km to within 1 km (about 5/8 of a mile) of the summit of Mount Revelstoke.  The ranger staffing the entrance gate to the parkway alerted us to the wildflowers blooming alongside the roadway. He also told us that we would have to walk the last 1 km to the summit parking area, as well as another 1 km to the summit.  He told us that the summit meadows were still snow covered.

The wildflowers were a real treat.  We saw Slender Yellow Hawkweed, Orange Hawkweek, Yellow Glacier Lilies, Lupin (purple), Bog's White Orchids, Indian Paintbrush (red), Yellow Buttercup, Thimbleberry, and both Purple and White Mountain Daisies.  It took 14 switchbacks to reach the point where the road was closed.  From there we walked the road to the summit parking area, then the narrow road (where the shuttle buses run after mid July) to the summit Meadows in the Sky Parkway
Meadows in the Sky Parkway
 .  From there, you walk a steep trail to the old fire lookout on the summit.  The views from around the lookout were stupendous.  The summit area trails were indeed snow covered.  Even the areas where we walked required some sloshing through the snow.

By the time that we returned to our car, we were hungry for lunch.  We returned down part of the mountain to the Monashee Mountains Overlook that we had seen on the way up.  Talk about a table with a view, do not miss the picture of Jim enjoying lunch.

On the way back to our campground, we stopped to walk the Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk.  This 1.2 meter interpretive loop goes through Columbia Mountains wetlands.  This is a bird watching paradise.  Several varieties of songbirds are here for just a few months, then migrate all the way to South America.  Researchers have banded birds that return to the same immediate area for 9 or more seasons.

Tomorrow we leave Canyon Hot Springs and travel to Golden, BC to see Yoho National Park, plus do some white water rafting on the Kicking Horse River.
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